A rocket fired from Gaza hit southern Israel on Friday, the Israeli police said, adding that it fell on open ground without causing casualties or damage.

It was the third rocket attack since the end in August of the 50-day Gaza war. The last incident was on October 31.

Speaker Nabih Berri has asked Lebanon's Ambassador to Washington to inquire the U.S. administration about the reasons behind the procrastination of a top energy diplomat in resolving the territorial dispute between Lebanon and Israel.

Berri told his visitors on Thursday that he asked Ambassador Antoine Chedid to ask the State Department on why Amos Hochstein has stopped his mission.

Negotiations on a draft U.N. resolution that sets terms for a final Israeli-Palestinian peace deal will take time, Jordan said Thursday, indicating that a Security Council vote was not imminent.

Jordan presented the measure on Wednesday to the U.N. Security Council on behalf of the Palestinians, who said they were open to negotiations on the text.

The Arab League said Thursday it hoped the United States would not veto a draft U.N. Security Council resolution laying out the terms of a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

Jordan presented the draft Wednesday on behalf of the Palestinians, who have sought to avoid a clash with Washington by saying they are open to negotiations on the text.

Britain's Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood has said that he encouraged rival leaders to engage in dialogue and elect a new head of state.

Ellwood told An Nahar daily in remarks published on Thursday that during talks with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Tammam Salam he called for dialogue and stressed the importance of swiftly filling the vacuum at Baabda Palace.

The Palestinians on Wednesday presented a draft U.N. resolution laying out terms for a final peace deal with Israel but sought to avoid a clash with the United States by saying they were open to negotiations on the text.

The draft resolution obtained by Agence France Presse would set a 12-month deadline for wrapping up negotiations on a final settlement and the end of 2017 as the time frame for completing an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories.

With the Palestinians seeking to bring negotiations with Israel to a head, France has sought to insert itself as a moderating force that can break American dominance over the peace process.

"If there is a moment when France can do something, it's now," said Hasni Abidi, a Middle East expert based in Geneva.

Luxembourg's parliament voted Wednesday to urge the government to recognize a Palestinian state -- the latest in a series of similar moves around Europe aimed at pressuring Israel to move forward the peace process.

The European Parliament overwhelmingly backed the recognition of a Palestinian state "in principle" on Wednesday, following a series of votes on the issue in EU nations that have enraged Israel.

A conference on respect for international human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories opened Wednesday in Geneva but was shunned by   Israel and the United States.

Israel is boycotting the one-day talks and has accused host Switzerland of contributing to the politicisation of the Geneva Conventions on the laws of war.