An Israeli defense official said the Jewish state has not been able to stop the build up of Hizbullah's rocket arsenal.

Head of political-military affairs at Defense Ministry, Maj.-Gen Amos Gilad, told a security conference in Tel Aviv that Iran has overseen the construction of Hizbullah's arsenal of 100,000 rockets.

Gunmen travelling in a car opened fire on Tuesday on a group of Egyptian policemen outside Cairo's Al-Azhar university, killing three and wounding nine others, the interior ministry said.

The attack comes just days ahead of a presidential election on May 26-27, which former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win.

Israel's chief negotiator Tzipi Livni on Monday defended a decision to meet Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas after peace talks collapsed, in a move that drew sharp criticism from ministers.

"I would like to remind everyone that the conflict isn't over," Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told her HaTnuah party at a weekly meeting, according to a statement.

An Israeli court on Monday fined firebrand Islamic cleric Sheikh Raed Salah $2,600 for obstructing the work of police when they quizzed his wife three years ago, legal documents showed.

Last month, Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ruled that Salah, an Arab citizen of Israel, had "interrupted" police officers as they questioned his wife at the Allenby border crossing between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan in April 2011.

Israeli lawmakers will elect a successor to outgoing President Shimon Peres on June 10, parliamentary speaker Yuli Edelstein told reporters on Monday.

Edelstein's announcement marks the official start of the race for the position, which has been held by Peres since 2007.

Here is a breakdown of the main Christian communities in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan ahead of a visit by Pope Francis, global head of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Israel

Israel's top police officer on Sunday vowed that Jewish extremists would not be allowed to spoil the upcoming visit of Pope Francis by vandalizing Christian holy places. 

"You cannot exaggerate the importance of this visit on both a national and an international level," Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino told reporters in Jerusalem.

The Israeli army said on Sunday that troops had arrested 13 wanted Palestinians overnight as tension remained high in the occupied West Bank.

All were wanted for "illegal activities", a military spokeswoman said, indicating they were picked up in the southern cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, as well as in two villages north of Ramallah. 

Israel's chief negotiator Tzipi Livni came under attack on Sunday for talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, with senior officials insisting there was no intention to resume peace negotiations. 

Thursday's meeting in London was the first between the two sides since the collapse last month of the latest round of talks, and came after both held separate talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. 

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil instructed the permanent Mission of Lebanon to the United Nations in New York to file an urgent complaint to the U.N. Security Council on Israel's “blatant” security breaches against Lebanon's sovereignty and the U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, the state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.

Israeli forces crossed on May 11 the Blue Line in the al-Labbouneh border area, uprooted trees and lifted cement blocks that belong to the Lebanese army.