Israeli President Shimon Peres rejected theories that Yasser Arafat was poisoned, telling a Mexican newspaper Tuesday that any assassin would have found it easier to shoot the Palestinian leader.

Swiss scientists have found that lab test results "moderately" backed the idea that Arafat died of polonium poisoning in 2004.

Israeli security forces killed three Palestinian militants late Tuesday after attempting to arrest them near the West Bank city of Hebron, the Shin Bet internal security service and army said.

Shin Bet said in a statement it had along with special police forces killed "two members of a Salafist jihadist network that was active in the area and planned an attack" after an attempt to detain them.

The EU has rejected an Israeli proposal regarding guidelines that will prevent European states from dealing financially with Jewish settlements in the West Bank, an Israeli diplomat said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency cabinet meeting Monday, just days ahead of an Israeli decision on whether to participate in an EU-funded scientific research project, for which Israel would have to recognize the European guidelines.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he will send his national security adviser to Washington for talks on a pending agreement with Iran on its nuclear program.

"I spoke yesterday with President (Barack) Obama and we agreed that in the coming days an Israeli team led by National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen would leave for talks with the United States on the final deal with Iran," Netanyahu said in an address to the Israeli parliament.

The EU ambassador-designate to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, on Monday sought to reassure the Israelis over a nuclear deal struck with Iran.

Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program for the next six months in exchange for limited sanctions relief following marathon talks with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany in Geneva that ended Sunday.

Israeli authorities have given the go-ahead for the construction of 829 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, settlement watchdog Peace Now said on Monday.

"The construction of 829 homes has been approved by a committee of the Israeli military in charge of the West Bank," said spokesman Lior Amihai.

The Israeli cabinet approved Sunday measures aimed at deporting thousands of Africans who illegally entered the country and who are perceived by it as a threat to its Jewish character.

A statement from the prime minister's office said that beyond the measures, which include a crackdown on employers and financial incentives for home-bound Africans, the interior ministry has drafted a bill that would enable to detain illegal migrants for one year without trial.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday slammed a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers as a "historic mistake,” his spokesman said.

"PM Netanyahu: What was achieved yesterday in Geneva is not a historic agreement but rather a historic mistake," Ofir Gendelman posted on his official Twitter account, quoting Netanyahu's comments to a weekly cabinet meeting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on December 2, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Saturday.

"Pope Francis will receive Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu in an audience on December 2," the agency said, citing "well-informed Vatican sources".

Head of Israel's Paratroopers Brigade Itamar Ben-Haim noted that Hizbullah has doubled its rocket arsenal in recent years, saying that it rivals that of countries not organizations, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Saturday.

He said: “The most likely scenario of a war will take place with Lebanon, not Iran.”