Speaker Nabih Berri expressed his relief on Wednesday over the conclusions reached at the telecommunications committee's meeting on the Israeli spying report, praising also parliamentary “consensus” to confront Israel's activities.

Berri urged during his weekly Wednesday talks with parliamentary blocs “continuing to exert necessary efforts” in this matter.

A year after trading fire in a week-long war in Gaza, Israel and Hamas are squaring up for another confrontation, despite both sides appearing reluctant to make the first move.

More than 170 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed when hostilities erupted after an Israeli missile killed Hamas military chief Ahmed Jaabari last November 14.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Wednesday urged "coordinated" settlement building, a day after a new plan for settler homes in the West Bank drew international condemnation.

"The prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) is right when he says that at such a sensitive time, while we're trying to persuade the Americans, Europeans and Russians to amend a problematic deal with Iran, things must be coordinated with the prime minister," Steinitz told Israeli public radio.

An Israeli soldier died on Wednesday after a Palestinian youth stabbed him on board a bus in the north of the country, police said.

"The Israeli soldier who was stabbed this morning by a Palestinian on a bus at the Afula bus station has died of his wounds in hospital," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Agence France Presse.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday canceled plans to build 20,000 new settler homes in the West Bank, hours after their announcement sparked U.S. and Palestinian criticism.

Netanyahu ordered Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel "to reconsider all of the steps for evaluating planning potential (for the settler homes) that he distributed without any advance coordination," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

The United States expressed surprise and concern Tuesday over a report that Israel is planning to build 20,000 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank.

"We are deeply concerned by this latest report," said State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki. "We were surprised by this announcement and are currently seeking further explanation from the government of Israel."

Israel is to build a "record" 20,000 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a watchdog said Tuesday, despite U.S. and Palestinian warnings that such moves threaten peace talks.

The revelation by settlement watchdog Peace Now came just days after a visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to try to salvage the negotiations, during which he said Israeli settlement activity in the Palestinian territories is "illegitimate."

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, newly reappointed after being cleared of corruption, on Tuesday urged his government to avoid spats with the U.S. over its policy on Iran's nuclear drive.

Israel and the United States have been locked in a war of words over negotiations between world powers and Iran that could see sanctions relaxed in exchange for Tehran curbing or freezing parts of the disputed atomic program.

Israeli security sources claimed Tuesday that Iran's controversial nuclear program has cost the country $170 billion, mostly due to tough economic sanctions.

The figures came as Israel and the U.S. were locked in a war of words over negotiations between world powers and Iran that could see sanctions relaxed in exchange for Tehran curbing or freezing parts of its controversial nuclear program.

Rightwing firebrand Avigdor Lieberman took his oath of office in front of the Israeli parliament on Monday, returning as foreign minister after he quit to fight corruption allegations.

The 120-member house confirmed his reappointment by a vote of 62 to 17, almost a year after he resigned to fight the charges which he was cleared of last week.