Hamas hanged two men accused of collaborating with Israel on Saturday, a statement from the interior ministry of the Islamist movement's government in Gaza said.

The ministry said that it had executed the two men in accordance "with what Palestinian law stipulates,” identifying the two men as "the collaborator with the occupation A.G., 49, and the collaborator H.K., 43."

Israel's fraud squad on Thursday questioned Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger on suspicion of bribery, theft, breach of trust and money laundering, a police statement said.

Metzger's questioning at the national fraud unit headquarters in Lod, south of Tel Aviv, comes after months of covert investigations involving three other suspects, according to police.

A Palestinian found guilty of "collaborating" with Israel has been sentenced to death by a military court in the Gaza Strip, the interior ministry of Hamas, which controls the territory, said on Thursday.

The defendant, identified only by his initials KC, was "condemned to capital punishment by hanging for collaborating with the Zionist occupier," ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan announced on Facebook.

Europe must take a firmer line with Iran over its controversial nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday at the start of a working meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

"We need to exert pressure on them. We're not talking about political spin but about the spinning of centrifuges," he said in remarks communicated by his office.

A mortar round from Syria exploded in the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights plateau on Thursday, the military said.

"There was no damage or injuries and the soldiers conducted a sweep in the area of the blast," a military spokeswoman said.

The Military Court on Wednesday sentenced retired army Brigadier General Adib al-Alam to 15 years hard labor on charges of collaboration with the Israeli enemy.

His wife Hayat Saloumi was sentenced to four years hard labor.

The Philippines Wednesday said it would keep its peacekeepers in the Golan Heights until at least August, and may stay longer if the United Nations increased security there.

The announcement by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario followed repeated government warnings in recent weeks that it was considering swiftly pulling out its 341 soldiers from the volatile area between Syria and Israel.

U.S. plans to arm Syrian rebels have raised fears in Israel that the weapons could fall into the wrong hands, but analysts played down the threat -- provided no big guns are involved.

Washington said last week that it would provide Syria's rebels with military support in the form of small arms after it determined that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons.

Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem rejected on Wednesday the 8-8-8 cabinet formula, calling for a “balanced representation” of the party and its allies.

"Hizbullah completely rejects the 8-8-8 cabinet formula now and in the future,” Qassem announced in a speech he gave at the funeral of two the party's members killed in Syria, calling for a political council of ministers that is “based on partnership.”

Time is running out for the Middle East peace process, which must move forward or face total failure, former British prime minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday.

"The window of opportunity will be open for only a short space of time," he said, speaking in Jerusalem at the 2013 Presidential Conference, hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres.