Thousands of Bedouin marched in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Thursday to protest a government plan to settle tens of thousands of their desert-dwelling people in permanent townships, media reported.

Public radio said the protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners of the Israeli Islamic movement, chanting "With our blood and our spirit we will redeem the Negev," referring to the desert where most Israeli Bedouin live.

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon is in exploratory talks with Sweden over plans it could lead a beefed-up peacekeeping force between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an Israeli official said on Thursday.

"It's in very preliminary stages," he told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.

Israel is seeking approval for hundreds of settler homes in the northern West Bank settlements of Itamar and Bruchin, Israel media reported on Thursday.

The Jerusalem Post said that plans to build 538 new homes in Itamar and legalize 137 existing units were submitted to regional planning authorities this week.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon leaves on Wednesday for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, his first visit to Washington since taking office in March, the ministry said.

"During the visit the two men are expected to discuss current security, diplomatic and regional issues," it said.

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday called for better protection for peacekeepers in the Golan Heights against the growing threat from Syria but said it was "essential" that the mission remain.

Ban made the call as Austrian troops started withdrawing from the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) following attacks and abductions of peacekeepers. Croatia and Japan have also withdrawn in recent months.

The presidential elections in Iran on Friday will bring about no significant change in Tehran's policies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Warsaw.

"These so-called elections taking place in Iran, well unfortunately, they will change nothing of significance," Netanyahu said Wednesday, adding the Tehran "regime will continue to be led by one man, one ruler (who) will continue Iran's quest for nuclear weapons."

Israeli air force pilots are training daily to meet threats posed by instability in Lebanon and Syria, pilots at a base in the north of the Jewish state said on Wednesday.

Daily drills include preparing to counter "the transfer of all kinds of weapons that could lead to terror attacks," Lieutenant Colonel N, who could not reveal his last name, told Agence France Presse on a rare visit by journalists to Ramat David air base.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced Wednesday to recall an official statement on the peace process which appeared to admit Israel's settlement building was unhelpful in reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

The reference was made in a joint Israeli-Polish declaration which was to have been read out following a meeting in Warsaw between Netanyahu and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk later the same day.

Austrian troops in the U.N. monitoring force on the Golan Heights began withdrawing on Wednesday, days after Vienna decided to quit the mission over security concerns, an Agence France Presse photographer said.

A group of 20 soldiers entered the Israeli side of the strategic plateau through the Quneitra Crossing, the only direct passage between Israel and Syria, the photographer said.

An Israeli gunboat entered the Lebanese waters on Tuesday, triggering the army's forces to take the required defensive measures.

"An Israeli gunboat entered the Lebanese waters between 11:35 and 11:45 this morning near (the southern town of) al-Naqoura,” a communique released by the Amry Command said.