A U.S. high-tech arms company is to design and produce AI-powered drones in the United Arab Emirates under a joint venture, the two parties said on Thursday, strengthening close defense ties.

Following Iraq's parliamentary election this week, the complex and often lengthy task of choosing the country's next leader is set to begin.

The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they would hand over the remains of another hostage on Thursday as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel in Gaza.

"The Al-Quds Brigades and the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of one of the occupation's captives, which was found today in the Morag area north of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip, at 8:00 pm Gaza time (1800 GMT)," a Hamas statement said.

Israeli settlers torched and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank overnight, scribbling hateful messages in a show of defiance a day after some Israeli leaders condemned a recent attack by settlers against Palestinians.

One wall and at least three copies of the Quran and some of the carpeting at the mosque in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya had been torched when an AP reporter visited Thursday.

Incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who is vying for a second term, has scored a big win in general elections, sources close to the premier said on Wednesday.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he received a letter from US President Donald Trump on Wednesday asking him to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial in three separate corruption cases.

Taiwan wants to deepen its ties with Israel despite criticism over its war in Gaza because Israel has shown support for Taiwan unmatched by other countries in the Middle East, the island democracy's foreign minister told reporters on Wednesday.

Taiwan will be "friendly to countries that are friendly to us," Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung said. He said that a declaration signed earlier this year by 72 members of the Israeli parliament in support of Taiwan's inclusion in key international organizations is an example of Israel's support.

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked a pair of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to vehicles and other property before clashing with Israeli soldiers sent to halt the rampage, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

It was the latest in a series of attacks by young settlers in the West Bank.

Iraqis were voting on Tuesday in a parliamentary election that comes at a crucial moment for the country and the region. The outcome of the vote will influence whether Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani can serve a second term.

The election comes against the backdrop of fears over another war between Israel and Iran and potential Israeli or U.S. strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq. Baghdad seeks to maintain a delicate balance in its relations with Tehran and Washington amid increasing pressure from the Trump administration over the presence of Iran-linked armed groups.

A bill proposing the death penalty for Palestinian captives passed a first reading in Israel's parliament on Monday -- a measure that applies to Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis.