Suspected Jewish extremists slashed the tyres of five Palestinian-owned cars in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem overnight, a police spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

"Five vehicles were vandalized close to the Old City at the entrance to the Silwan neighborhood, and the slogan 'price tag' written on a wall nearby," spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

Israeli soldiers shot and "hit" two Palestinians as they tried to cut through the security fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip on Monday, an Israeli army spokesman said.

But it was not immediately clear if the Palestinians were wounded or killed in the shooting near the Beit Hanun area of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the Israeli official added.

Turkey's parliament will discuss a government motion authorizing military strikes against Syria on Thursday, the deputy prime minister said.

Bulent Arinc declined to comment on its scope while speaking to reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting on Monday.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Monday slammed as appalling a Bahrain court decision to jail 50 Shiite activists, and demanded a probe into allegations that some were tortured.

A Bahraini court handed jail terms of up to 15 years Sunday to the 50 activists, including a prominent Shiite Iraqi cleric, convicted of forming a clandestine opposition group.

U.S. President Barack Obama thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday for his "courage" in "good faith" negotiations with the Palestinians on final status issues.

"I commended him for entering into good faith negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. I appreciate the prime minister's courage in being willing to step forward."

A Syrian photojournalist known for his picture of bikers on a badly damaged bridge was killed when an army rocket attack erupted while he was cycling, a colleague said Monday.

Murhaf al-Mohdi, who also went by the pseudonym Abo Shuja, had contributed photographs to Agence France Presse.

The German government on Monday admitted it had approved as recently as 2011 the export to Syria of chemicals that could be weaponized, and in larger quantities than previously known.

Data released by the economy ministry showed that German firms had exported between 1998 and 2011 to Syria a total of 360 tonnes of chemicals for either military or civilian use.

Paris prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation Monday into the assets of Syrian President Bashar Assad's uncle, whom anti-corruption groups accuse of illegally obtaining a vast fortune and property empire.

A judicial source told Agence France Presse the investigation had been opened into Rifaat Assad, the brother of Bashar Assad's father Hafez, after a criminal complaint filed on September 13.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem noted Monday that his government is fighting a war against al-Qaida-linked militants who eat human hearts and dismember people while they are still alive, then send their limbs to family members.

Addressing world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Muallem also charged that the U.S., Britain and France had blocked the naming of the real perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

Sudan pointed to "fake" victim photos and foreign interference Monday as it defended a deadly crackdown on protesters, which drew fresh criticism from inside the ruling party as rallies continued.

With reporters complaining of stepped-up censorship, numerous videos and photographs purporting to show bloodied victims have circulated on YouTube, Facebook and other social media since the demonstrations began eight days ago, sparked by a rise in fuel prices.