Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will travel to the Holly Land next month along with the delegation accompanying Pope Francis, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Bishop Boulos Sayyah, who will be accompanying al-Rahi in his trip, told the newspaper that the Patriarch will be within the delegation traveling with the Pontiff.

Pope Francis's visit to the Middle East in May will inevitably have a "political dimension" and there are high expectations also among the Muslim population, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem said on Wednesday.

Fouad Twal said in an interview with I.Media, a news agency specialized in Vatican affairs, that he hoped the visit would also help develop closer relations between local Catholic and Orthodox communities.

Pope Francis said Sunday he will make his first trip to the Holy Land, visiting Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem from May 24 to 26.

"In the climate of joy typical of this Christmas period, I would like to announce that from May 24 to 26, God willing, I will carry out a pilgrimage to the Holy Land," Francis told crowds gathered in St Peter's Square for the traditional Angelus prayer.

Unknown gunmen on Thursday intercepted a car in the Bekaa city of Baalbek and abducted two Omanis who were in it.

“Five armed individuals who were in a black Grand Cherokee carrying no license plates intercepted in the Baalbek area of al-Kayyal a Mercedes C240 cab that came directly from the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut,” state-run National News Agency reported.

Islamist cleric Abu Qatada pleaded not guilty on Sunday to terror charges pressed by Jordanian military prosecutors just hours after his deportation from Britain, his lawyer said.

Reporters were not allowed into the courtroom to hear the charges being read out despite a pledge by Information Minister Mohammad Momani of "transparency" in Jordan's handling of Abu Qatada's retrial on charges that already earned him a life sentence in his absence.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday that Iran and Hizbullah were "propping up" Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"It is very clear that the Syrian regime is receiving a great deal of support, increasing support in recent months from outside Syria from Hizbullah and Iran,” Hague said in a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh in Amman.

Major powers urged Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday to commit to peace and step down as they gathered in neighboring Jordan to discuss preparations for a Russian- and U.S.-proposed peace conference.

Ahead of a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Amman, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Assad to make a "commitment to find peace" after more than two years of conflict that have killed more than 94,000 people.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is to meet on Sunday in Amman with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is pushing for a renewal of peace talks, a Palestinian official said.

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with president Abbas next Sunday in Amman," he told Agence France Presse on Wednesday.

Thirty jailed Omani activists have ended their two weeks-long hunger strike after the country's Supreme Court began reviewing their appeals, a lawyer defending them told Agence France Presse on Monday.

"The detainees suspended their hunger strike after they learned that the Supreme Court has decided to review their appeals," Yakoob al-Harithi said.

An Omani appeals court upheld on Wednesday jail sentences ranging from six months to one year against 23 activists convicted for defaming the sultan and taking part in pro-reform protests last year.

The court in Muscat confirmed a one-year jail term against 11, including writers and bloggers and a young woman, accused of insulting the sultan and cyber crimes, ONA state news agency said.