Israel's state comptroller has questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over lavish private trips abroad he made that were financed by businessmen, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday.

It said he was questioned in secret for more than two hours at the start of the week, over an affair which broke out almost a year ago after an investigation by a private television station, Channel 10.

Israel's deputy foreign minister on Thursday said that a North Korean pledge to suspend nuclear tests in exchange for U.S. aid should not be seen as a model for dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"The two cases are completely dissimilar," Danny Ayalon told Israeli public radio, hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to leave for talks in Washington with U.S. President Barack Obama, expected to center on Israeli concerns that Tehran is racing to produce nuclear arms.

The White House warned Wednesday that any military action against Iran would create "greater instability" that could threaten the safety of Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The warning came days before a planned March 5 meeting between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has left for Washington on a two-day U.S. trip expected to include meetings with senior administration officials, Israel's defense ministry said on Monday.

"Minister of Defense Ehud Barak left this morning for a two-day working visit in Washington DC. During the trip, the minister will discuss a host of regional issues with a number of leading figures in the administration," the ministry said in a statement.

A U.N. atomic watchdog's report saying that Iran has substantially boosted uranium enrichment is "added proof" that Tehran is trying to obtain nuclear weapons, Israel said on Saturday.

"The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency gives added proof that Israeli beliefs are true" about Iran's nuclear program, a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah defended on Friday Lebanon’s decision to distance itself from regional developments.

He said: “Lebanon is part of the region, but its decision is aimed at preserving the government.”

President Michel Suleiman condemned on Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent statements on Lebanon, saying that its existence will not be affected by his remarks.

He added in a statement: “Lebanon is the only country to have defeated Israel militarily and the Jewish state is still recovering from it.”

An Israeli committee was on Wednesday to approve construction of 500 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Shilo and retroactively legalize more than 200 built without permits, a spokesman said.

The committee "will meet today to approve construction of 500 units," civil administration spokesman Guy Inbar told Agence France Presse.

The prime minister's top spokesman has resigned six months into the job, Israeli media reported Wednesday, injecting new turmoil into Benjamin Netanyahu's troubled bureau shortly before an important White House visit.

Israeli newspapers, TV and radio stations reported that Yoaz Hendel quit after Netanyahu criticized the way he handled suspicions against the prime minister's chief of staff Natan Eshel, who was forced out this week over a sexual harassment scandal.

A top U.S. security official was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday amid rising concerns over Iran and ahead of a trip by the Israeli premier to Washington.

The White House has said that National Security Advisor Tom Donilon would talk to senior Israeli officials on a range of issues, including Syria. An Israeli official said he would meet Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon.