U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, meeting officials in Jerusalem on Wednesday, called on Israel to refrain from settlement activity and offer the Palestinians a "goodwill gesture" to help kickstart peace talks.

But he appeared to be rebuffed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he considered the issue of Israel's settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem something to be discussed during negotiations, not before.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed victory in Tuesday's primary of his rightwing Likud party over his sole rival, the hardline settler Moshe Feiglin.

"I thank you for the confidence and the renewed support that you have given me," Netanyahu told a party gathering before the official results were announced.

Members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party cast their ballots Tuesday in a primary the premier is tipped to win easily, beating his sole rival, the hardline settler Moshe Feiglin.

Netanyahu and his wife Sarah were first in line to cast their ballots in Jerusalem as polls opened for the vote, which the premier moved forward in December.

Top U.S. military chief General Martin Dempsey arrives in Israel late on Thursday evening for talks with Israel's political and military leaders that are expected to focus on Iran's nuclear program.

Dempsey's trip will be his first to Israel since becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October.

Any decision by Israel on whether to attack Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear program remains "very far away," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told army radio on Wednesday.

"We don't have a decision to go forward with these things. We don't have a decision or a date for taking such a decision. This whole thing is very far away," he said.

The current regime of U.S. and EU sanctions against Iran are not enough to force Tehran to halt its nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

Although Western sanctions against the Islamic republic have been stepped up, Israel remains skeptical that Tehran will abandon its nuclear program without harsh steps against its oil-based economy and its banking sector.

The Israeli parliament passed tough new legislation targeting illegal immigration early on Tuesday, giving authorities powers to detain migrants for up to three years without charge.

The legislation, an amendment to a 1954 law originally intended to deal with Arab militants trying to infiltrate the Jewish state, was passed by 37 votes to eight.

A senior Israeli cabinet minister on Monday said that a planned meeting with Palestinian negotiators after a 16-month pause was a positive step but should not be seen as renewal of negotiations.

"This is a positive development," Intelligence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor told Israeli public radio.

The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency has said a nuclear Iran might not pose an "existential threat" to the Jewish state, in remarks reported Thursday by Haaretz newspaper.

"Does Iran pose a threat to Israel? Absolutely," the daily quoted Mossad chief Tamir Pardo as telling a group of Israeli ambassadors.

Canada is concerned that forces worse than deposed strongman Hosni Mubarak could rise to power in a newly democratic Egypt, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in an interview.

"There are obviously forces who want democracy and progressive change (in Egypt), but there are clearly some forces that would want something that's probably worse than what we had before," he said in a taped interview with CTV News to be aired Monday.