Palestinian groups are planning celebrations to mark the release of prisoners by Israel as part of a deal to secure the exchange of Gilad Shalit, a statement said on Saturday.

"All organizations have agreed to begin preparations for the reception of the prisoners, to receive them like heroes with official and popular celebrations," said the statement, read out at a news conference in Gaza by a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees.

Egypt's ruling military approved Saturday a law to punish discrimination after clashes between soldiers and Christians killed 25 people in the country's worst violence since a revolt this year.

The amendment to the criminal code states a punishment of a fine no less than 30,000 pounds (5,000 dollars) for discrimination based on "gender, origin, language, religion or beliefs."

Egyptian warplanes are patrolling the Sinai without Israeli consent, despite a 1979 peace treaty limiting Egypt's military presence in the peninsula, Egypt's air force chief said on Thursday.

Parts of the Sinai have been off-limits to Egyptian troops under the terms of the 1979 treaty by which Israel agreed to end its occupation but in recent months the army has deployed reinforcements with Israeli consent to tackle suspected Islamist militants.

Captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is expected to return to Israel via Egypt by next Wednesday, Palestinian sources and Israeli media said on Thursday

A senior Palestinian official said a first group of 450 Palestinian prisoners would be released next Tuesday, followed by Shalit's release on Wednesday.

Israel has apologized to Egypt for the border killings of six policemen in August that sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two neighbors, Egypt's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The policemen were killed on August 18, as Israeli troops hunted down militants who had carried out deadly attacks near the border with Israel.

Egyptian soldiers never fire on citizens and if they did use their weapons the results would be catastrophic, a military general said on Wednesday, days after deadly clashes with Christians.

"The armed forces cannot direct their fire at the people," General Mahmud Hegazi told a news conference days after the armed forces clashed with Coptic Christian protesters, leaving 25 people dead.

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the Syrian army’s recent incursions into Lebanese territory, demanding that the parliamentary defense council convene with the defense minister and army command to tackle the affair.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Syria’s violations should be brought up before all Arab and international forums.”

Pope Benedict XVI called on Egypt on Wednesday to fight "attempts to sabotage" relations between Christians and Muslims.

Addressing pilgrims during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, the pope expressed his sorrow over clashes between protesters and security forces on Sunday that left 25 people dead, mainly Coptic Christians.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced "deep concern" Tuesday about deadly weekend violence that killed 25 people in Egypt, mainly Coptic Christians.

Clinton phoned top Egyptian diplomat Mohamed Kamel Amr to convey "the need for the Egyptian government to ensure that the fundamental rights of all Egyptians are respected, including the rights of religious freedom, peaceful assembly and the end of military trials for civilians, and that efforts be made to address sectarian tensions," the State Department said.

Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi resigned on Tuesday following deadly clashes in the capital that left 25 people dead, the official MENA news agency reported.

Beblawi -- one of two deputy prime ministers who also has the finance portfolio -- said he tendered his resignation after Sunday's deadly clashes "which shook the security of the society, which is the government's responsibility" to ensure.