Palestinians are pushing for full representation as a state at the U.N. Rio+20 summit on sustainable development, but the issue will have to be decided by world leaders next week, according to officials.

"We expect full-status participation because we already have it in UNESCO and we have ties with Brazil (the host country which recognizes the Palestinian state) and with more than 130 countries," Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben told Agence France Presse.

Israel expressed concern on Saturday after reports emerged that Syrian president Bashar Assad may be losing control over military assets, including air defense base.

According to Israeli channel 10, concern is mounting in Israel over the possibility that Hizbullah will try to move sophisticated weaponry, including Scud missiles, from Syria to Lebanon to protect them in the event of Assad's downfall.

Israeli sappers on Saturday recovered the debris of a rocket fired into the south of the Jewish state late on Friday, a military spokesman said.

"Last night, an explosion in the Arava valley was heard, and this morning we recovered the remains of a device we have now identified as a Grad-type rocket," the spokesman told Agence France Presse.

Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday that the party’s missiles are now “capable of reaching vital targets inside Israel,” pointing out that the “Israelis themselves acknowledge Hizbullah’s missile power.”

In an interview with the Iranian television, Nasrallah added that the military capabilities of his group “cannot be compared to the previous phase,” describing Israel’s threats to attack Iran as “propaganda to blackmail the international community.”

Israeli officials are concerned that Hizbullah will try to move sophisticated weaponry, including Scud missiles, from Syria to Lebanon to protect them in the event of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s downfall, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Syria is believed to have allocated a number of Scud D missiles – the most advanced missile in its arsenal – to Hizbullah already in 2010 but they have been stored in bases in Syria, it said.

The Palestinians plan to go ahead with their bid to put one of Christianity's holiest sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List despite a negative report by experts, their envoy to the body said Thursday.

Ambassador Elias Sanbar said the report on the Church of the Nativity was "biased" and "politicized" and was influenced by the United States and Israel, which sought to block the Palestinians from joining UNESCO last October.

Iran on Thursday said it arrested a number of chief suspects in the assassinations of two of its nuclear scientists in the past two years, and claimed they were linked to Israel.

A statement from the intelligence ministry, published by state media, said "the main elements behind the killings... were arrested and moved to detention" following an investigation of at least 18 months involving surveillance in Iran and abroad.

Iran on Thursday said it arrested a number of chief suspects in the assassinations of two of its nuclear scientists in the past two years, and claimed they were linked to Israel.

A statement from the intelligence ministry, published by state media, said "the main elements behind the killings... were arrested and moved to detention" following an investigation of at least 18 months involving surveillance in Iran and abroad.

A damning report that slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the 2010 flotilla raid has raised fears over how a strike on Iran would be managed, press reports said on Thursday.

The 153-page report by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss dominated the headlines.

Noble Energy began on Wednesday to deliver natural gas from a new field off southern Israel in a bid to avoid electricity shortages due to a cut in Egyptian supplies, the company said.

"Noble Energy and its partners are making good on their promise to do everything possible to bring as much gas as possible to the Israeli market in the absence of gas delivery from Egypt," it said in a statement.