The Arab League has agreed to reinstate Syria, ending a 12-year suspension and taking another step toward bringing Syrian President Bashar Assad, a long-time regional pariah, back into the fold.

Some influential league members remain opposed to reinstating Syria, chief among them Qatar, which did not send its foreign minister to Sunday's gathering. Thirteen out of the league's 22 member states sent their foreign ministers to the meeting in Cairo.

An Egyptian politician residing abroad and planning to run in the country's presidential elections next year said on Friday that two of his uncles and a group of friends and supporters have been detained in recent days.

Ahmed Altantawy, a former member of parliament, did not say how many of his supporters were detained, when it happened and whether they were released or were still being held. He said he was worried for the health of his uncles, suggesting they may still be held.

Diplomats from Arab nations are planning an emergency meeting in Cairo over the weekend about the fighting in Sudan and the prospect of Syria's return to the Arab League more than a decade after its membership was suspended, an official said Friday.

Sunday's meeting, confirmed by Gamal Rushdy, a spokesman for the Arab League, comes as some Arab countries, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have opened up relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad and their foreign ministers have visited Damascus in recent weeks. Syria's foreign minister also visited Cairo and the Saudi capital of Riyadh in April, the first such visits in more than a decade.

Iran and Syria agreed to boost ties and develop economic relations, with a focus on reconstruction, as the Islamic republic's President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday concluded a landmark visit to Damascus.

Tehran has been a key ally to Damascus throughout Syria's long-running war, offering vital economic and military assistance that has helped the Syrian government claw back most of the territory it lost at the start of the conflict.

Israel's defense minister has claimed that Iran could have enough enriched uranium for five nuclear weapons, and warned Tehran that proceeding to weapons-grade enrichment could "ignite the region."

His remarks echoed international concerns, which have mounted over the past months, on Tehran enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Experts have said that the Islamic Republic has enough fuel to build "several" atomic bombs if it chooses.

U.S. President Joe Biden is dispatching one his top advisers to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom, later this week.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for talks with Saudi officials and will also meet with his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and India during his visit.

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said, in what the army called a "stabbing attack".

Iman Odeh, 26, was "killed by a bullet to the chest fired by the occupation soldiers in Huwara, south of Nablus," a ministry statement said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called Thursday for "resistance forces" to unite against Israel on his second day in Syria -- the first such visit to Tehran's close ally in over a decade of war.

Tehran has long provided logistical and military support to many factions fighting its arch-foe Israel, including some Palestinian groups but also Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah -- a major Damascus ally.

Arab League foreign ministers are to hold emergency meetings Sunday on the conflict in Sudan and Syria's readmission to the bloc, a diplomat said.

The meetings come ahead of an Arab summit in the Saudi city of Jeddah on May 19, the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Israelis blocked roads and demonstrated on Thursday against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary, hoping to ramp up pressure on lawmakers after parliament reconvened this week following a month-long recess.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense pressure and the opposing sides are trying to reach a compromise agreement. But in a sign of the mistrust of his intentions, tens of thousands have continued to protest every Saturday night since.