Sixty-five European lawmakers have signed a letter calling for the EU to downgrade its attendance at next month's G20 summit in Riyadh over human rights concerns, according to a document released Monday.

Tunisian authorities said Monday police are investigating an MP who in a Facebook post appeared to defend the beheading of a French teacher who had shown his pupils satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

The first ever passenger flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel landed near Tel Aviv on Monday, a month after the countries signed an agreement normalizing ties.

Etihad Airways flight EY 9607 from Abu Dhabi landed at Ben Gurion airport early in the morning with only crew on board, a spokeswoman for the Israel Airports Authority told AFP.

The rival sides in the Libya conflict sat down for fresh talks on Monday in another bid to try to end a decade of bloodshed, the United Nations said.

Long-time chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was in "critical" condition and in a medically induced coma on Monday, said the Israeli hospital in Jerusalem treating him for coronavirus complications.

Israeli police said they arrested several people who attacked protesters with tear gas during demonstrations in major cities on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Long-time chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, diagnosed with coronavirus, was being hospitalized in Israel on Sunday after his condition worsened, the Palestine Liberation Organization and his brother said. 

The PLO said in a statement that "following his contraction of Covid-19, and due to the chronic health problems he faces in the respiratory system, Dr Erekat's condition now requires medical attention in a hospital."

Israel started cautiously emerging from a second coronavirus lockdown Sunday after a month of tight restrictions, re-opening preschools, kindergartens, beaches and national parks, with numbers of new infections falling.

The scene cuts from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the lyrics switch from Arabic to Hebrew to English and the song is a slightly kitsch electro-pop duet by artists who, for now, remain apart.

An Egyptian activist and satirist detained for more than two years has been released, his family has announced.