The chief justice of Israel's Supreme Court attacked the sweeping changes to the country's justice system planned by the new conservative government on Thursday, lending her voice to a growing outcry against the proposed overhaul.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut fired off unusually sharp rhetoric at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new justice minister, Yariv Levin, saying his proposed changes would amount to an "unbridled attack on the justice system."

The Israeli military shot and killed three Palestinians during arrest raids in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, the latest bloodshed in months of rising violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The military, which has been carrying out near-nightly raids in the territory since early last year, said soldiers who entered the Qalandia refugee camp before dawn were bombarded by rocks and cement blocks. In response, the military said troops opened fire at Palestinians throwing objects from rooftops. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man killed as Samir Aslan, 41.

Yousef Mesheh was sleeping in his bunk bed when Israeli forces stormed into his home at 3 a.m.

Within moments, the 15-year-old Palestinian said he was lying on the floor as troops punched him, shouting insults. A soldier struck his mother's chest with his rifle butt and locked her in the bedroom, where she screamed for her sons.

Talks between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia are continuing and could eventually restore diplomatic relations that were severed years ago, Iran's foreign minister said Friday.

Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut Friday that he met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud during a conference in Jordan last month that was attended by Middle Eastern and European officials. The meeting between Amirabdollahian and Prince Faisal was the highest-level encounter between the two countries since they cut relations seven years ago.

Tunisia has jailed nine members of an all-women "terrorist" gang accused of plotting to assassinate a government minister, media reported Thursday.

In the North African nation's first known case of an all-woman jihadist group, two of the ringleaders were jailed for 25 years, while the other seven were handed sentences ranging between three and 14 years. One woman was acquitted.

Pakistan's prime minister traveled Thursday to the United Arab Emirates as his nation seeks international aid to recover from devastating floods.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's visit to the UAE marks his third since becoming premier last April. The seven sheikhdoms of the Emirates are home to some 1.7 million Pakistanis, many manual laborers that power its economy and send money back to their nation.

Former Israeli top legal officials spoke out Thursday against sweeping reforms to the country's justice system planned by the new conservative government, lending their voices to a growing outcry against the proposed overhaul.

Seven former attorneys general who have served in the post throughout the last five decades — including two appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose justice minister is spearheading the reforms — signed a letter of protest, along with four other former senior legal officials. The letter, published in Israeli media, denounced the proposed changes, saying they are destructive to the country's legal system.

The Israeli military shot and killed a Palestinian man early Thursday during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, the latest bloodshed in months of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The military, which has been carrying out nightly raids in the territory since early last year, said soldiers operating in the Qalandiya refugee camp were being struck by rocks and cement blocks from rooftops above and responded with live fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man killed as Samir Aslan, 41.

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday named a veteran technocrat with experience in both renewable energies and the oil business to be the president of the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai, highlighting the balancing act ahead for this crude-producing nation.

Authorities nominated Sultan al-Jaber, a trusted confidant of UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who now serves as CEO of the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. That firm pumps some 4 million barrels of crude a day and hopes to expand to 5 million daily.

The Egyptian pound was trading Wednesday at half its value from March after the central bank intervened for a third time as part of an International Monetary Fund loan agreement.

The devaluation, representing a drop of around 50 percent against the dollar over the 10-month period, comes as the price of imported food and other goods is soaring in the country of 104 million.