The Palestinian leadership on Tuesday called on the U.N. Security Council to visit the occupied territories to see the impact of Israel's settlement campaign.

The Palestinian U.N. envoy, Riyad Mansour, made the request as U.N. under secretary general for political affairs, B. Lynne Pascoe, told the Security Council that events in Gaza and the West Bank are "dangerous and ultimately unsustainable."

The Egyptian judges trying dozens of democracy activists, including Americans, in a case that has strained ties with Washington recused themselves from the trial Tuesday, judicial sources said.

In such instances, the trial, which opened on Sunday, is normally referred to the court of appeals, which appoints a new panel of judges.

Egypt's newly elected senate chose an Islamist as its speaker on Tuesday, extending the religious conservatives' power over the legislature tasked with appointing a panel to draft a new constitution.

Ahmed Fahmy of the dominant Islamist Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) was chosen to lead the 270-seat senate after Islamists won most of the 180 elected seats in the chamber. The ruling military will appoint the remaining senators.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday an argument could be made for declaring President Bashar al-Assad a war criminal, but said such action could complicate a solution in Syria.

"Based on definitions of war criminal and crimes against humanity, there would be an argument to be made that he would fit into that category," Clinton told a Senate hearing on the State Department budget.

The United Nations said Tuesday that well over 7,500 people have been killed in the brutal Syrian crackdown amid new international demands for the Damascus government to allow humanitarian access.

France urged Russia and China to back a U.N. Security Council resolution on halting the bloodshed and getting rescue aid into protest cities. Russia and China have vetoed two resolutions on Syria, but appear to be softening their stance.

France on Tuesday urged Russia and China to accept a new U.N. Security Council resolution on halting the violence in Syria to allow in humanitarian aid.

"A resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire and access for humanitarian aid in the most threatened areas is under discussion at the Security Council. We can hope that China and Russia will not veto this resolution," Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told RTL radio.

Syrian security forces killed 102 civilians across the country on Tuesday, among them 35 in a "massacre" in the central region of Hama, as five regime soldiers were killed in fighting with deserters in the restive southern province of Daraa, activists and a rights group said.

Thirty-seven civilians were killed in the central province of Hama, among them 35 in a massacre in the town of Halfaya, and 50 civilians were killed in the central opposition bastion Homs, among them 26 in the besieged neighborhood of Baba Amr, the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said.

Syria walked out of a U.N. debate on the human rights situation in the violence-wracked country on Tuesday, while its ally Russia urged Damascus to cooperate with efforts to allow in humanitarian aid.

Syria has been rocked by 11 months of anti-regime demonstrations and a military crackdown against a growing protest and rebel movement that has left more than 7,600 people dead, according to opposition activists.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday called for "change" and "free elections" in Syria, which has been rocked by violent clashes between government forces and rebels.

"Iraq backs change in Syria," Maliki told Saudi newspaper Okaz in an as-yet unpublished interview, excerpts of which were released by his office in a statement.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called for the release of hundreds of Bahraini pro-democracy activists arrested after last year's uprising and for all charges against them to be dropped.

"Grossly unfair military and civilian trials have been a core element in Bahrain's crackdown on pro-democracy protests," HRW said. Cases "against everyone convicted on politically motivated charges" should be dropped.