Qatar's ruler said Friday that the Gulf emirate is ready for talks to resolve a diplomatic crisis with a Saudi-led bloc so long as his country's sovereignty is respected.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday he was freezing contacts with Israel over new security measures at a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site, after deadly clashes erupted earlier in the day.

Egyptian forces shot dead two militants from the Hasam group, the government said Friday, after the Islamist group claimed to have carried a deadly attack on police.

A former al-Qaida affiliate and a leading rebel group agreed Friday to end days of fighting over of one of the last major parts of Syria out of the regime's control.

Saudi Arabia's police have shot dead three men wanted for "terrorist" attacks in the country's Shiite-majority east, the interior ministry of the Sunni-ruled kingdom said Friday.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the Jordanian capital on Friday to condemn Israel's latest security measures at a highly sensitive holy site in annexed east Jerusalem.

An Emirati state minister Friday welcomed changes to Qatar's anti-terror legislation as a "positive" step in the crisis between Doha and four Arab neighbors which accuse it of backing extremists.

Three Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded Friday in clashes between protesters and Israeli forces over new security measures at an ultra-sensitive Jerusalem holy site where police restricted access for Muslim prayers.

The United Nations on Friday blamed a Saudi-led coalition for a deadly air strike on civilians in Yemen this week, saying there were no military targets in the area hit.

A protester was in a coma after being struck on the head during clashes between demonstrators and security forces in northern Morocco, local authorities said on Friday.

He was taken to hospital overnight after being wounded by "stone throwing" in the clashes on Thursday in the city of Al-Hoceima, official news agency MAP quoted the authorities as saying.