Rulers of the Arab states of the Gulf, where aging monarchs retain power, congratulated Qatar's new young emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, whose father abdicated in his favor on Tuesday.

At the age of 33, Sheikh Tamim becomes the youngest ever sovereign in the Gulf Arab monarchies.

Qatar emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani abdicated in favor of his 33-year-old son, Sheikh Tamim, on Tuesday, in a first for the Arab world.

"I announce handing the rule over to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani," the 61-year-old emir said in a televised speech, adding the decision opened the way for a "young leadership.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in hopes of coordinating support for Syria's rebels amid fears that a prolonged civil war will embolden extremists.

Kerry was to spend several hours in the western city of Jeddah consulting with the leadership of the oil-rich Sunni Muslim monarchy, which has been outspoken in its opposition to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

U.S. envoy James Dobbins on Monday said Washington was outraged at how the Taliban opened an office in Qatar that was intended as a first step towards a peace deal in Afghanistan.

"The use of the Islamic Emirate title... (and) the symbols, signs and nomenclature were incompatible with what had been understood to be the arrangement," he told reporters in Kabul.

A coalition of Egyptian Islamist parties on Monday called for an "open-ended" demonstration on Friday in support of President Mohamed Morsi two days before planned rallies against him, raising fears of violence.

The alliance is calling for a "million-man march" followed by an open-ended protest outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Egypt's Nasr City under the slogan "legitimacy is a red line", Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party said in a statement on its website.

Saudi Arabia on Monday beheaded two Pakistani men convicted of armed robbery, the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The execution in the western city of Jeddah came after the two men admitted to having set up a gang to rob bank customers at gunpoint, the report said.

Egypt's prime minister, Hesham Qandil, on Monday condemned the "heinous" attack against Shiites in a village south of Cairo which left four dead and several injured, the cabinet said in a statement.

Qandil "strongly condemns the ugly incident ... which resulted in the death of four Egyptian citizens," the cabinet said.

Syrian President Bashar Assad will not step down at a proposed peace conference in Geneva but will only discuss the formation of a national unity government, the foreign minister said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Damascus, Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem also slammed a decision by supporters of the Syrian opposition to arm the rebels, saying it would only prolong a conflict already in its 28th month.

Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is to transfer power in the small but economically powerful Gulf nation to his son Sheikh Tamim, the official QNA news agency reported on Monday.

"The royal palace announces that Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, will address the Qatari people at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday," said a statement carried by the official QNA news agency.

Israeli warplanes hit Islamic Jihad targets in central and southern Gaza early on Monday after Palestinian rocket fire struck Israel, sources from both sides of the conflict said.

The raids came just hours after militants fired five rockets at southern Israel, two of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system, the military said.