Israel and the Palestinians sharpened their rhetoric as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry headed to the region Wednesday hoping to nudge the two sides towards a peace framework.

The latest U.S. quest for a long-elusive peace deal has shown little sign of progress since Kerry revived direct talks in July, and this week leaders from both sides questioned the other's commitment to ending the decades-old conflict.

Israel has filed a complaint with the United Nations after a rocket attack from southern Lebanon and the killing of a soldier in a cross-border shooting.

In the letter of complaint to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council, Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor wrote that "the lack of leadership in Lebanon allows Hizbullah to operate against Israel and destabilize the region."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hizbullah of being involved in firing rockets at Israel on Sunday, as his government warned Beirut of even tougher reprisals after the army shelled Lebanon.

The Israeli leader's remarks came after his country's army fired about 20 shells into southern Lebanon without causing any damage, after rockets were launched in the opposite direction.

The 26 Palestinian prisoners Israel has agreed to free as part of ongoing peace talks will be released on Monday, a source in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

Netanyahu had agreed to the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners in line with commitments to the U.S.-backed peace talks, which resumed in July, and groups have been freed on August 13 and October 30.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Gaza rulers Hamas were responsible for any attacks from the Palestinian enclave, after deaths on both sides.

"We have recently been subject to attacks against us," he said at a pilots' graduation ceremony at the Hatzerim air force base in southern Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed disappointment Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has failed to condemn fresh attacks on Israelis, as a watchdog questioned the legality of Israeli reprisals.

An Israeli man was shot dead Tuesday while working on the border fence with the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli military retaliated with a wave of strikes that killed a toddler and wounded six other Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hit out at the United States for what he described as "unacceptable" wiretapping of his predecessor Ehud Olmert, as reported in the media.

"Given the close relations between the United States and Israel, there are things we cannot do, and that is unacceptable for us," Netanyahu said at a meeting of his Likud party.

Israeli Mossad agents operating in Ethiopia in 1962 unwittingly trained Nelson Mandela in hand-to-hand combat, weaponry and sabotage, according to a document released by Israel's state archives.

A letter from a Mossad official to the foreign ministry, dated October 11, 1962 titled "THE BLACK PIMPERNEL" and released to the public on Sunday, recalls a conversation in which "we discussed a trainee in Ethiopia named David Mobasari, from Rhodesia".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue "developing" settlements following reports of U.S. pressure ahead of a fresh round of Palestinian prisoner releases due later this month.

"We will not stop, even for a moment, building our country and becoming stronger, and developing... the settlement enterprise," he told members of his rightwing Likud faction in remarks broadcast on army radio on Thursday.

Israel's attorney general has decided not to appeal against last month's acquittal of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on corruption charges, the justice ministry said on Wednesday.

"Following the verdict, the attorney general (Yehuda Weinstein) was required to address the question of whether to file an appeal on behalf of the state, and, to that end, he heard opinions and held a number of discussions," the ministry said.