A Kuwaiti minister, accused by a senior U.S. official of promoting jihad in Syria, has resigned just days after receiving the backing of fellow cabinet members, a report said Friday.

Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister Nayef al-Ajmi, who strongly denies the U.S. accusations, said he had asked to be relieved of his duties for health reasons, Al-Rai newspaper reported.

Kuwaiti police will no longer be able to deport expatriates without interior ministry approval under new rules published Thursday after officers expelled thousands over the past year.

The Kuwait Society for Human Rights (KSHR) said the move was a "step in the right direction" to protect the rights of the emirate's 2.7 million expatriates, although it fell short of activists' calls for an end to all deportations not ordered by the courts.

The Kuwaiti parliamentary committee for foreign relations on Thursday rejected a security pact ratified by other Gulf nations, with MPs saying the government-backed treaty is unconstitutional.

Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) approved the pact at a summit in December 2012 after it was signed by all GCC interior ministers including Kuwait.

Turkey's government faced growing pressure Thursday to quickly implement a top court order to unblock Twitter, which it had banned after corruption claims went viral on the social media site.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the block on March 20 in the lead-up to last Sunday's key local elections, in which his party won sweeping wins despite the damaging online leaks.

Kuwait's government has criticized a senior U.S. official for having accused a minister of the Gulf state of funding jihadist fighters in Syria, local media reported on Tuesday.

"The cabinet followed with great attention and displeasure accusations by a U.S. official ... against the justice and Awqaf (Islamic endowments) minister," Nayef al-Ajmi, it said in a statement.

The cabinet approved on Thursday a security plan for the northern city of Tripoli and areas bordering Syria as President Michel Suleiman said a solution to the fighting and repeated attacks was urgently needed.

Health Minister Wael Abou Faour told reporters that the cabinet approved the recommendations of the Higher Defense Council on a security plan in Tripoli and Bekaa valley's northern areas.

Arab leaders lauded on Wednesday the role of the Lebanese armed forces, stressing the importance to consolidate their capabilities to reach stability in the country.

The closing statement of the two-day Arab League summit held in Kuwait also vowed full support to the Lebanese state and called for the necessary political and economic support to preserve its security and stability and sovereignty on all its territories.

Arab leaders called Wednesday for a political solution to the conflict in Syria, overlooking Saudi-backed demands for greater military support for rebel forces to tip the balance in the war.

They were united, however, after a two-day summit in Kuwait in siding with the Palestinians in refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a flashpoint issue threatening to derail U.S.-brokered peace talks.

Syria's opposition called for "sophisticated" arms at an Arab summit in Kuwait Tuesday while Saudi Arabia stressed the need for a change in military balance to "end the impasse".

U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, however, insisted on the need for a "political solution" to the three-year conflict, urging an "end to the supply of arms to all parties".

Saudi Arabia's crown prince said Tuesday the international community has "betrayed" Syrian rebels by failing to arm them against the regime of President Bashar Assad.

"The legitimate Syrian resistance has been betrayed by the international community and left easy prey to tyrant forces," Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz told the Arab summit in Kuwait City.