United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon raised deep concern on Tuesday over Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons, saying they must be charged and tried or be released.

Ban highlighted the case of Samer Issawi, who has been refusing food since August 1 and is in a "critical health condition."

The Israeli army said Tuesday it has launched an investigation after a soldier allegedly posted a picture on Instagram of a Palestinian child's head in the crosshairs of his sniper rifle.

The picture, which went viral on the Facebook-owned picture-sharing website before it was removed, shows a child sitting with his back to the sniper's telescope, with its crosshairs on the left side of his head.

Palestinians around the West Bank on Friday staged solidarity events for prisoners held by Israel and on hunger strike, with dozens injured in clashes with Israeli security forces.

Near the West Bank city of Ramallah, some 3,000 Palestinians held a protest march to the Ofer military prison that erupted into violent clashes with soldiers, an Agence France Presse correspondent said.

Israeli army gunfire wounded two Palestinians near northern Gaza's border with the Jewish state on Thursday, an official with the Hamas government said.

Gaza's health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said one was in serious condition after being hit in the chest, while the other was in moderate condition. The incident occurred east of the town of Beit Hanun.

The United States believes there may be a way to rekindle stalemated Middle East peace talks, but wants to hear ideas first from regional leaders, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.

"I believe that there are possibilities," Kerry said after talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, adding he was an optimist at heart.

The number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank grew by 4.7% in 2012, according to figures obtained by Agence France Presse Wednesday from a settler organization.

The settler population stood at 360,000 at beginning of January 2013 compared to 343,000 in January 2012, according to the Yesha Council, the largest organization of West Bank settlers.

A Hamas parliamentary delegation of three MPs arrived in Bulgaria on Wednesday in a groundbreaking visit to a European Union member state, a delegate told Agence France Presse.

"We arrived today in Bulgaria on our first official visit and we will meet state officials, MPs from the ruling party and the opposition to discuss cooperation and explain the Palestinian cause," MP Ismail al-Ashkar said by phone from Sofia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran was now closer to crossing the "red line" after which it would be able to build a nuclear weapon but had not yet reached that stage.

"The Iranians are closer to the red line that I set at the United Nations," his office quoted him as telling visiting American Jewish leaders. "They haven't crossed it yet but they are shortening the time needed to cross it."

The Israeli defense ministry on Sunday confirmed it had given the green light for the construction of 346 new settler homes in two settlements in the southern West Bank, a statement said.

"The defense ministry has approved plans for 200 housing units in Tekoa and 146 housing units in Nokdim," the ministry said.

Israel's army on Saturday forced Palestinian activists to evacuate a West Bank encampment they tried to set up to protest against settlement building, witnesses said.

Soldiers dismantled tents that were being erected in two different areas near the town of Yatta in the southern West Bank, and forced activists to leave, the Palestinian witnesses said.