Tag Archives: Jerusalem

Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief and ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, slammed the Palestinian leadership for criticizing the decision of some Gulf states to normalise ties with Israel. In an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television aired on Monday, the prince labelled the Palestinian …

The king of Bahrain reiterated the necessity of reaching a fair and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, based on the two state solution, in a call with U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bahrain’s state news agency BNA said on Friday. Bahrain joined the …

U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a Sept. 15 signing ceremony for a groundbreaking Middle East agreement normalizing relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, a senior White House official said on Tuesday. As part of the deal, announced at the White House on Aug. 13 following what officials …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met the Sultan of Oman on Thursday as part of a Middle East tour following a U.S.-brokered deal on normalising relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. In a meeting with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Pompeo said on Twitter he discussed “the …

Saudi Arabia’s price for normalising relations with Israel is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, a senior member of the Saudi royal family reaffirmed on Friday. Prince Turki al-Faisal was apparently responding to U.S. President Donald Trump who said on Wednesday he expected Saudi …

Iran’s approach to the United Arab Emirates will change, the country’s armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri was quoted as saying on Sunday, after a deal between the Arab state and Tehran’s arch foe Israel on normalising ties. “Tehran’s approach to the UAE will change … If …

Israel talked of “history” and Palestinians of “betrayal” after Thursday’s surprise announcement of a deal to normalise relations between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates. In a nationwide televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal would lead to “full and formal peace” with the Gulf …

The Palestinians have suspended contacts with the CIA after announcing an end to security coordination with Israel and the United States in protest at Israeli proposals to annex territory in the West Bank, a Palestinian official said on Thursday. Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Washington …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD   Was watching an annoying science fiction movie the other day called variously The Holy Relic and The Hunt for the Hidden Relic (2002), and was struck by a number of things, good and bad. First, the bad. The movie is German, adapted from a novel …

Israeli police fired sound grenades to disperse Palestinians during confrontations on Sunday outside Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque where tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gathered for the Eid al-Adha holiday, witnesses said. A Palestinian ambulance service said that at least 14 Palestinians were taken to hospitals for treatment. Israel’s Kan public …

The United States on Wednesday blocked an attempt by Kuwait, Indonesia and South Africa to get the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes on the outskirts of Jerusalem, diplomats said. Israel said the 10 apartment buildings demolished on Monday, most of them still under construction, …

The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , that Jerusalem witnesses continued Judaization operations by the Israeli government, the occupation Municipality, the settlement associations and the Israeli judicial system in order to minimize the Palestinian presence in the city through mass forced …

The Palestinian cause represents a core issue for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Saudi King Salman said in his speech during to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Mecca on Saturday, adding the kingdom “refuse any measures that touch the historical and legal position of East Jerusalem”. (This …

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah pledged on Friday to confront the U.S. Middle East plan that President Donald Trump has touted as “the deal of the century.” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the heavily armed Shi’ite movement, said it was unlikely Washington and its allies would launch a war against Tehran …

Member of the PLO Executive Committee, and the DFLP’s Political Bureau, Tayseer Khaled saluted the Palestinian Jerusalemites, as they have boycotted the municipal elections in the occupied East Jerusalem, which emphasizes their solid position on the city despite all the maneuvers exerted by the Israel Government and the occupation Municipality …

Palestinian officials today slammed the US’ decision to downgrade its Jerusalem Consulate, merging it with the US Embassy to Israel. The Palestinian Authority (PA)’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Malki condemned the US decision, saying it “proves that the US administration has adopted the agenda of the far-right Israeli settler …

A senior adviser to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has accused Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, of destroying the chances of Middle East peace in order to win a byelection, after Morrison said he might recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Nabil Shaath said on Tuesday that Palestinian officials were now …

The 2,100-year-old Hebrew inscription on a piece of limestone unearthed in Jerusalem is the earliest-known mention of the full name of the city that is spelled as it is today, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday. The name was inscribed on part of a Roman structure dating to the 1st …

By Mohamed Mohamed*   From presidents Truman to Trump, US administrations have never actually been an “honest broker” of peace between Palestinians and Israelis, regardless of all the rhetoric and official positions. On the contrary, the US has provided tremendous diplomatic, economic, and military support to Israel ever since its creation …

National security adviser John Bolton defended calling Palestine a “so-called state,” saying Wednesday “it is not a state.” Bolton, speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room, said that denying Palestine’s statehood isn’t counterproductive as the Trump administration prepares to unveil a Mideast peace plan. “It’s not a state …

The International Court of Justice on Friday said it has received a complaint from the “State of Palestine” against the United States, arguing that the U.S. government’s placement of its Israeli embassy in Jerusalem violates an international treaty and it should be removed. The ICJ, known as the World Court, …

A Labour government would recognise an independent state of Palestine “as soon as we take office”, Jeremy Corbyn has said. The opposition leader threw his support behind a two-state solution to Middle East peace, saying he wanted a “secure and viable” Palestine alongside Israel. Addressing the Labour Friends of Palestine conference …

Paraguay said on Wednesday it was moving its embassy in Israel back from Occupied Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the closure of Jewish state’s mission in the South American country in retaliation. Palestinian authorities reacted by deciding to “immediately” open an embassy in Paraguay’s …

Except for a few anxious tears, the first day of class at Dheisheh Basic Girls School was an exuberant occasion. Teachers kissed each other on both cheeks. Teenagers in green-and-white striped smocks hugged. Younger girls — white rubber bands and bows keeping ponytails and braids tightly in place — held …

Sweeping new US cuts in humanitarian aid to Palestinians are already hitting hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable people, amid accusations that the Trump administration is using the issue to “blackmail” Palestinians into accepting a peace deal that critics say will favour Israel. Fears of a wholesale withdrawal of …

The Israeli government continues its policy of annexation through creating new facts on the ground and a series of successive settlement projects, exploiting the American umbrella of support and bias toward the occupation and its expansionist colonial policies, particularly in Jerusalem and other areas of the occupied West Bank , …

The Israeli military said Saturday that it had intercepted an activist boat trying to breach a decade-old blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The Swedish-flagged sailboat had 12 passengers aboard, mostly from Sweden but also from Germany, Britain, Spain, France and Canada, Reuters reported. The passengers were in custody and …

Dozens of international Jewish organizations last week issued a joint declaration rejecting the assertion that criticism of Israeli state policy as “racist” — or any criticism of Israel for that matter — was tantamount to “anti-Semitism”. In its declaration, the International Jewish Voice (IJV) — a worldwide coalition of 39 …

The Palestinian Authority (PA) said Saturday the so-called “Deal of the Century” — a backchannel plan to reach a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians – has been thwarted. “Thanks to the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the leadership’s commitment to the national constants, the US-led ‘deal of …

Johannesburg – Christians are no longer welcome in the Holy Land. This was the message from a Palestinian Christian delegation currently visiting South Africa. In an interview with the Afro-Palestine Newswire Service on Sunday, Father Jamal Khader and Dr Rifat Kasis documented the discrimination facing Christians, and how they are being denied the …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD   The Israelis just passed a ‘Jewish nation state’ bill meant to do away with what little progress has been made when it comes to using Arabic names, as well as pushing for yet more settlement building while calling for Jerusalem as the country’s ‘whole …

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that al-Quds [Jerusalem] will remain the capital of Palestine, during a meeting with organisers and officials of Iran’s Hajj organisation in Teheran on Monday. “The satanic and filthy policy that the US has adopted regarding Palestine, and termed the ‘deal of the century’, …

Palestinian president on Saturday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Palestinians are “resisting attempts” by the US to impose decisions on Middle East crisis, during discussion on the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Russian state media said. “We are resisting attempts by the Americans to …

Rawan Suleiman, Palestine’s ambassador to the Netherlands and International Organizations in The Hague, presented on Monday in official ceremonies her credentials to the Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ahmet Üzumcu, as Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to this organization. Suleiman stressed …

China will offer 100 million yuan (US$15 million) in aid to Palestine, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday, pledging greater Chinese financial backing for development in the Middle East. Xi’s remarks were made in a speech to representative of Arab states at a meeting in Beijing. Source: ChannelNews Asia

With President Trump’s promised Middle East peace plan stalled, administration officials are focusing on improving conditions in the impoverished Gaza Strip — a move that could put political pressure on Palestinian leaders to come to the negotiating table. The larger peace proposal has been stymied by the Palestinian Authority, which …

Pope Francis led a summit of Christian leaders on how to promote peace in the Middle East on Saturday and said building walls, occupying territories and religious fanaticism would not resolve conflict in the region. Francis also repeated his view that the “status quo” of the contested city of Jerusalem …

Australia has ceased providing direct aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA), with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop saying the donations could increase the self-governing body’s capacity to pay Palestinians convicted of politically motivated violence. Ms Bishop said funding was cut to the World Bank‘s Multi-Donor Trust Fund for the Palestinian Recovery and Development Program …

A girl holds a Palestinian flag in front of Israeli troops during clashes at a protest against US President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem ahead of International Women’s Day, in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, March 7, 2018. Fatah, the leading Palestinian liberation movement, has launched a well-coordinated campaign designed …

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday arrived in Jeddah. He is heading a UAE delegation to the quartet meeting called for by King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, to discuss ways to support …

Egypt’s government has intensified a crackdown on political opponents, arresting a series of high-profile dissidents in raids on their homes in recent weeks as President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi prepares to begin a new term next month. Those detained in the current sweep are among the country’s most prominent non-Islamist activists, including …

By Madeeha Araj, The policy of Judaization and ethnic cleansing practiced by the occupation authorities to displace the Palestinian population from their land and tighten their life, and expansion of settlements and military areas are continued in violation of international law based on discrimination, racism and hatred. According to the …

Speaking to the hundreds who were demonstrating against the policies of Israel and the United States in downtown Boston, Nidal Al-Azraq of Lexington struck a hopeful yet defiant tone. “The occupation has failed to destroy us,” Al-Azraq, a 40-year-old Palestinian who grew up in a refugee camp, told the crowd …

Ahead of another day of protests, the death toll for those killed by Israeli forces at the Gaza boundary fence climbed to 61 on Tuesday after an infant died overnight from tear gas inhalation along with two others, according to local health officials. Monday’s protests saw a level of bloodshed not seen …