The Israeli army will put thousands of extra troops on alert in the West Bank ahead of Friday prayers at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, fearing that clashes over security measures implemented at the holy site will spread. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that it would be putting five extra battalions on call in…
Israeli authorities have reopened the Noble Sanctuary upon which the al-Aqsa Mosque is situated after closing the area to worshippers and pilgrims for the first time in two decades. The closure came after two Israeli policemen were killed by three Arab-Israeli citizens. The three Arab-Israelis were subsequently shot dead. The reopening of the Noble Sanctuary…
Palestinian worshippers congregated for prayers outside one of the main entrances to the Al-Aqsa mosque, refusing to enter because of new metal detectors installed at entrances as the holy site re-opened for the first time on Sunday since a two-day closure following a deadly shootout. Sheikh Omar Qiswani, head of the Islamic Waqf, which manages…
The grand mufti of Jerusalem was detained by Israeli security forces on Friday after three attackers opened fire on Israeli police in Jerusalem’s Old City, killing two. The attackers fled to a nearby highly sensitive holy site before being killed by security forces, police said. The three attackers were killed at the site known to…
President Donald Trump has twice tried to institute a travel ban on all refugees from six or seven Muslim-majority countries. During the presidential campaign, Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” slated to last “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” His Muslim ban…
A decision by Donald Trump this Thursday could prove fateful for the immediate future of Jerusalem, the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the region. He must decide whether to renew a presidential waiver, signed by his predecessor, Barack Obama, that expires on June 1. The six-month waiver delays implementing a law passed by Congress in 1995…
