Latest news with #AlAqsa
Arab News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli settlers hold wedding ceremony inside Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection
LONDON: Israeli authorities permitted a wedding engagement ceremony for Jewish settlers within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Old City of East Jerusalem on Monday. The Palestinian Authority's Jerusalem Governorate deemed the move 'provocative and humiliating,' describing it as a transformation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque into what resembles a public hall for celebrations by extremist settlers. '(This is) a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the mosque, a serious provocation of the feelings of Muslims, and a deliberate attempt to impose a new reality that erases the Islamic identity of the site and paves the way for its division temporally and spatially,' the Jerusalem Governorate said. On Monday, settlers, accompanied by Israeli police, toured the Al-Aqsa compound. Police prevented Palestinians from approaching the settlers to disrupt the ceremony, according to the Wafa news agency. The Jerusalem Governorate said that Israeli policies aim to impose sovereignty on Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that these repeated provocations contradict international law and the 2016 UNESCO resolution, which recognized Al-Aqsa Mosque as an Islamic heritage site and called for its preservation. Since 1967, the Jerusalem Endowments Council, which operates under Jordan's Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, has been the legal authority responsible for managing and regulating the affairs of Al-Aqsa. However, this status quo has been challenged in recent years by extremist settlers who regularly tour the site under the protection of Israeli police and are often accompanied by government officials and far-right ministers and activists.
Arab News
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Discrimination in East Jerusalem
Periods of war are exceptional times, during which it is perfectly understandable that governments would place certain restrictions on the population. When there is danger to the public from rockets, drones or flying debris, officials understandably prefer that large gatherings be avoided. In normal emergencies, in normal countries, this is reasonable and acceptable. But in the case of East Jerusalem, the Israeli government takes the issue to an exaggerated, maximum degree. It uses the war situation to punish the Palestinian population, using the justification that they are simply trying to protect them. The Old City of Jerusalem is home to more than 30,000 Palestinians. It is also the main shopping area for much of the city as a whole, the population of which numbers over 300,000. The Old City is also home to the cradles of world religions. While the Israeli-initiated war on Iran has raged this past week, Israel unilaterally closed the Old City of Jerusalem to everyone except those who can prove, with ID cards, that they have a local address. In addition, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were closed by Israeli security orders. On the surface, these might appear to be prudent and natural actions to protect the population. But when one realizes that other large shopping areas, such as West Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda, have remained open, it becomes clear that this is a punitive measure and not a genuine effort to protect people. Regarding the holy places, again, if the policy had been applied to all religious sites, one would concede that it was a decision reached out of caution. But when it becomes clear that the Buraq Wall, also known as the Western Wall, which is a holy site to Jews, has remained open during this period (although few people have visited it), one concludes that the closure of the other sites is not a simple security decision but an unacceptable, prejudicial action based on ethnic and religious discrimination. Furthermore, Israeli security officials, using the war-like atmosphere as an excuse, have been bullying local muezzins (those who call Muslims to prayer) to considerably reduce the volume of their daily calls or even stop them altogether. The Palestinians of Jerusalem have no one to defend them. Daoud Kuttab In addition to the closures of public spaces and the discrimination against the entire Old City of Jerusalem, Israeli police have been acting in a discriminatory manner against pedestrians. Anyone spotted filming with a cellphone is harassed and ordered to surrender the device so that officers can check whether they have liked any social media posts that might be deemed to indicate support for Iran. In one incident, a Palestinian child and a young man were shot in the A-Tur neighborhood of the city. The Palestinians of Jerusalem, unfortunately, have no one to defend them, or to plead with the government that collects their taxes to provide compensation for the merchants of the Old City for the large losses they are suffering, or at least to suspend the Arnona municipal property tax. Since the sudden death of Faisal Al-Husseini in Kuwait in 2001, Palestinians in Jerusalem have not been able to organize and unite under any single leader or spokesperson, and so there has been no representative or leadership in a position to lobby for them. Of course, the Israelis make the most of this leaderless reality for Palestinians in the city, and fight tooth and nail against any nationalist efforts in Jerusalem. Orient House, which served as the headquarters for Al-Husseini and his Arab Studies Society, was seized by Israeli authorities following his death and has remained closed for more than two decades as a result of a recurring six-month order. Other local organizations, including the chamber of commerce and the tourism union, are also regularly closed. Cultural centers that attempt to organize any public events that Israeli authorities deem to have nationalistic undertones or to be connected, directly or indirectly, with the Palestinian government in Ramallah are automatically shut down by order of the Israeli police. Even events such as a children's puppet festival at the Hakawati Theatre, a screening of a documentary about the drug problem East Jerusalemites are facing, or a graduation ceremony sponsored by a local club, have been suddenly canceled on the orders of the Israeli army, using nearly century-old British Mandate emergency regulations. Despite all of these concerted Israeli efforts, and following a public protest in the form of a statement issued by a nongovernmental organization in Jerusalem criticizing the closure of the holy sites, on Thursday the Israelis finally permitted Muslim worshippers to attend prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, albeit a mere 450 of them. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre also finally reopened on Tuesday to a handful of local Christian worshippers, and the Catholic Latin Patriarch was allowed to hold religious ceremonies, though they were attended by only a few. While the situation has slowly, through the force of public pressure, started to return somewhat to normal, there is no doubt that the ways in which Israeli authorities deal with the Palestinians of Jerusalem and the Jewish Israelis of Jerusalem are totally different.
India.com
19-06-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Iran Israel war: Iran declared war against Israel in name of Haider and Khyber... what's the 1400-year-old connection...
Iran Israel war: Iran declared war against Israel in name of Haider and Khyber... what's the 1400-year-old connection... The Iran-Israel war seems to be taking a terrible form. Statements by US President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu have already indicated this, but Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an Instagram post on the sixth day of the conflict that the war has begun. Khamenei wrote on Instagram, 'In the name of the great Heydar, the battle begins. Ali returns to Khyber with his Zulfiqar.' There is a possibility of uproar in Israel after this post. Ali Khamenei used 4 such words in his post, which have attracted everyone's attention. These include Haider, Ali, Zulfikar and Khaiber. Let us try to know the meaning of these words, their history and their relation with the recent war. Haider and Ali Haider is a name often used for Hazrat Ali, whom Shia Muslims consider the first Imam and successor to the Prophet Muhammad. He was a central figure in Islamic history and Sunni Muslims consider him the fourth Caliph. He was also the nephew of the Prophet Mohammed and the husband of his daughter Zehra Fatima. Ali means 'lion' in Arabic, symbolising strength, courage and leadership. The Supreme Leader's use of the word 'Haider' while declaring war is a reminder of Ali's legacy and is often used to garner support in times of conflict. Meaning of 'Zulfiqar' Ali Khamenei wrote in his post, 'Ali returns to 'Khyber' with his 'Zulfiqar'.' Zulfiqar is the double-edged sword of Imam Ali, which in Islamic tradition symbolizes divine justice, power and victory. It is often shown in posters and banners at Shia ceremonies and represents Ali's rule. Ali Khamenei's use of Zulfiqar in his post shows readiness for war and the imagination of Allah's help against enemies. It is also a symbolic declaration of strength and resolve. Khayber where Muslims defeated Jews Khayber is associated with one of the historic battles of Islam. The Battle of Khayber was fought in 628 AD, in which Prophet Muhammad and his followers led by Imam Ali defeated the Jewish tribes of Khayber in the Arabian Peninsula. The Battle of Khayber symbolizes victory over a dangerous and harmful enemy. Khayber of Arabia was a prosperous and strategically important area, which could pose a threat to Medina. The Jewish tribes here had strong forts and military resources. Prophet Muhammad and the Muslims attacked Khayber and took control of this area and ensured the safety of Medina, so that no other attack could happen in the future. Khyber's connection with today's war Iran is trying to portray the war between Israel and Israel as a war between Muslims and Jews. Iran attributes its hostility to Israel to the occupation of Palestine and the oppression of Muslims there. The third holiest mosque of Islam, Al Aqsa, is located in the occupied Palestinian city of Jerusalem. In Iran, 'Khyber' is often used as a code word for opponents of Israel or Jews, which reminds of the victory of Muslims over Jews in history and gives it a religious form.
Arab News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Israel closes Al-Aqsa Mosque, Church of the Holy Sepulchre under ‘emergency' measures
LONDON: Israeli authorities in occupied East Jerusalem have imposed a closure for the fifth consecutive day on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre while barring non-resident visitors from entering the Old City. Israel announced a state of emergency after beginning airstrikes against Iran on Friday. Tehran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at Israeli coastal towns and cities. Israel's emergency measures prevented Palestinians and worshipers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards, as well as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Palestinian Authority's Jerusalem Governorate added on Tuesday that most shops in the Old City had been closed, with only essential stores remaining open since Friday, Wafa news agency reported. Israeli authorities have permitted settlers to visit the area surrounding the Al-Aqsa compound and perform Jewish prayers and rituals, while forces have intensified daily raids on Palestinian towns and suburbs in Jerusalem, including the Mount of Olives, Silwan, Issawiya, Shufaat, Hizma, Eizariya, Bir Nabala and Al-Ram, Wafa added. East Jerusalem is surrounded by 84 checkpoints and barriers, including recently installed earth mounds and gates. Although Jerusalem has been spared so far from the Israel-Iran conflict, Palestinians in the city fear for their safety due to a lack of proper shelters within their towns and neighborhoods, Wafa reported. Israeli authorities in Jerusalem have announced the opening of schools to be used as shelters from Iranian missile attacks. However, some Palestinian experts warned that the facilities may not be large enough to accommodate a significant number of residents, and some are even unsuitable for receiving civilians.
Reuters
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
In pictures: Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha
[1/24] A Palestinian girl in traditional attire poses for a picture, on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha on the Al-Aqsa compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
