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By Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced it would prohibit non-Muslims from entering the holy site for the rest of Ramadan. “I see these visits as a raid on our holy site,” he said. That status quo is slowly being chipped away, says Sheikh Rani Abusibr, an Imam of nearly twenty-years at Al-Aqsa. There was a heightened security presence at the holy site when Easter, Ramadan, and Passover celebrations overlapped. Without the status quo arrangement being enforced, there are fears that an already tumultuous region could spiral out of control.

☆ Pope appeals to Russians on Ukraine, decries Middle East violence, in Easter message
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

VATICAN CITY, April 9 (Reuters) - Pope Francis appeared to ask Russians to seek the truth about their country's invasion of Ukraine in his Easter message to the world on Sunday and appealed for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians following recent violence. Honour units of Vatican Swiss Guards and Italian Carabinieri police - both in ceremonial dress - stood at attention. "Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia," he said. As he has done every Easter, Francis called for peace in the Middle East, his appeal made more urgent by recent violence in Jerusalem and cross-border exchanges of fire involving Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The government, which has suspended diplomatic relations with the Vatican, banned outdoor Holy Week processions this year.

☆ The high-speed train in Saudi Arabia that connects Mecca and Medina
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia CNN —In the distant past, Muslim pilgrims came to the holy city of Mecca on foot. Haramain means “two sanctuaries” in Arabic, named for the holy cities of Mecca and Medina that sit on the line’s opposite ends. Business class passengers on the train can watch seat-back TVs. Even on a short journey like the one from Jeddah to KAEC, business class passengers are entitled to a full meal service. When it comes to high-speed railway, it seems as though the Haramain line is only the beginning in Saudi Arabia.

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☆ Iran president blames foreign enemies for wave of schoolgirl poisonings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday blamed a wave of poisonings of hundreds of schoolgirls around the country on Tehran's enemies. Raisi, speaking to a crowd in southern Iran on Friday in a speech carried live on state television, blamed the poisoning on Iran's enemies. He did not say who those enemies were although Iranian leaders habitually accuse the United States and Israel, among others, of acting against it. He is the first government official to report an arrest in connection with the wave of poisonings. "Guards at a parking lot where the fuel tanker was parked also suffered from poisoning," Saleh said, referring to the Pardis site.

☆ Wave of poison attacks on schoolgirls alarms Iranians
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The poison attacks at more than 30 schools in at least four cities started in November in Iran's Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Qom, prompting some parents to take their children out of school, state media reported. His deputy, Younes Panahi, said on Sunday "it was found that some people wanted schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed", according to IRNA state news agency. One boys' school has been targeted in the city of Boroujerd, state media reported. Several senior clerics, lawmakers and politicians have criticised the government for failing to end the poison attacks and giving contradicting reasons for them, with some warning that frustration among families could ignite further protests. A judicial probe into the poisoning cases is under way, state media reported.

☆ HSBC embarks on Saudi Arabia hiring spree amid deals boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) is hiring dealmakers as "fast as it can" in Saudi Arabia to capitalise on a wave of financing activity in the country, the global head of its investment bank told Reuters. The lender aims to increase headcount in its global banking and markets business in Saudi Arabia by 10-15% this year, Greg Guyett, the division's chief executive, told Reuters. HSBC declined to comment on how many such bankers it already employs in Saudi Arabia. HSBC's investment banking business made $65 million in profit in Saudi Arabia in 2021, according to company filings, the smallest such contribution among named countries aside from loss-making France. Saudi Arabia also sold $5 billion in bonds last October, its first international debt sale in almost a year.

☆ Actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi channelled own experience of Iran in thriller 'Holy Spider'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] The 75th Cannes Film Festival - News conference for the film "Holy Spider" in competition - Cannes, France, May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who fled her home country in 2008 in fear after a private video was leaked, says she channelled her own experience in the thriller "Holy Spider", a dark tale of a serial killer in the holy city Mashhad. Amir Ebrahimi plays journalist Rahimi, who is trying to find him and suspects corruption is preventing his arrest. I'm maybe not that victim but I've been in the centre of a society judged by many people," Amir Ebrahimi said. "Holy Spider", selected as Denmark's submission for best international feature for the Oscars, won Amir Ebrahimi the best actress award at Cannes.

☆ Iran's 'death committee' president unyielding in defence of clerical rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Raisi, then deputy prosecutor general for Tehran, was a member of the capital's death committee, according to Amnesty. In 2016, another member of the Tehran "death committee" said, "We are proud to have carried out God's order,” state media reported. "Raisi has been brought up as president for a few reasons, including his brutality, loyalty, and lack of conscience. SANCTIONED BY U.S.Raisi was born in 1960 to a religious family in Iran's northeastern Shi'ite Muslim city of Mashhad. Khamenei, not the president, has the final say on all major policy under Iran's dual political system split between the Shi'ite clerical establishment and the government.

☆ Guide to the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict on Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

VATICAN CITY, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Pope Francis will preside at a funeral Mass in St. Peter's Square on Thursday for his predecessor former Pope Benedict, who died on Saturday at the age of 95. Here is a guide to what is expected to happen:END OF LYING IN STATESince Monday, the body of the Emeritus Pope has been lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica, where more than 160,000 people had filed past to pay their respects as of midday Wednesday. The funeral Mass presided over by Pope Francis is due to start at 9:30 a.m. (0830 GMT). At the end of the Mass, Francis will recite "The Final Commendation and Farewell" asking God to "console the Church". Near the end of the Mass, Francis will sprinkle holy water on the coffin and incense it.

☆ Palestinians welcome U.N. vote on Israel's occupation as 'a victory'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Ali Sawafta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The Palestinians on Saturday welcomed a vote by the United Nations General Assembly requesting that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provide an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - areas the Palestinians want for a state - in a 1967 war. Senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh said on Twitter that the vote "reflects the victory of Palestinian diplomacy." The Palestinians have limited rule in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in a move not recognized internationally. The new Israeli government has pledged to strengthen its settlements in the West Bank but Netanyahu has given no indication of any imminent steps toward annexing them.

☆ U.N. asks World Court to give opinion on Israel's occupation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ammar AwadUNITED NATIONS, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Friday asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - areas the Palestinians want for a state - in a 1967 war. The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top U.N. court dealing with disputes between states. The request for a court opinion on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories was made in a resolution adopted by the General Assembly with 87 votes in favor. Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicized U.N. is completely illegitimate," Israel's U.N.

☆ Jerusalem chef gives tourists a Palestinian taste of life in the Old City
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] A depiction of the Dome of the Rock rests on a tower of zaatar at a spice stall in a market, Jerusalem's Old City, December 11, 2022. REUTERS/Ammar AwadJERUSALEM, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Palestinian chef Izzeldin Bukhari begins the tours he offers to the Old City of Jerusalem with breakfast at Abu Shukri's hummus restaurant which he says serves the perfect balance of chickpeas, tahina and lemon juice. For Palestinians living in the complex and often tense political environment of East Jerusalem, which includes the walled Old City and its holy sites of three major religions, food is a major part of their cultural identity. "It gives me a way to talk about Palestine and the culture of Palestine through the food," said Bukhari. A lesson on food becomes a lesson about a city which has changed hands, like recipes, over generations.

☆ Iran carries out second known execution over protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Iran on Monday executed a second known prisoner detained and convicted amid nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy, airing footage on state television it claimed shows him stabbing two security force members to death and running away. At least 488 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in mid-September, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the protests. Iran’s Interior Ministry said earlier this month that the death toll was 200, including security forces who were killed. A heavily edited state television report aired after Rahnavard’s execution showed clips of him in the courtroom. It executed the first known prisoner detained during demonstrations last Thursday.

CNN —A top Iranian official has said that the nation’s mandatory hijab law is being reviewed, as state media played down the same official’s claim that the country’s much-feared morality police force had been “abolished” amid ongoing protests. Montazeri was also quoted as saying on Saturday that Iran’s morality police had been “abolished,” but Iranian state media strongly pushed back on those comments, saying the interior ministry oversees the force, not the judiciary. The wearing of a hijab in public is currently mandatory for women in Iran under strict Islamic law that is enforced by the country’s so-called morality police. Her death on September 16 touched a nerve in the Islamic Republic, with prominent public figures coming out in support of the movement, including top Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti. “But no official of the Islamic Republic of Iran has said that the Guidance Patrol has been shut,” Al-Alam said Sunday afternoon.

Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERSDUBAI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is working with Lazard (LAZ.N) on funding options and a potential initial public offering of Masar, a $27 billion mega project in the holy city of Mecca, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters. The PIF, Lazard and Masar did not respond to a Reuters query for comment. Bloomberg first reported Lazard was advising the sovereign wealth fund on NEOM. Masar is a 1.2 million square metre urban development project in the western part of Mecca. Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh;Editing by Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Some of the world's worst stampedes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

April 1998: One hundred and nineteen Muslim pilgrims are crushed to death during the haj in Saudi Arabia. Feb 2004: A stampede kills 251 Muslim pilgrims in Saudi Arabia near Jamarat Bridge during the haj ritual stoning of the devil. Jan 2005: At least 265 Hindu pilgrims are killed in a crush near a remote temple in India's Maharashtra state. July 2010: A stampede kills 19 people and injures 342 when people push through a tunnel at the Love Parade techno music festival in Duisburg, Germany. Sept 2015: At least 717 Muslim pilgrims are killed and 863 injured in a crush at the haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The violence in Jerusalem has come amid a period of intense unrest in the occupied West Bank. JERUSALEM—Israel said Thursday it was beefing up the security arrangements in Jerusalem after violent overnight clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians, as recent unrest in the West Bank spread to the holy city during an important Jewish festival. Israeli police fired tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinians who threw stones, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails in one of the fiercest clashes in the contested city in recent months. Israeli police said they arrested 23 Palestinians over the past 24 hours for violent rioting, which included the burning of trash cans and tires to block roads.

His comments have given fuel to the growing interest in a one-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as negotiations to create a sovereign Palestinian state have achieved little in recent years. But such a process insists on a sovereign Palestinian state. 01:18 - Source: CNNThe idea of the two-state solution sounds simple enough – an Israeli state next to a Palestinian state, existing side by side in peace. OPINION: What Trump’s meeting with Abbas meansWhat would a one-state solution look like? It is land that Palestinians, along with the international community, view as territory for a future Palestinian state.

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