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☆ Factbox: Where is Al Aqsa mosque and why is it so important in Islam?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 5 (Reuters) - A Israeli police raid on Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque on Wednesday has triggered a furious reaction from Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and the wider Arab and Muslim world. WHERE AND WHAT IS THE AL-AQSA MOSQUE? The Al-Aqsa compound has long been a flashpoint for deadly violence over matters of sovereignty and religion in Jerusalem. Under the longstanding "status quo" arrangement governing the area, which Israel says it maintains, non-Muslims can visit but only Muslims are allowed to worship in the mosque compound. Palestinians protested, and there were violent clashes that quickly escalated into the second Palestinian uprising, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

☆ Israeli raid at Al-Aqsa mosque risks igniting violence, Arab League says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Israeli security forces take position at the Al-Aqsa compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, while tension arises during clashes with Palestinians in Jerusalem's Old City, April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Ammar AwadCAIRO, April 5 (Reuters) - The Arab League on Wednesday strongly condemned an Israeli police raid on Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, saying it put regional stability at risk. In a statement issued after an emergency meeting on the incident, the League condemned what it called "crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against defenceless Muslim worshippers" in the mosque. The pre-dawn raid risked "igniting a spiral of violence that threatens security and stability in the region and the world", it added. Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit had earlier condemned the raid in a separate statement.

☆ Israeli police shoot man dead near Muslim holy site
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Israeli police stand guard near a security incident scene near Al-Aqsa compound also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, April 1, 2023. The incident overnight at the edge of the Al Aqsa Mosque complex, an icon of Palestinian nationalism, came at a high point of Muslim attendance for the holy month of Ramadan. The sacred site, known to Muslims as The Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, remained relatively quiet on Saturday. The slain man was identified as Mohammad Khaled al-Osaib, 26, a resident of Bedouin town Hura in south Israel. Writing by Dan Williams Editing by Chris Reese and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In photos: The holy month of Ramadan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Worshippers pray on the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in front of the Dome of the Rock, on the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, March 24, 2023....more

JERUSALEM, March 24 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers flocked to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan for noon prayers, which passed peacefully amid tight security imposed after months of escalating tension and violence. "I cannot describe to you how happy I am to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque. I'm 50 years old and they only recently removed the security ban that had prevented me from coming here," said Nasser Abu Saleh, a resident of the West Bank city of Hebron. The Muslim Waqf, custodians who manage the site which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, said around 100,000 people had visited for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan. [1/5] Palestinians make their way through an Israeli checkpoint to attend the first Friday prayers of Ramadan in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 24, 2023.

☆ Netanyahu summons Israeli defence minister as judicial overhaul strains coalition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, March 23 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned his defence chief on Thursday after local media reported the minister had called for a halt to a planned judicial overhaul that has set off unprecedented protests, including within the military. Netanyahu's office did not elaborate on the reasons for the summons of Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, a senior member of his conservative Likud party, but said the prime minister would deliver televised remarks at 8:40 p.m. (1840 GMT). Israeli media had earlier reported that Gallant, a former deputy chief of the armed forces, would convene his own news conference. Protesters heckled a Cabinet minister and unfurled a massive replica of the country's Declaration of Independence on a wall of Jerusalem's Old City. [1/7] Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant attends a news conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, Israel, March 9, 2023.

☆ Egypt hosts Israeli-Palestinian talks in push for pre-Ramadan calm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, March 19 (Reuters) - Egypt hosts Israeli and Palestinian officials on Sunday in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh in a U.S. and Jordanian backed effort to calm a surge of violence in the West Bank ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. The meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh "aims to support dialogue between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to work to stop unilateral actions and escalation, and break the existing cycle of violence and achieve calm", a statement from Egypt's foreign ministry said. This could "facilitate the creation of a climate suitable for the resumption of the peace process", it added. The Palestinians aim to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital - territories Israel captured in a 1967 war. But peace talks have been stalled since 2014 and Palestinians say Jewish settlement expansion has undermined the chances of a viable state being established.

☆ Jordan hosting Israeli-Palestinian talks to avert escalation in violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The meeting is aimed at giving Palestinians hope for a political future, a senior Jordanian official told Reuters. In addition to averting violence, it is hoped Sunday's meeting will halt unilateral measures by Israel, the Jordanian official said. Jordan has been concerned about stepped-up Jewish settlement building, and has accused Israel of trying to change the status quo in Jerusalem's holy sites. Most world powers view as illegal the settlements Israel has built on land it captured in a 1967 war with Arab powers. Israel disputes that and cites biblical, historical and political links to the West Bank, as well as security interests.

☆ Jerusalem Christians say they feel growing harassment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ammar Awad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Ammar AwadJERUSALEM, Feb 13 (Reuters) - For several weeks, members of the small Christian community in Jerusalem's Old City say they have felt under pressure from what they say is growing harassment and intimidation from violent Jewish ultranationalists. The church stands at the place where Christ is held to have taken the cross after being condemned to death by crucifixion. "In the past two months, I would say, since the beginning of the new government, attacks like this are becoming very, very usual," said Miran Krikorian, a restaurant owner in the Old City. Israeli police say they have stepped up patrols around Christian sites in Jerusalem as churches report abuse by Jews following the swearing-in of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government. The cramped warren of alleyways that makes up the Old City surrounds some of the holiest sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims, and the local communities have long developed ways of living together.

☆ A woman who thought she could work remotely bought a house 1,000 miles from home. Now she's been called back to the office.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jamie Sexton, 44, bought a house in Oregon when she didn't think she could afford San Diego prices. Sexton was told she could work remotely but is now being asked to return to her California office. She was paying $4,000 a month to rent a two-bedroom home in La Jolla, a coastal suburb 20 minutes north of downtown San Diego. She didn't think she could afford to buy in San Diego, where homes cost $900,000. Did you buy a home with remote work in mind, and have since been called back to the office?

☆ Palestinian teenager dreamt of being a chef before attack, teachers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Henriette Chacar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Although he grew up in Silwan, a cauldron of Palestinian-Israeli tensions near Jerusalem's Old City, Aleiwat had not shown an interest in politics, teachers, relatives, and children from his area told Reuters. They described a popular teenager with a strong personality, a passion for football and an ambition to be a chef. The Jan. 28 attack in Silwan is part of a recent surge of violence in Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. After the Jan. 28 attack, Israeli forces took control of Aleiwat's family home and the government ordered it sealed. Abbasi and other relatives said Aleiwat's family had for years feared their home would be demolished because it was built without the required Israeli permissions.

Now Israel has normalised relations with more Arab states, while Palestinians have grown more isolated and divided. Most world powers consider Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal. Israel says its West Bank raids targeted militants such as the suspects behind deadly attacks carried out by Palestinians inside Israel last year. "Each area of the West Bank is witnessing some form of armed clashes, but these are not united mass-scale movements," said Tahani Mustafa of the International Crisis Group. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Israel and the West Bank this week.

[1/2] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as he convenes a weekly cabinet meeting amid surge of violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank, at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, January 29, 2023. The blue-chip Tel Aviv 35 index (.TA35) was 1.% lower in afternoon trade, while the broader TA-125 index (.TA125) dipped 1.7%. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to comment to Reuters. Critics have said the move will compromise the independence of the judiciary and undermine Israel's democratic system of checks and balances. There was no sign of a large-scale military operation in the works, and Netanyahu said Israel was not seeking an escalation.

☆ The Pool of Siloam, where the Bible says Jesus healed a blind man, will be open to the public for the first time in nearly 2,000 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Pool of Siloam will be fully excavated and open to the public for the first time in almost 2,000 years. The New Testament says it is where Jesus performed the miracle of healing a blind man. The pool originally functioned as part of Jerusalem's ancient water system, later becoming a site of religious significance for ancient Jewish people. A water company carrying out infrastructure work for a sewage pipe accidentally discovered steps to the pool, Israeli authorities said in the statement. Moshe Lion, Jerusalem's mayor, described the Pool of Siloam in a statement as "a site of historic, national, and international significance."

☆ Analysis: Will Netanyahu clip the wings of his new cabinet hawks?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Both are West Bank settlers averse to Palestinians' self-rule - let alone their hopes of statehood. Netanyahu's previous 15 years as premier saw him feathering the nests of the hawks in his cabinet - or clipping their wings - as he deemed necessary. But that may have to wait, as Ben-Gvir's portfolio does not grant major powers in the West Bank, which is under the overall control of the military. Arguably, Ben-Gvir, 46, and Smotrich, 42, can afford to shelve some of their agendas for this round with Netanyahu, 73. Smotrich's advocacy of Jewish claims on the West Bank is informed by a doctrinaire faith in Bible prophesy.

☆ 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.

☆ Israel's Ben-Gvir, in leaked audio, cautious on far-right agenda in government
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But Ben-Gvir, now a lawyer, says his positions have become more moderate. A soldier was suspended on Friday after being videotaped warning pro-Palestinian activists in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron: "Ben-Gvir will sort this place out." "Every bill you propose has very, very broad consequences and impacts," Ben-Gvir says in the recording. Queried by Army Radio, Ben-Gvir verified the recording. Palestinians and Jordan regard Jewish prayer there as a major provocation.

☆ Pope urges Israelis, Palestinians, to seek dialogue after surge in violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday urged Israeli and Palestinian authorities to make greater efforts to seek dialogue following recent deadly bomb attacks in Jerusalem and clashes in the occupied West Bank. Speaking to tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his Sunday blessing, Francis said violence was "killing the future" for both. Late on Tuesday night, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes in the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Nablus. The pope mentioned both incidents, calling the Jerusalem blasts "vile", and saying that he was concerned about the increase of violence in the past few months. "Violence kills the future, interrupting the lives of the youngest and weakening the hopes for peace.

☆ Twin blasts in Jerusalem kill one in suspected Palestinian attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"There has not been such a coordinated attack in Jerusalem for many years," police spokesman Eli Levi told Army Radio. [1/6] A damaged bus is seen following an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem November 23, 2022. In Gaza, a spokesman for Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the Jerusalem explosions but stopped short of claiming responsibility. The coordinated blasts appeared to be a step up from a string of mostly Palestinian lone-wolf stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks this year. But families of slain Palestinian militants whose remains are in Israeli custody called for an exchange of corpses.

☆ Twin blasts in Jerusalem wound at least 15
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A damaged bus is seen following an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem November 23, 2022. Television images showed debris strewn around the scene of the first blast, which was cordoned off by emergency services. A spokesman for the Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the apparent bombings but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said the bombings "resulted from the crimes conducted by the occupation and the settlers". Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Kim Coghill, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A travel planner for the ultrawealthy shares what goes into organizing $800,000 trips to exclusive locations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Jules Maury is the head of Scott Dunn Private, an ultraexclusive division of a luxury travel firm. She was raised in a wealthy family and learned how to plan luxury trips by taking them herself. Jules Maury was 12 when she made her first hotel booking. She handles trips for the world's wealthiest people along with a team of four travel advisors and six booking specialists. But even an expert travel planner lacks some knowledgeMaury still relishes the chance to travel, and she spends much of the year on the road, often attending luxury travel shows like ILTM in Cannes or Pure in Marrakech.

☆ I give Salem witch trial tours at Halloween. It's definitely 18+ content, but I try to humanize the victims.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Ann Matica | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She gives historically accurate Salem Witch Trial walking tours that are two hours long. I first got a job doing tours at the Witch House, which is the only remaining structure you can visit in Salem with any ties to the Salem witch trials. I've been studying the Salem witch trials on my own since I was 15, and I came to Salem for the first time at that age. I picked up a book by Marilynne K. Roach, which is like the definitive book on the Salem witch trials, and I got into learning about it from there. I have 12 stops on my tour, including the Salem Witch Trial Memorial, which is where we end our tours.

☆ Palestinians protest as Jerusalem refugee camp locked down
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman reads in a commercial thoroughfare which is closed in protest of an Israeli clampdown on Jerusalem's outlying Shuafat refugee camp after a Palestinian gunman carried out a deadly attack on a military checkpoint, in Jerusalem's Old City October 12, 2022. REUTERS/Ammar AwadJERUSALEM, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Palestinians protested at checkpoints into a major refugee camp in Jerusalem on Wednesday and shops across the West Bank closed, following an Israeli security crackdown after two soldiers died in shooting attacks this week. Earlier this week, security forces began a manhunt for the killer of an 18-year-old soldier who was shot while on duty at a checkpoint into the Shuafat refugee camp on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem. Many shops in East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank were closed as a mark of protest, while private schools also told pupils to stay at home. "The strike is in solidarity with Shuafat refugee camp and how it is being dealt with," said Jerusalem resident Khaled Alqam.

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