Category: Holy sites

Published by Telesur on October 6, 2016. In her first on-the-ground report from Palestine, Abby Martin gives a first-hand look into two of the most attacked refugee camps in the…

First published on September 28, 2016. Previewing Abby Martin’s on-the-ground investigation in Palestine, The Empire Files looks at the long history of Zionist colonization, expansion and expulsion of Palestine’s indigenous…

Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian and socialist activist. He is a professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom,…

Muslim worshippers, on Thursday, at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, confronted extremists  who attempted to perform Jewish religious rituals inside the compound, according to witnesses. WAFA reports that dozens of fanatics…

03/30/17 | International Solidarity Movement | al-Khalil Team On Wednesday, 29th March, 2017, Israeli forces opened a blocked-off street for the first time in almost two decades to allow long-overdue…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided, on Monday evening, to reconsider the policy of banning Knesset members from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, based on developments in the security situation, after the…

Just one day after the Israeli army abducted four civilian guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, the soldiers and police abducted, earlier Tuesday, six more guards, from…

Israeli soldiers invaded, On Monday morning, the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, and abducted two local guards after they prevented the soldiers from confiscating some of…

First published on November 6, 2015. A crisis in Palestine is again all over the headlines. From stabbings and molotov cocktails, to the killing of protesters and anti-Arab lynch mobs–how…

  In its weekly report, the Palestinian National Bureau noted a number of colonial schemes carried out by the Israeli government in an attempt to seize more Palestinian lands, as…

Around 131 of extremist Israeli settlers, on Sunday morning, stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Magharba gate. The settlers were escorted, as usual, by special police forces to protect them.…

~ Madeeha Araj/ National Bureau for Defending of Land and Resisting Settlements/PNN The  National Bureau for Defending of Land and Resisting Settlements has warned against Israeli PM Netanyahu’s maneuvers to…

Groups of extremist Israeli settlers, on Tuesday morning, stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Magharba gate. The settlers were escorted, as usual, with special police forces to protect…

Israeli soldiers abducted, Wednesday, three workers of the Waqf and Islamic Endowment Department, in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem, for refusing to stop maintenance work on the main gate…

Israeli occupation police beat and abducted, on Sunday morning, a Palestinian citizen after he was beaten by Jewish settlers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. An eyewitness said, according to Days of Palestine,…

The Israeli Magistrates Court in Jerusalem has issued a decision regarding the future of Al-Aqsa Mosque, considering it to be a holy place for Jews and that they have the…

Escorted by Israeli police, a group of extremist settlers have again stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque. According to Jerusalemite sources, the settlers, accompanied by rabbis, have provocatively re-stormed the…

A newly formed organization the National Campaign to Lift the Closure in Hebron, marked the anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre with a campaign to #DismantleTheGhetto on February 25th. This year’s…

02/25/17 | International Solidarity Movement | Occupied Palestine   Today, February 25th marks the 23rd commemoration of the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre in Hebron. “ On February 25, 1994, a US-born…

An Israeli soldier was wounded, Thursday at dawn, when Israeli forces entered Nablus to secure hundreds of settlers in Joseph’s Tomb, in the eastern part of Nablus. Hebrew public radio said, according…

A revised version of the controversial ‘Muezzin Bill’, which imposes further restrictions on the Muslim call to prayer, traditionally known as the Azan, in Israel and occupied Jerusalem, was approved…

A group of extremist Israeli settlers stormed, on Sunday morning, the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, from Mughrabi gate,  under heavy guard of Israeli police. Police closed the gate at ten o’clock…

The Israeli Knesset’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation, Sunday, gave approval for a new draft of the muezzin bill prohibiting mosques from using loudspeakers for the ‘Azan’, or call to prayer,…

10th February 2017 | International Solidarity Movement | Al-Khalil Team Israeli forces and colonial settlers on Thursday, the 9th of February, 2017, disrupted a peaceful protest near Qurtuba school on Shuhada…

  Preparations by Palestinian political parties, civil society groups, local committees, and human rights organizations begin this week for the 23rd annual commemoration of the the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre.…

Israeli soldiers, Monday evening, stormed Aida refugee camp, in northern Bethlehem, and assaulted residents, with clashes erupting with local youth. Eyewitnesses told PNN that the soldiers detained some of the youth…

Israeli occupation settlers stormed, on Sunday morning, the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, under Israeli police protection. Jerusalemite sources reported, according to Al Ray, that Israeli settlers carried out suspicious tours…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman approved plans for the construction of 2,500 housing units in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday,…

Groups of Israeli settlers, on Tuesday , stormed into Al-Aqsa  Mosque from Al-Maghariba gate, heavily guarded by Israeli special forces. Jerusalemite sources reported. according to Al Ray, that about 11…

Thousands of Palestinians demonstrate, in the West Bank, against relocating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Written by Ahmad Jaradat, Senior Project Coordinator at the Alternative Information Center…

A day after being inaugurated as U.S. President, Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and invited him to come to the White House in February. Following the phone…

A group of Palestinian activists in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem burned, on Friday, 20/1/2017, pictures of  new US President Donald Trump in his first day of taking…

The year 2016 reportedly witnessed the highest amount of Israeli raids at Al-Aqsa Mosque since East Jerusalem was occupied 50 years ago, Israeli statistics revealed on Sunday. The figures showed, according to…

Palestinian sources warned, Monday, of Israeli intents to establish an illegal settlement outpost on Palestinian land located in eastern Nablus. Head of Deir al-Hatab village council, Abdul Kareem Hussein, said…

PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, on Thursday, expressed concerns regarding the statement of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, who recently praised Israel for being a…

Groups of extremist Israeli settlers stormed, early on Wednesday, Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards from Al-Magariba gate. Jerusalemite sources reported that 176 Israeli settlers stormed the compound, accompanied by tight protection of Israeli police.…

Fifteen buses of Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers in armored vehicles and jeeps, invaded the Nablus area in the northern part of the West Bank Sunday night to hold…

‘Israeli leaders expect the US to be religiously inclusive, but then they refuse to practise the same at home,’ Hanna Swaid told Al Jazeera. ~Jonathan Cook/Days of Palestine As tens…

The Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation Affairs is scheduled to discuss, next Sunday, a new proposal to lift the ban on the Azan (prayer call) in Palestinian mosques, made by…

On Friday, December 16th, 350 children from around Palestine visited Bethlehem’s holy sites to learn first-hand about Palestine’s living Christian heritage. The event was part of the Holy Land Christian…

Israeli extremist settlers and archaeologists, backed by special troops, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Tuesday.  Jerusalemite sources said, according to Al Ray, that 70 Jewish Israeli settlers and 48 archaeologists…

On Reality Asserts Itself, Miko Peled tells Paul Jay of Baltimore’s Real News Network that his father, a famous Israeli General, was ostracized for saying it was necessary to negotiate…

12/06/16 | International Solidarity Movement | al-Khalil Team As for colonial Israel, nothing happens without a reason. Periods of extreme violence are followed by relative calm periods with more intense…

The Mayor of Bethlehem, Vera George Baboun, delivered this years’ Christmas message of peace and justice during the annual official Christmas tree lighting ceremony, held on December 4th, at the…

Nur Arafeh , November 30, 2016, for Al Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network In an unusual move, and after years of neglect, American and European delegations and development agencies have recently been visiting East…

The Israeli government reportedly intends to change the historic names of Jerusalem landmarks into Israeli ones, Hebrew channel 7 reported. According to the site, the  government will change the name…

Israeli colonial settlers stormed, on Sunday morning, the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque from Mughrabi Gate, under protection of Israeli occupation police. Local sources said that the settlers carried out provocative…

Many extremist illegal Israeli colonists, living in an outpost above the Church of Holy Sepulcher, in occupied Jerusalem, attacked the church property, causing damage, and attempted to occupy a room…

Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina warned of the danger of Israel’s latest procedures of establishing legislation outposts and preventing prayer call through mosque loudspeakers, which is said will drag…

by Michael F. Brown John Kirby, US State Department spokesperson and self-described “lover of history,” knows “the media pivot.” He can ably transition from uncomfortable political terrain – Israeli wrongdoing…

(Al Ray archive image) At least 100 Jewish Israelis, including students, toured the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Wednesday, escorted by Israeli police, while the Islamic Endowment (Waqf) condemned recent attempts…

A conference of Israelis seeking to change al-Aqsa’s status quo takes place in parliament. A Temple Mount Lobby is born. The tenth annual the Seekers of Zion conference was held…

(PNN archive image) Israeli authorities reportedly banned the Muslim call to dawn prayer, from being projected over loudspeakers, in three different mosques in the Jerusalem district town of Abu Dis,…

Hebrew Radio, on Thursday, announced that the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Brakhat, has issued a resolution to Israeli officials and police, calling for halting the Azan (Muslim call to prayer)…

Israel illegally transfers rare archaeological artifacts from East Jerusalem into a new Israeli museum. Where is the international community? by Sergio Yahni The construction of Israel’s National Archaeology Campus (NAC),…

Israeli violations of international humanitarian law in the oPt continued during the reporting period (27 October – 02 November 2016). (photo: On Wednesday, Israeli bulldozers demolished a 2-storey building belonging to…

Following a number of controversial excavations in recent weeks to Islamic holy sites, a new violation took place Tuesday by Israeli troops who accompanied Israeli government officials to demolish a…

  The Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs in Palestine has condemned the raising of an Israeli flag at the eastern entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also…

Hardline Jewish Israeli extremists marched on Monday, through annexed East Jerusalem’s Old City area, provoking the city’s Palestinian residents and, in some instances, holding religious rituals at the gates of…

Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered, Wednesday morning, at Buraq plaza, to the west of Al-Aqsa Mosque to celebrate what is called Sukkot, the “Feast of Tabernacles”. By celebrating their rituals,…

Around 200 Israeli extremists, on Tuesday, held provocative tours of Al-Aqsa Mosque, in annexed East Jerusalem’s Old City district, heeding calls by parent organizations to increase Jewish presence on the…

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced that it will not hold the new vote on the Jewishness of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, proclaimed Israeli “Temple Mount”,…

Chairman of UNESCO’s Executive Board, Michael Worbs, says that communications have been underway to reach a consensus over a recent resolution denying Jewish ties to al-Aqsa Mosque, in annexed East…

Photo: The Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of East Jerusalem during a regional dust storm, September 8, 2015. (AFP) Following a controversial UNESCO vote which saw the adoption…

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is expected to vote on a resolution proposal that ‘denies Jewish connections to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound & the Dome of…

soldiers kidnapped, Sunday, two young Palestinian men near Bab al-Qattanin, leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and a third Palestinian near the Sahara Gate, in occupied Jerusalem. The Palestinian Prisoners Society…

Israeli police have reportedly beat a Jerusalemite woman named Hanade Halawani, as she was leaving al-Aqsa mosque. Halawani said that one of the officers beat her while she was leaving the holy site after…

Israeli forces, on Tuesday, served a deportation decision to a Fateh movement secretary from al-Aqsa Mosque, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency. Israeli intelligence summoned Shadi Mtawar to Qashla investigation…

Israeli soldiers forced, on Monday morning, traders from occupied Jerusalem to close their shops. Al Ray sources said that the occupation ordered the traders to close their shops in Salah al-Din,…

Extremist Israeli settlers, under heavy guard of special forces, again stormed Al-Aqsa mosque courtyards via the Maghariba gate, on Sunday morning. Jerusalemite sources reported, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency,…

Updated from: https://imemc.org/article/one-soldier-injured-by-palestinian-fire-as-israeli-army-invades-nablus/ Hundreds of Israeli settlers, on Thursday at dawn, stormed Joseph’s Tomb under heavy guard of Israeli police, in Nablus. One Israeli soldier was injured in violent clashes which…

Israeli settlers and intelligence officers, on Sunday morning, forced their way into al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, according to local sources. Witnesses told WAFA that a group of hard-line Israeli…

Settlers, accompanied by 12 Israeli military soldiers, stormed, on Tuesday morning, Al-Aqsa mosque via the Maghariba gate. According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, Jerusalem sources said that 46 settlers,…

For more than one month, Israeli authorities have planned and began the implementation of a new and permanent checkpoint structure, with other permanent buildings, on the historic grounds of the Ibrahimi…

The Islamic Christian Committee to Defend Jerusalem and Holy Sites warned, on Thursday, against an Israeli project called the “New Face of Modern Jerusalem,” which targets the main western entrance of…

Israeli institutions and organizations are preparing to build the so-called “Third Temple” in place of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and are waiting for a political decision to start, Israeli channels reported. Israeli…

On Sunday, a group of around 250 armed Israeli settlers, accompanied by dozens of Israeli soldiers, invaded the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in the world for…

Israeli authorities in occupied Jerusalem have omitted all texts and pictures related to Palestine, and the struggle against the occupation, from Palestinian school books before its distribution. According to the Hebrew…

Israeli occupation police have decided to raise the number of its stations and security cameras in occupied East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Information Center (PIC) reports that, according to an official…

Dozens of extremist settlers, accompanied by Israeli intelligence agents, stormed  Al Aqsa  Mosque on Tuesday morning, via the Mughrabi gate, amid intensive military presence in the Old City district of annexed…

Extremist settlers, guarded by  Israeli special forces, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque yards on Sunday morning,  via the Mughrabi Gate. The settlers, led by archaeological and historical guides, toured the Al- Aqsa  compound…

Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Saturday morning, a Palestinian guard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and took him to an interrogation center in occupied Jerusalem. The WAFA Palestinian News Agency said the…

Groups of Israeli settlers entered Al Aqsa Mosque, this morning, under tight protection of Israeli police and special forces. PNN reports that, according to the Palestinian Information Center, the extremists…

Israeli forces are installing a stone checkpoint at the entrance of the Ibrahimi Mosque to restrict Palestinians from entering it, to visit and  to pray. As the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee’s…

Dozens of extremist settlers stormed, on Wednesday morning, the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, through the Mughrabi Gate. Sources in Jerusalem reported, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, that  17…

PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi delivered a closing keynote address entitled, “Framing Current Issues in Palestine,” at the 5th Annual Palestinian Diaspora Conference, yesterday, which was sponsored by…

In 2002, the Israeli government decided to construct “a barrier” separating the West Bank and Israel with the declared purpose of improving the security of Israel by preventing Palestinians from…

Groups of extremist Israeli settlers led by the radical rabbi, Yehuda Glick, heavily guarded by Israeli special forces broke into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, early on Tuesday. About 30…

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the broadest coalition in Palestinian civil society, has offered its congratulation and thanks, to both the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly,…

At least 1,000 Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip suffered from food poisoning from eating salted herring on the first on Wednesday and Thursday — the second day of Muslim…

07/07/16 | International Solidarity Movement | al-Khalil team Monday the 6th of June marked the beginning of the Ramadan; the holiest holiday in Islam. The Ramadan is a sacred month…

7/2/16 | International Solidarity Movement | al-Khalil team Today marks the two year anniversary of the brutal kidnap, torture and eventual murder of 16-year-old Palestinian Muhammad Abu Khdeir. The teenager…

The Israeli District Court in occupied Jerusalem released a Palestinian woman, who was held for two weeks, after ordering her under house arrest for ten days, in addition to forcing…

The Jordanian government denounced the escalating Israeli violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, including the Sunday and Monday invasions, and the attacks targeting worshippers and Waqf department employees,…

Israeli authorities released Mohammad, 15, from the West Bank city of Qalqilya, in April after he served six months in prison. (Photo: DCIP / Cody O’Rourke) New York, June 20,…

Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, sent a letter to senior Israeli government, military and water officials demanding that they cease cutting the water supply to…

Dozens of Israeli soldiers, and undercover officers, stormed on Monday morning that courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the al-Magharba Gate, attacked many Palestinian worshipers before closing the Al-Qibli Mosque,…

Twelve Palestinians were injured with rubber-coated metal bullets and teargas during clashes that broke out, between devotees at Al-Aqsa Mosque and Israeli soldiers, on Sunday at dawn. Locals who were at the…

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday condemned ongoing excavations by the Israeli government beneath al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. According to the ministry, the government of Israeli Prime Minister…

A group of Israeli extremists assaulted the Pentecostal prayer procession in Jerusalem this week, shouting and trying to occupy Mount Zion to keep the Christians out. The Israeli police arrested…