AMMAN: The excitement in Jerusalem’s Old City began when two trucks belonging to the Israeli-run Jerusalem Municipality arrived to pick up the metal sidings and the hanging scaffolds with cameras that were the latest obstacles to the return of Muslims to pray in their mosque.
Video images of Israelis dismantling metal bars and scaffolding with cameras spread on social media and, within minutes, the Old City of Jerusalem returned to life. Palestinians crowded every gate, even before the Lions’ Gate and Bab Al-Majles were opened. Celebrations and songs filled the air and were immediately broadcast live on various social media networks.
The removal of the metal barriers was the fulfillment of the final condition set by the newly-established Islamic Religious Reference Group for Muslims to return and pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It would still be another 15 hours before proper prayers would commence in Al-Aqsa Mosque. The mosque has been closed since 7 a.m on July 14, a total of 13 days and eight hours. During this period, the faithful continued to carry out their five daily prayers in the streets outside the mosque.
Naser Abu Sharifa, senior guard at the mosque, along with those taking turns outside Bab Al-Majles, waited for a chance to enter and resume their positions in the 144-dunum compound known as Haram Al-Sharif, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. He could not control his excitement.
“Today is a wonderful day that has brought back a sliver of our pride and dignity and allowed us to reunite with our beloved mosque,” he said.
Bernard Sabella, an elected Palestinian member for the Christian seat, told Arab News that the crisis had brought Palestinian Christians and Muslims together in defense of Al-Aqsa Mosque and made sure that Israel understood that its actions had crossed a red line.
“You cannot play with religious sensitivities,” he told Arab News by phone from Jerusalem.
“Such provocations come back like a boomerang and hit you in the face.”
The morning of July 27 began with a visit by the mufti of Jerusalem — detained by the Israelis for a few hours on July 14 — along with the governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Husseini, to Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas had received the day before a phone call from King Abdallah of Jordan in which both sides had agreed that Israel must allow everything to return to the status quo before July 14.
The Waqf lawyer, Jamal Abu Toumeh, who was the connection between Israel and the Jordanian Waqf, helped ensure that all sides understood what was agreed to, which paved the way to the understanding that led to the breakthrough. Arab News learned this from a source in Jerusalem’s Waqf.
Upon the return of the mufti from Ramallah, the newly-established Islamic Religious Reference Group held a press conference in which a carefully-worded four-page statement was read out. It began with condolences for those who had been killed and wishes for the recovery of those injured in the past two weeks of protests. Thousands had to endure relentless Israeli security attempts to break up the nonviolent act of prayer on the streets of Jerusalem.
The statement also included praise for all those who stood with Al-Aqsa and the Palestinians and called on all to join them in Asr (afternoon) prayer in Al-Aqsa. As much as they wanted to enter the mosque immediately, both young and old waited until their leaders led the way to a cleared entrance to the mosque and they prayed the afternoon prayer together.
The victory, however, was not left undisturbed by Israel. Although hundreds of Israeli police are deployed in the Old City, Israel said it could not find a mere dozen to man the various gates of Al-Aqsa and therefore, they left them closed.
The young Palestinians who had entered the mosque and prayed would not have any of it and they broke open the doors from inside to the anger of the Israelis who rushed in with tear gas and stun grenades.
Ekrima Sabri, a leading cleric and mosque preacher at Al-Aqsa, told Sky News that Israel could not accept that they had lost this battle and that Palestinian perseverance had won.
All eyes will be on Al-Aqsa Mosque this morning as Friday prayers are set to resume after two weeks.
Old City of Jerusalem returns to life as Israelis back off
Old City of Jerusalem returns to life as Israelis back off
Israel rallies global support to win release of a woman believed kidnapped in Iraq
Israel and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations
JERUSALEM: A senior Israeli official says the government is working with allies in a renewed push to win the freedom of an Israeli-Russian researcher who is believed to have been kidnapped in Iraq nearly two years ago.
The official said Thursday that the matter was raised in a meeting of special envoys for hostage affairs in Jerusalem this week.
He said the envoys met the family of Elizabeth Tsurkov and that Israel asked the representatives – from the US, UK, Germany, Austria and Canada – to have their embassies in Baghdad lobby the Iraqi government and search for a way to start negotiations. Israel and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations. He said he hopes other countries will help.
“We are counting on our allies,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing closed-door discussions. “And I hope that other nations will suggest assistance in helping us release Elizabeth. Many nations have embassies and contacts with the Iraqi government.”
Tsurkov, a 38-year-old student at Princeton University, disappeared in Baghdad in March 2023 while doing research for her doctorate. She had entered the country on her Russian passport. The only sign she was alive has been a video broadcast in November 2023 on an Iraqi television station and circulated on pro-Iranian social media purporting to show her.
No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. But Israel believes she is being held by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia that it says also has ties to the Iraqi government.
The Israeli official said that after months of covert efforts, Israel believes the “changes in the region” have created an opportunity to work publicly for her release.
During 15 months of war, Israel has struck Iran and its allies, and Iran’s regional influence has diminished. Iraq also appears to have pressured militia groups into halting their aerial attacks against Israel.
Gaza war deaths pass 46,000
- The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded
- The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants
GAZA: Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict.
The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. It has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It blames Hamas for their deaths because it says the militants operate in residential areas.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now packed into sprawling tent camps along the coast with limited access to food and other essentials. Israel has also repeatedly struck what it claims are militants hiding in shelters and hospitals, often killing women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.
All Jordanians living in Los Angeles are fine, Foreign Ministry says
- At least 5 people have been killed by wildfires raging in and around the US city; more than 100,000 forced to flee homes
LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said on Thursday that all Jordanian nationals living in Los Angeles, California, are “fine” as deadly wildfires continue to rage through neighborhoods in several areas in and around the US city.
The fires have claimed at least five lives, more than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, and hundreds of buildings have burned down.
The ministry sent its sincere condolences to the victims, the American people and the US government, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Japan grants Sudan about $1 million in food aid
- The statement underscored the urgency of the situation in Sudan
- The humanitarian situation has significantly worsened as the fighting areas have expanded
TOKYO: Japan, in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP), decided to grant Sudan 150 million yen (nearly $1 million) as ‘food aid’ to improve the situation in that country, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo stated.
Suzuki Satoshi, Japan’s Ambassador to International Organizations in Rome, and Ms. Rania Dagash-Kamara, Assistant Executive Director of the Partnerships and Innovation Department, World Food Programme, signed and exchanged notes regarding the grant aid in Rome on January 8th.
The statement underscored the urgency of the situation in Sudan, where armed conflict between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023.
The humanitarian situation has significantly worsened as the fighting areas have expanded and become protracted.
According to the WFP, several regions in Sudan are at risk of famine, approximately half of the population is facing acute food insecurity, and hunger-related deaths have been recorded.
At the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) held in August 2022, Japan announced its commitment to “responding to the food crisis and supporting sustainable agricultural production.” This cooperation is a concrete step in realizing this commitment.
The Republic of Sudan has an area of approximately 1.88 million square kilometers (about five times the size of Japan), a population of approximately 50.04 million, and a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $880, according to the 2023 World Bank data.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, respected army chief
- Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in Lebanon
- The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected
BEIRUT: Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s army chief who was elected president on Thursday, is a political neophyte whose position as head of one of the country’s most respected institutions helped end a two-year deadlock.
Widely seen as the preferred pick of army backer the United States, he is perceived as being best placed to maintain a fragile ceasefire and pull the country out of financial collapse.
After being sworn in at parliament, Aoun said “a new phase in Lebanon’s history” was beginning.
Analysts said Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday and is considered a man of “personal integrity,” was the right candidate to finally replace Michel Aoun — no relation — whose term as president ended in October 2022, without a successor until now.
A dozen previous attempts to choose a president failed amid tensions between Hezbollah and its opponents, who have accused the Shiite group of seeking to impose its preferred candidate.
Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in a country riven by sectarian and political divides.
He has navigated it through a blistering financial crisis that has drastically slashed the salaries of its 80,000 soldiers, forcing him to accept international aid.
Since late November, he oversaw the gradual mobilization of the armed forces in south Lebanon after a ceasefire ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the truce, the Lebanese army has been deploying progressively alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as Israeli forces withdraw, a process they have to finish by January 26.
Speaking on Thursday, Aoun said the state would have “a monopoly” on arms.
The general with broad shoulders and a shaved head has stepped up talks with visiting foreign dignitaries since becoming army chief.
The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected.
Aoun “has a reputation of personal integrity,” said Karim Bitar, an international relations expert at Beirut’s Saint-Joseph University.
He came to prominence after leading the army in a battle to drive out Daesh from a mountainous area along the Syrian border.
“Within the Lebanese army, he is perceived as someone who is dedicated... who has the national interest at heart, and who has been trying to consolidate this institution, which is the last non-sectarian institution still on its feet in the country,” Bitar told AFP.
Aoun was set to retire in January last year, but has had his mandate extended twice — most recently in November.
Mohanad Hage Ali, from the Carnegie Middle East Center, noted that “being the head of US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces, Joseph Aoun has ties to the United States.”
“While he maintained relations with everyone, Hezbollah-affiliated media often criticized him” for those US ties, he told AFP.
Washington is the main financial backer of Lebanon’s army, which also receives support from other countries including Qatar.
An international conference in Paris last month raised $200 million to support the armed forces.
The military has been hit hard by Lebanon’s economic crisis, and at one point in 2020 it said it had cut out meat from the meals offered to on-duty soldiers due to rising food prices.
Aoun, who speaks Arabic, English and French, hails from Lebanon’s Christian community and has two children.
By convention, the presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.
Aoun is Lebanon’s fifth army commander to become president, and the fourth in a row.
Military chiefs, by convention, are also Maronites.
