عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Palestinian Authority Accuses Israel of Al-Aqsa Mosque Division

Israeli Police accompany visitors during their tour of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound (Reuters)
Israeli Police accompany visitors during their tour of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound (Reuters)
TT
TT

Palestinian Authority Accuses Israel of Al-Aqsa Mosque Division

Israeli Police accompany visitors during their tour of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound (Reuters)
Israeli Police accompany visitors during their tour of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound (Reuters)

Israeli police have transformed Jerusalem’s Old City into a battleground after preventing Palestinians from accessing the Al-Aqsa Mosque and allowing hundreds of settlers to invade it.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has asserted that this move is aimed at dividing the mosque both temporally and spatially.

Hundreds of settlers had stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque after performing Talmudic rituals and provocative dances in the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City under the protection of the Israeli police, which simultaneously obstructed the arrival of worshippers to the mosque, forcing some of them to leave.

The Islamic Waqf Department reported that Israeli forces began on Sunday morning to provocatively bring large numbers of settlers into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, while simultaneously assaulting worshipers and emptying the squares of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The “Wadi Hilweh Information Center” in Jerusalem reported that Israeli settlers performed Talmudic rituals on the “Wadi Street,” one of the roads leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and engaged in provocative dances.

They then performed Talmudic rituals on the road to Chain Gate, one of the gates to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

According to the center, Israeli police had prepared in advance for this incursion, which coincided with the celebration of the Hebrew New Year.

The Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Religious Affairs and Awqaf, Hatem Al-Bakri, stated that escalated storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers, protected by the Israeli occupation police, is aimed at achieving temporal and spatial division and gradually and systematically emptying the city of its residents.

“The continuation of these crimes, with the blessing of the Israeli political leadership, requires the world to assume its responsibilities and intervene earnestly to put an end to these violations,” said Al-Bakri.

Rawhi Fattouh, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, held the responsibility for this crime and other crimes against the extremist Israeli government.

For its part, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry affirmed that it is closely monitoring the daily violations by the Israeli occupation and settlers, taking them to international bodies and courts to hold the perpetrators accountable and bring them to trial.

Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements have also threatened escalating their efforts to not leave the mosque isolated.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Iraq Rejects Syrian Request to Repatriate 4,000 Suspected ISIS Detainees

Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Iraq Rejects Syrian Request to Repatriate 4,000 Suspected ISIS Detainees

Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Members of the Iraqi border forces patrol along a concrete wall on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the town of al-Baghuz in the Al-Qaim district of western Iraq, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

Iraq has rejected Syria's request to repatriate thousands of suspected ISIS members transferred from Syrian detention centers to Iraqi custody earlier this year, a senior Iraqi security official said on Wednesday.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi said that a meeting had been held recently between Syria, Iraq and the United States to discuss the fate of the prisoners.

Al-Aboudi said Syria had requested that the 4,000 Syrian prisoners be handed over to be tried in Syria, but Iraq refused. Iraq has repatriated about 50 Syrian detainees who were determined not to be ISIS members, he told The Associated Press, while the Syrian prisoners remaining in Iraq include about 400 who are believed to be high-level members of the extremist group.

“Iraq is conducting investigations, and anyone proved to have committed crimes in Iraq will be tried under Iraqi law,” he said.

Some prisoners could later be transferred to their home countries to complete their sentences, he said.

Syria did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

More than 5,700 prisoners with alleged ISIS ties — including some 4,000 Syrians — were transferred from northeast Syria to Iraq after fighting broke out in January between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which had long guarded the detention centers where they were held.

Some ISIS-linked prisoners managed to flee during the chaos of the clashes, and there were fears that a larger-scale escape would take place. While the extremist group lost control of the territory it once seized in Iraq and Syria years ago, its cells still periodically carry out attacks in both countries.

The discussions about the prisoners' fate come as the United States has ended a 12-year mission to fight ISIS in Iraq, with the last US troops withdrawing from the country last month.

Al-Aboudi said Iraq has asked for financial support from the US and other countries taking part in the global coalition against ISIS to help with the costs of housing the prisoners.

“Iraq asked for an allocation of $500 million. The coalition promised support, but Iraq is still waiting,” he said.

A US defense official and the office of Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria and Iraq, referred questions about the prisoners to Iraqi and Syrian authorities.

Many of the prisoners transferred to Iraq had been held in Syria for years without charges. Rights groups have raised concerns about detention conditions in both countries.

Arab World

Arab Parliament President Stresses Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Pose Direct Threat to Regional Security

Arab Parliament President Stresses Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Pose Direct Threat to Regional Security
TT
TT

Arab Parliament President Stresses Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Pose Direct Threat to Regional Security

Arab Parliament President Stresses Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Pose Direct Threat to Regional Security

President of the Arab Parliament Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Yamahi stressed that repeated terrorist attacks by the Houthi militia against Saudi Arabia and its civilian and oil facilities pose a direct threat to regional security.

During his speech at the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, Al-Yamahi addressed Iranian attacks that targeted several Arab countries and threatened civilians, infrastructure, and vital facilities, SPA reported.

He also discussed regional escalation and related threats to the security of Arab countries. He called on the international community to move beyond condemnation and take measures to protect states and their sovereignty and compel the parties to respect international law.

Arab World

Sudan’s Burhan Rules Out Talks with RSF or ‘Any Other Party’

Wreckage of a drone allegedly used in an attack on Damazin (activists’ Facebook pages). 
Wreckage of a drone allegedly used in an attack on Damazin (activists’ Facebook pages). 
TT
TT

Sudan’s Burhan Rules Out Talks with RSF or ‘Any Other Party’

Wreckage of a drone allegedly used in an attack on Damazin (activists’ Facebook pages). 
Wreckage of a drone allegedly used in an attack on Damazin (activists’ Facebook pages). 

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has reiterated his refusal to negotiate with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) or “any other party,” vowing to continue military operations despite renewed US efforts to secure a political settlement.

His remarks came after Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, announced that he had met Burhan in Egypt earlier this week.

Meanwhile, a drone attack on Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile state, killed four women and wounded dozens of civilians, according to a Sudanese human rights group.

Addressing residents of Amri locality in Northern state on Tuesday, Burhan declared: “There will be no negotiations with the rebels or with any other party,” without specifying whom else he meant.

“We are a state of institutions. Decisions on negotiations, peace and war are therefore made by the Security and Defense Council,” he added, according to a statement from the Sovereignty Council’s media office.

Burhan, who heads the Sovereignty Council and commands the armed forces, reaffirmed his determination to continue what he described as efforts to defeat and eliminate the rebellion.

He also praised Amri residents for supporting the army and the Popular Resistance, reiterating the military’s commitment to what it calls the “Battle of Dignity.”

Deadly drone attack

Hours after Burhan’s remarks, Emergency Lawyers, a volunteer human rights organization, reported that drones belonging to the RSF had struck civilian sites in Damazin early Wednesday.

The strikes hit homes and a mosque, killing four women in the Al-Hijra neighborhood and wounding dozens of civilians, the group alleged.

Its statement provided no further details about the wounded or how it had established responsibility for the attack.

Emergency Lawyers warned against continued attacks on civilian sites, stressing that deliberately targeting them constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

The organization demanded an end to the attacks and accountability for those responsible, urging all parties to the conflict to respect civilian protections and avoid endangering lives.

Neither the army nor the RSF issued a comment, although platforms aligned with the paramilitary group reported that the drones had targeted the homes of the finance and information ministers.

In a separate statement, Damazin Technical College condemned a two-drone attack on its campus, reporting damage to classrooms, administrative offices, laboratories, and other infrastructure.

Diplomatic efforts

Burhan’s rejection of negotiations came less than a day after Boulos announced that he had attended a lunch hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in New Alamein, on the sidelines of an African Union coordination meeting, where he met the Sudanese leader.

In a post on X on Monday, Boulos reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with regional and international partners toward a political settlement that would help end Sudan’s war and alleviate the country’s humanitarian suffering.

He emphasized US support for Sudan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

According to Boulos, the diplomatic efforts aim to restore security and stability, begin reconstruction and development, and facilitate a transition to a civilian-led government through an inclusive national dialogue owned and led by the Sudanese people.

In a television interview last September, Boulos maintained that Washington engaged with both sides in Sudan’s conflict without formally recognizing either.

He also stressed that his meetings with Burhan did not constitute recognition of the Sudanese government.

However, in his latest X post, Boulos referred to Burhan by his official title, “Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council,” wording that some interpreted as tacit recognition.

Boulos has argued that maintaining contact with both warring parties is essential to reaching a peaceful settlement and facilitating humanitarian aid deliveries.

His remarks followed a Sept. 22 statement by US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott, who declared that neither the Sudanese army nor the RSF and their leaders represented a legitimate constitutional government of Sudan.

Pigott also affirmed Washington’s readiness to work with partners committed to peace.

The diplomatic exchanges coincided with Washington’s refusal to grant Burhan a visa to attend the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.

Reuters reported at the time, citing a Sudanese diplomatic source and a Western analyst, that Burhan’s participation had been made conditional on his acceptance of a 90-day truce proposed by Boulos. The US State Department declined to comment.