CAIRO: Palestine’s Hamas group has agreed to talks with rival Fatah movement, to dissolve the Gaza administrative committee and hold general elections as a way to implement a deal to end their long-running feud, the group said in a statement on Sunday, reported Reuters. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Western-backed Palestine Authority, controlled by Fatah, fought…

NEWS DESK: The Palestinian Authority has released a prominent activist a week after he was arrested for writing a Facebook post criticising the government of President Mahmoud Abbas, reported The Independent. Issa Amro’s lawyer said Sunday that his client was released on $1,400 bail after being held under a recent edict that allows the government…

According to a major UK newspaper, Israel is behind the sale of weapons to Myanmar’s military junta amid the ongoing bloody violence against Rohingya in Myanmar. As more than 150,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar via boats in the recent days after fresh incidences of violence spread against the Muslim community in Burma, it has come…

JERUSALEM: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres held talks with Israeli leaders Monday on his first visit since taking office, making a forceful argument for a two-state solution with the Palestinians and speaking of his “dream” for peace. Guterres also spoke of what he called obstacles to peace when meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including…

The head of the Arab League warned Thursday that Israeli attempts to control highly sensitive religious sites in Jerusalem by force risk igniting a “religious war”. Israel’s actions are “playing with fire, and will only ignite a religious war and shift the core of the conflict from politics to religion,” Arab League chief Ahmed Abul…

NEWS DESK: Palestinians will return to pray at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site Thursday after Israeli authorities removed controversial security measures there, potentially ending a nearly two-week crisis that sparked deadly unrest, reported AFP. Muslim authorities announced a boycott of the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, was to end Thursday…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expressed concern at the continuing wave of violence against Palestinians and violation of Muslims’ right to perform their religious obligation following the closure of Al Aqsa Mosque.   In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said the practices being pursued against the Palestinian demonstrators are flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,…

JERUSALEM: Israel removed metal detectors from a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site Tuesday after their installation triggered deadly violence, but Muslim worshippers kept up a boycott, suspicious over what would come next.

UNITED NATIONS: A crisis over new Israeli security measures at a Jerusalem holy site must be resolved by Friday to avoid an escalation of violence, the UN envoy to the Middle East warned Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday denounced as “excessive” the use of force by Israeli security forces in deadly clashes over sensitive Jerusalem holy site. “I condemn Israel’s insistence on its position despite all warnings… and the excessive use of force by Israeli forces against our brothers gathered for Friday prayers,” he said in…

JERUSALEM: Six people were killed on Friday in the bloodiest spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence for years, prompted by new security Israeli measures at Jerusalem’s holiest site. Three Israelis were stabbed to death in a Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, hours after three Palestinians were killed in violence prompted by Israel’s installation of metal…

JERUSALEM: When Muslim elders called for a “Day of Rage” on Friday to protest at new Israeli security measures at Jerusalem’s holiest site, photographer Ammar Awad knew where he had to be. A native of Jerusalem who has covered the city for Reuters for 17 years, Awad headed to Ras al-Amud, directly across the valley…

JERUSALEM: Israel barred access of Muslim men under 50 to Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Friday and deployed some 3,000 policemen near the site amidst expected protest over security measures. The move came after Israel’s security cabinet decided not to remove the metal detectors installed at the entrances to the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews…

RAMALLAH: Palestinian religious and political figures have denounced the ongoing closure of Al-Aqsa mosque compound, calling it a violation of their religious freedoms, reported Al Jazeera. Al-Aqsa remained closed on Saturday, a day after a deadly shooting attack outside an entrance to the holy site in occupied East Jerusalem. “There is no excuse for the…

NEWS DESK: A senior Palestinian cleric denounced Israel’s closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque following a rare gun attack, calling the measures ‘collective punishment’ that affects thousands of worshippers, reported Al Jazeera. Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, the former grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestinian territories, said on Saturday that Israeli authorities have barred clerics from entering the…

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday on the first ever visit by an Indian premier to Israel as they sought to deepen ties beyond high-priced defence deals. The two leaders presented a series of agreements between India and Israel for cooperation on satellite technology, water and agriculture, as well as…

KARACHI: The trend #DeleteIsrael has been one of the top trends on social media website Twitter ahead of Al-Quds Day, which will be observed on Friday (tomorrow). Users of social media Twitter are using the trend to express their anger and condemn the Israeli occupation of Palestine and Bait-ul-Muqaddas. Select Israel + Shift + Delete#DeleteIsrael…

JERUSALEM: By using famous authors, including the winners of three Pulitzers and a Nobel, they were aiming to “sort of trick” people “into paying attention to the occupation by baiting the trap, in a way, with the work of a really amazing writer”. Proceeds from the book will go to Breaking the Silence, an NGO…

Palestinians called for a boycott of Pizza Hut on Tuesday after the company’s franchise in Israel was accused of mocking hunger-striking prisoners. The franchise’s Facebook page was said to have shared an image released by Israeli police which appears to show Palestinian hunger-strike leader Marwan Barghouti secretly breaking his fast. “Barghouti, if you are going…

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday he was ready to meet Israel’s prime minister as part of peace efforts by Donald Trump, who is expected to visit the Palestinian territories “soon”. The US president is expected in Israel later this month as part of his first foreign trip and Abbas said “we are looking forward…

By: Gulrukh Tausif We often talk about the negative impact of social media, Hollywood/Bollywood movies or video games on our children but we forget that children are exposed to a lot of violence many times a day through television, newspapers and the Internet. It has become quite a norm for news channels to air detailed…