Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to his country overnight Thursday from a North African tour, facing thousands of supporters who welcomed him back at the airport, a show of strength after a week of violent anti-government demonstrations across the country. Addressing the crowds at the airport in a speech also broadcast live
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of trying to “destroy” the Al-Aqsa Mosque by allowing Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. In an interview he gave on Thursday to the Saudi-based Al-Watan newspaper, Abbas said that "the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in danger," claiming that Israel prevents PA Arabs from praying at
Austria is pulling its United Nations peacekeeping force from the Golan Heights, the government said in a statement released Thursday. Austria accounts for about 380 of the 1,000-strong UN force monitoring the Israel-Syria ceasefire line in the Golan Heights. “Freedom of movement in the area de facto no longer exists. The uncontrolled and
Protesters flocked to a district in downtown Cairo after the headquarters of Tamarod, a campaign against Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, was set on fire early on Friday. They chanted slogans against Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the privately-owned Egyptian daily Youm 7 reported. The group told Ahram Online that it had received “threats
An envoy from Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, Al-Azhar in Cairo, raised the prospect of restoring ties with the Vatican on Friday but called on Pope Francis to take “a step forward” by declaring that Islam is a peaceful religion. “The problems that we had were not with the Vatican but with the
The civil war in Syria is becoming a religious war which splits the Muslim world between Sunnis and Shiites, notes Arab affairs expert Dalit Halevi. The rebels belong to Sunni Islam while the regime is Alawite, a branch of Shiism supported by Iran and assisted by fighters from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, units from
The IDF verified reports Thursday morning that Syrian rebel forces had conquered parts of the Golan city of Kuneitra, placing them directly on the border with Israel. IDF officials said that the takeover of the area by rebel forces was a “significant development.” During the battle between rebel and Syrian army forces, a mortar
Arab Losses Caused by Unlawful Acts of Aggression in 1967 In June 1967, the combined armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan attacked Israel with the clear purpose expressed by Egypt’s President: “Destruction of Israel.” At the end of what is now known as the Six-Day War, Israel, against all odds, was victorious and in possession
Palestinian Authority leaders marked on Wednesday 46 years since the Six Day War, which began on June 5, 1967, after several tense weeks during which Egypt's President Nasser massed tanks on the border, vowed to destroy Israel and blocked access to the country through the Straits of Tiran. During the ensuing war, won by
Thousands of PA Arabs participated in a mass rally in Ramallah earlier this week calling for the establishment of the Muslim Caliphate – the worldwide Islamist government that will “bring the coming of the Mahdi.” the Muslim messiah. The Caliphate is essentially a union of Muslim countries under the spiritual and political leadership of
