Thousands of worshippers gathered at dawn on Monday to perform Eid Al Fitr prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque compound after weeks of tensions with Israeli security forces and Jewish settlers.
Waving Palestinian flags and hoisting banners reading “Jerusalem isn’t for sale” at the golden Dome of the Rock mosque, Palestinians shared their selfies on social media. They exchanged Eid greetings despite a grim mood that has prevailed in a site venerated by Muslims and Jews.
Strict security measures imposed by Israel amid escalating violence did not stop the worshippers from going to the mosque. Men over 50 and women and children under 12 are regularly allowed into the compound during Ramadan for Friday prayers.
Others have to obtain permits from Israeli authorities, or try to find their way on to the esplanade.
Israeli Arabs can gain access to Al Aqsa without a permit as they carry Israeli passports, as well as the Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem.
But If the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem leave the holy city for more than six years for any reason — including to study or work — they will not be allowed to return.
If they move to live outside the district’s municipal boundaries, even to nearby cities in the West Bank such as Ramallah, they lose their blue resident IDs issued by Israel.
On Friday, the last Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, more than 40 people were injured as Israeli forces used force including stun grenades, tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and batons against stone-throwing Palestinians.
The Palestinian Red Crescent put the number of Palestinians injured over a two-week period of violence at the site at 300.
The unrest follows a wave of gun attacks by Palestinians in Israeli cities and towns that have killed 14 people in the last month. At least 25 Palestinians have been killed in the same period after Israeli forces launched a security operation in the occupied West Bank in response to the shootings.
Al Aqsa Mosque compound is a site considered holy by Muslims and Jews, and is a focal point of Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Known as Haram Al Sharif to Muslims, the compound includes Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock mosque.
Muslims believe that the Prophet Mohammed travelled from Makkah to Jerusalem and ascended to heaven from the site. Jews consider the area the most sacred place in Judaism as they believe it was once the site of two holy temples.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City, from Jordan during the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 and then annexed the area. Israel later declared a unified Jerusalem to be its capital, but that move has not been recognised by the international community.
Violence at Al Aqsa during Ramadan last year was one of the factors leading up to the 11-day war between Israel and militant groups in Gaza.
This year’s violence stepped up as Ramadan overlapped with the Jewish Passover, with Jews praying at the site under Israeli protection.
Al Aqsa Mosque is administered by a waqf — an Islamic trust — that is funded and controlled by Jordan in a security arrangement with Israel after both countries signed a peace treaty in 1994.
Under the arrangement, Jews are not allowed to pray in the grounds of Al Aqsa compound, but can pray at the nearby Western Wall.
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait
World T20 2020 Qualifying process:
- Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
- Australia have already qualified as hosts
- Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
- The final six teams will be decided by a 14-team World T20 Qualifier.
World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The years Ramadan fell in May
