Jordan has "intensified moves" to seek an end to the violence in Jerusalem, the Foreign Ministry said, after Israeli police entered Al Aqsa Mosque for a second day.
The violence during Passover and Ramadan, is whipping up religious fervour in Palestine and raising tensions between Israel and Iran-backed militant groups in the Gaza Strip. Two more rockets were fired late on Wednesday from the area towards Israel.
Jordan's foreign ministry spokesman Sinan Al Majali said the ministry has engaged in "contacts and intensified moves regionally and internationally to stop the escalatory Israeli steps".
"Israel bears full responsibility for the dangerous consequences of the continuation of the escalation," he said.
Israeli police entered the compound overnight and tried to remove worshippers, using stun grenades and firing rubber bullets, Palestinian staff at the site said.
Yossi Alpher, an author on Israeli diplomacy and a former intelligence officer, told The National there was “nothing new” about the tensions at Al Aqsa, but said the Israeli government is “not helping itself with its composition that includes extremists”.
“One thing Israel can do is improve the performance of its police. Did they have to break into to Al Aqsa for the second straight night? Couldn’t they have done something more effective to prevent these Israeli provocateurs from playing into the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad?
"While there’s still a capable bureaucracy in terms of dealing with our neighbours in the Foreign Ministry and the Mossad (intelligence agency), the minister of so-called national security, (Itamar) Ben-Gvir, does not have the skills or experience and is ideologically predisposed to support Jewish extremists and take a heavy hand against Arabs. That gives us one hand behind our backs.”
Mr Alpher said he believed there was an economic incentive for Hamas “not to stir the pot too much”.
“Hamas still wants to exploit this situation and win points, which is why the rockets in the past couple of days have been a pretty pathetic performance,” he said.
“If they had really wanted to make a point as defender of Al Aqsa, it would have fired rockets at my home during Passover.”
For Mr Alpher, external escalation presents more of a threat.
“There’s a greater danger of Hezbollah joining in and maybe Iran launching other provocations from Syria or by backing extremists in the West Bank, given the weakness of the Palestinian Authority,” Mr Alpher said.
Al Aqsa is managed by Jordan's religious endowments ministry, an arrangement that dates from when East Jerusalem and the West Bank were under Jordanian control, from 1948 to 1967.
Last year, efforts by Jordan and Egypt helped contain violence in Palestine that erupted over Al Aqsa, US officials who mediated an end to the violence said at the time.
The US is among many western nations that recognises Jordan's claim of custodianship over Al Aqsa, one of Islam's holiest places.
The claim dates from the 1920s, when Palestinian religious leaders gave custodianship of the shrine to Sharif of Makkah, a great-grandfather of King Abdullah, as tension mounted between Arabs and Zionist incomers to Palestine.
In Cairo, Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned the latest Israeli incursion into Al Aqsa, saying it constitutes a “blatant violation of international laws”.
"Such hateful and reprehensible scenes and Israel's repeated violations of the sanctity of the holy places ignite the feelings of anger among the Palestinians and the Islamic peoples," the statement said.
The ministry urged world powers to “shoulder the responsibility” by seeking an end to such attacks.
The UN Security Council is to meet on Thursday for an emergency session to discuss tensions at Al Aqsa Mosque.
Mr Alpher said Israel could face new challenges this time round.
“Normally, Israel would rely on the Biden administration either to prevent a Security Council discussion, which the US did about a month ago, or veto a resolution that was tabled there.
"Right now, Mr Biden has been very critical of Mr Netanyahu and made it clear that he’s persona non grata in the White House. It will be interesting to see how the Biden administration acts at the Security Council.”
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
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McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
THREE
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
