Jordan on Thursday condemned the influx of Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount over the week-long festival of Sukkot, describing it as “the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers and Jewish extremists,” and slamming “irresponsible” Israel for permitting them entry to the compound.
Likud MK Yehudah Glick, a former Temple Mount activist, tweeted on Thursday that 2,265 Jews visited the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, over the festival — a 40 percent increase over the 1,611 visitors the year before.
There were no reports of disturbances during any of the visits.
Jordan’s State Minister for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said allowing Jews to visit the site was “irresponsible” and “constitute acts of provocation of Muslims’ feelings,” Jordan’s Petra news agency reported.
He described the visits as “the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers and Jewish extremists,” and urged Israel to put an end to such “provocative” acts.
“Such behaviors harm relations between the two countries and undermine efforts to ease tension and preserve the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al Sharif,” he said, adding that allowing Jews to visit the site also undermines the possibility of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
The Temple Mount houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque. It is revered by Jews as the location of the biblical Jewish temples and is considered Islam’s third holiest site.
Under the present arrangement, the site, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, remains under Jordan’s custodianship. Jews are allowed to visit the compound under the existing arrangements but are barred from religious worship or prayer, as they have been since Israel captured the Old City in the 1967 war.
In July the holy site became the focus of a major crisis between Israeli authorities, Palestinians, and Jordan over security measures taken at the entrances to the compound. Metal detectors and cameras had been installed following a deadly attack in which three Arab Israelis emerged from the site and shot dead two Israeli police officers using weapons that had been smuggled onto the Temple Mount. The upgraded security measures were all ultimately removed.
The United States on Tuesday announced multi-million dollar rewards for two senior members of the Hezbollah terrorist group.
Reports earlier this week said the State Department would offer a reward of $12 million to anyone with information leading to the discovery, arrest, or charge of the two, but the State Department would not confirm the reports until Tuesday's official announcement.
The State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau said it would give $7 million and $5 million, respectively, for information leading to the capture of Talal Hamiyah and Fuad Shukr, reported i24news.
An informational leaflet described Hamiyah as the head of the organization's External Security Organization, its "element responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of terrorist attacks outside of Lebanon."
Shukr was described as a senior operative who played a central role in planning and carrying out the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 American service personnel.
Nicholas J. Rasmussen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said before announcing the reward that the U.S. believes that Hezbollah is determined to give itself an option to carry out attacks inside the United States.
"It is our assessment that Hezbollah is determined to give itself a potential homeland option as a critical component of its terrorism playbook," Rasmussen said during a briefing, adding that before the September 11, 2001 attacks, Hezbollah was responsible for more American deaths than any other foreign terrorism group.
Russia has accused the U.S. of violating a peace treaty between Moscow and the Western military pact NATO after the Pentagon deployed a new force in the tense Baltic region. It's the latest of several Western moves seen as provocations by Russia, which has vowed to respond.
The U.S. announced Thursday the arrival of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in a Polish NATO outpost located about 100 miles from Russia's militarized enclave of Kaliningrad. The troops are part of Washington's latest effort to bolster allied nation's against what they perceive to be a military threat from neighboring Russia. Moscow, however, has accused the U.S. and its NATO allies of undermining Russia's own security by surrounding it with hostile forces.
Vladimir Shamanov, head of the defense committee for Russia's lower house of parliament, said the country would consider adding more nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles on its side of the border to deter a U.S. military buildup in the region.
"This creates prerequisites that may eventually enable them to create a certain stronghold. We will surely not turn a blind eye on this. We will take retaliatory measures," Shamanov said, according to the state-run Tass Russian news agency.
"Not just personnel, but combat equipment. For instance, the group of Iskanders, including that in Kaliningrad, may be increased," he added.
Firefighters continue to battle at least 22 large wildfires across multiple counties, and are preparing for winds to make conditions even worse. The blazes have already burned some 117,000 acres, destroyed about 3,500 structures and triggered mass evacuations. At least 21 people have been killed.
The Tubbs Fire in particular ripped through residential areas of Santa Rosa late Sunday and early Monday. As of Wednesday, it alone had burned 28,000 acres and killed at least 11 people, making it the sixth-deadliest fire in California’s history, according to officials.
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has declared a state of emergency for Napa, Sonoma, Yuba Butte, Lake and Mendocino counties.
1 comment:
Hezbollah, aka recycled evil Nazi's, aka Iran, has already been "attacking" America for over a decade. They, Iran, is responsible for killing our brave Servicemen & Women in both Iraq & Afghanistan...these barbaric animals are pure evil...just ask Bibi...
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