Palestinians clash with police on Temple Mount, amid fear of fresh Gaza fighting.
Palestinians clashed with Israeli police on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount on Friday afternoon, amid fears of renewed fighting with the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip over the situation in the Holy City.
Police said the clashes began after Friday afternoon prayers at the holy site in the Old City with a procession of several hundred people, dozens of whom refused to disperse when they arrived at the exit to the compound and began hurling rocks at police.
Nine Palestinians were wounded by officers’ sponge-tipped bullets and stun grenades, and at least one from a stone thrown by the crowd, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Three of the wounded were hospitalized, the organization said.
Police said they arrested 16 people for throwing stones and rioting.
Palestinians could be seen raising the Palestinian flag following the Friday prayers.
The clashes occurred after the Israel Defense Forces conducted airstrikes on Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Thursday night in response to ongoing arson attacks from the enclave.
Last month’s round of fighting with the Gaza-based terror groups came following violent clashes in Jerusalem.
Palestinian terror groups tied May’s rocket fire from Gaza to unrest in the capital connected to both prayer on the Temple Mount during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the pending eviction of a number of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Since the fighting ended, Hamas has repeatedly warned that it could reopen hostilities over developments in Jerusalem, and has responded with increased belligerence to plans for the march.
On Tuesday, thousands of Jewish nationalists marched through parts of Jerusalem’s Old City, with some chanting racist slogans, as Israel reportedly warned Hamas, via Egyptian mediators, of a tough and immediate response to any rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Scripture to consider:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.”
As we proceed to the final week for Israel, Jerusalem will become a cup of trembling to the region and then the world.
In other news:
GCC states renew commitment to upholding regional peace and security.
Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states urged the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group on Tuesday to co-operate with a Saudi Arabian peace initiative for Yemen.
Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman met in Riyadh at the 148th ministerial meeting chaired by Bahrain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
The GCC ministers also condemned Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, after an 11-day bombardment campaign on Gaza that killed over 280 Palestinians and 12 people in Israel.
The bloc also welcomed the Egypt-brokered ceasefire that ensued between Israel and Hamas.
Overall, the council repeated its commitment to fighting terrorism and shunning extremism, Al Ekhbariya said.
The member states also praised the launch of Saudi Arabia’s Green Initiative which was discussed in a meeting by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in Riyadh on Wednesday.
They congratulated the UAE on its election as a non-permanent member to the UN Security Council for the 2022-2023 term after a vote by the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Wednesday’s GCC meeting also condemned Iran’s failure to co-operate on its nuclear commitments with the UN nuclear watchdog in charge of monitoring and tracking its nuclear programme.
It came as Iran and the US conduct indirect talks in Vienna to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action known as the Iran nuclear deal, which the US withdrew from under former US President Donald Trump’s tenure in 2018.
The GCC celebrated its 40th anniversary in May, cementing diplomatic ties with Qatar after a rift that lasted for three years and-a-half through the Al Ula declaration which was announced in January.
Scripture to consider:
“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
The GCC is mentioning the words peace and safety, because sudden destruction is coming to this present evil world.
In other news:
UAE reveals progress on interfaith complex to house synagogue, mosque, church.
Construction on the Abrahamic Family House, a complex in Abu Dhabi slated to house a synagogue, a mosque and a church, is 20 percent complete, Emirati officials revealed on Tuesday.
The government also announced that the synagogue at the site will be named the “Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue” after the 12th century philosopher and rabbinical scholar Maimonides. The mosque will be named “Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque,” and the church “St. Francis Church.”
“The Abrahamic Family House epitomizes interfaith harmonious coexistence and preserves the unique character of each religion,” said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism-Abu Dhabi and a member of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity.
“The naming of the three houses of worship recognizes the work of His Eminence Grand Imam Al Tayeb, His Holiness Pope Francis, and Moses Ben Maimon, and harnesses their teachings to forge a message of goodwill for future generations around the world,” Mubarak said.
Plans for the Abrahamic House were first announced in 2019 — more than a year before the establishment of the Abraham Accords normalizing relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The accords have been credited with encouraging the emergence of Jewish life in the UAE, which used to operate largely beneath the radar. Since the accords were signed in August 2020, tens of thousands of Israeli tourists have visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The announcement of the Abrahamic Family House was made during the UAE’s self-proclaimed “Year of Tolerance,” during a meeting between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.
The Abrahamic Family House is slated to be completed in 2022. The government noted that during the design and construction of the complex, “members of religious communities worldwide have been engaged and consulted to ensure consistency with and adherence to the respective religion’s requirements and teaching.”
Scripture to consider:
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
This world is being prepared to worship the beast and receive his mark to buy or sell in the right hand or forehead, and the Abrahamic house is a step toward that.
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
Abraham’s seed is the Lord Jesus Christ which the promises were made.
“For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”
Lastly:
Pilgrims without smart card will not be allowed to perform Haj.
“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
The he that will cause all to receive the mark of the beast will be the final pope and false prophet.
The beast is looking to be Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam which this final story is based in.
The cause will be strong in the hour of temptation coming up in the middle of the final 70th week when the official mark of the beast will be dispensed on the beast worshipping world.
Back to the news:
Saudi Arabia has introduced new measures to ensure the safety of its residents and implementation of social distancing rules during Haj. The kingdom had earlier said only 60,000 residents will be allowed to perform Haj this year.
The Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah has announced that pilgrims without a smart card and documented official permit will not be allowed to perform Haj, local media reported.
Only Muslims aged 18 to 65 who have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination 14 days prior to their arrival and have not been chronically ill will be allowed to enter the holy cities.
Dr. Abdul Fattah Mashat, Deputy Minister of Haj and Umrah, said that the permit issue will be matched to the electronic card and the pilgrim’s ID, emphasising that there is no other platform to apply for Haj except the ministry’s official website.
The Ministry of Tourism has a list of requirements to which the allocated hotels in Mecca and Medina must meet. Food will be provided in the pilgrims’ rooms as open buffets are banned to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The novel Haj smart card system will be linked via a QR code to their smartphones, which they can use for various purposes such as access to camps, transport, hotels, cashless payment terminals and ATMs.
