From PressTV
1,000 Israeli settlers invade al-Aqsa Mosque in January
Approximately one thousand Israeli settlers in January alone have invaded the holy al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds.
Some 965 Israeli settlers accompanied by Israeli security forces stormed the holy Islamic site in January, said the al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage.
Israel continues to restrict the movement of Palestinian worshipers to the al-Aqsa Mosque. The invasion has led to many conflicts between Palestinian worshipers and Israelis.
Nearly 90 percent of Palestinians believe that Israel is going to destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with a temple, a new survey shows.
The Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of al-Quds over the past decades by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Tense Dem-Israeli meetings heighten Netanyahu speech stakes
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In tense meetings, top congressional Democrats, including seven Jewish lawmakers, expressed unhappiness to Israeli officials about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, met Wednesday with Yuli Edelstein, the Knesset speaker who is on a U.S. visit. She likened the circumstances of Netanyahu’s agreeing to speak to Congress March 3 to “casting a political apple of discord into the relationship” between Israel and the United States, Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesman, said.
Joining Pelosi in the meeting were two top Jewish lawmakers, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, as well as Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the party’s assistant House leader.
The stumble was the latest wrinkle in tensions arising from Boehner’s Jan. 21 invitation to Netanyahu to speak to Congress in order to rebut President Barack Obama’s defense of nuclear talks underway with Iran. Netanyahu says the talks will result in a bad deal.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Judge with ties to Jewish community taking over Nisman probe of Kirchner
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — A federal judge in Argentina who has authored a book about the Holocaust was tapped to pick up the late AMIA prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s case against President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
Daniel Rafecas, who has a relationship with the Jewish community, was chosen by lottery on Wednesday to investigate allegations that Kirchner covered up Iran’s involvement in the 1994 attack against the Jewish center that left 85 dead and hundreds injured. Nisman also accused Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, who is Jewish, of participating in the cover-up.
Following the end of January’s judicial recess, Federal Judge Ariel Lijo declined to take up the case. Lijo is investigating another aspect of the AMIA case — a lawsuit accusing former President Carlos Menem of covering up Syrian involvement.
Rafecas, who is invited often to speak about the Holocaust, is well known in Argentina for applying the country’s anti-discrimination law in a case centering on skinheads, ordering them to visit the Holocaust Museum in Buenos Aires as part of their probation.
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From PressTV
Israel arrests 11 Palestinian teens in West Bank, al-Quds
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) says Israeli soldiers arrested 11 Palestinian teenagers after the troops raided their houses in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Seven teenagers were detained in al-Khalil (Hebron) and the other four were arrested in al-Quds during the early hours of Wednesday.
All of the Palestinians are between 14 and 17 years of age.
Meanwhile, heavy clashes have reportedly erupted in al-Khalil as Israeli forces fired tear gas and sound bomb at civilians. The clashes sparked after the forces raided Palestinians’ houses in the city.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) reported that Israel arrested 350 Palestinians from several cities and towns across the West Bank in January alone, with the highest number of arrests documented in al-Khalil, amounting to 120, followed by East al-Quds, where 20 Palestinians were detained.
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From Ynet News
‘ISIS’ temporarily kidnaps Gaza journalist working for Dutch
Men claiming links to terror group hold Palestinian journalist captive for 8 hours, beat him, interrograte about his links to Dutch diplomats.
A Palestinian journalist who also works as advisor in the Gaza Strip to Dutch diplomats was kidnapped and beaten by men claiming to belong to the Islamic State group, a relative said Wednesday.
Mohammed al-Maghayer went missing Tuesday morning and was released several hours later after having been interrogated about his links to the Dutch, the relative said.
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