Jerusalem Controversy

For centuries before the Israeli occupation in 1948, Palestine was a vibrant homeland full of villages and cities, mosques and churches, orchards and bustling markets. From the citrus groves of Jaffa to the sacred stones of Jerusalem, Palestine was a thriving country, full of life, culture, beauty, and rich history.…

Pope Leo XIV has joined the Latin and Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem in a powerful plea for an immediate end to the Israel-Hamas war, condemning the devastating toll on civilians and urging urgent humanitarian action. The pontiff’s appeal comes amid escalating violence and a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza,…

Jabal al-Baba, West Bank  —  Atop a Palestinian village overlooking Jerusalem, Atallah Mazara’a ruminates about his long-held dream. His Bedouin village of Jabal al-Baba sits near the geographical center of the occupied West Bank, balanced between the north and south of what a future Palestinian state would be made up…

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could start withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese cabinet’s “momentous decision” earlier this month to work towards the disarmament of the militant group Hezbollah by the end of 2025. Netanyahu said Monday that if…

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir greets followers after praying on the Temple Mount, the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, on the Jewish day of fasting, Tisha B'Av, in Jerusalem's Old City, on Sunday. Hamas calls on Muslims to gather in prayer at he Al-Aqsa Mosque. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI…

Australian and British Foreign Ministers have condemned Israel’s plans to establish a settlement east of Jerusalem, according to Reuters. “The decision by the Israeli Higher Planning Committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law,” the foreign…

A rare flowering plant, known as the spear-leaved dogbane, has recently bloomed in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens due to conservation efforts. “The plants currently blooming in the Botanical Gardens originate from specimens collected decades ago at En Avdat by Atai Yoffe, the director of the Kibbutz Netiv HaLamed-Heh Botanical Garden,”…

The Israeli ambassador to the UK has told Foreign Office officials not to 'tell us where to build in Jerusalem' after she was hauled in by David Lammy over the country's plans for a settlement project in the occupied West Bank. 'I wouldn't tell the British where to build in London',…

The move follows Israel’s decision to go ahead with the E1 settlement east of Jerusalem, which would effectively cut the West Bank in two. In a joint statement on Thursday, foreign ministers from the UK, EU and 20 other countries called on Tel Aviv to reverse the decision, saying it…

This photo taken from a Royal Jordanian Air Force airplane shows a view of the Gaza Strip on Aug. 17, 2025. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua) GAZA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- An anonymous Israeli official told Xinhua on Monday that Israel has received Hamas' response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal,…