Jerusalem District

I recently had a chance to visit Jerusalem to attend the Second Global Forum of the National Library of Israel. It was a significant event that gathered dozens of scholars from both the Jewish state and the world to discuss "the fate of secularism." For me, it was a chance to listen to mind-opening intellectuals, hear new arguments, and feel the holy city, once again, in all its intimate majest

UNESCO has officially adopted the resolution on the preservation of Palestinian cultural heritage in East Jerusalem which caused angry protests on the part of Israel, reported BNR.

The project on the resolution approved last week caused a harsh reaction on the part of Israel which stated that it is freezing its cooperation with the cultural organisation.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has received "death threats' over her supposed reservations about a resolution that would only highlight holy sites in Jerusalem as Muslim and not Jewish.

"The director general has received death threats and her protection has had to be reinforced," Carmel Shama Cohen, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, has told Israeli public radio, according to AFP.

Israel has frozen its relations with UNESCO as a sign of protest against a resolution with which the international organisation declares that the Holy places on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem cannot be linked to Judaism.

Bulgarian authorities are investigating a suspected murder in the Palestinian embassy in Sofia.

The Bulgarian prosecutor's office informed on Friday that an embassy official had submitted a signal for death resulting from violence on the territory of the embassy.

Israeli authorities announced on Feb. 17 they had uncovered findings proving for the first time the existence of an established human settlement in Jerusalem as far back as 7,000 years ago.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a review of the status of certain Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, an official confirmed on Oct. 26, a decision that could potentially strip tens of thousands of Palestinians of their Israeli residency rights.

Israel took the rare and drastic step of barring Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City on Oct.4 as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child.

The UN Security Council appealed for calm and restraint Sept. 17 after three days of clashes this week at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound between Israeli police and Muslim protesters.

In a unanimous declaration, the 15-member panel also expressed its "grave concern" and called for maintaining the rules governing the sensitive site seen as holy by both Muslims and Jews.    

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has condemned Israeli forces? targeting of Muslim groups inside Jerusalem?s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, pledging to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Ankara will continue to strive to boost international awareness of the plight of the Palestinians, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.