Sunrise over Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound
Israel’s Jerusalem municipality has announced plans to remove the UN’s relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from occupied East Jerusalem, the Israeli press has reported.
According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has accused the agency of operating illegally and promoting anti-Israel “incitement”.
“Schools, clinics and sports centers, among other services operated by UNRWA in East Jerusalem, will be transferred to the Israeli authorities,” the newspaper quoted Barkat as saying.
The municipality has not provided a timeline for the transfer. But officials say several schools in East Jerusalem -- which cater to 1,800 Palestinian students -- would be closed by the end of the academic year.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Friday threatened to escalate against Gaza-based Palestinian resistance group Hamas now that last month’s Jewish holidays have ended."The holiday month has gone exactly as we planned -- without any confrontations or heavy losses among the rioters on the Gaza border," Lieberman tweeted.עברנו את חודש חגי תשרי בדיוק כפי שתכננו, ללא התלקחות ותוך גביית מחיר כבד מהמתפרעים בגבול עזה. 'אחרי החגים' הגיע. ואני אומר לראשי החמאס: 'קחו את זה בחשבון'.תודה לחיילי צה"ל. שבת שלום— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) 5 Ekim 2018 "Now that the post-holiday period has come, I tell Hamas leaders to take this into consideration," he added.In September, Jews celebrated the Sukkot, Yom Kippur and Jewish New Year holidays.On Thursday, Lieberman ordered the Israeli army to "maintain maximum vigilance" along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.Lieberman reportedly gave the command at a closed-door meeting with senior military officers, including Army Chief-of-Staff Gadi Eizenkot.He also reportedly told the army to prepare for “any possible scenario”.Israeli ministers trade barbs over GazaIsrael denies mediation on Hamas prisoner swap dealFor the last six months, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have staged almost-daily demonstrations along the heavily-fortified buffer zone.Since the demonstrations began on March 30, more than 190 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the buffer zone.Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year-long blockade of Gaza, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.Israel to send reinforcements to Gaza buffer zoneHamas Gaza leader to Israeli press: I don't want warIsrael claims to arrest Hamas cell over attack plotIsrael slowly encroaching all of Jerusalem
Lieberman threatens Hamas with post-holiday escalation
According to Israel’s Channel Two, U.S. President Donald Trump's recent decision to end financial aid to UNRWA encouraged Israel to take the decision.
The plan was drafted in coordination with the U.S. administration and will soon be presented to the Israeli government for approval, the broadcaster reported.
In September, the U.S. State Department announced that Washington would “no longer commit funding” to UNRWA.
The U.S. had been UNRWA's largest contributor by far, providing it with $350 million annually -- roughly one quarter of the agency's overall budget.
Established in 1949, UNRWA provides critical aid to Palestinian refugees in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Israeli police questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the 12th time on Friday in connection with a long-running corruption investigation, various local media reported.Footage on private broadcaster Channel 10 showed police investigators entering Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem. Police and the prime minister's office declined to comment.Army Radio said the focus on Friday would be on two cases in which police have recommended indictments against him.One deals with gifts allegedly given to Netanyahu and his family, and the other with claims that he discussed getting better coverage in one of Israel's largest newspapers in return for curbs on a free daily competitor.Merkel offers qualified support for 'Jewish state'No charges have been brought against the Israeli leader, who denies any wrongdoing and has called the allegations baseless.It will be up to Israel's attorney general to decide whether to file charges. Partners in Netanyahu’s governing coalition have stood by him, saying they are awaiting the attorney general's next moves.Netanyahu has also been questioned in a third case in which police allege that the owners of Israel’s largest telecom company provided favourable coverage of him and his wife on a news website they controlled in return for special treatment favours from communications regulators. 
Israel's Netanyahu questioned again in corruption probe
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday criticized Israel’s “Jewish National Law” and the continued construction of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.At a joint press conference in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Merkel reiterated her country’s support for the Jewish state, but stressed that minorities, too, had rights.While noting her “reservations” regarding the recently approved Jewish National Law, Merkel said she nevertheless supported Israel as a “Jewish state”, adding that -- to achieve peace -- the Palestinians would also have to accept it as such.“Germany is concerned about [Israel’s] settlement policy, which makes it difficult to implement a two-state solution,” she said.Israel can beat Russian-supplied S-300 air shield in Syria: ministerShe went on to say that she planned to encourage the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) to return to the stalled Middle East peace process.The German chancellor also defended Israel’s right to protect its northern border from Iran’s military presence in Syria.“Iran is a threat to Israel and a threat to Lebanon,” she said. “It must have zero presence in Syria.” Netanyahu, for his part, reiterated his rejection of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5 1 group of nations (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany).Israel to send reinforcements to Gaza buffer zone“That deal put billions of dollars into the hands of the leading sponsors of terrorism,” he asserted.On the Palestine issue, Netanyahu called on the international community to tell the PA to stop “choking” Gaza.He went on to warn that Israel would respond to any attack by Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, with “overwhelming force”.US preparing Israel for war
Merkel offers qualified support for 'Jewish state'