What's New

Resources updated between Monday, January 16, 2017 and Sunday, January 22, 2017

January 21, 2017

View of Jerusalem from Armon Hanatziv neighborhood, where the U.N. compound is located

"An investigation by the Regavim organization, which works to ensure that Israeli sovereignty is enforced over State-owned land, has revealed that part of the UN compound in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem lies on State-owned land, and that, therefore, the government can cancel the UN's permit to reside there any time that it wishes.

The organization presented aerial pictures which prove that the UN compound infringes on about 8 acres of State-owned land which are not part of the original compound granted to the UN for its use. The Jerusalem municipality has confirmed that there are deviations at the site from the original plan, and that Police are checking the matter.

Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Zeev Elkin said this morning during an interview with Radio Tel Aviv: 'I ordered a check, and it appears that there is a problem there. The time has come for Israel to stop allowing itself to get beaten up by the UN, including the option of [evicting the UN from the premises].'"

Report: The UN is occupying State-owned Israeli land Article

January 20, 2017

January 19, 2017

Senators Tom Cotton (left) and Marco Rubio (right)

Rubio, Cotton Introduce Legislation Combating Anti-Israel Bias at United Nations Article

Governor Nikki Haley at confirmation hearing for her appointment as UN ambassador, January 18, 2017

Trump's UN Pick Will Relay Congress's Fury Over Israel Vote Article

January 18, 2017

Sergeant Major Erez Levy, killed January 18, 2017

Israeli Officer Murdered in Car-Ramming Terror Attack Document

Security after bomb threat at a Jewish Community Center in Newton, MA, January 18, 2017

At Least 25 Jewish Institutions Across US Targeted in Second Wave of Bomb Threats Article

An Iranian body builder (File photo)

An Iranian bodybuilder has been arrested for publishing revealing photos of herself on social media, the judiciary's news agency reported on Wednesday.

"One of the female bodybuilders who recently published nude photographs on social networks has been arrested," the agency said.

In Iran, "nude" can refer to any woman who is not wearing a headscarf or revealing parts of her body such as arms and legs that must be covered in public.

The unnamed bodybuilder has been sent to prison because she was unable to post bail of two million rials ($50,000, 47,000 euros), the Mizanonline news agency said.

She is thought to be one of two women reported in September to have taken part in an international competition.

Iranian women are allowed to take part in international sporting events, but must respect Islamic rules on clothing at all times.

Iran female bodybuilder arrested for un-Islamic photos Document

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon holding a picture of four Israelis killed in January 8, 2017 terror attack

Rebuking UN, Israeli Ambassador Links Anti-Settlement Resolution to Terror Article

Scene of bombing at University of Maiduguri

Two children, suspected to be 7 and 12 years old and believed to be linked to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) branch Boko Haram, reportedly carried out twin suicide bombings Monday that left at least five people dead and 15 others injured at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in the capital of northeastern Nigeria's Borno State.

Although the ISIS Nigeria-based branch has not officially claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a mosque and another location within UNIMAID, authorities and some local news outlets note that the incident bears the hallmarks of Boko Haram's brutality.

"Several times, the Boko Haram terrorists have made attempts to attack the university, but the military repelled them," notes Nigeria's Daily Post.

The attack comes after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari claimed last month that his government had dealt the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest," the group's primary stronghold that covers states parts of the northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, and Kano.

However, Boko Haram-affiliated attacks have reportedly continued. The Nigerian government has repeatedly claimed in the past to have "totally" crushed the terrorist group.

The two allegedly Boko Haram-linked children blew themselves up at or near different gates of the university in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

One of the explosions took place in a mosque near Gate 1, while the other occurred at Gate 5 of the university.

Citing Borno police spokesman Victor Isuku, Al Jazeera identifies one of the attackers as a girl believed to be 12 years old.

"The IED [improvised explosive device] strapped to her body exploded, killing her instantly," the spokesman said in a statement. "Shortly after that a second explosion occurred in a mosque inside the university."

Meanwhile, some Nigerian news outlets have identified the alleged 12-year-old as a boy, noting that Borno State police commissioner Damian Chukwu has said a "police officer instantly gunned him down and his bomb exploded and killed him instantly."

Chukwu reportedly added, "The second suicide bomber, a seven-year-old, detonated the second explosive at the senior staff quarters mosque in the university where a professor and four persons were killed and 15 persons sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to the hospital."

On Twitter, Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) points out that the deadly incident took place during early morning Islamic prayer.

"This is the first time they [Boko Haram] succeeded in causing serious damage on the university and I believe, this is due to laxity on the part of the security in the university," an unidentified lecturer at the university told Daily Post.

Reporting from the Nigerian capital of Abuja, Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris noted that violence may intensify as Boko Haram loses ground in its Sambisa Forest stronghold.

"The leader of the Boko Haram group faction, Abubakar Shekau, called on all his supporters to hit the Nigerian population as hard as possible through bombs, guns and even slash-and-burn," said the reporter.

While more than 20,000 people are believed to have been killed by Boko Haram since it began its insurgency in 2009, about 2 million have been displaced by the ISIS wing.

Nigeria: 7- and 12-Year-Old Suicide Bombers Kill Five in Suspected Boko Haram Attack Document

Illustrative photo of IDF soldiers guarding a West Bank checkpoint, August 16, 2016 (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Palestinian Tries to Stab Soldier in West Bank Document

Border Police officers guarding the entrance to Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Police Officers Thwart Jerusalem Stabbing Attack Document

Nikki Haley, nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations

Trump's U.N. Nominee to Blast World Body Over Israel: Testimony Article

January 17, 2017

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (File photo)

How New UN Secretary-General Plans to Pressure Israel Article

President Barack Obama (File photo)

Betraying Israel Article

January 16, 2017

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Theresa May

In Rare Move, Britain Blocks EU Council From Adopting Paris Peace Summit Statement Article