The Latest: Joaquin Strengthening as It Approaches Bahamas

The latest on Joaquin, which is expected to pass near the Bahamas and head toward the East Coast of the U.S. (all times local):

1:45 a.m.

Hurricane Joaquin is expected to strengthen in the Atlantic as it heads toward the central Bahamas.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Joaquin was centered about 80 miles (125 km) east-southeast of San Salvador just before 2 a.m. Thursday. The Category 3 hurricane's maximum sustained winds had increased to 120 mph (195 kph). It was moving southwest at 6 mph (9 kph) and was expected to continue in that general direction for much of Thursday.

Additional strengthening is expected, with some fluctuations in intensity Thursday night and Friday.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the Central Bahamas, including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador; and the Northwestern Bahamas, including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island and New Providence.

Forecasters say hurricane conditions are expected to reach portions of the central Bahamas in the next few hours. That area could see total rain accumulations of 10 to 15 inches because of the storm.

———

11 p.m.

Joaquin has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane in the Atlantic, where much of the Bahamas is under hurricane watches or warnings.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Joaquin was centered about 90 miles (145 kms) east of San Salvador and about 170 miles (275 kms) east of the Central Bahamas late Wednesday. The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) and was moving southwest at 6 mph (9kph).

A hurricane warning is in effect for the Central Bahamas, including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador; and the Northwestern Bahamas, including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence. A Hurricane watch is in effect for Bimini and Andros Island.

———

5 p.m.

People on the islands of the eastern Bahamas are getting ready for Hurricane Joaquin, removing stray coconuts and other debris from their yards and putting up storm shutters in blustery winds.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, Joaquin was about 175 miles (282 kilometers) east of the central Bahamas and has winds of about 85 mph (137 kph).

Chris Gosling runs a volunteer ambulance service on Eleuthera, a narrow strip to the north of Cat Island. He says people aren't panicking too much. Islanders are preparing for heavy rains, strong winds and flooding.

———

1:40 p.m.

Hurricane Joaquin has strengthened a little more as it heads toward the central Bahamas, and its maximum sustained winds are now 85 mph (137 kph).

The storm is on a projected track to move near or over parts of the central Bahamas on Wednesday night and Thursday. The islands are bracing for strong winds, heavy rain and coastal flooding.

Joaquin became a hurricane earlier Wednesday. Forecasters say it could become a major hurricane with winds of at least 111 mph (179 kph) over the next couple of days.

———

12 p.m.

Hurricane Joaquin has strengthened a little as it heads toward the central Bahamas.

Joaquin's maximum sustained winds are 80 mph (129 kph). The storm is on a projected track to move near or over parts of the central Bahamas on Wednesday night and Thursday. The islands are bracing for tropical-storm-force winds, heavy rain and coastal flooding.

The storm is expected to head toward the East Coast of the U.S. early next week. The Hurricane Center says additional strengthening is expected over the next two days.

US Finds Kuwait Airline Discriminates Against Israelis

In a challenge to boycotts of Israel, the U.S. government has found that Kuwait Airways unlawfully discriminated against a passenger traveling on an Israeli passport by refusing to sell him a ticket for a New York to London flight.

Eldad Gatt, an Israeli citizen, complained to the Department of Transportation that in 2013 he was unable to buy a ticket from John F. Kennedy Airport to London Heathrow Airport through Kuwait Airways because the airline's online booking system prevented him from selecting Israel as his passport-issuing country.

The department investigated and initially rejected Gatt's discrimination complaint, according to a statement and letter provided by transportation officials. But when Gatt appealed the department's decision, the case was reopened and the department ultimately concluded that the airline had violated a different federal law than the one initially cited by Gatt.

"We considered Mr. Gatt's claim upon an alternative ground ... which holds that an 'air carrier or foreign air carrier may not subject a person, place, port, or type of traffic in foreign air transportation to unreasonable discrimination,'" Blane Workie, DOT's assistant general counsel for enforcement said in a letter to the airline.

By refusing to transport Israeli citizens to and from the U.S. and a third country that accepts Israeli citizens, in this case the United Kingdom, the airline is in violation of the law, the letter said. "We expect (Kuwait Airways) to sell tickets to and transport Israeli citizens between the U.S. and any third country where they are allowed to disembark based on the laws of that country," Workie said.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the case is a warning that "any airline that wishes to operate in the U.S. should know that we will not tolerate discrimination of any kind in our skies."

The airline explained that it's against the law in Kuwait to do business with any Israeli citizen or company, and that punishment for a violation could result in imprisonment and hard labor, according to the department.

"We do not find the interest of Kuwait in the enforcement of its laws in this case to be greater than the interest of the United States in the enforcement of its laws," the letter said. "It is our view that the U.S. interest in providing nondiscriminatory access to air transportation to an individual traveling from the U.S. to a third country that allows that individual's entry is greater than Kuwait's interest in applying its economic boycott of Israel."

The department said it is aware of another, similar complaint.

The department has given the airline 15 days to respond. A range of enforcement actions are possible, beginning with civil penalties. Kuwait Airways officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

———

Follow Joan Lowy on http://www.twitter.com/AP—Joan—Lowy

Hurricane Joaquin Intensifies on Way to Bahamas

Hurricane Joaquin Sets Eyes on Bahamas, Eastern Seaboard

Our tenth named storm of the season, Joaquin, has strengthened into a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. It currently has winds of 80 mph, located 215 miles east-northeast of the Central Bahamas and is moving southwest at 6 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

ABC News

Over the next 48 hours The Bahamas will be affected by hurricane conditions from Joaquim.

Hurricane warnings have been posted for the Central Bahamas, and a hurricane watch is issued for the Northwestern Bahamas. These islands can expect hurricane conditions starting by Thursday morning. A storm surge of 2 to 4 feet above sea level will occur, and waves will be large and dangerous along the coast. Five to 10 inches of rainfall can be expected over the central Bahamas, but some rain totals may reach 20 inches in the islands of San Salvador and Rum Cay, where Joaquin will sit over for the next two days. Lesser amounts of 2 to 5 inches will fall in the southeastern and northwestern Bahamas.

ABC News

Hurricane Watches and Warnings have been posted for the Bahamas.

Joaquin is expected to linger over the eastern Bahamas through Friday as a hurricane. Overnight Friday into Saturday morning, the unusually warm waters is expected to allow Joaquin to strengthen into a category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds as it starts to turn north. After this northerly turn, the path becomes uncertain through the rest of weekend as it interacts with a trough over the eastern United States.

ABC News

Although forecast uncertainty remains, here is the path through Monday as of the 11AM Advisory on September 30.

"Confidence in the details of the track forecast late in the period remains low," the National Hurricane Center said. "A wide range of outcomes is possible, from a direct impact of a major hurricane along the U.S. East Coast to a track of Joaquin out to sea away from the coast."

ABC News

Here are various models showing the predicted paths of Hurricane Joaquin.

It is still too early to determine the exact impacts that Joaquin may or may not have on the United States, but regardless of the final track that Joaquin takes, a surge of tropical moisture is expected to drench the East Coast, bringing several more inches of rain to an already soaked region.

Hurricane Warning Issued in Bahamas as Joaquin Approaches

A hurricane warning has been issued for the central Bahamas as Tropical Storm Joaquin approaches.

The storm's maximum sustained winds early Wednesday are near 70 mph (110 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center says strengthening is expected and Joaquin is forecast to become a hurricane later in the day.

The storm is centered about 240 miles (390 kilometers) east-northeast of the central Bahamas and is moving west-southwest near 6 mph (9 kph).

Meanwhile in the Pacific, Marty has weakened to a tropical depression as it moves away from Mexico's coast.

Marty's maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 mph (55 kph) and it's expected to weaken to a remnant low later Wednesday or on Thursday. The depression is centered about 115 miles (185 kilometers) south-southwest of Zihuatanejo, Mexico.

Hurricane Warning Issued in the Central Bahamas as Tropical Storm Joaquin Approaches

Israel Says It Strikes Gaza Following Rocket Fire

The Israeli military says it has carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip after a rocket was launched from the Palestinian territory toward Israel. No casualties were reported in the exchange.

The military says it targeted four "terror sites" in Gaza early Wednesday. Local media reports in Gaza said Israeli warplanes hit training sites belonging to the militant Hamas group that controls Gaza.

The strikes were in retaliation for a rocket launched at southern Israel late Tuesday. The rocket was intercepted mid-air by Israel's aerial defense system.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket. Smaller militant groups in Gaza challenging Hamas' rule have claimed responsibility for sporadic rocket fire in recent months.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner says Israel holds Hamas responsible for attacks from Gaza.

Palestinians Clash With Israeli Riot Police at Holy Site

Palestinians clashed with Israeli riot police after barricading themselves in a mosque at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, throwing firebombs and rocks at officers outside during a major Jewish holiday on Monday.

The hilltop compound in Jerusalem's Old City is a frequent flashpoint and its fate is a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, site of the two biblical Jewish temples. Muslims revere it as the Noble Sanctuary, where they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Police said young protesters barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque at the site, despite an order permitting only men over the age of 50 from entering the compound for prayers. Israel has imposed the ban at times of unrest in the past as it is mostly young Palestinians who throw rocks at the holy site. Women of all ages are allowed to enter.

Spokeswoman Luba Samri said Palestinians stockpiled rocks and other projectiles at the Al-Aqsa mosque overnight.

She said police had tried to negotiate with the Waqf — the Islamic religious authority that oversees the compound — to call for calm, but talks failed and police entered the compound to seize the "dangerous devices intended to harm visitors to the site and police and endanger their lives."

Palestinians threw rocks, firebombs and firecrackers from within the mosque at police, Samri said, adding that the fire bombs sparked a fire at the entrance to the mosque. Waqf guards didn't prevent the "desecration of the sanctity of the place," she said.

Officers later managed to restore calm but sporadic Palestinian stone throwing persisted throughout the morning, she said.

It was the second day in a row of violence at the site. Monday's unrest occurred on the first day of Sukkot, a weeklong festival that celebrates the fall harvest and commemorates the wandering of the ancient Israelites through the desert following the exodus from Egypt.

In ancient times, Jews made pilgrimages to Jerusalem on Sukkot, and many Jews are expected to visit the city throughout the holiday period, raising the risk of further unrest.

Rumors have swirled among Palestinians that Jews are planning to take over the holy site, which has fueled tensions. Those rumors were exacerbated earlier this month by calls from a group of religious Jews to visit the site on the eve of the Jewish New Year.

Palestinians say in the last two months there has been a new development where Israel has intermittently restricted some Muslims from the compound when Jews visit. Israel says this is to reduce friction, but Palestinians claim that Israel intends to establish Muslim-free Jewish visiting hours, which they fear could upset the fragile arrangement in place.

Israel insists it will not allow the delicate status quo governing the site to be changed. But its actions have drawn criticism from Jordan, with whom it has a peace treaty, and other Arab countries. And the site is so sensitive that even rumors are enough to trigger unrest. Israel has also blamed Palestinian leaders for inciting the unrest.

Non-Muslim visitors are only allowed to enter the site at specific hours and are banned by police from praying there. However many Muslims view these visits as a provocation and accuse Jewish extremists of a plot to take over the site.

The hilltop compound is so holy for Jews that they traditionally have refrained from praying there, congregating instead at the adjacent Western Wall. Israel's chief rabbis, as well as the rabbi of the Western Wall, have issued directives urging people not to ascend the Temple Mount — arguing that Jews could inadvertently enter the holiest area of the once-standing temple, where it was forbidden to tread.

But there is a movement advocating the rights for Jews to pray at the hilltop. Some try and get around the ban on prayers by secretly mumbling the words.

The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement, a small group that seeks the construction of a new Jewish temple on the site, has called for a march to the compound on Wednesday — Israeli police have promised to prevent them from getting close to the site.

There were several days of clashes about two weeks ago, Muslim protesters barricaded themselves inside the mosque while hurling stones and fireworks at police. The unrest spread to Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, where Palestinian protesters hurled stones at police and Israeli cars.

An Israeli died when Palestinians pelted his car with rocks and several others were injured in other incidents. Dozens of Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli forces in violence that followed the Jerusalem unrest then.

Israel responded last week by approving harsher measures that would loosen the rules of engagement for police to respond to stone throwers.

Israel Strikes Syria After Rocket Fire

The Israeli military said Sunday it struck two Syrian army posts with artillery fire after rockets from the war-torn country landed in Israeli-controlled territory.

The military said the two rockets, which landed over the last two days, were errant fire from the Syrian conflict. They caused no damage or injuries.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, said in a statement that Israel holds the Syrian military "responsible and accountable for any aggression emanating from Syria."

Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said a Syrian army position in the Quneitra region of the Golan Heights was hit at least four times by the Israeli military. Activists have reported intense fighting between Syrian troops and insurgents in the Quneitra area in recent days.

Israel has mostly stayed on the sidelines throughout the Syrian war. But the military has returned fire when rockets or mortar shells have strayed into Israeli-controlled territory. Israel has also carried out a number of airstrikes against suspected weapons shipments destined for its enemies.

———

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Israel Approves Tougher Laws to Combat Stone Throwers

Israel Eyes Hitting Rock Throwers' Parents in the Pocket

Israel Military Says It Is Coordinating With Russia on Syria

Israel has set up a joint mechanism with the Russian military to coordinate their operations in Syria and avoid any accidental confrontations, a senior Israel military official said Thursday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of military regulations, said that teams headed by each of the militaries' deputy chiefs will hold their first meeting in two weeks and will discuss coordination of aerial, naval and electromagnetic operations around Syria.

Russia has backed the Assad regime throughout the nation's civil war, which has killed more than 250,000 people, and recently deployed forces there to help Syria in its battle against Islamic militants.

Russia has sought to cast arms supplies to Assad's government as part of international efforts to combat the Islamic State group and other militant organizations in Syria.

The United States and its allies see Assad as the cause of the Syrian crisis, and Washington has warned Moscow against beefing up its presence. But those warnings have been softer in tone, compared to the original American position that demanded Assad's ouster.

The joint mechanism is a result of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting this week in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin, in which Netanyahu raised concerns over the new Russian involvement.

Israel has mostly stayed on the sidelines throughout the Syrian war, though it has returned fire when rockets or mortar shells have strayed into Israeli-controlled territory. Its primary concern has been the potential transfer of advanced weaponry to the Shiite Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and Israel has occasionally carried out airstrikes against suspected weapons shipments.

Israel has no interest in seeing Assad, a long-time nemesis and key ally of Iran and Hezbollah, prevail. But before the civil war the Assad family maintained decades of relative quiet along the frontier, and Israel fears that if the government falls Syria could be overrun by Islamic extremists.

Israeli officials believe that Iran has recently sent hundreds of fighters into Syria to help Assad's beleaguered forces. Hezbollah forces, sent in from neighboring Lebanon, have suffered heavy losses.

Israel Bars Non-Muslim Prayer at Holy Site During Holiday

Israeli police say they have barred all non-Muslims from entering a sensitive Jerusalem site during a major Muslim holiday.

Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says police decided to allow unrestricted Muslim prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for Thursday's Eid al-Adha celebrations and to bar all others from entering.

The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, has been a flashpoint for violence in recent days.

Palestinians accuse Israel of restricting some access to the mosque while Jewish worshippers visited the site.

Tensions boiled over last week on the eve of the Jewish new year when Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the mosque and threw rocks and firecrackers at police. An Israeli man was also died in Jerusalem after Palestinians pelted his car with rocks.

Israeli Forces Shoot Palestinian After Attempted Stabbing

Israeli Forces Shoot Palestinian After Stabbing Attempt

The Israeli military says troops have shot a Palestinian woman after she attempted to stab a soldier at a West Bank checkpoint.

The military says the attempted stabbing took place on Tuesday in the West Bank city of Hebron. The woman's condition was not immediately known. The soldier was not wounded.

Earlier in the day, the military says a Palestinian man was found dead in a village near Hebron allegedly after an explosive device he was handling went off. The military says it arrived in the area to respond to rock throwing. The Palestinians said the circumstances behind the man's death are unclear.

The violence comes amid rising tensions surrounding a Jerusalem site holy to both Jews and Muslims. Clashes have erupted in Jerusalem between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police.

Putin Seeks to Assuage Israel's Fears of Syrian Aggression

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assuage Israel's fears of a potential Iranian and Syrian aggression.

The West has been concerned over Russia's military buildup in Syria, which Moscow has said is aimed to help the Syrian government fight the Islamic State group. Russia, Syria's long-standing ally, has denied that it helps Syria militarily to support the regime of Bashar Assad.

Earlier this week, new satellite imagery showed the recent arrival of Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers and other military equipment at an air base in Syria's coastal Latakia province, confirming reports by U.S., Israeli and other officials of a Russian military buildup.

Netanyahu told Putin at the start of the meeting at his residence outside Moscow that Iran with the help of the Syrian army "is trying to set up a second terrorist front on the Golan Heights," which Israel captured from Syria and effectively annexed in 1981.

Putin told Netanyahu on Monday that his fears of a Syrian and Iranian aggression in the area are unfounded.

"We know that the Syrian army and Syria as a whole are in such a state that they have no time for a second front. They need to save their own state," Putin told Netanyahu in televised comments. "But still, I understand your concerns."

Israel Launches Air Strikes on Gaza After Rockets Fired

Clashes Erupt In Israel On Palestinian 'Day Of Rage'

Israel PM to Hold 'Emergency Meeting' on Palestinian Attacks

Israel's prime minister will convene an "emergency meeting" over recent Palestinian attacks, an official at his office said Monday, hours after a man died in a crash after rocks were thrown at his car and violence broke out at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site for a second day in a row.

Benjamin Netanyahu will hold the consultations with top ministers Tuesday night after the Jewish new year holiday of Rosh Hashanah ends. "The prime minister views with great severity the throwing of rocks and fire bombs against Israeli citizens and intends to fight the phenomena by all means, including increasing punishment and enforcement," the official said anonymously according to protocol.

The announcement came several hours after a Jewish man died from wounds sustained when rocks were thrown at his car. Spokeswoman Luba Samri said the man was injured early Monday as his vehicle was attacked while returning from a meal marking the Jewish new year. She said the identity of the attackers is unknown but they are likely from a nearby Arab neighborhood.

Police said they are investigating all causes for the crash but would not elaborate. Israeli media reported the driver lost control of the wheel following a heart attack that might have been triggered by the rocks thrown at his car.

There has been a spike in Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians and soldiers over the past year that resulted in fatalities and casualties.

Palestinians have also been assaulted; in the deadliest incident a toddler was killed in an arson attack on a home in the West Bank in July. His parents later died of their wounds. That attack was widely condemned across the board in Israel and the government vowed to crackdown on Israeli extremists.

Earlier Monday, police and Palestinian stone throwers clashed for a second day in a row at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site.

The compound is holy to Jews as the Temple Mount, site of the two biblical Jewish temples. Muslims revere it as the Noble Sanctuary where they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The fate of the site is a core issue at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Spokeswoman Luba Samri said protesters threw rocks at officers who entered the area to ensure security. She said several masked Palestinians suspected of stone throwing were arrested. Police also arrested protesters who attacked a Jewish man, she said.

The holy site is a frequent flashpoint of violence. On Sunday, police clashed with Palestinians who barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and threw rocks and firecrackers. A Jewish man wearing a traditional prayer shawl was attacked as he passed through a nearby alleyway in the old city.

Since Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967, Jewish worshippers have been allowed to visit — but not pray — at the site.

The area is administered by Muslim authorities and is under Jordanian custody. Muslim authorities view the presence of Jewish worshippers and Israeli police as a provocation and accuse Jewish extremists of plotting to take over the site.

Israel has promised to ensure the status quo at the site.

Israeli Police, Palestinians Clash at Jerusalem Holy Site

Israel Police Clash With Palestinians at Jerusalem Holy Site

Israeli police say they have restored calm around Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site after early-morning clashes with Palestinian protesters.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says police moved into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound at around 7 a.m. Sunday. He says police had received reports that the protesters were planning to disrupt visits to the area by Jewish worshippers. The clashes took place hours before the onset of the Jewish New Year.

Israeli police say the protesters threw rocks and firecrackers at police as they barricaded themselves inside the mosque. There were no reports of arrests or injuries, though Rosenfeld says police may arrest protesters when they exit the building. The site was opened to visitors.

The hilltop compound is revered by both Jews and Muslims and is a frequent flashpoint of violence.

Why 'Immoral' Saturday Soccer Is Under Threat in Israel

Clarification: Israel-Christian Schools Story

In a story Sept. 6, The Associated Press reported that the Christian population of the Holy Land has shrunk over the decades. Since Israel's founding in 1948, the country's Christian population has grown, albeit at a lower rate than the Jewish and Muslim populations, and in part with a boost by immigration from the former Soviet Union, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. But the Christian community has dramatically shrunk in percentage terms when compared to other religions. According to the Vatican, Christians constituted 10 percent of the Holy Land's population before the war surrounding Israel's establishment. Today, they are just under 2 percent of Israel's population, according to official figures. The Vatican also estimates the Christian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to be below 2 percent of the overall population. The Vatican and Christian experts say the community has suffered from a lower birthrate than other sectors as well as emigration by people fleeing conflict or seeking better opportunities abroad.

Binyamin Netanyahu visits UK as protesters demand his arrest

Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is flying into the UK for a highly charged visit, demanding that Europe treat Israel as a partner in the fight against the “medievalism” of militant Islam, rather than criticise it over its policies towards Palestinians.

Netanyahu’s spoke to reporters as he prepared to fly to London, while protesters demonstrated outside Downing Street against his visit and a petition for his arrest for alleged war crimes from last summer’s conflict in Gaza swelled beyond 100,000 signatures.

Speaking after meeting the European council president, Donald Tusk, Netanyahu said Europe “should support Israel – not pressure Israel, not attack Israel but support Israel, which is the only real shield that Europe and the Middle East have against extremist Islam, which is surging”.

Police officers separate rival protests in London on Wednesday. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

His two-day visit to London – during which he will meet the prime minister, David Cameron – comes against the background of mounting foreign policy problems for Netanyahu.

Those include his failure to block in US Congress the nuclear deal between world powers, including the UK, and Iran, and the threat by the EU to insist on labelling for products from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories.

Using confrontational language, Netanyahu added that Israel, like Europe, was under threat from violent Islam and the two needed to stand together.

“We’re challenged by the opposite of modernity, which is a barbaric mediaevalism, early mediaevalism, primitive, savage, murderous, that comes from the two sources of militant Islam,” he said, referring to Sunnis and Shias.

“We are ready to work together with Europe, Africa and other places in order to fight extremist Islam. But this necessitates a change in attitude, and this change will take time. But we will bring it about,” Netanyahu added.

Related: Binyamin Netanyahu's UK visit denounced

On the home front, he promised to toughen security measures on his return. “We need to fight radical Islam, not just within our borders, as we have been doing, but also within our territories,” he said.

“Once I return to Israel, I will hold an additional wrap-up meeting that will deal with reinforcing our security presence, bolstering enforcement of laws, instituting minimum penalties, destroying the homes of suicide bombers, and other steps that we are determined to carry out against anyone who tries to do us harm from within Israel.

“My policy is one of zero tolerance of terrorism, and that is what we will do.”

Critics in Israel of Netanyahu’s foreign policy say he has left the country increasingly isolated in the international community.

Since being re-elected earlier this year, Netanyahu has dispensed with a foreign minister and raised eyebrows by appointing an outspoken rightwing rival from his own party, Danny Danon, as UN ambassador. Danon has spoken in the past of his opposition to a two state solution.

In that context, his comments appeared to be an attempt to shift the focus of discussion away from the frequent talk of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, its restrictions towards the Gaza Strip and the need for a return to peace talks with the Palestinians, who seek statehood in the two territories.

Europe is pursuing plans to enforce the labelling of products made in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to make clear they are made on occupied land rather than in Israel. That move has angered Israel, which believes Europe is applying double standards and sanctioning an important trade partner.

Netanyahu’s visit to the UK has already sparked protests. On Wednesday, about 300 demonstrators waving flags and “Free Palestine” banners staged a noisy protest that spilled on to the main road outside Downing Street in London.

Netanyahu is due to hold talks with Cameron on Thursday morning.

The British government has made clear that as a visiting head of state, Netanyahu has immunity from arrest and prosecution. On the issue of Gaza, it added in a statement: “We recognise that the conflict in Gaza last year took a terrible toll. However, the prime minister was clear on the UK’s recognition of Israel’s right to take proportionate action to defend itself, within the boundaries of international humanitarian law.”

One protester outside Downing Street, 21-year-old student Marion Tehami, said: “We’re here because we feel that Netanyahu should pay for his war crimes. We’re here to protest and let him know that he’s not welcome in our country.”

A short distance away, in a separate cordoned off area, about 50 pro-Israel demonstrators waved the Israeli flag.

What's the best bit of the UN? No 5: UNRWA

Unique among the main UN organisations, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency was set up to deal with what was then regarded as a temporary refugee problem, and an individual one at that: the plight of Palestinian refugees.

Established in 1949 the body was mandated to carry out relief and works programmes supporting about 750,000 Palestinians who had fled their homes in the conflict, which was triggered by the establishment of the state of Israel.

The UN general assembly, which mandated the UNRWA’s establishment, has continued to renew the organisation’s mandate in the absence of an agreed solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, both those who were internally displaced to camps in the West Bank and Gaza and to neighbouring countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

By 1965 the UNRWA’s definition of whom it would serve had been changed, first, to the third generation of refugees – born after 14 May 1948 – and by 1982 to all generations of descendants, totalling upwards of 5 million people.

The agency’s main task is to maintain and provide services – including education and healthcare and relief during times of conflict – in the large network of camps, the most substantial of which are in Gaza. In particular UNRWA schools educate 500,000 pupils across the region.

The UNRWA has faced criticism from Israeli political figures and pro-Israeli commentators over a number of issues, most significantly whether its existence perpetuates the refugee problem and over issues of neutrality, to which it has always responded forcefully.

Its facilities in Gaza have been the target of Israeli military strikes, most recently during last summer’s conflict when UNRWA schools being used as shelters were struck, causing numerous fatalities.

In recent months the agency has faced a pressing new problem – its worst funding crisis . It was triggered by last summer’s conflict in Gaza and the continuing war in Syria, where it supports refugees in camps such as Yarmouk, which is suffering a typhoid outbreak. The agency’s costs have spiralled as a result.

In Gaza, the agency says, the long-term effects of the joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade have seen those going to the UNRWA for food assistance rise from 80,000 in the year 2000 to 860,000.

Despite announcing that it would be investing $750m in reconstruction in Gaza, the agency has received only a third of the amount promised by donors. It warned earlier this summer that it might not be able to run its schools.

The funding crisis has, in turn, created frictions with Palestinians. There have been demonstrations outside UNRWA offices, and the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has been drawn in to help end the cash shortage from donors.

• Now we want to hear from you. If you’ve been involved with the UN in some way, we’d like to hear about your experiences – or if you’d just like to share your views – then please use the form below. We will be using the most interesting contributions in our reporting.

Israel’s important role in the Middle East | Letters

It’s sad that the anti-Israel lobby are doing all they can to demonise Israel and its elected leader Binyamin Netanyahu (Letters, 8 September), but their claims and hate-filled rhetoric are without substance. How low will they stoop in their malicious misrepresentation of Israel as the cause, and Netanyahu as the one to blame, for of all the world’s problems? According to their distorted worldview Israel is now responsible for the refugee crisis. I have no doubt that some innocent Palestinians have escaped the oppressive Hamas-led regime in Gaza. They may well have joined the vast groundswell of refugees from war-torn Syria. However, to link the current refugee crisis with Netanyahu’s trip to the UK and the Gaza conflict is a deliberate attempt to imply guilt independent of the facts.

The Syrian conflict has seen almost 200,000 people killed and over 10 million displaced. Nearly 4 million have sought refuge in other countries and now we are seeing a massive influx into Europe. The scale of this crisis is immense, and there are no easy answers to the problem. Indeed we need to pray for David Cameron and our government in how they address this heart-rending issue. It’s underhand that a human catastrophe of this magnitude should be used by the anti-Israel lobby as a battering ram against Netanyahu. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, and the UK should be fully supporting Israel as our only hope for security and stability in the region. Demands for sanctions and an arms embargo against Israel should be denounced. Israel supports freedom of religion whereas Christians in other parts the Middle East are among the most persecuted people on Earth. In Israel, Jews, Christians and Muslims coexist and have equal rights. We should applaud Israel for this religious freedom. We welcome Netanyahu to the UK and are pleased that our government recognises who our true friends are.
Des Starritt
Executive director, Christians United for Israel UK

• The Jewish Leadership Council proudly welcomes Binyamin Netanyahu to the UK. His visit is particularly significant as our community enjoys great freedom and security here, and our deep and close relationship with the state of Israel plays an ever more important role in our culture and identity. It is for that reason that we are delighted to join members of our community in Whitehall to show solidarity with Prime Minister Netanyahu during his visit. I truly hope that Britain will continue to be at the forefront of protecting Israel, enforcing the provisions of the Iran agreement, if it is ratified, and standing against Iran’s dangerous destabilising policies in the Middle East. The success of UK-Israel trade and cultural ties are well known, and I hope the political link continues to emulate them.
Simon Johnson
CEO, Jewish Leadership Council

US-Israel Spat Over Iran Deal May Sideline Palestinians

In recent months, many in the Middle East had assumed — some in hope, others with concern — that once the Iranian nuclear issue was resolved, the United States would make another push for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But the opposite seems more likely.

After a drawn-out confrontation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Iranian nuclear deal, the White House seems to have little appetite for what would almost certainly be a new round of tensions with the Israeli leader over the terms of Palestinian statehood. With the odds of success slim and U.S. elections approaching, President Barack Obama seems more interested in repairing his tattered relationship with Israel, leaving the Palestinian issue to his successor.

In recent comments, Obama has spoken of boosting security cooperation and providing upgraded military hardware to make up for Israeli misgivings over the nuclear deal. Speaking to the Jewish newspaper The Forward last week, he likened his differences with Israel to a disagreement inside a family and predicted relations would survive the test. "I think it is important for everybody to just take a breath for a moment and recognize that people on both sides of the debate love the United States and also love Israel," Obama said. He made no mention of the Palestinian issue.

A U.S. State Department official told The Associated Press that the U.S. is not planning any bold new diplomatic initiatives after the Iran deal makes its way through Congress. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In Israel, there had been speculation that Obama might act otherwise. "Now that President Barack Obama has got his Iran deal ... he will likely also try, in the year and four months until the presidential elections, to turn his attention to other urgent regional issues, such as Syria, and the talks or lack thereof between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," Israeli commentator Avi Issacharoff wrote in the Times of Israel in July.

The Palestinians have also said they have received vague assurances from the U.S. that they have not been forgotten.

Several factors argue against another White House push to end Israel's half-century-old occupation of Palestinians.

First is Obama's apparent eagerness to make amends after a period of startling acrimony symbolized by Netanyahu's controversial speech to Congress in March, when he railed against the emerging nuclear deal. Netanyahu has only stepped up his criticism since the deal was sealed in Vienna in July, having his ambassador to Washington lobby against the agreement in meetings with American lawmakers. Even after Obama secured the needed support in Congress to uphold the deal last week, Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting it.

The U.S.-led deal gives Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Netanyahu, with widespread support among the Israeli public, believes Iran will use its newfound funds to promote violence in the region and says the deal will not prevent Iran from ultimately gaining the ability to produce nuclear bombs. Israeli media often depict Obama as naive or even hostile to the country.

Binyamin Netanyahu's UK visit denounced

A group of union leaders, Labour MPs and other prominent leftwingers has denounced Binyamin Netanyahu’s official visit to Britain this week, saying that as head of government the Israeli prime minister “must bear responsibility for war crimes identified by the UN human rights council in its investigation into Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza”.

Related: Netanyahu deserves sanctions, not a welcome to the UK, say union leaders and others | Letter

In a joint letter, published in the Guardian, they say the Israeli government has created “hell” in Gaza, and that Palestinians fleeing the situation were among refugees who had drowned in the Mediterranean this year. “Our prime minister should not be welcoming the man who presides over Israel’s occupation and its siege on Gaza,” the letter reads.

The authors point to the results of a UN inquiry into the 2014 Gaza war that found both the Israeli armed forces and Hamas were responsible for possible war crimes. During the conflict in July and August of last year, Israel carried out 6,000 airstrikes and fired 50,000 tanks and artillery shells, killing 1,462 Palestinian civilians, a third of them children.

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups fired 4,881 rockets and 1,753 mortar rounds towards Israel in July and August 2014, killing six civilians and injuring at least 1,600.

The international criminal court is conducting a preliminary investigation into the conduct of the war in the face of stiff Israeli opposition. Meanwhile, more than 105,000 Britons have signed an online petition calling for Netanyahu to be arrested on war crimes charges when he arrives, passing the 100,000-signature threshold required for parliament to consider a debate on the issue.

Israel’s foreign ministry has previously described the petition as “a PR exercise with no real meaning. Bilateral ties between Britain and Israel are closer than ever before, as evidenced by data on mutual trade, doubled in recent years, and by cooperation in academic studies, culture and science between the two countries.”

Netanyahu rejected the UN report at the time of its publication in June this year, describing it as biased. “The commission that wrote it is under a committee that does everything but protect human rights,” he said.

The letter protesting against his Thursday visit is signed by the leaders of Unite, the RMT, Aslef, and the TSSA unions; Labour MPs Jo Stevens and Cat Smith; and SNP MP Tommy Sheppard; as well as the film director Ken Loach, the poet Benjamin Zephaniah and the comedian Alexei Sayle.

Related: UN accuses Israel and Hamas of possible war crimes during 2014 Gaza conflict

“While Cameron continues to impose limits on the number of refugees who can take shelter in the UK, he is willing to welcome Netanyahu to our shores … We call on him to instead impose immediate sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law and ends the blockade and the occupation,” the letter says.

The visit is expected to trigger widespread protests and stiff security measures. There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Israeli embassy in London, or from Downing Street. However, in an earlier response to calls for Netanyahu’s arrest, a UK government statement said he would have immunity as a visiting head of government.

“We recognise that the conflict in Gaza last year took a terrible toll. As the prime minister said, we were all deeply saddened by the violence and the UK has been at the forefront of international reconstruction efforts,” said the statement. “However, the prime minister was clear on the UK’s recognition of Israel’s right to take proportionate action to defend itself, within the boundaries of international humanitarian law.”

Netanyahu deserves sanctions, not a welcome to the UK, say union leaders and others | Letter

This week, David Cameron is due to welcome the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to the UK. As head of government, Netanyahu must bear responsibility for war crimes identified by the UN human rights council in its investigation into Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza. And yet, while Cameron continues to impose limits on the number of refugees who can take shelter in the UK, he is willing to welcome Netanyahu to our shores.

Palestinians fleeing the hell that Israel has created in Gaza (Report, 3 September) are among the thousands of refugees who have drowned in the Mediterranean in the last year. Our prime minister should not be welcoming the man who presides over Israel’s occupation and its siege of Gaza. We call on him to instead impose immediate sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law and ends the blockade and the occupation.

Len McCluskey General secretary, Unite the Union
Mick Cash General secretary, RMT
Mick Whelan General secretary, Aslef
Manuel Cortes General secretary, TSSA
Jo Stevens MP
Cat Smith MP
Tommy Sheppard MP
Baroness Jenny Tonge
Geoffrey Bindman QC
Hugh Lanning Chair, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Bruce Kent CND
Professor Steven Rose
Professor Ilan Pappe
Professor Karma Nabulsi
Alexei Sayle
Bella Freud
Benjamin Zephaniah
Paul Laverty
Ken Loach
Victoria Brittain
Ahdaf Soueif

Israel Building Syrian Fence, Won't Accept Refugees

Israel Starts Building Border Fence on Frontier With Jordan

Israel has begun building a fence along part of the country's eastern border with Jordan as Syrian civil war refugees and other migrants flee their countries.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday: "We see today what happens when countries lose control of their borders." He seemed to be referring to the massive influx of refugees from the war-torn Middle East and African migrants heading to Europe.

Netanyahu earlier bemoaned the "human tragedy" of Syria's civil war and said Israel has aided its victims. However, he said Israel is too small to take them.

Israel already built fences along its border with Egypt to stop African migrants and in the Golan Heights bordering Syria.

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog said Saturday that Israel should take in a limited number of Syrian refugees.

Netanyahu to Scrap Ban on Israeli Journalists Airing Views

Israel's prime minister says he will scrap a newly passed law banning journalists working for the country's public broadcast authority from expressing their opinions on air.

Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not say Sunday when the contested legislation will be reversed.

The law, passed early Thursday, drew criticism from journalists, who accused the government of trying to stifle dissent. The law said broadcasts should "avoid one-sidedness, prejudice, expressing personal opinions, giving grades and affixing labels."

The Israel Press Council urged parliament to cancel the law, saying it violates free speech.

Following Netanyahu's about-face, the Cabinet minister who pushed for the legislation resigned from his role overseeing public broadcasting. Ofir Akunis, one of Netanyahu's closest confidantes, says he couldn't keep functioning with such a "lack of backing."

The Latest: Israel PM Says Country Cannot Take Migrants

The latest news as countries across Europe cope with the arrival of thousands of migrants and refugees. All times local (CET):

———

10:00 a.m.

French mayors are offering to house refugees amid increasing concern for Syrians and others fleeing war and seeking haven in Europe.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement Sunday that several dozen mayors have offered to help in recent days, and convened a national meeting to organize refugee housing on Sept. 12.

France is trying to speed up the process for seeking asylum and to better welcome refugees, as the numbers coming to Europe this year have soared. Many asylum seekers in France have no place to live and sleep in make-shift camps, from Paris to Calais.

A grassroots French group arranging private housing for refugees has also seen a spike in offers in recent days, after the widely viewed photo of a drowned Syrian boy helped raise public awareness.

———

9:30 a.m.

On the Greek island of Lesbos, police have used batons to beat back a demonstration by some 300 migrants chanting "Athena, Athena" as they tried to come out of the port area. Several of the protesters were injured in the clash, with one taken away unconscious by an ambulance.

The migrants, mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, say that local authorities on the Aegean island are not processing them quickly enough so they can continue their journey to western Europe. They also complain that authorities on Lesbos are not offering them any help and that they are fast running out of money.

The clashes early Sunday were the third in as many days between migrants and police. The demonstration on Sunday was led by Afghans.

———

9:15 a.m.

Thousands of migrants and refugees have arrived by train and bus in cities across Germany overnight.

Police say a special train with 570 people on board arrived in the Thuringian town of Saalfeld late Saturday. More than half of them were taken onward to Dresden, where a school for German army officers has been cleared to provide temporary shelter for 350 newcomers.

Trains also took migrants to Hamburg in the north and Dortmund in the west of the country, while buses brought more than 300 people to the capital Berlin.

Thousands more people, mainly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans fleeing war and persecution, are expected to arrive in Germany and Austria from Hungary on Sunday.

The refugees were allowed to leave Hungary Saturday after the country opened its borders with Austria.

The Latest: Opposition Leader Urges Israel to Take Refugees

The latest news as tens of thousands of migrants pour into countries across Europe. All times local (CET):

11:20 a.m.

The first train carrying 167 migrants from Austria to Germany has arrived in Munich.

Police say the train arrived in the Bavarian capital at 10:25 a.m. (0825 GMT). The migrants were among a larger group who had traveled by bus from Hungary to Austria.

Federal police spokesman Simon Hegewald told The Associated Press that a specially chartered train from Salzburg, Austria, with several hundred migrants on board was expected in Munich around noon.

11:15 a.m.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila says he is ready to open his house for refugees, and they can move in on Jan. 1, 2016.

Sipila told Finnish broadcaster YLE Saturday morning that his family has a house in central Finland that they no longer use since moving to Helsinki.

Details of how to apply and how many people the house could accommodate weren't immediately available.

Last month, Finland's interior ministry said it expects that up to 15,000 people would apply for asylum in the country — 10,000 higher than previous estimates.

The leader of the Center Party, Sipila has been heading a center-right government since May.

9:00 a.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says there is no legal limit to the number of asylum seekers her country can receive.

Merkel told the Funke consortium of newspapers in an interview published Saturday that "the right to political asylum has no limits on the number of asylum seekers."

She says that "as a strong, economically healthy country we have the strength to do what is necessary" and ensure every asylum seeker gets a fair hearing.

But Merkel repeated her government's position that those migrants who stand no realistic chance of getting permission to stay need to be returned to their home country.

Germany has seen tens of thousands of migrants arriving each month, many of them refugees fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Eritrea and elsewhere.

———

7 a.m.

More than 1,000 people from the Middle East and Asia, exhausted after breaking away from police and marching for hours toward Western Europe, have arrived before dawn Saturday on the border with Austria.

The breakthrough became possible when Austria announced that it and Germany would take the migrants on humanitarian grounds and to aid their EU neighbor.

In jubilant scenes on the border, hundreds of migrants bearing blankets over their shoulders to provide cover from heavy rains walked off from buses and into Austria, where volunteers at a roadside Red Cross shelter offered them hot tea and handshakes of welcome.

Many collapsed in exhaustion on the floor, smiles on their faces.

Israel Unveils 1,800-Year-Old Sarcophagus

Israel has unveiled an 1,800-year-old sarcophagus that workers found at a building site and initially tried to conceal.

The Antiquities Authority called the sarcophagus, which was shown to media Thursday, "one of the most important and beautiful" ever found in Israel.

The two-ton limestone coffin features a life-size carving of a human figure wearing a toga on the lid and designs around the sides, including a Medusa head. Archaeologist Gaby Mazor says the piece dates back to the 3rd century and was likely commissioned by a wealthy Roman family.

Antiquities Authority Spokeswoman Yoli Shwartz says it was damaged when workers unearthed it at a construction site. Contractors then hid the piece, fearing it would force them to halt work. She said legal action would be taken.

'De-Development' Could Make Gaza Uninhabitable in 5 Years

Gaza becoming uninhabitable as society and economy collapse – UN report

A United Nations report says Gaza could be “uninhabitable” in less than five years if current economic trends continue.

Findings by the UN Conference on Trade and Development point to the eight years of economic blockade of Gaza as well as the three wars between Israel and the Palestinians over the past six years.

The 2014 war displaced half a million people and left parts of Gaza destroyed.

Related: Hopeless in Gaza?

War “has effectively eliminated what was left of the middle class, sending almost all of the population into destitution and dependence on international humanitarian aid”, the new report says.

Gaza’s GDP dropped 15% in 2014 and unemployment reached a record high of 44%, while 72% of households were food insecure.

The wars had shattered Gaza’s ability to export and produce for the domestic market and left no time for reconstruction, the report said. It noted that Gaza’s “de-development” had been accelerated.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade of Gaza since the Islamic militant group Hamas took control of the territory in 2007.

The report comes as Egyptian military bulldozers press ahead with a project that effectively would fill Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip with water and flood the last remaining cross-border underground smuggling tunnels, which have brought both commercial items and weapons into Gaza.

The report calls the economic prospects for 2015 for the Palestinian territories “bleak” because of the unstable political situation, reduced aid and the slow pace of reconstruction.

Israeli Raid Ends With Gunbattle, Home Bulldozed

Trying to Rebuild Your House in Gaza Is a Nightmare