Israel

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with reports from Bethlehem BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (BosNewsLife)-- Palestinian officials are hindering court cases involving Coptic nuns attacked in the Westbank town of Bethlehem, activists say. The trials relate to violence on April 30 last year in and around the St Mary's Coptic Church and Convent in Bethlehem, the Biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ, explained advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC).

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Senior Middle East Correspondent reporting from Israel JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called on Muslims around the world to mobilize their troops alongside Iran against Israel and the United States to prepare for the coming of the "Mahdi" seen as "the savior of Islam".

BosNewsLife Middle East Service JERUSALEM/GAZA CITY (BosNewsLife)-- Militant group Hamas announced a "ceasefire" Sunday, January 18, giving Israeli troops a week to leave, hours after an Israeli ceasefire began.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- Israeli authorities continue to investigate an arson attack on a Jerusalem church building that church h officials say has long been a focal point for anti-Christian sentiment in a Jewish ultra-Orthodox-leaning neighborhood.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife Columns)-- It is “the secret sin” that no one wants to talk about, according to one Iraq-raised Christian. It's, she says, “the elephant in the room in the Arab Christian sub-culture.”

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Jerusalem Bureau Chief JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife) -- The son of a founder of the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, who became a Christian and spied for Israel, will be granted political asylum in the United States as the Department of Homeland Security dropped its objections, BosNewsLife established Thursday, July 1.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service JERUSALEM/GAZA CITY (BosNewsLife)-- Palestinian Christians on Tuesday, October 7, urged prayers as they observed the second anniversary of the day that militants murdered the director of the only known Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip.

By Stefan J. Bos Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with reporting from Jerusalem and RomeJERUSALEM/ROME (BosNewsLife Columns)-- The man claiming to be the Messiah miraculously appeared before his friends and followers Sunday, April 1, after He died at a cross on Golgotha hill near Jerusalem's walls.

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Jerusalem Bureau Chief JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife) -- Nearly half of Israelis want the Biblical Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem according to a major opinion poll, commissioned by Israel's Knesset Television Channel and monitored by BosNewsLife Saturday, July 24.

By George Whitten, BosNewsLife Chief Middle East Correspondent reporting from Israel JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BosNewsLife)-- A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas was threatened Tuesday, January 27, when a bomb exploded on the Israeli side of the Gaza border killing an Israeli soldier and injuring three others, the Israeli army said.