AMMAN: Palestinian parents and students succeeded in closing most schools in East Jerusalem on Monday in protest at attempts by the Israeli Ministry of Education to force them to accept a censored version of the Palestinian curriculum.

Some 152 schools did not open because students failed to turn up.

The decision to launch the city-wide stayaway was taken by parent-led committees. This was meant to prevent school administrations from having to choose to do so and potentially suffer a major loss of funding.

RAMALLAH: As Yousef Adi strolled through the Old City of Jerusalem on his way to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, the last thought on his mind was that he would end up bloodied, beaten and unconscious in hospital.

But thanks to the actions of a rogue element of the Israeli security forces that critics say is increasingly out of control, that is exactly what happened.

DUBAI: Dubai will host special Saudi National Day celebrations from Sep. 23-26, Dubai Media Office announced on Monday.

“With the close ties between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and with so many Saudi nationals living in and visiting Dubai, the city will host an extensive programme of special celebrations for the Kingdom and its people, including spectacular concerts and entertainment, unbeatable retail promotions, fun-filled activities, and amazing hotel deals,” the office said.

AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni military forces have retaken a major military facility and surrounding mountains from Al-Qaeda in the southern province of Abyan, consolidating gains made against the militants within their strongholds.

Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, a military spokesperson for the pro-independence Southern Transitional Council, told Arab News on Monday that their forces had fully taken control of a significant military base used by Al-Qaeda militants in the Omaran valley in Abyan.

JERUSALEM: Israeli archaeologists on Sunday announced the “once-in-a-lifetime” discovery of a burial cave from the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, filled with dozens of pottery pieces and bronze artifacts.

The cave was uncovered on a beach recently, when a mechanical digger working at the Palmahim national park hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.