Free Republic

Was Saul real king of Israel? January 4, 2003 1:06 am By RICHARD N. OSTLING Scholars debate history from Bible AP RELIGION WRITERTORONTO--Judging from a session at 2002's key gathering of Bible scholars, King Saul and King David aren't dead yet. So to speak.A lengthy session on non-biblical evidence for the first kings of ancient Israel occurred during the convention of the Society of Biblical Literature, held in November.These are often called years of "crisis" in Old Testament history. Traditionalists say the Old Testament reliably records ancient Israel's history or, more liberally, is substantially historical, though with problems and mistakes.These...

Militants belonging to the ‘State of Sinai’ group in Egypt have promised to “kill more Copts” after murdering a 27-year-old Coptic man because of the tattoo of a cross on his wrist. Bassem Herz Attalhah, also known as Haythem Shehata, was on his way home from work in El-Arish, capital of North Sinai governorate, on Saturday evening (13 January), with his brother Osama and neighbour and friend Mohamed, when they were stopped by three armed men, aged between 23 and 25. “We thought they were policemen because they weren’t masked… They were wearing black jackets,” Osama, 38, told World Watch...

Militants Attack Hotel in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Killing at Least 7 By KAREEM FAHIMNOV. 24, 2015 CAIRO — Islamic State militants attacked a hotel in the northern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt with explosives and gunfire early on Tuesday, killing at least seven people, including a judge, according to security officials, Egyptian state media and a statement by the group. The hotel, the Swiss Inn Resort in El Arish, was housing judges who were monitoring Egypt’s parliamentary elections, an important political milestone for the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The militants were able to penetrate the hotel despite the heavy...

CAIRO — Gunmen killed eight civilians, including a child, in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula where the army is battling a jihadist insurgency, medical and security sources said Thursday. Unidentified armed men shot and killed seven men and a four-year-old child in their home in El Arish in North Sinai on Wednesday night, a security official said. - See more at: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/region/eight-civilians-killed-egypt%E2%80%99s-sinai#sthash.Y6bEEq6x.dpuf

Terrorists operating in the Egyptian resort town of El Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a hotel, according to Al-Ahram. Casualties were reported. Officials in Sinai say the political instability that continues to wrack the country in the wake of Mohammed Morsi’s ouster by the military is having an adverse impact on tourism to the peninsula, according to Al-Ahram.

CAIRO (AFP) – Militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula bombed a gas pipeline to Jordan on Sunday, witnesses said, amid a surge in attacks on police and soldiers since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi's removal from office. Witnesses told AFP the blast took place near the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish, scene of major disturbances since Morsi's overthrow by the military on Wednesday. On Friday, armed Morsi supporters stormed the provincial headquarters, raising the black banner of Al-Qaeda-inspired militants, an AFP correspondent reported. A Jordanian government official confirmed that gas supplies to the energy-poor kingdom were cut. "The gas supplies to...

Battlements Found at Egypt's Ancient East Gateway Wed Jun 30, 2004 01:52 PM ET CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - An Egyptian archaeological team has uncovered battlements from Pharaonic times at the ancient eastern gateway to Egypt in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, the Culture Ministry said Wednesday. The find includes three fortifications built in the area of Tharu, an ancient city which stood on a branch of the Nile that has long since dried up, a ministry statement said. The battlements stand on the ancient Horus Road, a vital commercial and military artery from ancient Egypt to Asia. The discoveries,...