Palestinians hurled stones and Israeli police fired rubber-coated bullets at a major Jerusalem holy site early Friday that has seen waves of unrest in recent weeks.

The police say Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound began hurling stones and fireworks around dawn in the direction of a heavily guarded gate that leads to the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray. The police advanced into the compound, firing rubber-coated bullets.

Thousands of Iranians took to the streets Friday to join annual pro-Palestinian rallies, as Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Jerusalem left dozens injured.

The family of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has received a death threat and bullet in the mail for the second time this week, the police said Thursday.

According to an Israeli official familiar with the matter, the target of the threats was Bennett's 17-year-old son. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Sirens blared across Israel early Thursday as the country came to a standstill in an annual ritual honoring the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

People halted where they were walking, and drivers stopped their cars to get out of the vehicles as people bowed their heads in memory of the victims of the Nazi genocide. Ceremonies were planned throughout the day at Israel's national Holocaust memorial, parliament and elsewhere.

A large fire erupted at a luxury Dubai hotel on Wednesday, forcing guests and staff to leave and sending smoke over the United Arab Emirates' tourism and trade hub.

Several fire engines and police cars were deployed at the five-star Swissôtel Al Murooj hotel in downtown Dubai as dozens of people huddled outside. No injuries were reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will to travel to Saudi Arabia on Thursday in a major reset of relations between two regional heavyweights following the slaying of a Saudi columnist in Istanbul.

It marks the latest leg of Ankara's bridge-building efforts with regional rivals. It will be Erdogan's first visit to the kingdom since 2017, the year before Jamal Khashoggi's killing.

A former top-ranking State Department official is set to plead guilty for improperly helping a wealthy Gulf country try to influence U.S. policy and not disclosing on a government ethics form gifts he received from a disgraced political fundraiser.

Court records filed earlier this month say that Richard G. Olson, who was the State Department's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the end of the Obama administration, provided "aid and advice" to Qatar on lobbying activities in violation of a "revolving door" prohibition against such behavior for one year after leaving public service.

The European Union moved Wednesday to lift visa requirements for people from Qatar and Kuwait to make it easier for them to enter many European countries for stays of up to 90 days.

The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, said it recommended allowing people from the two Mideast countries who hold biometric passports to enter without visas for short stays.

As Egyptians mark the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, they are being treated to a blockbuster TV series that celebrates their army marshal turned president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. 

Fans hail "Al-Ikhtiyar 3" (The Choice 3) for enlightening the masses about Egypt's turbulent recent history. Critics see it as propaganda by a regime that rules with an iron fist.

Israeli police said Tuesday they have launched an investigation into a death threat made against the country's prime minister.

The police issued a statement saying that a letter containing a death threat and a live bullet was sent to Naftali Bennett's family. The police said the special crimes department and the Shin Bet internal security agency opened an investigation.