♪ sweden, officially recognizing the palestinian state during angry criticism from israel. ♪ hello, welcome to al jazeera, i'm martine dennis in doha. also to come on the program, tension in jerusalem after the police shooting of a palestinian, suspected of an attack on a jewish activist. more homes are destroyed in egypt as people are forced out to make way for a buffer zone next to saga.

-- gaza. and protests forced the president to scrap a plan to extend his 27-year term in office. ♪ now israel has condemned sweden's move to officially recognize the state of palestine. the decision has been warmly welcomed by the palestinian president. mohamed vall reports. >> reporter: for decades palestinians have argued that the israeli government has tried to deny them of three things, their territory, freedom and government. but now sweden has officially recognized the state of palestine. >> today the government of sweden has decided to recognize the state of palestine. we have decided to do so on the basis of the fact that the criteria of international law are fulfilled.

there is a territory, a people, and a government. not to recognize palestine because of the occupation would be against the principal of international law about no fruits of aggression. remember that more than 130 countries already recognize palestine and we will be, in fact, number 135. >> reporter: as pointed out, sweden's decision does not set an international precedent. it is only the 135th country to take this step, but what is different is that it's the first western european nation to do so, and the palestinians are obviously pleased. >> translator: i believe that by this announcement sweden is going to give a new impetus to the political and peace process. israel will be more convinced by the importance of returning to negotiations and dealing with

palestine state. >> reporter: but that seems unlikely. this is how the foreign minister reacted earlier this month. >> we're sorry about the statement of prime minister of sweden. we think it's really wrong approach, because it's possible to achieve peace only by letter of solution any unilateral steps will be very, very counterproductive. >> reporter: sweden's position was announced at a time when israeli pal stin yags [ inaudible ] has soared. the security council has always criticized israel's actions. while the united states cautions sweden against recognition, preferring a different solution, one that isn't forthcoming any time soon.

>> we're going to live to stockholm now. and linda, the sweden's are saying this will add to the peace process. how do they envision that that works? >> well, what we heard earlier during the press conference is that sweden thinks like when we give this support morally and financially to the state of palestine, we'll make them more of a balance between the two parties. and margaret was emphasizing that the financial support, which will be over a five-year period, is 150 million euros and those money will go to women, women's rights and children, and also to build the state of palestine, but also climate was mentioned and building physically houses.

>> and the new foreign minister of sweden also mentioned the excellent cooperation that sweden has enjoyed with israel. it might be a little unrealistic to expect that to continue, mightn't it? this >> you would think so, but she was also talking about how she has been in regular contact with both represents from the israeli government and the u.s. government, so she said they have been well aware that this was coming up, even though it was a surprise to most sweden'ses also that it came so quickly. >> is this an indication then, of how important the conflict between israel and palestine, is this an indication of how important this is to sweden foreign policy? >> sweden has had a really good relationship with both. but sweden was in late 60s and

70s, very pro-palestine. that was overall in sweden, but now of course the minister of foreign affairs is being criticized by the former government of conservatives and liberals, but this is a very social democratic view and it has been for decades. >> okay. linda thank you very much indeed, reporting live from stockholm. now israel has closed the mosque compound to all visitors after fighting broke out between security forces and palestinian youth. security has been stepped up across jerusalem, following the shooting of a right-wing rabbi, and the killing of a p a -- palestinian suspected of attacking him. >> translator: we condemn and refuse the israeli escalation in

jerusalem over the holy shrines. we will take all legal measures to hold israel accountable and to stop these repeated attacks, because the continuation of aggression and dangerous escalation will cause more violence. benjamin netenyahu has responded saying the president's statement was provacative. >> translator: a few days ago, i said we were facing a wave of incitement by radical it lammic elements, and by the chairman, abbas, who said that jews must be prevented from going up to the temple mount by any means possible. i haven't heard from the international community one word of condemnation from these inflammatory remarks. the international community must take action against inciters. >> more from our correspondent

now. >> reporter: well the situation in several neighborhoods right across occupied east jerusalem remain extremely volatile where a number of palestinians, mostly youth have been confronting israeli security forces in these neighborhoods. we have heard the sound of stun grenades going off, and have even smelled tear gas in the air, and it really just underscores how tense the situation is on the ground. in the background is a move by israeli security forces to effectively close off the mosque complex, a number of security personnel have been stationed at all of the main gates, not letting worshippers or tourists in. we understand at one point a group of people belonging to a far-right jewish group also tried to access the mosque. they were sent away. in fact a number of them were arrested by israeli security forces. whatever the case, the situation here remains extremely tense, a

situation which frankly has been bubbling over the past several months since before the war in gaza, but it has been highlighted by this recent situation of violence in occupied east jerusalem, a situation which doesn't seem to be getting any better. more than 200 peoples along egypt's border with gaza have now been destroyed, and as many as 10,000 people have been evicted. the government says the zone will protect itself border and is needed after spiking violence in the northen sinai region, but some fear that anger at the mass eviction will only lead to more violence. [ explosion ] >> reporter: one by one, homes along egypt's border with the gaza strip are being blown apart. egypt's army used tanks and guns

to forcibly evict around 10,000 people from the area, and dynamite and bulldozers to methodically destroy the homes. people had 48 hours to leave with the promise of compensation, but no right to resist. >> translator: it is a crisis. it's a catastrophe. they have been forced to leave for only 400 egyptian coins a month. >> reporter: video obtained by al jazeera shows the aftermath of the most recent attack, one of the worst on the egyptian army in years. at least 31 soldiers were killed in the attack on friday. the egyptian government declared a state of emergency on the border area, and it prompted the government to bring forward its plans to create a controversial

500-meter buffer zone. more than 680 homes will be destroyed to create the buffer zone along the border with the gaza strip. the government says the area is being used to smuggle weapons from gaza to rebels in sinai. hamas, which controls the gaza strip is accused of lending its support to fighters in sinai, who are angered by the removal of egyptian president, mohammed morsi in a military coup last year. hamas denies the occasions. the human rights commissioner has implored egypt and its force to respect the rule of law. >> i think the situation is much worse in terms of the lawlessness with which the egyptian forces are seeking to, in their words contain the situation. they have to respect the human rights of all people, including

migrants. including those populations who are settled there. >> reporter: there is already concern that manager at the mass eviction as well as treatment of people in the sinai, may in fact fuel, not quell the violence. >> translator: it is a humiliation, a declaration on war on the tribes of sinai. the tribes will take revenge sooner or later. the government is paving the way for people of sinai to support those terrorists. >> reporter: egyptian government officials have promised to compensate those who have lost property, but money and land may not be enough to calm tempers in the sinai. still to come here at al jazeera, the parents of 43 missing mexican students say they don't trust the president nor his plans to find their children. plus -- >> i'm lee wellings in london, so see if boxing still has the

appeal of its heyday. t >> on the stream, >> six years after the financial crisis began banks recovered, last year raking in 32 billion in over draft fees our they gouging the tax payers who bailed them out? >> the stream on al jazeera america >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really committed is journalism... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array...

>> if you want free press in the new democracy,

♪ress in the new democracy, hello again. these are the top stories here on al jazeera. sweden as officially recognized the state of palestine. israel has closed jerusalem's mosque complex following the killing of a palestinian, suspected of an attack on a rabbi. he was wounded outside of a meeting promoting jewish campaign to allow players at the

coming pound sacred to both jews and muslims. more than 200 homes agong egypt's border with gaza have now been destroyed. syria says turkey's involvement for the fight of border town of kobani is blatant violation of its sovereignty. it has allowed fighters to cross over territory and into syria. the convoy reached the area on the turkish side of the border early on thursday. so far at least 10 peshmerga fighters have managed to get into kobani. dozens more will cross the border later. bernard smith has more now from the border area between turkey and syria. >> reporter: the iraqi peshmerga fighters have spent the night at a town near turkey's border with

syria. earlier this morning, thursday, about 10 of them went in advance essentially on something of iraqi before the bulk of the fighters and the heavy weapons make their way in. the belief is they will wait for the cover of darkness before that go in, and the suggestion is they will go in an area in the west. the trees behind me is under the control of isil fighters. we saw some of them moving around in an area targeted by u.s. air strikes only on wednesday, and it was from that area that a lot of the shelling was coming from. that shelling because the isil fighters want control of that border. so an indication that isil is still moving around. they still remain a threat, and

there is still somebody of a territory stalemate. the syrian kurdish fighter s hope now with the heavy artillery they get, will help them break that stalemate. the assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs has been giving an update on the worsening situation in syria. she says isil and other groups are continuing their violence with impunity. and almost a quarter of the hospitals in syria aren't working. the new u.n. envoy on syria, has also been talking to the security council, and james bayes bay -- bayes giving us more. >> stephane is the new man,

there is no new big bold plan. what he is trying is small incremental steps, i think, trying to work around the big problem, which is of course, the opposition will not accept any future in syria, with assad in power, and assad supporters will not accept a situation where he is not in power. so he is going -- around all of the major players to see if he can find a new way forward, but he is making it clear, i'm told that the geneva plan is the only real way forward. obviously all of this complicated now by the fact that one of the players in syria is isil. any talk about peace talks, they are not interested in that. the way they do things is through brutal tactics. a libya man who claims he

was the victim of extowa extoward -- extraordinary rendition has now won his case and it will be referred to the court. >> reporter: he says he was the victim of extraordinary rendition, that the british and the americans basically gave him to the gaudify regime. this court decision that it should go to court is so significant, and naturally both he and his supporters are absolutely delighted. >> he puts a lot of faith in the british justice system, and feels it is a significant step

closer to getting his day in court. >> the british government has drug their heels on this case. they have sought to kick it into the rain forrest of the amazon because they are concerned about senior officials being held accountable. >> reporter: so this doesn't mean he has won the war and the u.k. government has indicated it will go to the supreme court here, the very highest court to try to overturn this court's ruling. his supporters say that they will win, and this will still go to court, which would be potentially excruciatingly embarrassing. but the u.k. government is trying to make sure that doesn't happen. news just in from the united

nations in new york, we're hearing the u.n. secretary general is so concerned about the situation in bah key that fa sa that he ising sending a official envoy to the capitol after protesters stormed the parliament buildings and other buildings, setting them alight. mohammed reports. >> reporter: in power for the last 27 years. he is the only president many people here have ever known. and some thing it's been long enough. the latest attempt to extend his term in office has lead to mass protests in the capitol. >> i think this will be a strong message that he cannot carry on, so he would have to make room for a successor or allow someone

in his party to take the necessary steps to find someone else who would be the next candidate for the next elections. >> reporter: tuesday marked the start of a civil d-- disobediene campaign. violence broke out on thursday when protesters advised towards parliament. inside politicians debated a motion to extend his rule beyond 2015. police arrested hundreds of protesters. a group of them managed to break through police barriers, and set the parliament buildings on fire. and targeted the ruling party headquarters. born in 1950 and trained as a soldier, he came to power in 1987 after deposing one of

africa's most popular leaders of his time. >> let's hear now from the political an cyst who says the opposition is now unlikely to grab power without the agreement of the army. >> well, this has been sort of brewing under the surface for many years now, and particularly over the past few months there was a political dialogue set up between the government and the opposition. that didn't work out once they said the dialogue was over. and they made warnings that they were going to ask the people to protest. but i think nobody expected events to escalate so quickly. certainly not like the one we have seen. and it's not only the case that parliament has been burnt down, but offices of the ruling party have been burnted throughout the

country. moving ahead whether or not it will take shape again depends on negotiations with the army. the main cities, i think it will be difficult for any opposition who's head has been in the talks also. it will be difficult for them to move forward and make this a coherent movement without the help of the forces and senior politicians that were maybe part of any regime. parents of mexico's 43 missing students say they have no confidence in the team trying to rescue their children. the president has appointed a special commission to monitor the case. adam rainy reports. >> reporter: calling for the return of their children alive. that is what parents of some of the missing 43 students say they want from their president. these are among mexico's powerless and pour, but due to

tragic circumstances became an audience with the country's most powerful man. they pressured him to sign a document with a list of promises, but the parents remain unsatisfied. >> translator: we're not going to trust the president's words nor will we trust the promises he made on national television, until he delivers the students alive. >> reporter: the president made no mention of discord and instead highlighted his promises to the parents and nation. he also mrom mised to have his government inform family members of updates on the investigation before the press, something they had failed to do so far, and he committed to give more support to rural teacher's colleges like the one the students attended.

in recent weeks the investigation has focused on the discovery of several mass graves. investigators have been digging through 11 mass grave sites in the area. they have found the remains of 38 bodies but have been unable to identify them. the case continues to fuel anger and frustration across mexico, more so than any other cases of murder or disappear answers. on wednesday protesters lit a truck on fire. protests continued in the capitol too, where students took over a highway toll booth. what remained unsaid is the all-too-real possibility that the students are dead or will never be found, like an estimated 30,000 other missing people in mexico. the parents who met with the president said this case highlights the problem of missing people in mexico, and they hope it helps put an end to the forced disappearances

numbers in the 10s of thousands. the rumble in the jungle was 40 years ago today, and as lee wellings reports from london, that bout is still inspiring young professional boxers. >> the day of the fight, i'm planning the round and the minute, and i [ inaudible ] if i knew how long it would take the ref fee to get from this position to that. [ laughter ] >> when they were kings. there was a time 40 years ago where it felt heavyweight boxers ruled the world. when ali and foreman clashed, it captured the imagination from louisville to london. >> the whole family, we're just sitting there watching boxing on the tv. i didn't used to watch much boxing but big events when i was younger.

>> like the rumble in the jungle. >> that's it. everybody watched it >> operator: the fact that boxing organizations have been split for years, meaning not one weight can have four separate champions has diluted some of the glory and appeal to the public. and other sports are fighting their way up too such as ufc, or mixed martial arts. and now it's a sport trying to stay on its feet. >> boxing is always going to be -- it is always going to be bigger, but i'm not going to lie, the ufc is big. it's big around the world. but boxers have something special. >> i wasn't around at the time, i don't know about ali. if you ask anyone -- any public about boxing, anyone will mention muhammad ali. the documentary was popular and

award winning. generations still acknowledge ali as the greatest. lee wellings, al jazeera, east london. >> don't forget you can keep right up to date with all of the news on the al jazeera website. ♪ hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you are in the "the stream," after six years and $14 trillion in losses, the united states seems to finally be recovering from the great recession at least according to the banks. but how are consumers faring? and worldwide debt is at a record high. are we heading towards another global financial crisis? ♪