The German journalist and activist in the "Zora" organization, Anna Luedtke, revealed that she was raped while detained by the Israeli occupation authorities, during her participation in the Freedom Flotilla alliance that aimed to break the siege on the Gaza Strip.

Luedtke was arrested while performing her journalistic work on board the "Conscience" ship belonging to the Flotilla, which was hijacked by Israel in October last year.

Luedtke, who was detained for five days, clarified that announcing her case aims to expose the systematic violence faced by Palestinians daily inside Israeli prisons.

The German journalist also confirmed that the matter goes beyond her personal experience.

In the same context, human rights organizations indicated that this case is additional evidence of the systematic sexual violations inside the occupation's detention centers.

The "Conscience" ship, which carried 93 journalists, doctors, and other activists, was one of the Freedom Flotilla ships that continued sailing towards the Gaza Strip.

However, the International Committee to Break the Siege later announced that the ship was attacked by an Israeli military helicopter, before being hijacked by Israeli naval forces.

Activists, human rights defenders, and journalists have more than once sought to break the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip through a fleet of naval ships carrying humanitarian aid.

The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen, reaching a new peak of cruelty, where thousands of displaced families are subjected to a bitter test in the face of a fierce winter storm currently hitting the region.

The Civil Defense Department in the sector reported that its crews are receiving a flood of distress calls moment by moment, due to the heavy rains and violent winds that have turned the shelter camps into arenas for confrontation with nature and homelessness.

According to field data, the dilapidated and worn-out tents, exhausted by the sun and rain over the past months, did not withstand the intensity of the storm; their fabrics were torn and their poles completely uprooted, leaving women and children exposed without protection from the bitter cold.

Sources indicate that rainwater has flooded what remains of the displaced people's meager belongings, adding the soaking of clothes and bedding to their hunger and deprivation, in a scene described by Civil Defense as "beyond bearable capacity."

Despite the acute shortage of equipment and limited capabilities imposed by the occupation through the suffocating siege, rescue teams are trying to perform their humanitarian duty with whatever rudimentary tools are available.

The crews are working under extremely dangerous weather and security conditions to provide aid to those suffering from the cold or trapped under the rubble of what remains of residential structures, in a race against time to protect lives before the depression intensifies in the coming hours.

In the midst of this bleak scene, Civil Defense renewed its urgent appeals to international organizations and humanitarian bodies for the immediate intervention to provide weather-resistant shelters and secure heating tools and blankets.

What is happening today in Gaza is not just a passing weather condition, but a comprehensive human catastrophe that requires an international stance to put an end to this slow death creeping into the frail bodies under the roofs of torn tents.

From the first moment of announcing the identity of the perpetrator of the Al-Afula operation, the Israeli occupation army rushed to implement the policy of collective punishment on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The occupation army imposed a curfew in the town of Qabatiya south of Jenin, and turned the perpetrator's house into a field investigation center, after taking its measurements in preparation for its demolition. The soldiers also closed roads in the town, raided a number of homes, and conducted field investigations with their residents, in implementation of the instructions of Israeli Security Minister Yisrael Katz following the operation.

And in other villages of the West Bank, the situation was not much different, as incursions, arrests, and seizures of homes continue. Nevertheless, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admits his government's failure to thwart operations, despite the many operations carried out by his soldiers in the past year.

And amid the Israeli government's insistence on adopting the security approach in dealing with the West Bank file, the military institution warned of a major security explosion as a result of the policy of economic strangulation of the West Bank, calling on the political authorities to allow the legal and organized return of Palestinian workers to the interior, after the crossings were closed to them since October 7, 2023.

And in contrast to strangling the West Bank and its people economically, Israeli settlements are witnessing expansion, as the small security cabinet approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, raising the number of settlements approved by Israeli authorities in the past three years to 69 settlements.

This number raised concern among 13 European countries in addition to Japan, prompting them to warn that settlement expansion harms the chances of achieving peace and security in the long term in the region.

In this context, Jamal Zahalka, a lecturer at the Arab American University in Jenin, says that the Al-Afula operation was "a very big blow to the Israeli security institution and the political leadership and the new concept of Israeli security after October 7, because Israel shifted after this date from deterrence to prevention".

And Zahalka adds that "Israel used to carry out deterrence operations, but after October 7, 2023, it carries out unprecedented incursions in the West Bank to prevent the formation of any organization or armed groups that carry out operations either against settlements or inside Israel".

And he confirms that the operation represents "a blatant failure", pointing to the size of the forces that Israel deployed to the north of the West Bank, the repetition of incursions into Qabatiya, and what it did in the Jenin and Tulkarm camps.

And he adds: "Despite all that, this operation happened, and it is a very big blow, and a number of Israeli officers and generals severely criticized the security forces, pointing to the weakness of organization within the Israeli army, police, and Shin Bet, so that a driver can carry out several consecutive operations that last a long time before the Israeli security forces arrive".

And he explains that Netanyahu's statements about "crushing resistance in the West Bank" do not reflect reality, adding that "the Israeli conclusion from this operation is not rethinking, but using more force".

And he points out that the north of the West Bank is witnessing a major settlement project, aimed at building new settlements, and the Israeli forces carry out operations to protect settlers, and what is happening in Qabatiya is not just a response to the operation, but a continuation of military operations to destroy any possibility of resistance in the West Bank, in addition to the vengeful motive.

In turn, the academic and political researcher Jihad Harb sees that Israel is imposing collective punishments on Palestinians, taking multiple forms, including what is happening today in Qabatiya, such as curfew and mistreatment of Palestinian citizens and depriving them of movement, and including what relates to the economic aspect.

And Harb adds that "the economic aspect takes multiple dimensions, including clearance, meaning the Palestinian funds collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and withheld or deducted parts of them through arbitrary procedures, which first deprives Palestinians of the Authority's ability to provide basic services such as education, health, and social affairs".

The North Gaza Municipalities Union called on Saturday for the international community to intervene urgently to save what remains of human life in the sector, noting that the Israeli occupation destroyed about 90% of the wells in the governorate during the two years of genocide.

The union explained that the occupation also destroyed 80% of the sewage networks, in addition to destroying 90% of the heavy machinery belonging to the municipalities, especially vehicles for transporting and relocating waste, which number about 200 vehicles.

The union added that Israel seized 60% of the municipalities' jurisdiction in the north of the sector, and destroyed 50,000 dunams of agricultural crops, leading to a complete absence of food security in North Gaza governorate.

It indicated that more than 85% of the transportation and communications sector in the governorate was destroyed, which ended the crafts and light industries, and exacerbated the humanitarian and living conditions for the residents.

In this context, Asim Al-Nabieh, from the Gaza sector, stated that people were suffering before the ceasefire announcement, and their suffering may increase during weather depressions due to their difficult living conditions, where they do not have the basic necessities to protect themselves and their children, not even enough winter clothes or bedding to warm themselves and their families.

He pointed out that more than half of the sector's population currently lives in tents, and even those who remained in their homes, many of these homes are destroyed, fragile, or have structural and engineering problems, and several homes collapsed during previous depressions, resulting in casualties.

He explained that the suffering is not limited to water leakage into the displaced people's tents or the collapse of homes, but includes a complete failure in the citizens' vital system, as the sick citizen does not find an equipped hospital or sufficient medicines or medical staff, and the municipal crews do not have enough fuel to operate the sewage pumps.

The damages reached 100% in the sewage pumps and stations in Gaza City, either completely or partially, which forced the municipalities to pump this polluted water directly into the sea to relieve pressure, leading to the destruction of marine life, while the other part leaks into the streets, alleys, accommodation centers, displaced people's tents, and groundwater, which may require years or even decades to resolve.

He indicated that the daily suffering of the residents has doubled due to weather depressions and the general conditions after two years of genocide, confirming that the remaining service provider crews, whether civil defense, the Ministry of Health, or municipalities, do not have even the minimum capabilities necessary to serve the citizens.

He added that all this suffering comes amid the continuation of Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid, preventing the work of international institutions and organizations, and increasing the measures that hinder the work of these institutions inside the Gaza sector, leading to the continuation of the residents' suffering despite the ceasefire announcement, without real intervention to save them after two years of genocide and the continuation of the war.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed, on Saturday, his rejection of the mutual recognition between Israel and the separatist region of 'Somaliland', considering that this step comes as part of desperate attempts by Tel Aviv to deport Palestinians to Somalia.

On Friday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the latter 'announced the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent sovereign state', a step that met with widespread international rejection.

In response, Abbas, in a statement carried by the Palestinian News Agency 'WAFA', expressed 'his support for the unity and integrity of Somali territories, and his complete rejection of any steps that could undermine Somali sovereignty or undermine the foundations of stability in the country'.

And he emphasized 'Palestine's support for the legitimate institutions of the Somali state, and rejection of any attempts to impose parallel entities that conflict with the unity of the Somali state'.

And the Palestinian President praised the rejecting positions on this step 'which aims at desperate attempts to deport Palestinians to Somalia'.

During the months of the Israeli war on Gaza, official Israeli statements escalated regarding proceeding with plans to deport Gaza Palestinians outside the sector, while Hebrew media spoke about possible destinations including African countries such as Somalia.

And the announcement of Israel's mutual recognition of the separatist region of 'Somaliland' escalated fears that the step could be a prelude to deporting Palestinians from the sector to the region.

And the region of 'Somaliland', which has not enjoyed official recognition since declaring secession from Somalia in 1991, acts as an independent entity administratively, politically, and security-wise, with the central government's inability to extend its control over the region, or its leadership's failure to achieve independence.

Following Tel Aviv's recognition, Somalia confirmed in its government statement on Friday, 'its absolute and non-negotiable commitment to its sovereignty, national unity, and territorial integrity', emphasizing 'the categorical rejection of the illegal step taken by Israel claiming to recognize the northern region of Somalia'.

And it emphasized that 'the Somaliland region is an integral part of the territories of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and it is not permissible to separate or dispose of it'.

Meanwhile, several countries and organizations hastened to reject the unilateral Israeli step, including Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Palestine, Jordan, Djibouti, Yemen, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union.

Activists and human rights organizations renewed their calls for the release of dozens of healthcare workers who remain detained by Israeli occupation forces, including Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, who was arrested on this day last year from his workplace at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

The organization "CodePink" stated: "We will not forget Doctor Abu Safiya, and more than 360 healthcare workers abducted by Israel from Gaza since October 2023".

Before the first anniversary of the occupation's abduction of Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya from the hospital he managed in Gaza, Doctor Yiping Guo, a member of the "Doctors Against Genocide" organization, said in a post on social media: "A year ago, the Israeli army abducted Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya along with dozens of medical staff during a terrifying raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza. Release Hussam Abu Safiya. Release them all".

In turn, activist Petra Schornhofer said: "A year has passed since the illegal abduction and detention of Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya. Since then, he has been languishing in an Israeli prison and subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment. Do not forget him, and do not stop demanding his release", and in a poignant appeal, Albina Abu Safiya, the detained doctor's wife, said: "Save my husband before it's too late. His only crime was saving the wounded and treating injured children".

Abu Safiya (52 years old), director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was arrested on December 27, 2024, during the ongoing siege and raids by occupation forces on the hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, and the Israeli army claimed, without providing evidence, that the hospital, which was then the last major operating hospital in northern Gaza, was being used as a command center for Hamas, and during a previous occupation attack on the hospital, Abu Safiya's 15-year-old son was martyred in a drone strike, and the doctor himself was seriously injured in a separate attack that left six shrapnel in his leg.

Abu Safiya was transferred after his arrest to Sde Teiman prison in the Negev desert, where numerous deaths of detainees were recorded, and reports of torture and sexual assaults, before being later transferred to Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank.

Abu Safiya reported being subjected to torture, including beatings with sticks and electric shocks, in addition to severe weight loss and rib fractures and other injuries, which he said deprived him of appropriate medical care, and this was confirmed by several documented reports indicating that healthcare workers were subjected to torture, sometimes to death, as in the case of Doctor Adnan Al-Bursh, head of the orthopedic department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

According to the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, Al-Bursh "is likely to have been raped to death", a fate said to have befallen other Palestinians during their detention in occupation prisons, according to the "Common Dreams" platform.

Abu Safiya remains in detention without any formal charges being brought against him, while Israeli courts have extended his detention several times under what is known as the "unlawful combatant" laws, and in January last year, Abu Safiya's mother died from a heart attack, and the American organization "MedGlobal", with which he worked as a lead doctor in Gaza, said the death came as a result of "intense grief" over her son's fate.

For its part, Amnesty International confirmed that the arrest and ongoing arbitrary detention of Doctor Abu Safiya without charges or trial – based on the abusive unlawful combatants law – represents Israel's systematic targeting of Palestinian healthcare workers, and its destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza, with the aim of imposing living conditions intended for the physical destruction of Palestinians.

According to UN agencies and international experts, Israeli forces destroyed or caused severe damage to most Gaza hospitals in hundreds of attacks since October 7, 2023, while more than 1,500 Palestinian healthcare workers were martyred, and an independent UN investigation committee concluded last year that the occupying state pursued a deliberate policy to destroy the health system in Gaza, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity amounting to genocide.

The occupying state currently faces a genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa before the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including killing and forced starvation.

The residents of the Gaza Strip have been severely affected by the low-pressure system that hit the sector, accompanied by a sharp drop in temperatures and heavy rainfall, which exacerbated an already existing humanitarian suffering due to the difficult living conditions.

The rains caused flooding in tents and damaged homes, especially in low-lying areas and shelters, forcing many families to spend cold nights without heating means.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people suffer from a severe shortage of blankets and winter clothing, at a time when the cold poses a direct threat to children, the elderly, and the sick.

The strong winds also damaged temporary tents and caused water to seep inside them, increasing health concerns and the spread of diseases related to humidity and cold.

The low-pressure system also affects the fragile infrastructure, where water flooded some roads, and the electricity and sanitation crises worsened.

With the continuation of restrictions and lack of capabilities, municipalities and relief agencies find it difficult to respond quickly to the population's needs.

In light of these conditions, calls are renewed to intensify urgent humanitarian support and provide basic winter supplies to protect civilians in Gaza from the consequences of the harsh weather, which increases the difficulty of their daily reality and doubles their suffering.

Ahmed Al-Batta from Khan Yunis said that the low-pressure system brings back scenes of suffering that the sector witnessed in recent weeks, without any tangible change in the humanitarian reality.

He pointed out that the new tents and "caravans" stipulated to be introduced under the humanitarian protocol in the ceasefire agreement have not entered yet, despite being the most capable of facing rain and cold.

He explained that thousands of Palestinians who lost their homes not only need better tents, but also basic necessities for living, such as winter clothes, blankets, and bedding, amid a near-total loss of heating means. He noted that the current tents made of plastic materials or light fabrics provide no protection from the bitter cold.

He added that the risks are not limited to tent dwellers, as thousands of families live in destroyed or collapse-threatened homes, pointing to the collapse of dozens of buildings since the beginning of winter. He indicated that the continuation of Israeli violations and delays in implementing the agreement portend the continuation of these tragic scenes in the coming weeks.

The Association of Municipalities of North Gaza Governorate said on Saturday that Israel destroyed during the two years of genocide 90% of its wells, 80% of water and sewage networks, and 90% of its heavy machinery, and warned of a health and environmental catastrophe in the region.

This came during a press conference held by the association in the Al-Fakhoura area north of the sector, to highlight the humanitarian reality in the governorate, over which Israel controls vast areas pursuant to the ceasefire agreement that entered into force on October 10, 2025.

This agreement ended a genocide war launched by Israel on October 8, 2023, lasting two years, leaving about 71,000 Palestinian dead and more than 171,000 injured, and massive destruction affecting 90% of the civilian infrastructure at a reconstruction cost estimated by the United Nations at about $70 billion.

The association warned of an environmental and health catastrophe in the northern governorate, which the Israeli genocide turned into a "disaster-stricken area unfit for habitation."

It reported the accumulation of more than a quarter million tons of waste in the streets and alleys, where it is impossible to transport it due to Israel's destruction during the genocide months of most transportation vehicles.

It added in this regard: "The Israeli army destroyed 90% of the heavy machinery, especially waste transport and transfer vehicles, amounting to 200 heavy vehicles."

It pointed out that the acute shortage of fuel prevents operating the remaining vehicles and rescuing what can be saved from the area.

The association clarified that Israel devoured 60% of the jurisdiction of the northern sector municipalities, while the municipalities of Beit Hanoun and Um Al-Nasr remained entirely within the areas it controls pursuant to the ceasefire agreement.

In addition to the municipalities' losses, the association said that Israel destroyed during the two years of genocide more than 150 kilometers of roads and streets, and all municipal headquarters and facilities.

It explained that the Israeli army also destroyed 70 main water wells, and 85 sewage pumps, including 15 large pumps.

In addition, the association pointed to Israel's destruction of all subsidiary desalination plants, amounting to 80 plants, and all electricity generators for its facilities, numbering 180 large generators.

It mentioned that the Israeli army also destroyed 50,000 dunams of agricultural crops, causing complete food insecurity in North Gaza Governorate.

The Israeli army also destroyed more than 85% of the transportation and communications sector in the governorate, and eliminated crafts and light industries.

The association said that the municipalities of North Gaza face "serious" challenges, including the lack of sufficient fuel to operate the remaining water and sewage pumps, which caused wastewater flooding in the streets.

In addition to the acute shortage in machinery and maintenance equipment necessary to repair water and sewage networks, and to remove rubble and open roads, according to the association.

The association issued an "urgent distress call to international and governmental institutions," and called on the international community to intervene to save what remains of human life in Gaza, which is guaranteed by international laws and regulations.

It also called for the necessity of working to provide the municipalities' needs, especially the fuel necessary to operate water wells and sewage pumps and the remaining waste transport and transfer vehicles, in addition to importing the materials necessary to repair the damaged wells and pumps.

Israel shirks its commitments stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, by opening crossings and importing the agreed quantities of food, relief, medical materials, and reconstruction and housing materials.

Israel also commits hundreds of violations, including bombing and firing towards areas where Palestinians are allowed to move pursuant to the agreement, which has resulted since October 11 last year in the killing of 410 Palestinians and the injury of 1,134 others, according to official data.

As 2025 approaches its end, the West Bank appears to have been subjected to a gradual and complex Israeli escalation, combining military incursions, settlement expansion, house demolitions, and forced displacement, in a clear effort to impose a new demographic reality.

From Hebron, Muntaser Nassar describes the southern governorate as one of the most exposed areas in the West Bank to closures and barriers, with a wide spread of iron gates and an intensified settler presence during the current year.

Nassar points out that the Israeli government has approved the conversion of dozens of sites into official settlements, including the site "Tarusa" west of Dura, which is one of 19 sites announced as legalized during 2025.

Settlement activity witnessed a notable escalation during 2024 and 2025, with an increase of about 40% since Benjamin Netanyahu took over the government, and the establishment of about 114 new settlement outposts in various parts of the West Bank.

Nassar confirms that most of these outposts were established to connect existing settlements with each other, leading to the confiscation of hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land to pave settler roads and expand the geographical influence of the settlers.

In Nablus, Muhammad Al-Atrash says that settlement policies have clearly reflected on the Bedouin communities, which have been subjected to forced displacement as a result of the ongoing attacks by settlers.

Al-Atrash adds that the "Yanun" community south of Nablus was completely evacuated in the last hours, joining 33 Bedouin communities displaced in the past two years, out of about 200 Bedouin communities in the West Bank.

He explains that Israel considers these communities an obstacle to its settlement projects, which has led to escalating attacks and deliberate arson, with about 450 fires carried out by settlers in one year.

Displacement, according to Al-Atrash, is not limited to Bedouin communities, as military operations in the north of the West Bank have led to the displacement of about 40,000 Palestinians from the camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams, as part of a security and geopolitical reconfiguration of the area.

From Qalandiya north of Jerusalem, Thuraya Shaqra monitors the scenes of destruction left by the occupation's bulldozers, confirming that demolitions have affected homes and residential and commercial facilities in various towns of the West Bank.

Shaqra says that occupation forces have demolished more than a thousand structures since the beginning of 2025, while the number of structures destroyed since October 7, 2023, has exceeded 3,500, leading to the displacement of thousands of Palestinians.

She points to an unprecedented acceleration in the implementation of demolition orders, under the pretext of unlicensed construction or classifying lands as "state lands", in addition to demolishing homes of families of martyrs and prisoners.

Politically, Fatima Khamaisi from Ramallah links this escalation to the discourse of the extreme Israeli right, which treats the West Bank as a field for consolidating electoral projects.

Khamaisi explains that the Israeli government, led by Netanyahu, is proceeding to strengthen settlement and undermine the two-state solution, by weekly approving settlement projects and converting outposts into official settlements.

She notes that decisions such as canceling administrative detention orders against settlers have provided full cover for their attacks, in a path aimed at imposing a policy of fait accompli despite the escalating international criticism.

In this complex scene, 2025 ends on a West Bank burdened with destruction, where settlement, displacement, and demolition intersect in one project, seeking to redraw the Palestinian geography by force.

World newspapers and websites covered the harsh humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip following the Israeli war, shedding light on individual stories that reflect the scale of destruction and suffering, from the destruction of homes to torture in prisons, in a scene that goes beyond material loss to the disintegration of life itself.

The Washington Post conveyed a painful image of the suffering of the Palestinian Diana Shams and her family, focusing on their repeated displacement experience during the war, before colliding upon her return with an even harsher reality, after their family home was turned into rubble by Israeli bombing.

The targeting of the home occurred in the final hours before the ceasefire came into effect, which doubled the sense of loss. Diana says the house was not just a shelter, but a family heritage lost in an instant, which prompted her to consider emigration after a long insistence on staying in Gaza.

As for The New York Times, it highlighted the tragedy of Haitham Salem, described as the harshest, as his loss was not limited to the house, but extended to the loss of his wife and three children, in one of the most painful stories left by the war.

The Israeli army arrested Haitham, aged 31, at a military checkpoint while trying to flee, and detained him for 11 months in Sde Teiman and Ofer prisons, in addition to the Negev detention center, without any formal charges.

During the detention period, Haitham says he was subjected to harsh forms of physical and psychological torture, which made him wish for death, and after his release as part of a prisoner exchange deal, he discovered that his family had perished in Israeli bombing, leaving him with only photos saved on his phone.

In a related context, The Guardian published an article by the writer Aya Al-Hatab from Gaza, in which she saw that the repeated international talk of peace after the ceasefire does not reflect on the daily lives of Palestinians, which remain immersed in fear, siege, and lack of living essentials.

The writer explained that Gaza residents live without potable water, electricity, or internet, amid a sharp economic collapse and absence of a sense of security, while families are forced to reside in destroyed or collapse-threatened homes, some of which are actually submerged in floods and mud.

Away from Gaza, Foreign Policy magazine warned of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, considering it the worst globally, especially after the fall of the city of El Fasher in Darfur, amid accusations against the Rapid Support Forces of committing violations amounting to genocide.

In another file, Time magazine addressed the debate between Nigeria and the United States regarding the file of religious freedoms, noting the denial by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu of the American accusations, despite experts acknowledging the existence of security threats from extremist groups, the majority of whose victims are Muslims.

The British Times newspaper revealed an active role for the royal family in strengthening relations with the administration of US President Donald Trump, predicting an upcoming visit by King Charles III to Washington, the first for a British monarch in two decades, within precise arrangements.

In the economic affairs, Financial Times highlighted the sharp decline in Iran's handmade carpet industry, as a result of sanctions and financial restrictions, leading to the loss of traditional markets and the entry of regional and international competitors to fill the void left by Iran's absence.

The Israeli army closed, on Saturday morning, the entrances to Palestinian villages west of the city of Ramallah in the center of the occupied West Bank, on the pretext of gunfire at a military checkpoint in that area, before it became clear that it was a regular hunting activity and not an attack.

Local sources reported that the Israeli army closed the entrances to the villages of Ni'lin, Bil'in, and Kharbatha Bani Harith west of the city of Ramallah, this morning, by closing the iron gates installed on them, and preventing entry or exit from them.

The sources mentioned that the Israeli measures followed circulating news about gunfire at the Ni'lin checkpoint military crossing.

They clarified that the closure caused the prevention of movement for residents of 13 Palestinian villages in that area to and from the city of Ramallah.

For its part, the Israeli army said in a statement: "A short while ago, a saboteur carried out a shooting operation near the security fence near the Hashmonaim checkpoint and fled, without any injuries," according to its expression.

It added: "Large forces rushed to the area and began sweeping operations in search of the saboteur, and imposed a cordon on a number of villages in the area."

Before Hebrew media reported that the Israeli army said that the shooting was not an attack, but rather for hunting purposes.

The army added: "The forces continue to pursue the shooter to confiscate the weapon."

This coincides with the Israeli army continuing, for the second day, a wide-scale aggression on the town of Qabatiya south of Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

According to the sources, the Israeli army deployed new military reinforcements to the town on Saturday morning, and its vehicles spread in its neighborhoods, and bulldozers closed main streets leading to it with earthen barriers.

It indicated that the Israeli army continued to impose a curfew on the town, stormed a large number of homes and destroyed their contents, in addition to bulldozing streets and sabotaging infrastructure.

The sources added that the occupation forces turned the home of Ahmad Abu al-Rub, the perpetrator of the Baysan and Afoula operation yesterday, Friday, into a military barracks, and took several young men there and tortured them.

It pointed out that the Israeli army arrested several Palestinians in Qabatiya, including Ahmad Hassan Nazal, Yasser Khazmiya, Faras Talib, Niji Nazal, and Ja'far Shabut.

This operation falls within the policy of collective punishment that the Israeli army adopts against Palestinian towns from which citizens carry out operations, a policy prohibited by international humanitarian law, and considered a war crime according to the Geneva Conventions.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday that the operation came following "instructions issued to the army to prepare for expanding its military activity in Qabatiya," as part of "a political and security message aimed at holding the environment surrounding the perpetrator of the attack indirectly responsible, and deterring similar operations in the future."

The Israeli army has been continuing since January 21, 2025, a wide-scale military operation in the north of the West Bank, which it began in Jenin camp and then expanded to Nur Shams and Tulkarm camps.

Since then, the army has imposed a strict siege on the three camps, and continues to destroy the infrastructure, homes, and shops of citizens, which has led to the displacement of about 50,000 Palestinians, according to official data.

Israel is intensifying, in parallel, its policies aimed at annexing the West Bank, through demolishing Palestinians' homes, displacing them, and expanding settlements, according to Palestinian authorities, which would undermine the two-state solution stipulated in United Nations resolutions.

In vivid and horrifying testimonies that reveal the other side of suffering inside prisons, released prisoners confirmed that the occupation authorities did not suffice with depriving them of their freedom behind iron bars, but turned "food" - which represents the most basic necessities of human life - into a deadly tool for psychological and physical torture, and a systematic means to break the will and humiliate human dignity.

Shocking narratives from the released prisoners within the "Al-Aqsa Flood" deal, Ibrahim Baris and Bilal Musa, shed light on the "dirty starvation" policy pursued by the prison administration, where prisoners are forced to consume what is unfit for humans, or face death by hunger.

And in the details of this tragedy, the released prisoner Ibrahim Baris explained that the food provided to prisoners was far from any health standards, but was part of a collective punishment; as the prison administration deliberately leaves the meals for long hours under the scorching sun until decay seeps into them and foul odors emanate from them before they are placed in the hands of the detainees.

And the matter did not stop at the poor quality of the food, but went beyond to "sadistic" behaviors practiced by the guards; where "Baris" confirmed that they deliberately stepped with their dirty shoes inside the food containers in front of the prisoners' eyes, in a clear message of humiliation. And he added that "bread", the basic component of food, was deliberately thrown on the contaminated ground, forcing the prisoner to pick it up from among the dirt if he wanted to satisfy his hunger.

He also pointed to another health catastrophe, represented by the fall of bird droppings inside the food dishes without the prison administration replacing or removing them, putting the prisoner between two bitter choices: either consume food contaminated with filth, or remain without food, knowing that any objection was immediately met with repression and severe punishment.

For his part, the released prisoner Bilal Musa provided a testimony no less cruel, describing the food as "unfit for human use".

And "Musa" recounted an incident he witnessed himself, where they were given a rotten choice emanating foul odors, and more dangerously, it was covered with "fuel" material, in blatant disregard for the prisoners' lives and health.

And in a scene that reflects the degradation of treatment, "Musa" narrated how he saw a police dog place its foot inside the food container designated for prisoners before it was presented to them, confirming that these practices were not individual or exceptional cases, but a fixed approach and daily behavior aimed at destroying the detainee's psyche.

And the released prisoners concluded their testimonies by affirming that this food war did not stop at the limits of psychological pain, but translated into actual diseases and physical pains; where many prisoners suffered from acute health complications after consuming these contaminated meals, in the absence of any medical care, and the lack of any legal accountability for the prison administration over these crimes that violate all international covenants and human rights.

Israeli media outlets, citing a Syrian source close to President Ahmed al-Shar'a, revealed significant progress in the undeclared talks between Syria and the Israeli occupation regarding reaching a security agreement, suggesting that it may be signed in the coming period.

The past few weeks have witnessed an important breakthrough in the negotiation process, amid talk of the possibility of holding a high-level Syrian-Israeli meeting in one of the European countries, which may witness the official signing of the agreement.

The Syrian source indicated that this progress is primarily due to "the great efforts exerted by US President Donald Trump," noting that the anticipated agreement may include a diplomatic annex alongside security arrangements, and it is not ruled out that it will be signed in a direct meeting between Syrian President Ahmed al-Shar'a and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the same context, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani had announced last month that Damascus expects to reach a security agreement with Tel Aviv before the end of the year, based on the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, with "minor modifications," and without creating new buffer zones.

In contrast, the Israeli occupation still rejects Damascus's demand for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from all points it controlled within Syrian territory after the fall of the deposed Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Sources in Israel report that the Israeli army may withdraw from some of the nine points it currently controls, but this is conditional only on signing a full peace agreement with Syria, not just a security agreement.

Coinciding with these leaks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his rhetoric towards Syrian President Ahmed al-Shar'a, considering that the latter "has begun taking steps that Tel Aviv will not accept." The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Netanyahu strongly attacked al-Shar'a during a meeting of the Narrow Security Cabinet (Cabinet), upon his return from a visit described as "historic" to the White House.

The Corporation quoted Netanyahu as saying: "The Golanite returned inflated from Washington and started doing everything we will not accept," referring to the nom de guerre by which al-Shar'a was previously known, adding that the Syrian president "is seeking to bring Russian forces to the Syrian-Israeli border."

The Corporation indicated that al-Shar'a had told US President Donald Trump, during his visit to Washington about a week and a half ago, that Israel violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement after the fall of the previous regime, expanded its military presence inside Syrian territory, expelled UN forces, and carried out more than a thousand attacks, including sensitive sites such as the presidential palace and the Ministry of Defense.

The Syrian president clarified that his country refrained from military response to those violations, in order to focus on rebuilding the state in the post-fall of the previous regime.

In the same context, the Corporation mentioned that Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yisrael Katz conducted a field tour inside Syrian territory, a step that provoked widespread criticism.

Despite the Syrian government's assurances that it poses no threat to the occupation, the Israeli army continues its repeated incursions into Syrian territory, alongside launching air raids that resulted in civilian casualties and the destruction of military sites, vehicles, and weapons belonging to the Syrian army.

Syrian residents in the border areas also complain about the repeated Israeli aggressions on their agricultural lands, which are their only source of livelihood, in addition to the destruction of hundreds of dunams of forests, the arrest of civilians, the establishment of military checkpoints, and the imposition of searches on passersby.

The occupation army continued, on Saturday, its military escalation in the town of Qabatiya south of the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank, for the second consecutive day, amid widespread deployment of forces and imposition of strict measures that affected the residents and infrastructure.

Palestinian sources reported that occupation forces pushed additional military reinforcements into the town since early morning hours, including vehicles and bulldozers, which spread out in several neighborhoods, while closing main entrances and streets with earthen barriers, leading to near-total paralysis in the movement of citizens.

Occupation forces continue to impose a strict curfew, coinciding with the storming of dozens of homes, tampering with their contents, in addition to carrying out extensive bulldozing and destruction operations that affected streets and infrastructure networks.

In a related context, occupation forces arrested a number of citizens during the raids, including Ahmed Hassan Nazal, Yasser Khuzaymiyya, and the father of the martyr Marouh and the prisoner Mahmoud, after raiding his home in the town.

Occupation forces had arrested, on Friday, the citizen Yunus Abu al-Rab after storming his home in Qabatiya, and took him to an unknown destination, while his family underwent field investigations.

This escalation comes after the town was stormed on Friday with a large military force consisting of about 50 vehicles and several bulldozers, accompanied by the deployment of special forces and snipers on rooftops of homes and buildings, alongside intensive reconnaissance aircraft flights, which created a state of tension and alert among the locals.

The occupation army announced, in a statement issued on Friday, the start of a military operation in Qabatiya claiming to 'thwart terrorist acts,' according to its claim.

This aggression is considered an extension of the collective punishment policy pursued by the occupation against Palestinian towns in the West Bank, which manifests in repeated incursions, arrest operations, and destruction of public and private property.

Israel launched Operation "Wrath of God" to assassinate a group of Palestinian leaders in a retaliatory move after the Munich Olympics operation in 1972, but the assassination list was not primarily directed at the military and political officials responsible for the Munich operation; instead, it focused on leaders with media, cultural, and diplomatic roles. The assassination of figures like Bassel al-Kubaisi, a prominent Iraqi academic, and the Algerian Muhammad Boudia, who had extensive connections with global resistance movements, and even in the Beirut operation, two of those targeted in the assassination led by Ehud Barak were engaged in media and cultural affairs in the Palestinian revolution.

Reflecting on the map of Israeli assassinations, which extended into the space of many countries around the world, leads to questioning an early Israeli plan to strike any bright and modern image of Palestinians, confining them within the image of the extremist terrorist representing a society inferior in civilization to Europeans and Americans, translating the saying of a land without a people.

In Madrid in 1991, the world was surprised by the appearance of an elderly doctor and political and social activist heading the Palestinian negotiating delegation, and it seems that the charisma of Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi was more than Israel could bear or allow, for Palestinians should not have their version of De Gaulle or Mandela, and what is happening is embarrassing, especially since the quiet presence of Abdel Shafi was bringing out the demagogic charisma of a stubborn person with a broad history of violence and cruelty, like Israel's Prime Minister at the time, Yitzhak Shamir.

Palestinians were not allowed to have a special face from the beginning, as the Nakba occurred while colonial ideas about the backwardness of the East, and sometimes its savagery, still lived in Western societies, and the images of the Nakba and exile were distant, not showing Palestinian faces, thus withdrawing part of their human credit, and stifling the idea of sympathy in its cradle.

In contrast, with the rise of Nazism, thousands of Jewish professionals and academics emigrated to American universities, and in an intellectually flattened environment somewhat under the direct influence of pragmatism, and without the historical depth of society in America, the emigrants from the Jewish intelligentsia turned into stars drawing a large part of their brilliance from investing in the victimization of anti-Semitism, engaging in a rising issue at the time related to minorities and identity anxiety, entering first into intellectual leftist circles and politically Democrats, integrating that with the media and extensive dominance over cultural production. The Arab media in its stumbling and faltering beginnings offered only what complicates the situation and deepens the negative image of the Arab, compared to the positive one enjoyed by the Jew, so the mobilization and incitement discourse launched by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, which was directed for local consumption, was utilized in the opposite direction, casting an image of a gang with an unrealistic tendency on the Arabs.

This extends to the Palestinians, although Abdel Nasser himself adopted a rational discourse when speaking calmly with foreign journalists, but the sifting process takes place within the broader and calmer cultural and media manufacturing system in the West, so that sympathy with Israel, as a human and moral remorse for the scandal represented by anti-Semitism, became a fad that Western intellectuals and influencers rush to adopt and affirm, as if it were one of the necessities of the civilized person.

The poet Mahmoud Darwish noted in his way this unfair situation, but no effective action was taken institutionally, and Palestinians remained among the absent, or specifically presented in the space of misunderstanding, and with the entry of Islamic extremism, the image became loaded with more fears among Westerners, so Palestinians are forbidden from presenting their fair share of the available narrative to the world, then the war on Gaza came to represent a fundamental reversal in the war of perceptions that was woven to besiege Palestinians, for the issue is no longer Palestinian in the polarizing sense of the conflict, but it has taken a global dimension, and from American and European universities, campaigns of advocacy for Palestine were launched by youth raised in the West, resembling Westerners in their behaviors and actions, and the value structures they carry, and that was embarrassing and an entry to raising the big and unspoken questions among American politicians, especially among Republicans, who began to rally around the slogan "America First."

This different tone that rose in the last two years attracted the attention of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, whose last weeks of life will remain in the category of puzzles for a long time, and may join other American puzzles like the assassination of Kennedy and the disappearance of Oscar Zeta Acosta, the activist for the rights of Americans of Latin origin.

Kirk remained close to university circles in his political activity, and stopped at the moral burden that Israel constitutes on his country, and with his political sense, he adopted the slogans carried by hundreds of thousands of students in American universities, and although he did not take clear or heroic positions, or even minimally human ones, until a clash was forming with Benjamin Netanyahu and the lobby that supports him in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles, the influential cities, but not all of the American pulse, especially among Republicans concentrated in states with white majorities, large sectors of which began to see the ugly face of Israel, which is shedding the makeup that carries the ashes of the Holocaust.

The major transformation is carried by one of the influencers in Republican circles, Tucker Carlson, who confronted with great patience and nervousness the accusation of anti-Semitism, which remained the last bullet in the Zionist lobby's arsenal, in the face of questions expanding on the populist scale among Republicans, and in recent days, Carlson contacted Trump, to start a broad internal battle before the midterm elections next year, which Republicans can lose a lot of their ground in, due to the tension and chaos left by Trump in foreign policy, and the Israeli file is at the forefront of the hot friction points in the Republican camp.

Trump, bound by family and business relations with the American Zionist elite, will not do much expected, in the face of escalating pressures in Washington and influential cities, but that does not extend to those preparing for succession, especially his deputy JD Vance, who spoke in an unusual way for first-tier American leaders, in his recent visit to Israel, and it is expected that he will take advanced positions if he can overcome the caution and awe he lives with to avoid any mistakes that hinder his political career, and Carlson himself realizes that, and declares that he will not become a burden on Vance in the upcoming electoral battle.

Netanyahu with his brazen face that seeks to win everything, and to exploit a major humanitarian catastrophe for his benefit, and his survival and protection of his corruption, will harm Israel in the long term, but it seems that the bulldozing process that occurred with the rise of settlers and extremists in Israel has damaged the position that Israel stole in the war of perceptions and ideas, in contrast, a new generation of youth is emerging to gain positions that Palestinians and their supporters were not expected to have, a generation consisting of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and activists, including Zahran Mamdani, and although governed by the major American equations, it can enter a new struggle on an open ground after decades of monopolizing perceptions and ideas for the Israeli narrative almost exclusively.

The notion of 'Christian Zionism' appears to be a strange theological paradox. Christian theology, as established by Paul in the first century AD, was based on transitioning Christianity from a Jewish reform movement to a universal religion, by opening it to non-Jews (Gentiles), focusing on Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection as the path to salvation—which the Noble Quran later denied—and on concepts of grace, faith, and the New Covenant. This transformation constituted a radical break and decisive transcendence of Judaism.

In contrast, the rabbinic Jewish current, which crystallized after Jesus' death, remained steadfast in rejecting the messianic nature of the latter, rejecting the idea of the 'New Covenant,' affirming the supremacy of Torah law over faith, and opposing the reconciliation attempt made by Paul and others between law and faith.

From this perspective, Christianity in its essence represents a negation, transcendence, and interpretive and theological break with Talmudic Judaism and with any subsequent utilization of Hebrew texts in modern ideological projects, chief among them Zionism. Therefore, any talk of 'Christian Zionism' entails not only a deep philosophical and theological contradiction but also reveals a glaring historical paradox.

But what is this 'Christian Zionism' that many believe in, especially in America? It is, in essence, a theological belief based on faith in the second coming of Christ on the land of Israel. Among the fundamental principles of Christian Zionism is the assertion that the establishment of the modern state of Israel and the return of Jews to what is called the 'Promised Land' constitute a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecies, and that this reality will prepare the theological stage for the second return of the Lord Christ.

Based on that, supporting Israel becomes a religious duty viewed as a divine commitment. However, the essence of this support is not linked to Israel in itself, as much as it is linked to its symbolic role as a prerequisite for Christ's return in an eschatological vision. Therefore, this support remains steadfast and unconditional, regardless of the genocidal crimes or systematic discriminatory policies committed by Israel against Palestinians.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches reject 'Christian Zionism' from a theological perspective, albeit to varying degrees. The Catholic Church does not officially classify it as heresy, but it explicitly rejects it because it is based on a theology of 'two covenants' instead of the single covenant fulfilled in Christ, peace be upon him, and because it links biblical prophecies to modern political entities. The Catholic Church affirms, based on its fundamental doctrinal documents, especially the decrees of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), that there are no sacred political entities, but rather Christ is the perfection and fullness of the covenant, and the Church is the community of the New Covenant, not a substitute state or a sacred geographical entity.

As for the Orthodox churches, they view Christian Zionism largely as a grave theological error, which may sometimes rise to the level of heresy, because (Orthodoxy) rejects the literal reading of prophecies and rejects any return to the concept of 'election' that is ethnic or geographical after Christ, that is, after the fulfillment of his message with its universal and comprehensive dimension, as understood by traditional Christian theology.

Christian Zionism in the United States is considered a widespread religious-political current, especially within evangelical Protestant circles. This current is based on the belief that the establishment of the state of Israel falls within a 'divine plan' that requires strengthening Israel's power in preparation for Christ's return. According to this eschatological perspective, ethical and political considerations are marginalized; for settlement, nor the apartheid system in the West Bank, nor the ongoing genocide in Gaza, are considered issues of significant moral weight, because Palestinian suffering is reduced to secondary details in the face of the 'greater plan,' that is, ensuring Israel's strength and security as a prerequisite for Christ's return.

Of course, many in Israel are aware of these theological backgrounds that essentially transcend mere 'Israel's security.' According to this conception, Israel itself becomes a transitional entity that loses its importance after the realization of Christ's return. Nevertheless, a pragmatic alliance exists between the two sides, as the settler right supports this current and exploits it politically because it serves its expansionist and racist goals on the ground.

In conclusion, 'Christian Zionism' is not considered an expression of Christian faith as much as it reveals a dangerous eschatological deviation, in which the spiritual message is reduced to a political function, and the sacred is reproduced as a tool to justify power, violence, and killing. When the logic of salvation is replaced by the logic of geography, and the ethical universality is replaced by awaiting a temporal end conditioned by oppression and displacement, theology transforms from a horizon of liberation to a device for human annihilation.

The most dangerous aspect of this current is not only its theological contradiction, but its ability to disable the moral conscience in the name of prophecy, and to legitimize genocide in the name of salvation. At this point, silence is no longer a neutral position, but becomes complicity; and debate is no longer merely a doctrinal disagreement, but a moral test for humanity itself: either a faith that saves humanity, or a theology that justifies killing and extermination.

On Friday evening, the Israeli army launched airstrikes and artillery bombardment on various areas east of Gaza City, within the areas it still controls under the ceasefire agreement.

This comes as part of the ongoing Israeli violations of the agreement that entered into force on October 10, 2025.

Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli army carried out two consecutive airstrikes east of the Zaytoun neighborhood east of Gaza City, while Israeli artillery shelled various areas of the Sanafur junction in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City.

These violations came hours after a Palestinian was martyred by occupation gunfire in the Jabalia camp north of the Gaza Strip, within the areas from which Israel withdrew under the agreement.

This also came in the wake of Egypt accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to obstruct the implementation of the second phase of the agreement and attempting to ignite the region.

The second phase of the agreement includes several essential files, most notably reconstruction, expanding the Israeli withdrawal, forming a technocratic committee to manage the sector, disarming Hamas, in addition to forming a peace council and establishing international forces.

Israel is shirking its commitments stipulated in the first phase of the agreement, most notably stopping hostile actions, as it continues to fire and bomb in scattered areas of the sector, resulting since October 11 until Wednesday in the killing of 406 Palestinians and injuring 1,118 others.

The agreement ended a war of genocide launched by Israel on October 10, 2023 with American support and lasted two years, leaving about 71,000 Palestinian martyrs and more than 171,000 injured, and massive destruction affecting 90% of the infrastructure with a reconstruction cost estimated by the United Nations at around 70 billion dollars.

Israeli helicopters opened fire from their machine guns in open areas inside the town of Qabatiya south of Jenin on Friday evening, while occupation bulldozers began closing internal roads in the town.

This came after the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation in Qabatiya by forces from the paratroopers, Duvdevan unit, Shin Bet, and prison service to thwart what it called terrorism, following the killing of two Israelis in the operation that took place near the city of Beit She'an northeast of Israel.

The Israeli army stated in a statement that its forces raided the home of the perpetrator of the operation and are preparing to demolish it, and that they continue to comb additional sites in the area to arrest wanted individuals and seize combat means.

For its part, a Hebrew newspaper reported that a force from the Israeli army raided the home of the family of the perpetrator of the operation, whom it identified as Ahmed Abu al-Rub (37 years old), and arrested his father, Yunis Abu al-Rub.

A military source said that the army and Shin Bet are interrogating members of the family of the perpetrator of the Beit She'an operation after raiding their home in Qabatiya.

Local sources reported that about 44 military vehicles and several bulldozers raided Qabatiya while imposing a curfew on it, and soldiers spread out in its streets, while snipers climbed the roofs of several buildings.

The sources indicated that the Israeli forces closed main roads leading to the town.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that the operation carried out by what he described as the "killer" from the north of the West Bank shows once again the urgent need to pass a law imposing the death penalty on perpetrators.

Ben-Gvir added that "anyone who goes out to carry out an anti-Semitic terrorist operation with the aim of killing should know that Israel will not allow him to continue living and will send him to hell."

The Israeli ambulance service announced the death of two people and the injury of two others in a combined ramming and stabbing operation in Beit She'an and Afula.

The Israeli police said that the operation occurred at 3 sites, and that its perpetrator is injured and was transferred to the hospital.

The Israeli army radio quoted a security source as saying that the perpetrator of the Beit She'an operation infiltrated from the security fence area in the Jerusalem area, and that he was banned from entering Israel, and was imprisoned 10 years ago for participating in confrontations with army forces.

International humanitarian law explicitly prohibits collective punishment measures against civilians for crimes they did not commit, including Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which stipulates the prohibition of collective penalties and considers them war crimes.

The Israeli army has been continuing a large-scale military operation in the north of the West Bank since January 21, 2025, which it began in Jenin camp and then expanded to Nur Shams and Tulkarm camps.

Since then, the Israeli army has imposed a strict siege on the three camps, and continues to destroy the infrastructure and homes and shops of citizens, leading to the displacement of about 50,000 Palestinians, according to official data.

US President Donald Trump announced that he is not ready to recognize the independence of "Somaliland" at this time, unlike Israel, which became the first country in the world to recognize "Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state" yesterday Friday.

This comes as the Somali government, on Friday evening, confirmed its "categorical" rejection of Israel's declaration recognizing the independence of "Somaliland," emphasizing that Somalia is "one country," and the Israeli recognition is considered "null and void."

Trump told an American newspaper that he "will not rush to follow in the footsteps of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recognizing the independence of Somaliland, noting that the matter requires more research and study."

Trump wondered: "Does anyone really know what Somaliland is?"

Yesterday Friday, Netanyahu recognized the independence of "Somaliland," pledging to President of Somaliland Abdurahman Mohamed Abdullahi to convey a message on this matter to Trump during their scheduled meeting next Monday in Florida.

Netanyahu said during a video call with Somaliland President Abdurahman Mohamed Abdullahi: "I will convey to President Trump your readiness and desire to join the Abraham Accords."

However, Trump confirmed that he is not influenced by this proposal, indicating that his talks with Netanyahu will focus on the Gaza sector.

The US President did not show enthusiasm for the offer of "Somaliland" to host an American military port near the entrance to the Red Sea, saying dismissively: "Not a big deal. Everything is under study. I study many things and always make great decisions, and their results are correct."

For its part, the office of Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre stated in a statement that "the Federal Republic of Somalia renews its absolute and non-negotiable commitment to its sovereignty, national unity, and territorial integrity," describing Israel's recognition of the independence of "Somaliland" as "a deliberate attack on Somalia's sovereignty and an illegal step."

The statement affirmed that "the Somaliland region is an integral part of the sovereign territories of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and it is not permissible to separate or dispose of it," adding that the federal government confirms that Somalia is "one sovereign state that cannot be divided, and any recognition that seeks to undermine this reality is null and void."

The government warned that "such unlawful actions (Israel's recognition) seriously undermine regional peace and stability, and exacerbate political and security tensions in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Middle East, and the entire region."

It emphasized that such actions "contradict the collective responsibilities of states in combating terrorism, including Al-Shabaab and ISIS, and threaten to create favorable conditions for terrorist groups to exploit political instability and undermine efforts made to achieve peace and security."

The government affirmed its determination to "take all necessary diplomatic, political, and legal measures, in accordance with international law, to defend its sovereignty, unity, and internationally recognized borders."

It also called on the Republic of Somalia "all countries and international partners to respect international law, adhere to the principles of non-interference and regional integrity, and act responsibly for the sake of peace, stability, and security in the Horn of Africa."

Since declaring its secession from Somalia in 1991, the "Somaliland" region, which does not enjoy official recognition, has acted as an administratively, politically, and security-wise independent entity, with the central government unable to extend its control over the region, or its leadership to achieve independence.

The Somali government refuses to recognize the Somaliland region as an independent state, considers it an integral part of the territories of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and views any deal or direct dealings with it as an assault on the country's sovereignty and unity.

In a moment of extreme political and security sensitivity, the Gaza file returns to the forefront of international decision-making with the approach of a meeting described as 'decisive' between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, amid divergences in positions between Washington and Tel Aviv regarding the future of the ceasefire agreement and the transition to its second phase.

Between American pressures to consolidate the calm and launch a political path that includes a technocratic government, an international force, and gradual disarmament, and Israeli insistence on stringent security conditions and using escalation as a pressure card, the Gaza Strip stands before two contradictory fates: either consolidating a fragile political path or sliding again towards confrontation, awaiting what the decisions in Florida will yield.

The United States appears, according to what has leaked from positions within the White House, more eager than Israel to push the agreement forward. There is a clear sense of frustration among Trump's team with the performance of the Israeli government, as reported by Israeli Channel 12 from White House officials.

The channel also quoted these officials as saying that the American administration believes Netanyahu is placing political and security obstacles that prevent moving to the next stage, whether through statements rejecting withdrawal from the Gaza Strip or through the field behavior of the Israeli army, which is viewed Americanly as threatening the ceasefire.

In contrast, Netanyahu seeks to readjust the agreement's path to serve his internal and security priorities, benefiting from Trump's sensitivity towards Israeli security issues. While primarily betting on convincing the American president to adopt his tough stance on disarming 'Hamas' and rejecting any loose formulations.

However, this bet collides with the reality of a clear gap between Netanyahu on one hand and Trump's key advisors Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on the other. According to the Israeli channel, what Washington is proposing today goes beyond mere ceasefire to a comprehensive vision that includes establishing a peace council chaired by Trump and forming a Palestinian technocratic government to manage civil administration in Gaza, in addition to deploying an international stabilization force.

This vision enjoys Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish support, but faces deep Israeli reservations, especially regarding the Turkish role and the mechanism for dealing with weapons, and even towards the idea of a Palestinian government relatively independent of direct Israeli control.

Since the American administration realizes that the success of any political path in Gaza depends on providing a minimum of humanitarian and security stability, the pressures that will be exerted on Netanyahu in the Florida meeting will include a clear commitment to ceasefire, protecting civilians, and facilitating the entry of aid, according to what Israeli media report from officials in Trump's administration.

Therefore, the future of the Gaza agreement will not be decided only in the field, which remains susceptible to daily Israeli violations, but at the political table in Washington. And the meeting in Florida may outline the general framework for the next phase: either a gradual political path fraught with challenges, or a return to the repeated cycle of Israeli aggression, with all its repercussions on Gaza and the region as a whole.

In recent days, Israeli discussions have intensified regarding the issues that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss with US President Donald Trump, particularly Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Turkey, which will be the focus of the summit, amid Israeli calls for Netanyahu to distinguish between areas where flexibility can be shown to the American administration and issues that he must not touch, especially those related to Israel's vital security interests.

Major General Giora Eiland, former head of the National Security Council, noted that 'these five main issues: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Turkey, have a gap, even tension, between the American and Israeli positions. This does not necessarily mean that this summit will lead to a crisis; on the contrary, Netanyahu will act correctly if he shows flexibility in at least two issues, or even if he knows how to reach an agreement on the other issues as well. Nevertheless, it is important not to compromise on the important principles of the occupation.'

He added in an article published on the Walla website that 'the first issue under discussion at the Trump-Netanyahu summit is Lebanon, coinciding with the imminent holding of the summit with the recent escalation of voices threatening war on Lebanon from the Israeli side, whether from the right-wing government leadership or from military security sources. Supporters of renewing the war against Hezbollah base this on the lesson learned from Hamas's attack on October 7, which is the necessity for Israel to prevent organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas from strengthening their power.'

Eiland explained that 'according to the Israeli position, since the party seeks to rebuild its strength, and the Lebanese government is unable to completely disarm it, renewing the war is the optimal option. As for the American position, it is the opposite; it sees that combining political and economic pressure on the Lebanese government and weakening the party after the war will ultimately lead to neutralizing it as a threatening military force. In this regard, it is correct to accept the American position and not consider it a concession, because Israel's interest also lies in avoiding another unnecessary war in this region.'

The former general affirmed that 'the second issue under discussion is Syria, where the American administration tends to support the new Syrian president, who recently visited Washington and was given an opportunity to consolidate his rule and control over most of the country. The United States shows interest in Damascus and Tel Aviv reaching a security agreement under which the latter withdraws from most of the Syrian territories it controlled about a year ago.'

He pointed out that 'Israel's security need to retain large areas inside Syria is minimal, given that the official border line is ideal from a military perspective, as it allows it to have full control over Syria. Unlike Lebanon, there are no hostile Syrian villages near the border, and the permanent presence of Israeli forces inside Syria will inevitably lead to escalating tension with the local population, and incidents of gunfire have already occurred, resulting in injuries to soldiers.'

He added that 'the third issue that the summit will discuss is Gaza, and here Israel's interests must not be touched, unlike Syria and Lebanon. The occupation cannot accept all the American administration's demands regarding the Gaza issue, which seeks to move to the second phase of Trump's ambitious plan for Gaza's future, consisting of three parts: first, disarming Hamas and its ability to govern; second, rebuilding Gaza according to a massive plan costing $112 billion; and third, withdrawing military forces from most of the territories it controls inside Gaza.'

Eiland continued that 'the problem with this plan lies in the sequence of operations; the Americans are interested in starting the reconstruction of Gaza, while at the same time, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, the mediating countries, demand the withdrawal of the Israeli army. Meanwhile, Israel's supreme interest is to oppose these two demands before Hamas disarms itself. In this issue, Netanyahu must not retreat or make any concessions, because surrender means losing most of the gains of the war in Gaza.'

He clarified that 'the fourth issue is the Iranian threat; the United States, like Israel, is determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and there is no disagreement between them on this issue. However, it is not as concerned about Iran's efforts to produce a large number of ballistic missiles and their launchers. These missiles, each carrying a warhead weighing half a ton and characterized by high accuracy, caused significant damage to Israel in the war that took place six months ago.'

He added that 'Iran is seeking to build a capability far superior to what it had in the previous war, and from Israel's perspective, this represents an existential threat that must be prevented from materializing. Here, Netanyahu will have to make a great effort to convince Trump and his team of the validity of this matter.'

Eiland concluded by saying that 'the fifth issue under discussion at the Trump-Netanyahu summit is the Turkish threat, and it seems that the biggest gap between Tel Aviv and Washington relates to Turkey's behavior and ambitions. Trump admires strong leaders with expansionist tendencies and views President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in this light, as he believes his declared promises to seek stability in the Middle East in general and Gaza in particular.'

He claimed that 'it is important for Netanyahu to know how to demonstrate the threat that Turkey poses not only to the occupation, but also to Cyprus and Greece. It will be important to emphasize to Trump that regarding the future of Hamas, Turkey will certainly act against American interests, specifically dismantling the movement.'

The year 2025 witnessed pivotal transformations in the course of the war in the Gaza Strip, where Gaza starved to death, and there were countless numbers of martyrs, wounded, missing, and displaced. As the end of the year approaches, Gazans await an improvement in the situation and the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the Israeli war.

The "Special Window from Gaza" segment shed light on the developments and successive events that the Gaza Strip experienced during 2025 through a report that reviewed the year's harvest, and hosted analysts and observers who spoke about future prospects, and what Palestinians in Gaza anticipate in 2026, especially regarding their tragic humanitarian conditions.

At the beginning of 2025, the then-elected US President Donald Trump assigned the task to his special envoy Steve Witkoff, and the time frame was to sign an agreement to end the war before Trump entered the White House. In mid-January of last year, an agreement was reached to cease fire, which entered into force on the 19th of the same month, and included 3 phases, the most prominent of which was Israel's complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The agreement lasted only weeks, as at the beginning of March last year, Israel resumed extensive military operations in the sector, effectively ending the truce on March 18 last year by launching a massive air attack, and the war returned with greater ferocity, and the sector entered a new phase of humanitarian suffering.

In mid-April, while the war entered its eighteenth month, Qatari and Egyptian efforts continued to resume the ceasefire through the resumption of talks in Cairo, and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced its readiness to conclude a deal to end the war that includes the release of all remaining Israeli prisoners in one batch and a truce for 5 years.

However, Hamas's offer was met by Benjamin Netanyahu's government with the approval of the mini-cabinet at the beginning of May 2025 of the "Gideon Chariots" operation to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, and Israel launched the "Gideon Chariots 2" operation at the beginning of September last year to fully occupy the city of Gaza and displace Palestinians from it.

The war on the towers of Gaza City began, and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee south under the lava of air and artillery bombardment.

In this atmosphere, the US President proposed a new proposal through his envoy Witkoff aimed at finding a diplomatic solution before the Israeli military operation, ensuring a comprehensive solution for the release of all Israeli prisoners in exchange for ending the war.

The Hamas delegation met in Doha to study the American proposal on September 9 last year, and during the meeting, Israel bombed the Hamas leadership headquarters in the Qatari capital.

International and American efforts doubled to contain the escalation's repercussions, and on September 29, the US President announced a peace plan and war cessation consisting of 20 points, and on October 10 last year, the first phase of the agreement entered into force, and the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey signed the war cessation document during the peace summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.

In November last year, the UN Security Council issued Resolution 2803 welcoming President Trump's plan to end the war on Gaza, and since the agreement entered into force, Israeli violations of its provisions continued, amid delays in transitioning to the second phase.

The most likely scenario

In his commentary on the debate related to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, Thomas Warrick, a former US State Department official, linked the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip to the establishment of the international force and the disarmament of Hamas, noting that Trump will announce on the 6th of next month the deployment of the international force.

As for Bilal Al-Salaima, a lecturer at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, he predicted that the most likely scenario is stagnation, because the Israeli side is trying to sabotage the ceasefire agreement and does not want the international force, evidenced by the ongoing Israeli violations in the sector, in addition to no movement on the ground so far regarding the international force, and it is not known where it will be deployed or the mandate that will be given to it.

For his part, the expert on Israeli affairs Jackie Khoury described the current phase as gray, saying that there are political calculations for Netanyahu, suggesting that the current situation in the Gaza Strip will continue for a long time.

The Israeli soldier, fortified inside his tank, did not ask about the religion of the eighty-year-old woman Ilham Farah before he ran her over in front of the Palestine Stadium in the heart of Gaza as she tried, panting, to cross the road during her displacement from the besieged area in the first months of the war.

The Israeli pilot did not verify the identity of those who took shelter behind the walls of the Pervilius Church when he dropped his bombs on the heads of the Christians inside it, killing more than 18 people at once.

The Israeli sniper did not pause to confirm the religion of the two young men who wandered in the square of the Latin Monastery Church before his bullets felled them dead.

Israel targeted the people of Gaza with its crimes as one entity without distinction, so the entire sector was in the sights of the same annihilation for two full years of war, where the people of Gaza stood as one body facing the same fate, and suffered under the circle of pain, killing, siege, and starvation, and their unspoken words say that survival or death in the Gaza Strip can only be collective.

More than 60 Christians perished in the genocide war, either through direct targeting, or due to the siege and closure where there is no treatment or medicine, just like what happened to thousands of Muslims who remained in the city.

Nevertheless, people shared what was available of life's necessities, where churches opened their doors to displaced Muslims, and everyone shared the bite and the shelter, and the spirit of coexistence and solidarity emerged at the peak of hell, and Christian health and relief institutions continued to provide their services without discrimination.

Amid this heavy pain, Christmas arrived this year for 516 Christians in Gaza, where they held modest celebrations, without decorations or lights, "for the city is still in its ruins and mourning its losses," as they say.

Patriarch of the Holy Land Pierre Battista entered Gaza on the night of December 21st, to announce from its heart through a modest celebratory mass the beginning of the Christian holidays, in a small attempt to snatch a moment of life from the heart of a city whose wounds have not yet healed.

During the first mass prayer according to the Western calendar on the night of December 25th, which was held at the Latin Monastery Church (Holy Family) east of Gaza City, and it is the central church where celebrations of Catholic Christians in the sector are held.

The church seemed burdened with memories of two full years of sorrow, almost without decorations or festive appearances, and the rituals were limited to pure religious rites. Inside, empty seats for martyrs who perished inside and outside this place, as if the worshippers carry the pains of grief and extermination.

The hymns are recited in a faint voice, while modest decorations hang on the sides that do not resemble any features of celebration in peacetime years, and a mass that seemed closer to a collective endurance prayer, and a final attempt to preserve religious rituals.

In the outer square of the church, Dimitri Paul Shard sat distracted, alone on one of the wooden benches, with no joy of the holiday on his face. I approached him and asked why he was sitting alone at the height of this crowding, so he answered "The war left me alone, I lived it alone." He added after a smile filled with sadness "I sent my children out of Gaza out of fear for them and their children, but I refused to leave it."

Although he is dual-nationality and could leave Gaza whenever he wanted as he says, he thwarted all embassy attempts to evacuate him, for Gaza is dear to his heart and he could not bear to leave it in these circumstances, despite losing his multi-story home and a number of his friends.

While the man stares around as if the whole place reflects his feeling of isolation, Najla Saba (67 years old) was on the opposite side of the square trying to break her solitude by making a video call with her family in Bethlehem in the West Bank.

A joy that Najla could not be part of, so she shared with them and embraced them with her eyes through the small window on the phone screen, despite the great lump in her throat for not being able to be with them physically, amid a painful feeling of separation and deprivation.

Najla recalls those days when Christian families in the Gaza Strip used to travel easily to Bethlehem to attend holiday celebrations, and she says as if flipping through an old photo album, not knowing if she can live its details again, "The most beautiful holidays were those we spent in Bethlehem, where mass prayer, lights, processions, decorations, celebrations, and family gatherings."

But this year she is in the Gaza Strip alone without family, where the war separated her from her children and the city's people, and she adds "I feel my heart cracking every day with their distance more, and I try to pretend strength in front of them but I burn with a feeling of alienation from within."

This forced separation and deliberate dispersion by Israel, the people of Gaza see it as preventing them from reuniting, in line with the policy of spoiling and establishing a limit on everyone who decided to stay in the Gaza Strip. Israel has been tightening on Christians even before the war, and refuses without reasons to grant many of them permits to cross to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Nevertheless, Najla insists on staying in the Gaza Strip, saying with a bitter smile "I do not want to leave Gaza, I was born here and taught generations in UNRWA schools, and my family's roots are deep in this land, and Gaza for me is everything, my heart, my soul, and my eye."

What Najla wishes most, amid the ongoing dispersion of her children until today, is that a holiday comes where she can gather them around one table, not from behind the phone screen.

A few steps from the church entrance, the girl Amal Hilal (16 years old) was taking pictures with her friends in front of a lonely Christmas tree lit with a few simple lights.

She comments on that Christmas tree saying that it is simple because it expresses their current state, and adds "We do not decorate the tree as in previous years, not because we do not want to, but because people's feelings are exhausted, and our gathering is the real holiday, for the holiday is in our hearts before it is in the decorations."

At the outer gate of the church sits Amal without participating in the children's play, her eyes fixed on the void left by the absence of her grandfather George, who was killed in a bombing that targeted the church during the war.

While the stories of the young and old intersect, this year's holiday takes its form in faint prayers and faces exhausted by loss and sorrow.

Despite the destruction and the shrapnel of Israeli booby-trapped robots that still reach the church from the eastern borders, as if reminding everyone that the war has not ended yet, Gaza says in its own way "Even from under the ashes, a new birth can begin."

Israelis were killed and injured today, Friday, in an operation carried out by a Palestinian from the West Bank in two locations in the city of Beisan and a third in Afula, northern Israel, amid escalating violence by settlers and the occupation army in the occupied West Bank cities.

The Israeli police and the General Security Service are still investigating the operation, while the Israeli army is conducting an assessment of the situation in various areas, and has reinforced its forces in what it described as the "contact zone" with the West Bank.

Since October 7, 2023, the intensity of operations carried out by Palestinians in Israel, which its security agencies have not been able to prevent, has been escalating, but how was the Beisan operation carried out and who is responsible for it?

Initial Israeli investigations indicate that the perpetrator first ran over an Israeli youth on Yaakov Street in the city of Beisan, then ran over another on Hashomeron Street in the city. After that, he headed to Kibbutz Tel Yosef in Marj Ibn Amer near the area, where he got out of the car and stabbed an Israeli woman.

The perpetrator also headed towards the Afula area where he ran over another Israeli. However, a security guard in the area fired at the perpetrator, then the Israeli police arrested him and transferred him to the hospital, saying his injuries are moderate.

Israeli media reported that the dual operation in the two cities lasted about 50 minutes.

According to Israeli emergency services, a man was killed by being run over, while a woman was killed by stabbing in two locations in the city of Beisan, northern Israel.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation also said that two Israelis were injured in the operation with moderate and minor injuries, after initially reporting that 6 people were injured.

The Israeli Shin Bet said that the perpetrator of the operation is the Palestinian youth Ahmed Abu al-Rab (37 years old) from Qabatiya, south of the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank, which has been facing a wide Israeli operation (Iron Wall) since January, leading to the displacement of thousands and the destruction of Palestinians' homes and infrastructure in the city, while Qabatiya faces ongoing Israeli raids and arrests, the latest of which resulted in the martyrdom of a Palestinian boy after the occupation directly fired at him.

The Shin Bet also mentioned that Abu al-Rab belongs to the Islamic Jihad movement, which has not claimed responsibility for the operation so far.

Israeli media also quoted the army as saying that the perpetrator of the operation is an "illegal resident working in Israel for years".

After the dual operation, forces from the Duvdevan unit (the most prominent special forces units in the Israeli army) along with paratroopers and police stormed the town of Qabatiya, where they began implementing an intensive military operation, according to orders from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The Israeli army confirmed that it deployed air forces to provide fire support and surveillance over the Jenin and Qabatiya areas, and its forces stormed the perpetrator's home, and engineering forces began sweeping it in preparation for demolishing it.

According to the Israeli army's statement, the operation in Qabatiya aims to "locate every terrorist and thwart him and strike the terrorist infrastructure in the town", according to its description, without specifying the duration of the military operation.

On its part, the Israeli Army Radio reported that forces from various units are working to encircle Qabatiya and establish barriers in the area.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted a source as saying that the Israeli army deployed forces north of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley to secure areas of the apartheid separation wall.

Politically, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that "the Israeli government will continue to work to thwart anyone who seeks to harm its citizens", according to his expression.

He noted that Israel faces from time to time what he described as "bloody acts" despite carrying out several operations to thwart what he called "terrorism" during the past year.

For his part, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated that the dual operation in northern Israel shows the "urgent need to apply the death penalty law", a bill that Ben-Gvir is pushing for its approval, which stipulates that a person who intentionally or negligently causes the death of an Israeli, and when the act is carried out with a racist motive or hatred and to harm Israel, he must face the death penalty.

The Islamic Jihad movement has not issued any statement so far.

For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement considered the operation that took place in the cities of Beisan and Afula as an expression of the accumulated popular anger and a result of the occupation's daily crimes.

It also warned the occupation against continuing its aggressive policies, affirming that its crimes will not achieve security for it.

The diplomatic moves led by Washington to push towards the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza intersect with an accelerated military escalation by the Israeli army in the sector.

These days, eyes are directed in two directions: one on Gaza, where Israeli violations continue relentlessly, and another on Florida, which is expected to host a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of this week.

This delicate political moment comes amid the labor pains of moving to a second phase of the Gaza agreement, but the field in the sector has another face.

In the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, the Israeli occupation army has escalated its military operations in recent days through organized mining and demolition of residential blocks, and the evacuation of hundreds of families from their areas, in a clear violation of the terms of the declared ceasefire.

Diplomatically, in closed rooms, negotiations and calculations are being conducted that go beyond the borders of the besieged sector to place the fate of the entire ceasefire on the table of American-Israeli balances.

The Trump administration promotes the second phase as imminent through its envoys, but the absence of an official announcement of its details, and its coincidence with a notable field escalation, raise questions about its seriousness and limits.

As for Tel Aviv, as usual, it puts a stick in the wheels of the fragile negotiations, by showing a high degree of stubbornness regarding the transition to the next phase of the agreement.

Israel continues to link the negotiations to security conditions, including maintaining freedom of military action within Gaza, rejecting any complete withdrawal or real redeployment, in addition to disarming the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas", and returning the body of the last Israeli soldier.

In contrast, Hamas affirms its commitment to any agreement that ensures a comprehensive cessation of aggression, a clear withdrawal, and lifting of the siege. But it sees in the repeated Israeli breaches evidence of the absence of a serious partner.

As for Washington, it markets itself as capable of controlling the pace of the phase and containing the escalation, but at the same time, it does not exert any notable pressure on Tel Aviv to stop its daily breaches.

Until now, the wall of the crisis has not announced its collapse, but it is on the verge of falling at any moment, due to a military escalation that erodes what remains of the ceasefire, and a political path that appears optimistic on the surface. While its folds hide a minefield of extreme complexity.

The Israeli government announced on Friday the recognition of the Somaliland breakaway region as an "independent sovereign state", a step likely to face widespread regional rejection, due to the region's lack of official recognition since declaring secession from Somalia in 1991.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a press release that the latter "announced today the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent sovereign state".

The statement noted that the Israeli Mossad contributed to strengthening the recognition between the two sides.

It added: "The Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, and the President of the Republic of Somaliland signed a joint reciprocal declaration".

It continued: "This declaration comes in the spirit of the Abraham Accords that were signed at the initiative of President Trump".

The "Abraham Accords" are normalization agreements signed in 2020 between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain under US sponsorship, later joined by Sudan and Morocco.

Netanyahu: "Israel" faces bloody acts despite intensive efforts to thwart what he described as "terrorism".

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made statements following the double operation in "Beisan" and "Afula", confirming that "Israel" faces bloody acts despite intensive efforts to thwart what he described as "terrorism" over the past year.

Netanyahu emphasized that his government will continue to work to protect its citizens and strike anyone who seeks to harm them.

On the ground, the Israeli army announced the sending of additional military reinforcements to the "contact line" area, while occupation forces began raiding the town of Qabatiya (hometown of the perpetrator) south of Jenin.

The army explained that these movements come as part of "operational activity" in response to the attack, amid reports indicating that the perpetrator had been residing and working inside "Israel" in what was described as an "illegal" manner for years.

For his part, Itamar Ben-Gvir made hardline statements, considering that the perpetrator committed an "anti-Semitic" operation.

Ben-Gvir said: "Whoever carries out such acts with the aim of killing must know that we will not allow him to live", in reference to his orientations towards toughening penalties and executing the perpetrators.

A Ukrainian official said that President Donald Trump will meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, while Ukrainian authorities declared a state of alert in the capital Kyiv.

The Ukrainian President said that many issues can be resolved before the end of the year, amid Washington's intensification of diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia, and clarified -in a post on the "X" platform- that sensitive issues, including any possible concessions on Ukrainian lands, must be discussed at the level of heads of state.

Zelensky had conducted, yesterday Thursday, talks with Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of the American President, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.

The Ukrainian President indicated that some documents related to a broader framework for ending the conflict and ensuring the reconstruction of Ukraine "almost ready", while some are "completely ready".

Zelensky earlier this week revealed a draft peace plan of 20 points, describing it as the main framework for ending the war.

Although the plan includes security guarantees for Kyiv to prevent any future Russian aggression, disagreement remains with Washington regarding the lands that Moscow demands Ukraine to concede, in addition to the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under Russian forces' control.

In the context, a Russian newspaper reported that President Vladimir Putin informed some senior Russian businessmen that he might be open to exchanging some lands controlled by Russian forces in Ukraine, but he wants the entire Donbas region.

Andrei Kolesnikov, the newspaper's Kremlin correspondent, said that Putin briefed businessmen on the details of the plan in a meeting held in the Kremlin late Wednesday evening.

Kolesnikov wrote in the newspaper that Putin wants the entire Donbas, but -away from that region- "does not rule out a partial exchange of lands from the Russian side".

On the ground, Ukrainian authorities declared a state of alert in the capital Kyiv following Russian attacks that targeted several areas and resulted in the death of 4 people and injury of others, according to local authorities, which clarified that the attacks particularly affected the Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The Ukrainian army said that its forces engaged in 121 combat clashes with Russian forces along the front line during the past hours, adding that Ukrainian units targeted areas of Russian forces' gathering, command points, and air defense means, with significant losses recorded among the attacking forces, and that the fighting focused particularly on the eastern and southern fronts.

These developments come amid the continuation of the war since February 24, 2022, where Moscow conditions the end of it on Kyiv's renunciation of joining Western military alliances, which Ukraine considers an infringement on its sovereignty and interference in its internal affairs.