1. Major General Wassef Erekat: Announcing the bombing of all parts of Lebanon every two hours is evidence of the fragility of the Israeli army’s field situation and the failure to achieve ground progress

Yasser Manna: The Israeli expansion of aggression against Lebanon reflects a new strategy based on negotiation within the context of military escalation

Dr. Ahmed Rafiq Awad: The situation may push Lebanon towards a new phase of war, especially in light of the failure of negotiations or the failure to reach a settlement

Dr. Aql Salah: What is happening in Lebanon is similar to the scenario of the war on Gaza, where Israel is following the strategy of “negotiating with fire and destruction.”

Akram Atallah: Experience has proven that Israel was not deterred by diplomatic and political action and international interventions, but by military force on the ground.

Nihad Abu Ghosh: The intense escalation across Lebanon is multi-dimensional and in line with the permanent Israeli principle of “negotiating under fire”

Israeli operations against Lebanon are escalating significantly, coinciding with the Israeli occupation’s announcement that it will expand its targeting to include bombing various parts of Lebanon every two hours, at a time when it seems that the Israeli military escalation is trying to resolve the negotiation files by force of arms, which reflects a new strategy adopted by Israel to negotiate with fire to bring about field transformations.

In separate interviews with “I”, writers, political analysts and specialists believe that Israel is trying to create an environment that opposes the Lebanese resistance by deepening civilian losses and destroying the infrastructure, and trying to pressure people to accept the Israeli conditions for reaching a settlement and achieving the goal of separating the Lebanese front from Gaza, while they confirm that Israel’s policy in its escalation against Lebanon is similar to what happened in Gaza.

Writers, analysts and specialists believe that Israel will continue its crimes without deterrence due to the continued American and Western support and the Arab silence on what is happening, while they point out that stopping these crimes requires the resistance to achieve achievements on the ground, and that there be a supportive Arab popular movement.

Difficulty of the Israeli army achieving the desired ground advance

Retired Major General Wassef Erekat, a strategic military and security expert, sees Israel’s announcement that it will bomb all of Lebanon every two hours as evidence of the fragility of its field situation and the difficulty of the Israeli army achieving the desired ground advance, despite the massive firepower used.

According to Erekat, this force revealed weaknesses in the performance of the Israeli army, especially in its direct field confrontation with the Lebanese resistance, and deepened the gap between the achievements it had previously made in its battles against conventional armies and its current stumbling in light of the resistance’s valiant resistance.

Erekat explains that this situation imposes additional pressures on Israel as time diminishes, as it tries to pressure the Lebanese home front by deepening divisions, creating an atmosphere of disagreements, and creating an environment that opposes the resistance by doubling the number of civilian casualties, targeting infrastructure, and destroying the basic necessities of life, just as happened and is happening in the Gaza Strip, based on Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s doctrine that calls for the use of escalating force to achieve goals.

He points out that this doctrine may be effective when confronting regular armies, where control is imposed based on field superiority, but it fails against resistance movements that wage asymmetric guerrilla warfare and rely on popular support and resistance culture, as is the case in Lebanon and Palestine.

In this context, Erekat sees three possible scenarios for the situation: The first is similar to what happened in 2006, when the Israeli leadership, led by Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, was forced to accept the 1701 Agreement after concluding that it was impossible to achieve tangible progress and to avoid greater losses in a long war of attrition.

The second scenario, in which Erekat expects the war to continue in its current form, with intensified bombing and expanded attacks on civilians, with the possibility of deepening the involvement of ground forces in southern Lebanon in uncalculated adventures, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did previously in the Gaza Strip. One indication of this trend, according to Erekat, is the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Galant and his replacement by Yisrael Katz, who made statements that reflect a limited understanding of the capabilities of the Lebanese resistance, which are superior to their Palestinian counterparts in Gaza.

As for the third scenario, Erekat points to Israel continuing to “negotiate with fire,” and this requires more use of destructive force and the withdrawal of some of its military divisions to reduce the extent of losses and inflict greater losses among Lebanese civilians, and through

Continuing to target the Lebanese infrastructure, which the Lebanese resistance realizes and seeks to lure the army into more direct engagement, realizing that the element pressuring Netanyahu is: the increasing volume of Israeli losses due to the strikes of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and the Lebanese resistance in Lebanon. These losses, which have caused an imbalance in the balance of deterrence through the use of precision missiles, drones, and a bank of sensitive vital targets, and targeted Israel's demographic, geographic, and economic strategic depth, have begun to affect Israeli public opinion, as opinion polls have shown that 61% of Israelis now prefer to stop the war and negotiate.

The moral downfall of the Israeli army

Erekat confirms that the capabilities of the Israeli army are still available, but the morale of its soldiers collapses with every field failure.

Erekat believes that the moral downfall of the Israeli army, represented by destruction and killing, may lead to its military collapse, as happened with other armies throughout history.

Erekat points out that the current war comes in the context of escalating the confrontation with Iran and changing American leadership, which puts Israel in a more complex position and makes the results of the war more ambiguous.

Israel seeks to separate wars on Lebanon and Gaza

The writer and expert on Israeli affairs, Yasser Manna, points out that the Israeli expansion of aggression against Lebanon reflects a new strategy based on negotiation within the context of military escalation.

Manaa explains that this strategy revolves around targeting Lebanese civilian areas to pressure Hezbollah, as Israel sees that causing the greatest amount of damage to civilian infrastructure is a means of psychological and moral pressure on the party, with the aim of forcing it to engage in a political settlement that could mitigate the severity of the confrontation.

Manna believes that Israel is primarily seeking to separate the war in Lebanon from the war in the Gaza Strip, with the aim of achieving specific gains on the northern front, without being directly affected by the explosive situation in the south. This effort aims to achieve relative stability on the northern border, so that the Israeli army can more effectively direct its efforts towards escalation with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, or at least reduce the simultaneous challenges on two fronts.

However, Manaa points out that Hezbollah, with its military experience and strong resistance structure, is confronting the Israeli strategy in an escalating manner, as the party has gradually expanded the scope of its operations against specific Israeli targets. This strategic expansion aims to exhaust the Israeli occupation forces and thwart any attempts at ground penetration deep inside Lebanon.

Manaa points out that the battles taking place in southern Lebanon have proven that Hezbollah's defenses are capable of thwarting Israeli plans, which has forced the Israeli military leadership to reconsider its tactics and resort to new methods, including the systematic destruction of border villages.

The confrontation has deep political dimensions.

Manaa points out that this confrontation is not just a traditional military war, but rather carries deep political dimensions through which Israel seeks to change the balance of power in the region.

Manaa explains that the field resistance led by Hezbollah currently constitutes the most important deterrent to Israel achieving its goals. Whenever the Israeli occupation forces attempt to advance or expand the scope of their operations, they face fierce resistance that contributes to establishing the balance of deterrence.

This resistance, according to Manaa, complicates Israeli calculations and makes achieving any sustainable field achievement difficult, in light of the ongoing pressures from the strategic operations managed by the Lebanese resistance.

Manaa points out that the scene in Lebanon is not just a military battle, but rather part of a larger battle aimed at imposing new rules for the regional game, as Israel is trying through field pressure to change the course of events, while Hezbollah’s steadfastness and ability to maneuver remain the main factor hindering this change.

Fundamental reasons, the most important of which is the failure of negotiations

Writer and political analyst Dr. Ahmed Rafiq Awad points out that the intense Israeli escalation against Lebanon, which reflects Israel’s announcement that it is bombing Lebanese territory at a rate of one attack every two hours, has fundamental reasons, the most important of which is the stumbling of negotiations to stop the war.

Awad believes that the failure of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations is one of the central factors in the escalation, as Hezbollah refuses to surrender or engage in a calm that affects Lebanon’s sovereignty, pointing to a strict Lebanese position that rejects any agreement that undermines national sovereignty.

This Lebanese insistence is met by Hezbollah, which, according to Awad, appears to be regaining its military health, as it escalates its attacks to reach sensitive areas inside Israel, and Israel in turn responds by trying to paralyze the party’s capabilities, which creates heavy Israeli losses in terms of lives and equipment, in addition to the major impact on the daily life of the economy, tourism and work in Israel.

According to Awad, Israel's escalation policy aims to weaken Hezbollah and push it back to just before the Litani River, as the goal of the intensive attacks is to paralyze the party and force it to accept a settlement according to Israeli conditions.

Awad points out that part of the Israeli strategy is to try to exhaust the Lebanese people, which may put pressure on Hezbollah's social incubator and push it to pressure it to end the fighting and enter into a settlement.

Awad likens this approach to what happened in Gaza during the Israeli war on it, where Israel sought to destroy the infrastructure and make daily life unbearable as a means of weakening the resistance.

Awad points out that the ongoing Israeli bombing is causing widespread destruction to the Lebanese infrastructure, harming the Lebanese economy and making daily life more difficult.

Awad asserts that this strategy aims to weaken both Hezbollah and the Lebanese state, and force everyone to negotiate on Israeli terms.

Awad warns that this situation could push Lebanon towards a new phase of war, especially in light of the failure of negotiations or the failure to reach a settlement.

Awad points to the possibility that Israel will advance slowly in southern Lebanon, where it has already destroyed 27 border villages, and may penetrate to distances of up to five or six kilometers and perhaps further, warning that Israel may continue its war to be long and reach deeper areas, recalling scenes of the Israeli war on Lebanon in 1982, and its arrival by land to Beirut.

Awad confirms that Hezbollah seeks to exhaust Israel and trap it in the Lebanese quagmire, while Israel is trying to weaken the party by penetrating the south.

Awad believes that both sides are relying on the idea of exhausting the other, which could significantly prolong the war.

Awad explains that Iran also has a major role, as it does not want to see Hezbollah weaken or give up its advanced position politically, militarily, security-wise and socially in Lebanon.

Awad stresses that Israel is adopting a "negotiation with fire" strategy, which is based on achieving the greatest possible gains on the ground before sitting at the negotiating table.

The field, as Awad describes it, is what determines the form of negotiations, whether between victors, losers, or those seeking a settlement.

Awad points out that Israel is exploiting this stage as an opportunity and is relying on Western support, especially from the colonial powers that give it a mandate to escalate military operations before entering into negotiations.

Israel seeks military pressure and then negotiation

Awad believes that Israel, which is an expert in this strategy, seeks to exert military pressure and then enter into negotiations to achieve gains that it could not achieve on the ground.

Dr. Awad discusses the idea of deterring Israel, pointing to three main aspects that could deter the occupation. The first is the “field,” where facts indicate Israel’s involvement in long and costly wars, whether in Gaza or Lebanon. These battles are not easy, but rather cause great losses in lives and equipment, and drain Israeli economic and military capabilities. This drain puts pressure on Israel and makes it reconsider its calculations.

The second side is European and American pressure, according to Awad, who points out that this war is very costly and may drag Israel into an uncertain future, which prompts influential countries to pressure Tel Aviv to curb its operations. However, he points out that the nature of this pressure differs in intensity, as American pressure is not like European pressure, and the effectiveness of this pressure depends on the level of international action.

According to Awad, the third party is the Arab world and the region, and Awad wonders about the extent to which Israel can take regional considerations into account in its war against the Palestinians and the Lebanese.

Awad points out that Israel may eventually have to take this dimension into account, especially in its relations with Arab countries, so as not to ruin all bridges and live in complete isolation, but he acknowledges that these considerations are not sufficient to completely deter Israel.

Awad confirms that the field war and the resistance on the various fronts remain the most influential factor in curbing Israel, especially with the losses it is suffering.

Awad assumes that this attrition may eventually push Tel Aviv to stop the war, but only after it has achieved part of its goals or realized that the cost of the war is greater than the expected gains.

Pressure tools to force Lebanon to accept Israel's conditions

Dr. Aql Salah, a specialist in ideological movements, researcher and political writer, believes that the intensification of Israeli escalation and the ongoing attacks on Lebanon constitute pressure tools aimed at embarrassing Hezbollah and forcing the Lebanese negotiator to accept Israeli conditions.

Salah points out that the Israeli strategy depends on trying to dismantle the links between the resistance fronts, specifically between Gaza and Hezbollah, to weaken the power of mutual influence between them.

Salah confirms that history has not recorded the existence of a real front supporting Palestine, whether from countries or resistance movements, throughout the years of the Israeli occupation, as has happened since the Battle of the Flood until today from the Lebanese front “Loyalty to Jerusalem” and the Iraqi and Yemeni fronts, and he says: “I am certain that this front will continue, and this is the will of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, the martyr Hassan Nasrallah.”

Salah believes that the repeated Israeli strikes on Lebanon every two hours and their expansion to various parts of Lebanon, as announced by the occupation, come in the context of a message to remind the Lebanese of creating double pressures internally in order to push them to accept the conditions dictated by Israel.

Salah points out that what is happening now in Lebanon is very similar to the scenario that took place in the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, where Israel is following a strategy of "negotiating with fire and destruction."

Salah believes that this strategy aims to dismantle Lebanese cohesion and weaken the rally around the resistance by striking at morale and stirring up internal disputes, while trying to impose a fait accompli policy through American and Israeli dictates.

Salah explains that Israel, despite its escalation, is suffering from a real crisis due to Hezbollah's operations that have imposed a new deterrence equation, stressing that Israel is making every effort to end this file at any cost.

The next stage will be comprehensively escalating.

He stressed that Hezbollah will not remain idle in the face of the crimes of the Israeli occupation, expecting the responses to be intensified qualitatively and quantitatively, while expanding the scope of resistance operations to achieve a balance of deterrence.

Aql explains that the next stage will be a comprehensive escalation, with Hezbollah rejecting the Israeli conditions that it sees as humiliating, especially after the sacrifices made by the party.

On the Israeli level, Salah believes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to prolong the war to achieve political gains and ensure his continued hold on power, while the circle of Israeli displacement is expanding as a result of Hezbollah’s operations.

Salah stresses the importance of having a strong, official Arab position that can pressure Israel to stop its crimes, but he expresses his doubts about this being achieved on the official level.

Meanwhile, Salah believes that the Arab popular movement, along with the continuation of resistance operations that are inflicting heavy losses on the occupation, may be decisive factors in stopping the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which is the same equation required in Gaza.

A state of stalemate in efforts to reach a settlement

Writer and political analyst Akram Atallah believes that the expansion of Israeli bombing operations on Lebanon reflects a state of intractability in efforts to reach a settlement so far, and that this is an attempt to force Lebanon to accept strict Israeli conditions, aiming to restore the image of Israeli deterrence in the region.

Atallah points out that the Israeli message from the current bombing is its ability to strike any target in Lebanon, in addition to repeated attempts to weaken Hezbollah's power by targeting weapons sites and the party's military infrastructure, which has been managing a war with Israel for more than thirteen months.

Atallah points out that the situation in Lebanon so far seems unwilling to accept a settlement on Israel’s terms, which impose demands that he describes as “surrender terms” for Lebanon and Hezbollah. These terms have pushed matters towards further escalation, as Israel continues negotiations using the method of excessive force, in what Atallah called “negotiating with fire.”

Atallah asserts that Hezbollah, which is not prepared to submit, will confront this by strengthening its position, which may lead to an increase in the pace of Israeli attacks that may extend to areas beyond the border villages, within the framework of what Israel describes as a second phase of fighting.

Atallah explains that Israel relies mainly on a strategy of military pressure, through negotiation under threat, noting that it acts as if "a gun is pointed to the head."

Israel, according to Atallah, employs all its power to intimidate its opponents or achieve what it considers necessary conditions for its security, even though these conditions represent complete surrender from Hezbollah's point of view.

Regarding the issue of deterrence, Atallah explains that experiences have proven that Israel has not been deterred by diplomatic, political, or international interventions, whether from the United States, European powers, or even Arab and Islamic countries. Rather, the only force that has so far succeeded in deterring Israel is the military force on the ground.

Atallah points out that Hezbollah has so far managed to inflict significant losses on the Israeli army in the border villages, which raises serious questions within Israel about its readiness to face the consequences of military responses if they go beyond the border villages, and to endure a more violent confrontation.

Bringing back the scenes of the brutal attacks in Gaza

Writer and political analyst Nihad Abu Ghosh points out that the intensive Israeli attacks on various parts of Lebanon, which targeted civilian and commercial facilities, in addition to targeting civilians and displaced persons, bring to mind scenes of the brutal attacks in the Gaza Strip.

He explains that this Israeli escalation aims to increase the human and societal suffering of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.

Abu Ghosh believes that Tel Aviv seeks to establish the idea that the Lebanese and Palestinian resistances are responsible for the suffering, while ignoring the crimes and brutality of its army.

Abu Ghosh points out that the goal of the Israeli escalation is multi-dimensional. On the one hand, there is a clear tendency towards revenge that reflects Israel’s desire to make Lebanon pay a heavy price. On the other hand, it seems that this escalation aims to create an internal division in Lebanese society, whether on the social or political level, in order to increase pressure on the resistance and the Lebanese state to make concessions in the negotiations to stop the fighting.

Abu Ghosh explains that the Israeli escalation is in line with its permanent principle of “negotiating under fire,” as Israel usually resorts to negotiations only when it feels it is in a position of strength, which it seeks to achieve through military force.

He believes that the extensive bombing to include all parts of Lebanon, and the transition from targeting the suburb to bombing other areas, comes in the context of the ground operation that began with clearing the first line of Lebanese villages adjacent to the border with occupied Palestine.

Abu Ghosh refers to Israel's attempts to amend the essence of UN Resolution 1701, which would give it the freedom to violate Lebanese airspace, and give the Israeli army the right to move and implement its military decisions without the need for international authorization or referring to the relevant authorities, if it claims that violations have occurred.

Clear contradictions in Israeli statements

Abu Ghosh believes that there are clear contradictions in the Israeli statements, which may reflect differences between the political and military levels. On the one hand, some military leaders claim that the army has accomplished the required tasks, such as dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border areas, while others, both regular and reserve officers, believe that the time has come to reach a political settlement. These people believe that not quickly investing military achievements in political gains will give Hezbollah a chance to restore its capabilities.

Abu Ghosh points out that, on the other hand, there are hardline political statements, such as those of the new Israeli Minister of War, Israel Katz, who confirms that the main goal is to completely eliminate Hezbollah, which reflects a hardline political line that seeks to achieve long-term goals.

Abu Ghosh comments on the Israeli army’s shift from targeting the first line of villages to the second villages deep inside Lebanon, and believes that the military escalation reflects a firm belief that military force alone is not enough to achieve political goals.

Abu Ghosh stresses the importance of international political pressures, but the United States plays a major role in supporting Israel, whether through joint initiatives or blatant bias that affects Lebanese sovereignty and reflects an American position that is in line with Israeli positions.

Abu Ghosh talks about the role of the United States in strengthening the Israeli war machine, pointing out that Washington adopts a position that guarantees Israel impunity from international punishment.

Abu Ghosh explains that American military and financial support covers all of Israel's losses and protects it from any accountability in international forums.

Abu Ghosh believes that this American and Western collusion, as well as the silence of some Arab regimes, contributes to the continuation of Israeli crimes, whether in Gaza or Lebanon, without any real international deterrent.

Abu Ghosh stresses that the only factor that might push Israel to review its aggressive policies is for the Israeli citizen to feel that his personal security and well-being are in real danger.

Abu Ghosh points out that the human and material losses among the Israelis, and the depletion of the army due to the long wars, could have a tangible impact on the possibility of stopping the war.

This is explained by the fact that the Israeli army, despite its strength, has been exhausted by a long war of attrition that required the call-up of reserve soldiers and officers several times, and inflicted heavy losses in lives and equipment, which requires the restructuring and restoration of the forces, which is what officers in the Israeli army are demanding.

Abu Ghosh points out that Israel is waging an open war against irregular forces and rebellious peoples, a war that cannot be decided by conventional methods.

Abu Ghosh stresses that these battles are not subject to the rules of classical warfare, which makes it impossible for Israel to achieve a quick and decisive victory.

Abu Ghosh points out that the occupation continues its aggression because it realizes that it will remain beyond punishment, thanks to unlimited American support, and because Israel assumes that it has been above accountability since its inception, relying on this ongoing international cover.

Abdul Rahim Jamous: The Israeli occupation has sought expansion and annexation through systematic settlement projects since its inception.

Dr. Amjad Shehab: The increasing attacks by settlers on villages and towns aims to displace their residents and carries dangerous implications

Lawyer Hassan Malihat: The Israeli plan to control the West Bank has been ready for years, and there is no real political or legal deterrent to it

Dr. Ramzi Odeh: The Trump administration prefers that the annexation take place within the framework of a political agreement that requires long negotiations and regional approval

Adel Shadid: Developments in Areas C and B in the West Bank reveal the future intentions of the occupation authorities

Firas Al-Alami: A deliberate Israeli policy that comes within a systematic plan to evacuate Palestinians from Area C and control them

The announcement by the extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich last week that he had instructed the Settlement Administration to prepare plans to apply sovereignty over the West Bank lands, and his assertion that 2025 “will be the year of sovereignty,” as well as the increasing attacks by settlers on Palestinian villages and towns, carry dangerous implications for the future of the West Bank, in light of the escalating pace of settlement and the confiscation of tens of thousands of dunams, which confirms that Smotrich’s plan has become a strategy for the extreme right-wing Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, which seeks practically and on the ground to consolidate the annexation of the West Bank.

Analysts and observers who spoke to us believe that these attacks clearly aim to displace the residents of villages near the settlement outposts towards the main cities in the West Bank, especially in areas classified as (C), which constitute about 61% of the area of the West Bank, in addition to areas classified as (B), which means that 83% of the area of the West Bank is now greatly threatened with confiscation.

They pointed out that Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential elections and his return to power once again prompted Smotrich to officially announce the annexation plan, while Netanyahu intends to put the issue back on his government's agenda, as he believes that Trump's return will enable his government to achieve its goals without international pressure.

Unprecedented escalation of settlement attacks

Writer and political analyst Abdul Rahim Jamous explained that the Israeli occupation has been seeking, since its inception, to expand and annex through systematic settlement projects, adding that the escalating attacks by settlers, with the support of the occupation army, target Palestinian villages and cities on a large scale.

He pointed out that these attacks come in the context of a racist settlement plan that aims to dismember the Palestinian territories and isolate their cities and villages, in violation of the rules of international law and the Geneva Conventions that prohibit the transfer of the population of the occupied state to the occupied territories.

He said: "The Israeli entity is flouting all international rules, which requires a unified Palestinian position and a comprehensive plan to confront these plans that include expanding settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and even re-settling in the Gaza Strip."

Jamous expected that "next year will witness an escalation in attacks on Palestinian residents and their property, which requires a comprehensive Palestinian response."

Forming popular committees to protect Palestinian villages and cities

He called for the formation of popular committees to protect Palestinian villages and cities from settler attacks, in conjunction with escalating political and diplomatic efforts to confront the occupation's plans.

Jamous stressed that the occupation's plans are not limited to the West Bank, but also include the Gaza Strip, where the occupation seeks to reoccupy parts of it to settle them, stressing the need for the Palestinian people to be aware of the dangers of these plans, and to work to protect the land and the population from repeated attacks.

Jamous appreciated the efforts of the Palestinian Authority and the PLO in the international political arena, as they work to expose the practices of the occupation and mobilize international support to condemn settlements.

The importance of activating the role of Arab countries

He pointed out the importance of activating the role of Arab countries in providing the necessary support to confront these challenges, calling for a joint Palestinian-Arab plan to protect Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Jamous said: "There is no doubt that diplomatic efforts are continuing, especially at the level of communication with international powers, but there must be more effective steps on the ground, complementing these political efforts."

Jamous described the current Israeli government as a "dual right-wing government," noting that it adopts an expansionist agenda aimed at seizing more Palestinian lands.

He added that this government represents a great danger to the future of the Palestinian cause, which requires unifying popular and official efforts to confront these challenges.

Jamous stressed that the next stage requires Palestinian and Arab vigilance at all levels, saying: “The confrontation will be on the ground through the formation of popular committees to protect the population, and at the international level through mobilizing support to confront the occupation’s plans. This is a major responsibility that requires concerted efforts to thwart the occupation’s plans and support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land.”

Displacement of residents of villages near settlement outposts

Jerusalemite political analyst Dr. Amjad Shehab pointed out that the increasing attacks by settlers on Palestinian villages and towns in the West Bank carry dangerous implications for the future of the region, in light of the escalating pace of settlement, the occupation of hills, and the confiscation of tens of thousands of dunams.

He stressed that these attacks clearly aim to displace the residents of Palestinian villages near the settlement outposts towards the main cities in the north, centre and south of the West Bank, especially in areas classified as (C), which constitute about 61% of the area of the West Bank, in addition to areas classified as (B), which means that 83% of the area of the West Bank is now greatly threatened.

Shehab explained that "these practices pave the way for the plan to annex the West Bank in an official and pre-planned manner. The absence of legal accountability for the settlers and their obtaining the green light to continue their attacks reflects that the next stage will be very difficult."

Therefore, the Palestinian Authority must take fateful decisions to protect Palestinian villages and strengthen the steadfastness of their residents, especially in the areas most at risk, such as Areas C and B.

2025 could be a decisive year for the Palestinian file

According to a BBC report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in closed meetings that “the issue of annexing the West Bank must return to the agenda with President Trump’s return to power.” This suggests that 2025 could be a crucial year in the far-right Israeli government’s attempt to resolve the Palestinian issue, as stated in its 2022 election program.

The Jerusalemite analyst pointed out that the Israeli far right, led by Netanyahu, is optimistic about the possibility of imposing Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, especially with the expected support from the US administration headed by Trump and figures who support the annexation plans.

Shehab explained that “Israel has been implementing steps on the ground for years to impose a silent annexation reality on several levels, paving the way for official annexation with almost certain American approval. Among the most important repercussions of this annexation is the official burial of the two-state solution project, which is the goal that Netanyahu has sought to achieve since he first assumed the premiership in 1996, when he pledged at the time to eliminate the idea of establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.”

He stressed that "despite the issuance of a decision by the International Criminal Court considering settlement in the West Bank illegal and a flagrant violation of international conventions, including the United Nations Charter, which prohibits annexation using the threat and force of occupation, the current Israeli government continues its complete disregard for international law and the decisions of international courts."

Shehab believes that the current stage requires a clear Palestinian position and a comprehensive strategy to confront the imminent dangers, including strengthening the steadfastness of the villages and mobilizing the international community to pressure Israel to stop its attacks and annexation plans.

Settlers' chaos has reached an unprecedented level

The general supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, Attorney Hassan Malihat, pointed out that “the rampant repressive practices of settler gangs supported by the occupation authorities against the Palestinian people and the pillars of their life and national and human existence, especially the Bedouin communities that stand in open confrontation with the settlers, have reached an unprecedented level of fascism and racism, in the absence of effective and deterrent steps from the international community, and that the persistence of settler gangs in their attacks against Bedouin communities is a recipe for a religious war that will lead the region to the brink of the abyss and explosion.”

He stressed that "the problem in these serious issues is not only the occupation and its crimes, but also the silence of the international community on these crimes, whose silence is considered complicity with the occupation authorities and their plans, or at least translates into a disastrous failure of the international community to carry out its moral and legal duties and responsibilities towards the Palestinian people, as stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Conventions."

Malehat pointed out that the continued Israeli attacks on Palestinians, especially those carried out by settlers under the protection of the Israeli army and under direct instructions from ministers in the Israeli government, such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, represent an accurate translation of the extremist Zionist strategy.

He stressed that the Israeli plan for control over the West Bank has been ready for years, and was drawn up as part of the plan of the century approved by Trump during his first term in 2017, while the occupation began implementing its steps practically in recent years by expanding settlements, seizing Palestinian lands in the West Bank, supporting settler militias with weapons and money, in addition to intensifying the policy of demolishing homes, and displacing Palestinian Bedouin communities in the Palestinian Jordan Valley.

There is no real political or legal deterrent to the settlement plan.

He said: There is no real political and legal deterrent to the settlement plan in the West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority and the Arab countries have reached a stage of political and international weakness, to the point of being unable to defend their existence, or even the lands they have in the West Bank, explaining that Smotrich's announcement will be implemented as an inevitable matter in light of the international support for the occupying state, and the penetration of religious Zionism, while there will be no alternative to confrontation.

Malihat considered the announcement extremely dangerous, especially with Trump returning to the US presidency, and Smotrich’s announcement could be a “test of the waters” for reactions to the issue. He said: The Palestinians will find themselves under direct military occupation, without being given political or economic rights or even freedom of worship, which will lead the region into the throes of open war.

Israeli annexation of the West Bank is not expected in 2025

In turn, Dr. Ramzi Odeh, Secretary-General of the International Academic Campaign Against Occupation and Apartheid, said: The Trump administration is unlikely to give the green light to Israel to annex the West Bank, especially in the first year of its term.

Awda explained that the Trump administration prefers that the annexation take place within the framework of a political agreement that requires long negotiations and regional approval, especially from Saudi Arabia.

He added that Saudi Arabia rejects any normalization with Israel without reaching a two-state solution, which complicates the issue of annexation.

Awda pointed out that the Trump administration will not risk its relations with its regional allies, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. He stressed that the recent Riyadh Arab-Islamic summit stressed the need to activate the international coalition to establish a two-state solution, and to reject the marginalization of the role of the Palestinian National Authority, especially in the wake of the recent Israeli aggression.

He stressed that Israel needs US approval to legitimize any annexation, which seems unlikely in 2025.

However, the possibility of partial annexation in the following year remains, especially if it is linked to political trade-offs, such as normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia in exchange for freezing or reducing the scope of the annexation, as happened with the United Arab Emirates four years ago.

He explained that partial annexation may include settlements and the Jordan Valley, which is in line with the "Deal of the Century" formula.

Awda believes that this step could be used to pressure the Palestinian National Authority to conclude a final peace agreement with Israel, based on a modified version of the Deal of the Century that the Trump administration may put back on the table.

Smotrich's announcement was not surprising.

Adel Shadid, an expert on Israeli affairs, confirmed that the recent announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that 2025 will be the year of annexation was not surprising, but rather based on facts and movements that have been studied and ongoing since the end of Trump's first term until today.

Shadid pointed out that the years following the end of Trump's term witnessed the highest rates of confiscation of Palestinian lands, and the largest number of housing units built in settlements.

He explained that the current government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, which includes extremist parties such as "Religious Zionism" and "Jewish Power", is a settlement government par excellence, as it is working systematically to accelerate annexation and settlement projects.

He pointed out that the developments witnessed in the areas classified as (C) and (B) in the West Bank reveal the future intentions of the occupation.

The government has expanded settlements, strengthened settlement construction in Area C, in addition to what is known as “whitening” more than 25 random settlement outposts and turning them into legal settlements, and establishing 79 new settlement outposts in preparation for whitening and legalizing them if the current government continues.

A systematic Israeli policy aimed at imposing a new reality

He explained that the Israeli government has worked to restructure vital positions in the so-called "Civil Administration" and the Knesset, so that it focuses on strengthening its control over the West Bank.

It also intensified its efforts to limit Palestinian construction in Areas B and C, while accelerating settlement construction in those areas.

Shadid believes that Smotrich's announcement of the date of annexation reflects a systematic Israeli policy aimed at imposing a new demographic and geographical reality in the West Bank by 2025.

Stressing that these policies constitute a serious threat to the Palestinian national project, and require urgent action at the local and international levels to confront them.

Escalation of events, especially during the peak of the olive harvest season

Commenting on the escalation of events, especially at the height of the olive harvest season, human rights activist Firas Al-Alami of Yesh Din Human Rights Organization said, “Settler attacks in the West Bank continue and escalate, and their intensity is increasing, in light of the negligence of the so-called Israeli law enforcement authorities, who are not doing the minimum of their duty to limit this crime, which has become organized and systematic, supported by Israeli political leaders, including ministers and members of the Knesset.”

Al-Ilmi summarized the violent incidents against Palestinians in the West Bank during the month of October as follows:

In October, Yesh Din documented 110 incidents of violence by settlers and armed soldiers against Palestinians. This is an average of more than five incidents per day. The violence occurred in 49 Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank.

Incidents included shootings (including fatal shootings), violent assaults and threats, deportation and expulsion of farmers and Bedouin communities, prevention of harvest, theft of crops and agricultural equipment, cutting down of trees, and more.

In 61 incidents, settlers and soldiers forcibly prevented Palestinians from harvesting their olive trees. In approximately 70% of these cases, members of the occupation forces were present, but instead of protecting the Palestinian victims, as their duties require, they cooperated with the settlers and gave them protection and legitimacy to continue.

In 11 incidents, settlers cut down or burned hundreds of trees. In 26 incidents, settlers harvested and stole olives from private Palestinian land.

The vast majority of these incidents occurred on private Palestinian land that the army prevents the owners from entering, allowing trees to be cut down and crops to be stolen.

Al-Ilmi added: The escalation of events and cooperation between settlers and members of the army and police forces leads to the conclusion that preventing the harvest from the Palestinians in the West Bank is a deliberate Israeli policy that comes within a systematic policy and plan to evacuate the Palestinians from Area C and control those areas.

Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa stressed the pivotal role played by Palestinian journalists in exposing the crimes of the occupation and its plans for displacement and genocide, especially in light of the occupation’s prevention of Arab and foreign journalists from entering the Strip.

This came during his speech at the launch of the first international conference for the development of Palestinian media, which was opened today, Monday, in Ramallah, in the presence of the Governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Laila Ghanem, the President of the International Federation of Journalists, Dominic Bradley, a number of members of the Federation, a number of members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement, ministers, the General Supervisor of Official Media, Minister Ahmed Assaf, the President of the Journalists Syndicate, Nasser Abu Bakr, members of the Syndicate, representatives of media institutions and the diplomatic corps in Palestine, and a number of journalists.

Mustafa said: “Palestinian journalists have been brave in publishing the facts that the occupation tried to hide. They documented the killing of children, exposed the policy of deliberate starvation against civilians, the bombing and storming of hospitals, and then forced displacement to empty areas of the Strip.”

He added: "All these facts that condemn the occupation and hold it accountable were conveyed and documented by Palestinian journalists with courage and professionalism to various platforms, screens and international newspapers. If it were not for the loyalty and professionalism of the Palestinian journalist, the streets of the world would not have been filled with free people calling for a ceasefire, stopping the genocide and holding its perpetrators accountable."

The Prime Minister conveyed the greetings of President Mahmoud Abbas to the conference attendees, especially the guests, stressing his support for the efforts of the conference organizers and his wishes for its success.

Mustafa said: “We meet today with our eyes and hearts directed towards the beloved Gaza Strip, which is still suffering from a brutal war of extermination and bitter humanitarian conditions that have affected all its components, and at the heart of them are the journalists who conveyed the truth, our story and our tragedy to the world.”

The Prime Minister explained: “The press community has offered its best sons as a price for the truth, as we have lost the largest number of journalist victims who fell in a single war since World War II, and by their continued assassination, the occupation is trying to complete what it started; to assassinate the truth.”

Mustafa added: "As we list the achievements of the Palestinian press and its role, we appreciate the role played by the esteemed Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, in cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists, in documenting the occupation's crimes against journalists, to hold accountable those responsible for targeting them, and to support the brave journalists of Gaza."

The Prime Minister called on all national and international institutions and bodies, and all those who believe in freedom, to intensify pressure to provide international protection for Palestinian journalists, and not to leave them vulnerable to abuse and assassination, stressing that this role is our collective responsibility, and is part of the efforts of our Palestinian diplomacy to defend all sectors of our people in international forums.

Mustafa pointed out that in the context of the international effort, it is necessary to recall some important political achievements, especially the UN General Assembly resolution, which is based on the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, as one of the most important UN resolutions calling for ending the occupation and removing its effects within a year.

The Prime Minister added: "This decision was followed by the launch of the international coalition to implement the two-state solution with the participation of 90 countries, and at the same time our diplomatic efforts continue, led by the President's efforts to gain more international recognition for the State of Palestine and to embody the independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty on the ground."

Mustafa added: "They say they want to...

Annexation, and we say that we will continue our efforts to embody the Palestinian state and remove the occupation. We are patient, and we will not tire or get bored in knocking on all doors and making every effort to achieve Palestinian rights.

He stressed that the government is putting all its capabilities to facilitate the work of journalists and ensure their continued performance of their professional and national duties, in the belief in the necessity of strengthening freedoms, especially freedom of the press and media, and its readiness to provide all possible support in order to make the message of the Palestinian media and its national mission a success.

Today, Monday, the Israeli occupation forces prevented farmers from the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, from picking olives.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces expelled farmers from the Wadi al-Azab area near the Itamar settlement, west of Beit Furik, under the pretext of cancelling coordination, and prevented them from picking olives.

This year, the olive harvest season in the West Bank is witnessing repeated attacks by settlers and occupation forces, which have reached the point of killing, burning and cutting down olive trees, stealing the crop, and preventing farmers from reaching their lands.

European Union foreign policy coordinator Josep Borrell stressed on Monday the need for the bloc to exert pressure on Israel to stop its war on Gaza, ignoring calls to respect international law.

This came in press statements on the sidelines of a meeting held by European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, to discuss a proposal submitted by Borrell to suspend political dialogue with Israel for its failure to respect international law in its war on the Strip for more than a year.

The political dialogue between the European Union and Israel is regulated by the partnership agreement between the two sides that entered into force in 2000, and its suspension does not mean the suspension of the partnership agreement between the two sides, according to EU diplomats.

Borrell's proposal includes a ban on the import of Israeli products produced in Israeli settlement factories established on the occupied Palestinian territories (meaning after 1967, over which the international community does not recognize Israel's authority).

"We must acknowledge the failure of our approach and apply international laws without discrimination," Borrell said.

He added: "I no longer have words to explain and describe what is happening in the Middle East. I no longer have words to express the magnitude of the tragedy in Gaza."

He explained that "more than 44 thousand people were killed in Gaza, 70 percent of whom were women and children."

Borrell renewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call to stop the war on Gaza and Lebanon.

Regarding his proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel, Borrell said: “We must put pressure on the Israeli government to stop the war in Gaza.”

In this context, he added: "We will consider not purchasing products from Israeli settlements that are manufactured in the occupied Palestinian territories."

He stressed, "Until the last day of my term, I will continue to encourage member states (of the European Union) to support the establishment of a Palestinian state, not only in words but in deeds."

For his part, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, "It is in Israel's interest for settlements in the West Bank to stop."

He said that "the European Union will consider imposing sanctions on those who destabilize the Middle East."

"We are preparing for a third round of sanctions against institutions or settlers who participated in acts of violence against Palestinians," Baro added.

In turn, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib praised Borrell for his "unrelenting struggle to stop the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon."

Lahbib expressed her "concern over the developments and the catastrophic situation in Lebanon, as well as in Gaza, which is witnessing an outbreak of famine."

"In the face of this, we have no choice but to defend international law, which is being violated more and more, and international agreements, which are being ignored," she said.

She stated that she would call for a meeting with Israel as an important economic partner, stressing that this partnership must respect all the provisions of its agreement, including Article Two.

"It is very important that we are able to raise a unified voice to defend international values and the foundations of the European Union," Lahbib continued.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, "There is no justification for humanitarian aid not reaching Gaza."

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced today, Monday, that the death toll from the ongoing occupation aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,922 dead, since October 7, 2023.

She added that the number of injured rose during the same period to 103,898, while thousands of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and rescue teams cannot reach them.

She pointed out that the occupation forces committed 4 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 76 dead and 158 wounded arriving at hospitals during the past 24 hours.

Here are the latest developments: 17 citizens were killed and others were injured, after the occupation bombed a house near Kamal Adwan Hospital, north of the Gaza Strip.

The occupation targeted a house near Abu Al-Jidyan roundabout on the road to Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Beit Lahia project.

Today, Monday, the Israeli occupation forces began demolishing the homes of citizens in the Umm al-Jamal community in the northern Jordan Valley, whose residents were displaced three months ago.

According to local sources, the occupation began demolishing the citizens’ homes that remained in the Umm al-Jimal community, after displacing the community’s families three months ago.

In occupied Jerusalem, Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a commercial store in the town of Qalandia and bulldozed lands between the towns of Rafat and Qalandia, northwest of Jerusalem.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces demolished a shop consisting of several iron sheets and sheds for selling vegetables and fruits at Qalandia roundabout, while its machinery began bulldozing lands located between the towns of Qalandia and Rafat.

Today, Monday, a woman was injured after the occupation soldiers opened fire on her vehicle in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.

According to local sources, the occupation forces stationed at the entrance to the village of Al-Litwani opened fire on a vehicle, which resulted in a woman being injured in her hand.

The occupation forces closed the area and prevented Red Crescent crews, peace activists and foreign solidarity activists from reaching the place.

The occupation forces continue their siege and pursuit of citizens in all the gatherings and villages in Masafer Yatta, in the context of pressuring the citizens to displace them from their lands.

Lebanese government sources told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah has submitted its comments on the US draft to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, while US envoy Amos Hochstein is expected to head to Beirut tomorrow, Tuesday, to hold talks on a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Lebanese government sources told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah is dealing openly with the American draft for a ceasefire.

For his part, an official Lebanese source told Al Jazeera that Lebanon is open to the content of the draft American proposal and is dealing with it positively and is seeking to put the final touches on it, noting that the proposal aims to build an implementation plan for a ceasefire.

The source confirmed that Lebanon is dealing with the draft American proposal based on the reference of Resolution 1701, and does not object to strengthening the work of the tripartite committee tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and implementing this resolution, provided that it is preceded by an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army.

The source confirmed that the comments on the draft will be discussed with Hochstein upon his arrival in Beirut.

Visit Hochstein

Hochstein is expected to head to Beirut tomorrow, Tuesday, before heading to Israel the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, as part of the efforts being made to reach a ceasefire agreement.

Israel's Channel 12 said that Hochstein's scheduled visit to Israel on Wednesday indicates progress in the ceasefire negotiations.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted political sources as saying, "Tel Aviv expects significant progress in the ceasefire talks with Lebanon, during the coming week, coinciding with Hochstein's visit."

For its part, the Israeli "Kan" channel revealed some details of the draft settlement agreement between Lebanon and Israel, and indicated that the proposal stipulates the placement of 5,000 Lebanese soldiers in the southern regions of the country, a pledge from Israel not to attack Lebanon, and the re-demarcation of the land borders between the two countries.

On Friday, the Broadcasting Authority said that Israel is awaiting a Lebanese response to the American proposal for a ceasefire within a few days.

The proposal, according to the Broadcasting Authority, includes Hezbollah and Israel's commitment to Security Council Resolution 1701, and the deployment of the Lebanese army as the sole armed force in southern Lebanon, alongside UNIFIL forces.

It also includes preventing the rearmament of unofficial armed groups in Lebanon, and that any sale of weapons to Lebanon or their production within it will be under the supervision of the Lebanese government.

It includes granting the Lebanese security forces the powers to “supervise the entry of weapons across the Lebanese border, supervise facilities not recognized by the government that produce weapons, dismantle them, and dismantle any armed infrastructure that does not abide by the obligations contained in the agreement.”

According to the Broadcasting Authority, the American proposal also includes Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon within 7 days to be replaced by the Lebanese army under international supervision, in addition to disarming armed groups south of the Litani River within 60 days of signing the agreement.

It is noteworthy that since September 23, Israel has expanded the scope of its war on Lebanon to include most areas, including the capital, through air strikes. The occupation army also began a ground invasion of the south.

According to official Lebanese data, the Israeli aggression resulted in a total of 3,445 martyrs and 14,599 wounded, including a large number of children and women, in addition to about 1.4 million displaced persons.

In a related context, former member of the Israeli War Council, Benny Gantz, said that the condition of any Israeli agreement with Lebanon is absolute freedom of action for the Israeli army in return for any breach of the agreement by Hezbollah.

Israeli aircraft launched an airstrike on the Mar Elias area in the Lebanese capital Beirut, killing two people and wounding 22, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

In turn, firefighting teams tried to control the fires, while explosions were heard in the area. Al Jazeera correspondent Nasser Shadid monitored the destruction at the site of the raid.

The Prisoners and Freed Prisoners Affairs Authority said on Monday, "The number of minor prisoners has reached nearly 280 prisoners, more than half of whom are in Megiddo Prison, and are suffering from the worst living conditions."

The lawyer for the Prisoners' Affairs Authority added after her last visit to Megiddo Prison, "Most of them have lost a lot of weight due to the poor quality and quantity of food, and the searches and beatings are still ongoing, and the situation has worsened with the onset of winter and the lack of clothing. The prisoners have only one summer outfit, and they lack blankets and mattresses, and the ones that are available are very thin and have a bad smell."

She stressed that the spread of Scabies did not exclude anyone, as most of the prisoners were infected with it to varying degrees, and the prison administration deliberately deprived them of treatment, providing it partially and after they had been infected with advanced stages of the disease.

According to the testimony of prisoner Asid Osama Abu Jado (15 years old) from Aida camp/Bethlehem, he is still suffering from inflammation and wounds as a result of constant scratching and boils that have appeared all over his body.

Note that Abu Jado was arrested on 07/02/2024, and no verdict has been issued against him yet, and he has a court appearance today.

The prisoner, Montaser Iyad Saqr (18 years old), from Askar camp/Nablus, who was arrested on 04/18/2024, was also visited. He was sentenced to 4 months of administrative detention, which was extended for another 4 months.

Israeli opposition party leader Benny Gantz renewed his demand on Monday that the army be given the freedom to attack Lebanon in any ceasefire agreement if there is any violation.

Gantz said, via the "X" platform: "The condition for any agreement with Lebanon is complete Israeli freedom of action against any violation."

The United States, an ally of Israel, is mediating to reach a ceasefire agreement between Tel Aviv and Beirut, to end the ongoing Israeli war on Lebanon since September 23.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said on Sunday that US envoy Amos Hochstein will arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to meet with Lebanese officials and obtain the Lebanese government's response to the US proposal for a ceasefire.

Hochstein is expected to visit Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Israel is demanding that it be given the right to attack targets in Lebanon if Hezbollah violates the ceasefire, which Beirut has so far strongly rejected.

On Friday, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said he had received an American proposal for a ceasefire, which "does not include any kind of freedom of movement for the Israeli army in Lebanon."

According to the Broadcasting Corporation, the United States will send a "separate letter of assurances" to Israel informing it that it has the right to launch an attack if it detects any violation of the agreement.

After clashes with factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, which began the day after Israel launched a war of genocide on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of more than 147,000 Palestinians, Tel Aviv expanded the scope of the genocide since September 23 to include most areas of Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, through air strikes, and also began a ground invasion in the south.

The Israeli aggression on Lebanon resulted in a total of 3,481 martyrs and 14,786 wounded, including a large number of children and women, in addition to about 1,400,000 displaced persons. Most of the victims and displaced persons were recorded after September 23.

Every day, Hezbollah responds by launching missiles, drones, and artillery shells targeting military sites, intelligence headquarters, military gatherings, and settlements. While Israel announces some of its human and material losses, military censorship imposes a strict blackout on most of the losses, according to observers.

Israel has occupied Arab lands in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine for decades, and rejects the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders before the 1967 war with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described, on Monday, the war of extermination waged by Tel Aviv on the Gaza Strip as the longest and most costly in Israel's history.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been waging a war of genocide on Gaza, resulting in more than 147,000 Palestinian deaths and injuries, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing.

"We are fighting the longest and most costly war in our history. Without victory there is no security, and without security there is no economy," Smotrich told Israel's Army Radio.

Smotrich did not give an estimate of the current or future cost of the war.

But last September, the Israeli economic newspaper Calcalist said the cost of the war on Gaza was rising dramatically, and the army had raised its total estimate from 130 billion shekels ($36.7 billion) to between 140 and 150 billion shekels (about $39.5-42.4 billion).

Since its establishment in 1948 on occupied Palestinian lands, Israel has never fought a long war as it is currently doing in Gaza, which has negative repercussions on the economy and the army itself, given its heavy reliance on reserve forces.

Indeed, several international economic institutions have downgraded Israel's credit rating in recent months, indicating a decline in the economy.

But Smotrich claimed that "the economy is in much better shape than we expected."

Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, calls for settlement in Gaza and the establishment of an Israeli military government there, in addition to annexing the occupied West Bank.

However, he also claimed that "there is a consensus on the goals of the war, and establishing settlements in Gaza is not part of it, although it is important for security."

In recent months, Israeli institutions, activists and officials have held events, some of them near Gaza, to call for the establishment of settlements in the Palestinian enclave.

Smotrich blamed the Israeli army for refusing to take responsibility for distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza.

"The fact that the army refuses to take responsibility for distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip is...a large part of the reason why the abductees have not yet been returned," he said, referring to the Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

He added: "If this is what is required to ensure security, I do not fear that we will be an alternative to the government in Gaza for a period of time to eliminate Hamas."

Israeli media reported earlier, citing army officials, that assuming responsibility for distributing aid means permanent presence in Gaza and the establishment of a military government.

Israel has turned Gaza into the largest prison in the world, besieging it for the 18th year, and the war of extermination has forced about two million of its citizens, numbering about 2.3 million Palestinians, to flee in catastrophic conditions, with deliberate deprivation of food, water and medicine.

In addition to the war on Gaza, Israel has been waging a war on Lebanon since September 23, and it also exchanges attacks with Iran and carries out air strikes on Yemen and Syria from time to time.

For decades, Israel has occupied Arab lands in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, and rejects the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Raed al-Nams, media officer at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza, said on Monday that dozens of wounded people were evacuated from hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip to the Baptist and Shifa hospitals in Gaza City.

Al-Nams confirmed in media statements on Monday that the health system in the hospitals of the northern Gaza Strip is deteriorating, and there is a shortage of resources and medical supplies and a shortage of personnel.

He pointed out that there are a large number of injured people in hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, and they are suffering from difficult conditions, warning that the services provided in the three hospitals there (Indonesian, Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda) are basically minimal.

Al-Nams noted that there are about 12,000 injured people who need treatment outside the Gaza Strip, while the occupation's measures and closure of the crossings prevent them from completing their treatment journey.

The Red Crescent announced a few days ago the evacuation of 20 patients from Al-Awda Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross, noting that one of them died due to the occupation’s measures and its delay of ambulances.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that Israel has only allowed the evacuation of a quarter of the 21,000 patients from the Gaza Strip since October 2023.

The UN official confirmed that three-quarters of patients in the Gaza Strip are waiting for evacuation for treatment, and Israel is still obstructing this, warning that this long wait threatens their lives.

The World Health Organization announced that it was able to evacuate more than 100 patients and wounded people from the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of the Strip, to several Arab and foreign countries to receive the required treatment.

Since the Israeli army invaded the city of Rafah and closed the Rafah border crossing in May 2024, only 282 sick and wounded people have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip, according to the representative of the global organization, Rick Peeperkorn.

Rickson pointed out that there are about 12-14 thousand Palestinians suffering from burns, spinal injuries, amputations, or cancer, among other diseases, who need treatment abroad.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,846 martyrs, in addition to 103,740 wounded with varying injuries, since October 7, 2023.

New testimonies from Gaza detainees in Ofer, documented by the Prisoners' Affairs Authority and the Prisoners' Club, showed that the occupation prison administration continues to commit atrocities against them, including torturing them physically and psychologically, and depriving them of treatment and food.

The Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Prisoners Club said in a joint press release on Monday that their legal teams were recently able to visit 15 detainees from the Gaza Strip in Ofer prison, who confirmed that they have been shackled around the clock for more than 10 months, and that they are deprived of using tissues and soap, and are only allowed to shower every 10 days, for three minutes, and have lost their ability to estimate time.

They indicated in their testimonies that the prison administration systematically uses the opening in the door of their cells to punish them by forcing the bound detainees to stick their hands out of the opening of the cell up to their armpits, after which the prison guards use several tools to beat them on their hands and bend them violently, causing unbearable pain.

They explained that this type of physical torture has become the most prominent form of daily torture, without excluding any of the detainees, whether minors, sick, wounded, or the elderly.

In the testimony of one of the detainees whose legs were amputated (A.A.), he said that the prison administration forced the detainees held with him in the cell to carry him to the level of the cell opening to get his hands out of it, and they beat him and bent his hands severely, as a “punishment” for his inability to get down from the “bersh” – the place where prisoners sleep – during what is called (the number – the security check).

He added: Even though my legs are amputated, the prison guards force me every day to get off the “barsh” and lie on my stomach on the ground, until the “number” period for all the cells in the section ends, and this is repeated four times a day.

He confirmed that since his arrest on February 15, 2024, he has been handcuffed all the time, and as a result suffers from severe pain in his hands, bruises and swelling, and severe burning at the ends of his amputated feet.

The Commission and the Prisoners Club explained that the prison administration uses (the number) as a tool of torture and abuse of detainees, noting that it is carried out four times a day, during which detainees are forced to lie on their stomachs until the number is finished in all cells, i.e. about two hours, and anyone who violates it is punished through the opening of the "cell".

The detainees mentioned in their testimonies what happens during the process of transporting them to court sessions, indicating that they are transferred from 7:00 in the morning to an (iron cage), and are forced to sit in an uncomfortable position (on the knees or stomach) until the court procedures are completed.

In the context of the occupation’s continued implementation of the crime of enforced disappearance against hundreds of detainees from Gaza, there is no clear data from the relevant institutions regarding the total number of detainees from Gaza in the occupation’s prisons and camps, except for what was announced by the prison administration at the beginning of November 2024, that there are (1627) detainees from Gaza who the occupation classifies as (illegal combatants), noting that this data does not include all detainees from Gaza, specifically those in the camps affiliated with the occupation army.

The children of Gaza continue to tell their sad stories and heartbreaking tales, as a result of their continuous targeting by the occupation army, without any guilt in the war of extermination waged by Israel.

Yesterday, a scene of a child crying after his father was arrested in front of him, beaten and shackled, and his mother was martyred, topped social media platforms. This was not the first or last case, as stories of childhoods deprived of security, safety, tranquility, care and tenderness occur daily. This is a frightened child, another worried, a third starving, a girl longing for her school and wondering what sin we have committed, a girl walking with an amputated foot, another sitting next to her mother’s grave, and innocent children announcing the martyrdom of their brothers, sisters and all family members.

These are horrific stories that words cannot describe, because a child's tear and a little girl's cry are more eloquent than any words. With the continuation of the massacres, the disregard for the lives of innocents, and the use of all types of ammunition to kill the citizens of Gaza, the latest of which were explosive barrels during the Beit Lahia massacre, there remains an urgent question shrouded in confusion and anxiety: When will the aggression end? And how long will the hopes, ambitions and wishes of the children of Gaza remain without a horizon, without a future, without hope of rising from all these bleeding wounds that surround the Strip?

The aggression will not end in the near future, due to Israel’s disregard for any UN resolution and its repeated violations and encroachment on international legitimacy, as it exploits American military, financial and political support to continue the genocidal massacres, which claim the lives of dozens of children and women, as happened yesterday in Beit Lahia and other cities in the Gaza Strip, in addition to continuing the attacks on cities, villages and camps in the West Bank, and the terrorizing of the settlers.

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh held the US administration fully responsible for the continuation of this bloody aggression, as a result of giving the Israeli occupation authorities political cover to escape punishment and defy international legitimacy resolutions, the latest of which was the UN General Assembly resolution to implement the advisory opinion of the Hague Court, to stop the aggression and end the Israeli occupation.

While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates held the international community responsible for the continuation of the massacres, displacement and starvation that the Israeli occupation forces continue to commit against our people in the Gaza Strip in general and in the north in particular, and the presence of dozens of martyrs, wounded and missing under the rubble, in light of the complete destruction of all the necessities of life and the systematic starvation policy pursued by the Israeli government, what is required is a collective international move to stop the war of extermination and displacement, and to force the occupying state to implement the international resolutions and precautionary orders, if the international community wants to preserve what remains of its credibility, and the necessity of obligating it not to follow the double standards in dealing between the Palestinian people and Israel, and to take the necessary and sufficient steps to respect international law and United Nations resolutions.

What is happening in the northern Gaza Strip cannot be imagined by the human mind, especially since it is more like a catastrophe against humanity and a witness to the world’s injustice against the Palestinian people. These massacres must be stopped, otherwise silence despite international and Palestinian appeals is considered a green light for the criminal occupation government to continue its crimes. It is also worth noting that the bias of the American administration and the harnessing of its military and political capabilities to support the occupation and its denial of its commission of genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, is evidence of this administration’s partnership in violating humanitarian laws and international law.

When will the chapters of the catastrophe end, and can the international community really bear its responsibilities, and will the United States change its positions and explicitly declare a halt to this aggression by pressuring Israel?

We are certain that everything will remain the same and all voices will be low, and there is no global voice that can rise up and strike hard on the table, and impose a new equation based on respecting and appreciating the aspirations of the Palestinian people, for everyone is a traitor, as long as the war of killing children and women continues.

As the Israeli officer, Captain Eliyahu Yitzhak Naddaf, who immigrated from Palestine and left the colony as a political refugee to one of the Arab countries, said, he deserves encouragement and appreciation for his bold and meaningful act, in protest against the actions of the occupation army in the Gaza Strip, and in rejection of its heinous crimes against civilians.

Quoting the instructions of the political colony leadership to the Israeli army: “Leave nothing in Gaza, neither people nor stones.” This is what they are doing, working to eliminate the Palestinian Arab human presence in the Gaza Strip, either by killing or displacement and expulsion, and by destroying buildings, homes and infrastructure to make the Gaza Strip unfit for living and normal life.

But will the crimes they are committing against the Palestinian people lead to the success of their plan in Palestine?? They expelled half of the Palestinian people in 1948 from their homeland, and committed atrocities of killing, liquidation and displacement, but the Palestinian people rose from their camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and established the PLO, and held their first constituent national council in Jerusalem in 1964 under the generous patronage of the late Hussein, and the revolution exploded in response to the Nakba, and the PLO gained representation and status, and the Palestinian cause achieved its status with international institutions.

The revolution and the struggle moved from exile to the homeland, the creativity of the stones, and the first intifada in 1987, which forced the Rabin government to recognize the three titles: 1- the people, 2- the organization, 3- the rights, and this led to: 1- the gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian cities, 2- the return of 400 thousand Palestinians to the homeland, 3- the birth of the authority as a prelude to the state, 4- and most importantly, the transfer of the Palestinian title from exile to the homeland.

The plans of the Netanyahu and Trump governments against the Palestinian people are great, powerful, harsh and difficult, but they will not succeed in passing their desires and conspiracies to end the Palestinian people who cling to their homeland, which has no other homeland, and will stand firm as they have previously remained and stood firm throughout decades of oppression, brutality and Israeli attempts at deportation, or by placing obstacles and frustrating the Palestinian Authority and spreading rumors and slander against it, with the aim of creating a gap between it and its people, and by feeding division, fragmentation and disintegration among the ranks of the factions, especially between Fatah and Hamas.

The plans of the Netanyahu and Trump governments will be thwarted by the Palestinian people and will not pass, and will not find anyone who responds to them by deporting them from Jerusalem and the Palestinian West Bank. The crimes of the colony’s criminals and those who stand with them will pass, and they will be tried before history and the peoples, just as the Nazi leaders and war criminals were tried, and the will of the Palestinian people will triumph, just as the will of the peoples who were liberated from their occupiers triumphed.

Palestine will remain, as it was, a homeland for the Palestinians, and Jordan will remain a homeland for the Jordanians, and for the Jordanians only, just as Syria is for the Syrians, Lebanon is for the Lebanese, and Egypt is for the Egyptians. The peoples of these countries, like the rest of the Arab peoples, will remain levers supporting the steadfastness of the Palestinians and their remaining on their homeland, continuing the struggle until the occupation is defeated and its expansionist colonial project is defeated.

The attempts to deport, displace, expel and displace Palestinians outside their homeland will not find anyone who accepts them, agrees to them or passes them, because the Palestinian people, who have suffered from the taboos and cruelty of the Nakba, will not allow them to be repeated. The people, organized through their factions, parties, personalities and organizations, are the strongest in confronting it, and will bear all the consequences of their steadfastness on the land of their homeland, and will pay the price of remaining, as they have no choice but the choice of remaining, steadfastness and victory, no matter how great the challenges facing them.

They say he is a merchant who loves deals and hates wars, they say he is unpredictable, and that he will be free from Zionist pressures and that this may make it easy for him to impose a settlement on everyone, they say he is narcissistic, nervous and aggressive, and thus he will make his own glory in his own way, and they also added that he won the votes of the Arabs and Muslims and that therefore he will flatter them in one way or another, and they also said that he is returning again with more experience and deeper experience, and these people may have some excuse or some understanding, as weakness, helplessness and frailty have reached the point that we wait for solutions from the maker of crises, and that we hope for help from our enemies and the friends of our enemies, so the President of the United States of America has become like someone who comes with a mountain of food and a mountain of fire, with reward and torment in his hands, such that hearts and eyes are attached to him, hoping for his sympathy and avoiding his anger, so that the Arab broadcaster asked him about his half-Arab grandson, and the man sympathized and said that the Arabs are smart... Thanks be to God Almighty, as this description destroys more than 70 years of insistence by Hollywood studios that the Arabs are stupid and do not deserve the oil they have And suction.

Trump is a true merchant, surprising, narcissistic, and transcending the official establishment, trying to provide a new content for the administration, society, and the new role of the United States. He is working for a new, violent, aggressive, more precise, selfish, and isolated imperialism, reshaping itself to minimize losses to a great extent, an imperialism that seeks to regain power and influence through containment operations, common interests, and profitable deals.

An imperialism that is proactive, rapid, and decisive - but aggressive to the extreme of aggression - an imperialism of corporations, banks, and high technology, which does not recognize much of national and cultural particularities and dreams, and therefore it is an imperialism in which the financial elites are allied with the political elites who see the world as a mere golf course on which they can move as they please, unhindered by borders, groups, or laws.

In this sense, Trump surrounds himself with figures who reflect all of this and more, figures who claim religious purity and divine zeal and that they are messengers from heaven, on whose shoulders lies the fulfillment of prophecies and the embodiment of all good tidings. Figures who have no experience except that they love Israel and that Israel loves them, and that they are extremists in their love for it and are prepared to do anything for it, and that they are enemies of the Palestinian people and their rights, history, existence and struggle, and in doing so they are against international law and against everything issued by international bodies regarding this conflict, and they are against all initiatives and proposals, even those launched by former American presidents, and they are against the global popular mood, against reality, against history and even against the religion in which they claim to believe.

This extremism that Trump is bringing through his second new administration is very dangerous, not only for us, but even for the Israelis and their entity, as one of their writers said.

The extremism that is evident in these appointments and in this administration shows us that Trump is returning to the White House once again, more clearly hostile to the Palestinian people, and more biased towards the Zionist messianic vision. This is why the settlers and some Israeli politicians celebrated Trump’s victory, and began to speak openly about annexing the West Bank to Israeli sovereignty.

The new appointments reflect that Trump is coming to give Israel everything it has seemingly dreamed of. So why do we expect a man in his seventies like him to change?! Why do we expect him to change when he comes from an extremist Evangelical background, and he represents extremist religious, ethnic and class groups? Why do we expect him to change when he is funded by extremely influential Zionist Jewish lobbies?! Why do we expect him to change without there being anyone pressuring him from Arabs and Muslims?!

There is no need for illusions about this president. It is better and more appropriate for us to prepare from now to deal with what this administration may carry of old and new plans, the most dangerous of which is the annexation of the occupied West Bank, the overthrow of the settlement solution, the marginalization of the Palestinian National Authority, and the demographic and political dismantling of the Palestinian people.

Trump comes surrounded by people who do not see us or recognize us, and if we do not prepare for such people, the worst is yet to come, and there is no power or strength except with God.

Smotrich expressed his happiness with Trump's victory in the US presidential election race, hoping that 2025 would be the year of annexation, just as Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, Sa'ar, Knesset members and other Israeli politicians did, as they all believe that Trump's term will resolve the conflict with the Palestinian people and will inevitably lead to annexation.

In fact, this Israeli optimism about annexing the West Bank came from urgent military and political considerations, as the Israeli government succeeded in expanding the settlement process in the West Bank, and the Israeli army succeeded in reoccupying Gaza, and establishing semi-permanent military axes that do not indicate at all an imminent Israeli withdrawal from the Strip. The occupation army also encroached on southern Lebanon, and destroyed more than 40 Lebanese border villages, while Israel is working to impose harsh conditions on Lebanon to implement Resolution 1701. Politically, Trump's rise for the second time is an event that will not be repeated for right-wing Israelis who are eager to annex the West Bank. In his first presidential term 2017-2021, Trump spared no effort in supporting Israel, as he recognized Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel, recognized the annexation of the Golan Heights, cut off aid to UNRWA, closed the organization's offices in Washington, and tried to impose his deal known as the Deal of the Century, which is a liquidation project for the Palestinian cause that recognizes the annexation of the Jordan Valley, Jerusalem, and most of Area C to the occupying state.

The initial appointments announced by Trump to his administration team seem to indicate conclusively that Republicans are convinced of the annexation process. Trump appointed Michael Huckabee as ambassador to Israel. He is a politician and cleric who belongs to the neo-conservatives and strongly supports settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. In his first comment after announcing his appointment, Huckabee announced that his administration might not object to the annexation process. On the Israeli side, immediately after Trump’s victory, Netanyahu appointed Yehiel Latter as Israel’s ambassador to Washington. He is an American-Israeli who is described as a Republican in his inclinations, as well as an academic, settler, and rabbi, who calls for resolving the conflict, annexing the West Bank, and continuing the occupation of the Gaza Strip.

Such appointments and public statements indicate a real trend among Republicans and Israelis to resolve the conflict during Trump’s term, and it seems that Trump will not oppose this. On the contrary, he may push for amendments to the Deal of the Century in order to re-promote it. This time, there is no doubt that Gaza will not be part of this deal!

It is not clear how things will go during the first quarter of next year, but Netanyahu may seek to threaten the annexation process in order to pressure Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with it and abandon its condition for the establishment of a Palestinian state, which is what he did with the United Arab Emirates when they signed the Abraham Accords four years ago. The Netanyahu government may resort to a partial declaration of the annexation of some areas such as the Jordan Valley, and then begin expanding the annexation process to the rest of the areas in the coming years. All of these scenarios are expected and will be decisive if they happen, and they must be confronted by the Palestinians, the Arabs and the international community, so that they do not become a reality that is difficult to change. Among the confrontational policies that I propose in this regard are the following:

First: Strengthening the Palestinian-Saudi-Jordanian-Egyptian front in the face of Israeli plans, especially since Saudi Arabia’s recent positions have become absolutely supportive of Palestinian rights, especially with regard to forming an international alliance to establish a two-state solution.

Second: Forming a broad national, partisan and civil front to confront the annexation process, and proposing national programs in which all Palestinians participate to strengthen the steadfastness of citizens and confront annexation and apartheid policies.

Third: Accelerating the steps towards national unity by calling on all factions and movements that are not members of the PLO to join the organization and commit to its programs, international commitments and decisions without any prior conditions from these factions.

Abdul Aziz is a ten-year-old Gazan boy who looks energetic and athletic, as his physique suggests. His age does not yet prepare him to delve into politics or understand what is going on around him, and why all this killing, destruction, displacement, fear and anxiety, even though he knows that there is a state called "Israel" next door that is besieging them, starving them, displacing them and attacking them with rockets and missiles day and night.

Abdul Aziz came into the world with his twin sister Mira after a four-year wait to bring joy to his father, journalist Mohammed Khreis, and his wife, who resorted to in vitro fertilization to be able to conceive.

Abdul Aziz Mohammed Khreis was born during another war, before or after it, it doesn’t matter. A war, or more precisely an aggression, because war is between two armies. But what happened in 2014, just like what is happening today, was between an army that possesses the equipment and technology that qualifies it to occupy an advanced position among the armies of the world, and also possesses hundreds of nuclear warheads, and a people who had been under siege for seven years - at the time - and had nothing but patience, will and hope.

The ceiling of Abdul Aziz’s dreams, like all his peers in the besieged and starving Gaza Strip, is to enjoy security and peace like the rest of the children of the world, and to find a football field where he can practice his hobby, or a safe space on the beach where he can play with his friends without fearing their bullets and shells that do not differentiate between anyone, or an open crossing that enables him and his family to travel as all people do.

Abdul Aziz and his family left their home due to the raids and shelling operations carried out by the occupation’s planes and tanks, and they moved from place to place in search of lost security, until they ended up in a tent that did not protect against the cold, heat, or shells in the Al-Sawarah area, west of the Al-Nuseirat camp in the middle of the Strip, but death pursued them from the occupation’s warplanes, and his parents and twin sister, Mira, were kidnapped.

Ten-year-old Abdul Aziz is now lying on a hospital bed in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, under the care of his grandmother who never leaves him. He survived the throes of death, but he sustained severe abdominal injuries, as shrapnel from the bombs tore his insides apart, leaving him in need of continuous medical care, as he cannot do without the tubes that come out of his stomach.

Now, what is going through the mind of the child Abdulaziz after losing his father, mother and sister? What does he remember of that horrific incident, when the occupiers’ missiles rained down on the tents of the displaced? Did Abdulaziz really escape death, having become an orphan of both parents, and without his other half, his sister Mira?

This morning, Monday, the Israeli occupation forces launched a campaign of raids and arrests in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.

In Bethlehem, the occupation forces stormed the Deheishe refugee camp, searched most of its homes, ransacked their contents, and detained more than 30 citizens for hours, without any arrests being reported.

In occupied Jerusalem, the occupation forces arrested a citizen and his wife, after raiding their home in the Salam suburb, which lies between the Shuafat camp and the town of Anata, northeast of the city of Jerusalem.

In Hebron, the occupation forces stormed the town of Dura and arrested the young man Tariq Jamal Amro and seized fertilizers and agricultural materials from his store in the town.

In the same context, the occupation forces stormed the village of Tabqa, south of Hebron, closed its entrances, and prevented citizens from passing. They also set up several military checkpoints at the entrances to Hebron, its towns, villages, and camps, and closed a number of main and secondary roads with iron gates, cement blocks, and earthen barriers.

In Ramallah, the occupation forces stormed the village of Al-Mughayyir, and arrested Ayman Abu Aliya (48 years old), Murad Abu Aliya (48 years old), Amer Abu Aliya (41 years old), and Obeida Abu Aliya (38 years old), and seized 3 vehicles, and raided and searched more than 40 homes.

It also arrested 4 brothers from the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah: Bilal, Tariq, Muhammad, and Mahmoud Subhi Hammad, after raiding and searching their parents’ home.

Meanwhile, the occupation forces raided and searched the house of citizen Saleh Hamed in the town.

The occupation forces stormed a number of villages and towns in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, namely: Beit Ur al-Tahta, Shaqba, Silwad, Deir Ghassaneh, Kafr Ein, Beit Liqya, and al-Tira.

This morning, Monday, Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished several facilities in the town of Rafat, northwest of Jerusalem.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces demolished a garden, a hut and a studio called “Miral Studio” belonging to citizen Nabil Mazraawi from the town of Beit Surik, northwest of Jerusalem.

The sources added that the occupation demolished two football fields belonging to the Aydiyeh family in a nearby location.

In the northern Jordan Valley, the occupation forces seized four water pumps located on several springs in Khirbet al-Deir, owned by the citizen, Muhammad Fayez Daraghmeh, which are used to irrigate irrigated crops planted in that area.

In a related context, Muhammad Sawafta, a farmer in Al-Deir, said that the occupation seized water pumps and solar energy used to operate those pumps, leaving nearly 600 dunums planted with grapes and corn without a water source.

A number of citizens, including children, were killed at dawn on Monday, when the Israeli occupation forces bombed a tent housing displaced people in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

Medical sources reported that a citizen, his wife and two children were killed, in addition to his daughter being seriously injured, after the occupation forces bombed a tent sheltering displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Yunis.

The occupation army's artillery also shelled the Al-Midan area in the Beit Lahia project in the northern Gaza Strip, areas in the south and west of Gaza City in the central Gaza Strip, and the northern and western areas of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.

The occupation forces blew up residential buildings around Street 8 in the Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City.

The occupation forces continue their aggression on the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, since October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 43,846 citizens, the majority of whom are women and children, and the injury of 103,740 others, in an incomplete toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and rescue crews cannot reach them.

For days, dozens of bleeding families in Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun have been crying out for help from under the rubble, without water, food or medicine, and are begging rescue teams to rescue them and their children from under the roofs, which have closed in on their chests, almost suffocating their breath.

There is no pain that equals the helplessness and helplessness to heal your children’s wounds, or feed them from the hunger that is gnawing at their intestines, or give them a drink of water to quench their thirst! What is this oppression that is raging in the hearts of those who dig with their nails in the cement, searching for the sounds of their hearts that groan under the rubble, before what remains of the breaths that were begging for life are silenced!

Seventy individuals from the Al-Nabari and Abd Al-Ati families, young and old, old and young, most of them children and women, were killed in a raid. The bodies of fifty of them were recovered, while the rest continued to suffer their pain and bleeding wounds under the rubble of their homes, with no one to help them. Others from the Abu Armana, Al-Masri and Al-Muqaddamah families in Al-Bureih and Al-Nuseirat are still under the rubble, while fathers carry the remains of their sons and grandchildren to bury them!

Oh God... who will stop the killing, who will curb the killers' lust?!

Stop the war of extermination now...!

More than 500 health sector personnel have been killed nd hundreds of them have been injured since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. During its war, the occupation has used all its tools to fight the health system in the Strip, from direct attacks, targeting and killing medical personnel, arresting them, and preventing medical supplies and equipment.

Rohan Talbot, a doctor and official with the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), gave testimony before the British Parliament regarding the crimes of the Israeli occupation against doctors in Gaza. In his testimony, he confirmed that there is evidence indicating the deliberate targeting of Palestinian medical personnel by Israel. Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has arrested hundreds of Palestinian health care workers. While many of them are still in detention and prisons, a number of those who were released were able to convey the reality of these detention centers and the horrific violations that prisoners are subjected to inside them.

The occupation forces arrested Dr. Adnan Al-Barsh, a Palestinian orthopedic surgeon from northern Gaza, while he was performing his work. He died last April inside the Israeli Ofer prison in mysterious circumstances.

Today, the British Sky News network publishes a video report in which it attempts to reveal the details of the last period in the doctor’s life inside the occupation’s prisons.

compelling evidence

The report relied on a statement given by a prisoner who knew Dr. Al-Barsh to lawyers from the Israeli human rights organization "HaMoked". The summary of what was stated in his statement is that Dr. Adnan arrived at Ofer Prison in mid-April in a deplorable state, and it was clear that he had been assaulted, as he had injuries on his body and was naked from the bottom up.

The former prisoner continues his testimony by saying that the prison guards threw the doctor into the middle of the yard and left him there. He was unable to stand, so one of the prisoners helped him and accompanied him to one of the rooms. After a few minutes, he heard the screams of the prisoners from the room, announcing that Dr. Adnan Al-Barsh had been martyred.

The latest Sky News report caused a stir on social media, with activists believing that the details of the report implicitly indicate that the doctor was raped before his death.

“There is now overwhelming evidence of rape of Palestinians by the Israeli military,” commented writer Owen Jones. “The fact that this is not considered newsworthy underscores the anti-Arab racism. Rape allegations only matter if they can be used to show the West’s enemies as barbaric.”

"lack of honor"

"Has rape and sexual assault become normal? Yes rape, now normalized by child killers in the Israeli military," wrote activist Jim Fitzpatrick.

"Even genocide has rules. This country not only lacks humanity, but also lacks honor. Rape as a punishment? Rape of people? Doctors? I can't believe it as I write this," said blogger Melih Ozkan.

Journalist Alon Mizrahi wrote: “The colonizer kills and destroys the most talented and capable among the colonized to make it seem as if the colonizers alone possess culture, values, and capabilities... It is a strategy based on a deep illness, but also on fear and envy; Israelis cannot stand a Palestinian doctor, poet, intellectual, journalist, or charismatic orator.”

The State of Qatar confirmed, on Sunday, that Israel's bombing of a school affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) that shelters displaced persons in Gaza City is an extension of the policies of targeting civilians and a violation of the principles of international law.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned, in a statement, of the serious repercussions of the Israeli occupation's attempts to "obstruct" UNRWA's activities.

She said: "Qatar strongly condemns the Israeli occupation's bombing of a UNRWA school, which shelters displaced people in the Al-Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, which led to the deaths and injuries of people."

She stressed that she "considers it an extension of the occupation's policies based on targeting unarmed civilians and civilian objects, and a blatant violation of the principles of international law and international humanitarian law."

Lebanese media reported today (Sunday) that an Israeli airstrike targeted the "Mulla - Mar Elias" area in the heart of Beirut, where civilian casualties were recorded.

The Lebanese National News Agency said that the Israeli raid on Beirut targeted the Islamic Group's center in Mar Elias.

This evening, Sunday, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah.

Security sources reported that an occupation army force stormed the town of Silwad, without any arrests or clashes being reported.

Likud MK Avichai Boaron said that Israel will take "the Tomb of the Patriarchs (the Ibrahimi Mosque) meter by meter, just as we started with one meter."

"We have a good security minister, a good defense minister and friends abroad. This is our chance. We have two years to do this. The place will not remain stuck in 1967," Poiron added.

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs warned, on Sunday, of Israel's attempts to control the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron, south of the West Bank, and place it completely under its sovereignty.

In a statement, the ministry condemned "the statements of Likud Knesset (parliament) member Avichai Boaron, in which he called for the nationalization of the Ibrahimi Mosque, taking control of it, and placing it completely under Israeli sovereignty."

Since 1994, the Ibrahimi Mosque has been divided into two sections: one for Muslims and the other for Jews, after a Jewish settler killed 29 Muslims while they were performing the dawn prayer on February 25 of the same year.

Israel seeks to completely seize the Ibrahimi Mosque, which violates international laws.

Pope Francis said that what is happening in the Gaza Strip has the characteristics of genocide according to some experts, calling for an investigation into whether Israeli practices in the Strip conform to this definition.

This came according to what was published by the Italian newspaper "La Stampa" today, Sunday, from passages included in a book of dialogues with the Pope, which was prepared by Hernan Reyes Alcaide based on interviews with the Pope, entitled "Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World", according to what was reported by "Anadolu".

In his book, the Pope addressed immigration issues and problems and called for solving them and addressing their causes in their countries.

Under the subject of migration, he touched on the situation in Gaza in his book, saying: “I think in particular of our Palestinian brothers and sisters who left Gaza at a time when famine struck and it became difficult for food and aid to reach their lands.”