Israel is quietly putting pressure on the United States and the United Nations to allow the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to continue playing a leading role in providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, according to what the Wall Street Journal quoted Israeli and American officials as saying.

A report yesterday, Monday, stated that a plan is being prepared in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs aimed at canceling UNRWA’s work in the Palestinian territories after the war, and replacing it with other United Nations or American agencies, claiming that 12 out of thousands of UNRWA employees participated in the attack on October 7 last year.

However, the American newspaper reported that an Israeli delegation met last week with senior officials of the Biden administration as well as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to discuss the future of UNRWA.

The newspaper added that the Israeli delegation, which included military officials, told American and UN officials that they wanted UNRWA to continue providing vital humanitarian aid in Gaza in the short term, while ensuring a comprehensive post-war investigation into the agency’s 12 employees who allegedly had links to Hamas attack. They said that Israel wants to either deeply reform UNRWA or abolish it.

An Israeli official with knowledge of the visit said, "We want our international partners to either completely reform UNRWA or come up with an alternative." US officials said they generally agree with Israel that the agency needs reform, and that there is currently no alternative to getting aid into Gaza, according to US officials familiar with the meetings.

Yesterday, the United Nations announced that it had appointed an independent review group to evaluate whether the agency had complied with the UN mandate of neutrality, and if not, to propose steps to address the situation. It would be led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. The United Nations said the review will issue an interim report in March and a final report in late April.

Israel has long had a troubled relationship with UNRWA, which runs schools, health care clinics and other relief operations for Palestinian refugees in Gaza and four other areas. Israeli officials claim that not only has Hamas infiltrated part of the agency, but they also say that UNRWA is reducing the governance burden on Hamas, freeing up more resources for the struggle. They also say the agency has long been biased against Israel.

The Israeli delegation, headed by the head of the occupation's Civil Administration, Ghassan Olayan, met with the Biden administration's senior advisor for Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk, the Assistant Secretary of State, Barbara Leaf, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C. Q. Brown Jr., and the Director of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, in meetings in Washington and New York, according to US and Israeli officials.

Since the Israeli allegations emerged, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called several times for the dissolution of UNRWA. He claimed that "UNRWA is not part of the solution, but rather part of the problem."

However, the newspaper noted that there was a policy memo circulated within the Israeli army, warning against tarnishing UNRWA's reputation before the government formalized policy toward the agency, according to a person who reviewed the position paper. The source added that the document also suggests that the army should continue to collect information about UNRWA, and not distribute it.

A smaller Israeli delegation also met with UN President Guterres. Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said that his meeting last Thursday "was an opportunity to clarify the need for the United Nations to have greater access to humanitarian aid to Gaza."

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that Israel limits or prevents access into Gaza, especially to the north of the Strip.

Dujarric added: “For us, UNRWA activities remain essential for the survival of Palestinians in Gaza.”

Six citizens, including a woman, were killed this afternoon, Tuesday, by Israeli forces in the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, which is witnessing violent bombardment, by air, land and sea, for the third week in a row.

Medical sources reported that five citizens were killed in Israeli bombing of a vehicle in the Buraq neighborhood, west of the city of Khan Yunis.

The same sources added that one Palestinian was killed by snipers of Israeli army in Al-Mawasi.

By Nurah Tape

Minister Naledi Pandor says all states have a legal obligation to ensure respect for the provisional measures, and not be complicit in genocide.  

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations, Naledi Pandor, has warned that all states have a legal obligation to uphold the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ in regard to Israel’s actions in Gaza, adding that failure to do so is complicity in the crimes of genocide.  

“Despite its claims, these orders are binding upon Israel. It has to immediately implement these provisional measures to prevent a further increase of its human rights violations,” Pandor said on Sunday. She was speaking at a public report back session on the case, at a Cape Town mosque.

“In fact, all states now have a legal obligation to ensure respect for the provisional measures as well as ensure that they are not complicit in the genocide,” Pandor explained. 

She added, “Essentially if the case proceeds as we anticipate, and it is found that Israel committed genocide, all those who were complicit are as guilty as Israel.” 

On January 26, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to adopt six provisional measures to ensure it, inter alia, takes all measures within its power to prevent genocide. South Africa brought the case to the World Court in December, accusing Israel of committing the crime of genocide in Gaza in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which both countries are party to. 

Minister Pandor said “There are many who are seeking to undermine these orders, for example, the attempt to redefine it so that the killings continue.”

“Some Western governments immediately said, ‘we hear the judgement, but they didn’t order a ceasefire.’ We can see this only as aiding and abetting.”

The minister said “This order for us, is a win for international law, and for the Genocide Convention which embodies the solemn pledge to prevent the crime of genocide and hold those responsible to account.”

She continued that it is “truly tragic” that the Genocide Convention “which was drafted following the holocaust against Jewish people in Europe, that it is the very people who then moved to Palestine who are offending this Convention.”

‘Israel Stands Naked to the World’

Minister Pandor stressed that despite Israel’s “attempts to block the ICJ from making this order, and in its failed attempt to spin the judgment itself as a victory for them, Israel stands facing the international community and peoples of the world.”

It stands “having failed to deflect attention from its crimes or justify its unfolding genocide. It is now naked to the world, for the first time.”

She explained that “for the first time in 75 years, Israel is being held accountable by an institution and by the global community.” 

“We have now as South Africa broken a dangerous culture of impunity that has characterized the illegal occupation of Palestine. The oppression of apartheid in Palestine, and its now unfolding genocide. For the first time, we have opened up for the world to see. We, South Africa.” 

The minister impressed upon the audience that “although we have won our freedom from the oppression of apartheid, it is our duty to seek that freedom for all humanity, for all who are oppressed, this is our duty and we must carry it out.”

Before filing a case against Israel at the ICJ, South Africa also referred Israel to the International Criminal Court for an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in its ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip. A few other countries joined South Africa in that referral.

Minister Pandor said South Africa took those actions “in an attempt to save lives, for justice, peace, and for an end to violent occupation.”

She emphasized that during the struggle against apartheid, the international community joined in, “in developing a concept, some of us forget, called international solidarity.”

“While we waged a mighty struggle against apartheid, our leaders went from country to country across the world and asked for support,” she explained.

“That is all that is making us stand up today, that being free, enjoying human rights, having a constitution, having sovereign right to your land does not mean you enjoy it purely for yourself. Having been joined in international solidarity, your task today is to join the world in fighting for the people of Palestine until they are free. This is what we must do.”

Killed and Displaced

Israel is being accused of committing genocide in Gaza. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 27,478 Palestinians have been killed, and 66,835 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 8,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all of the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

The Ministry of Education said that 4,895 students were killed and 8,514 were injured since the start of the Israeli aggression on the 7th of last October on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Education explained in a statement, today, Tuesday, that the number of students who were killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression reached more than 4,851  and 8,227 wounded, while in the West Bank 44 students were killed and 283 others were injured, in addition to 89 being arrested.

It indicated that 239 teachers and administrators werekilled and 836 were injured in the Gaza Strip, six were injured, and more than 71 were arrested in the West Bank.

The Ministry pointed out that 620,000 students are still deprived of enrollment in their schools since October 7th.

It continued: 286 government schools and 65 affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA) were bombed and vandalized in the Gaza Strip, which led to 83 of them being severely damaged, and 7 completely destroyed, and 49 schools in the West Bank were stormed and vandalized.

The Ministry of Education confirmed that the Israeli targeting of schools affected 90% of government school and education buildings, which were subjected to direct and indirect damage, in addition to 29% of school buildings that could not be operated due to being completely demolished or severely damaged, and that 133 government schools were used as shelter centers in the Gaza Strip.

Today, Tuesday, the Israeli authorities demolished a house and part of another house, while notifying the demolition of 6 others in Jericho and occupied Jerusalem.

According to local sources, the occupation bulldozers demolished a house belonging to citizen Nayef Nujoom and his family, with an area estimated at about 120 square metres, in the town of Nuweima, north of Jericho, under the pretext of building without a permit.

The Israeli forces were notified of the demolition of six houses in the village, owned by the Nujoom family.

In occupied Jerusalem, the Israeli forces demolished a room in the home of citizen Nidal al-Rajabi, under the pretext of building without a permit.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Monday that the two-state solution is the only path to lasting peace in the Middle East.

The German Chancellor explained, according to a statement issued by his spokesman, “Only a two-state solution through negotiations opens the horizons for reaching a permanent solution to the conflict in the Middle East.” This should apply to Gaza and the West Bank.”

He called for “the Palestinian Authority, after undergoing reform to be given a central role,” according to the statement.

The Israeli government refuses to discuss a “two-state solution,” which raises the dissatisfaction of the international community. Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to any “Palestinian sovereignty.”

He had stressed that “Israel must maintain security control” over Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Western diplomats are trying to promote a solution that would allow Israelis and Palestinians to live in separate sovereign states, a project whose prospects have been diminished by the war in Gaza.

During the call with Netanyahu, Shulz stressed “the urgent need to significantly improve humanitarian access to the residents of the Gaza Strip,” considering the situation “very worrying.”

On the 123rd day, the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip continued, and during the past hours, its fighters engaged in clashes with the occupation forces in several areas in the cities of Khan Yunis and Gaza, and killed Israeli soldiers.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip confirmed that the Israeli forces committed 12 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, killing 107 people and 143 wounded, during the past 24 hours.

The Ministry indicated that the number of killed had risen to 27,585 people and 66,978 wounded since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on the seventh of last October.

Thousands of victims are still under rubble and on the roads, as the Israeli army prevents ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has underscored on Sunday the need for convening an international peace conference that would ensure the Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories under international legitimacy resolutions and within a specified timeline. 

During his meeting with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland, Abbas stressed the urgency to enable the State of Palestine politically and economically to fulfill its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank. 

He also stressed the importance of preventing the displacement of Palestinians and stopping all attacks by occupation forces and settlers, as well as the release of all Palestinian clearance funds. 

The President further urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to step up international efforts to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, to withdraw Israeli occupation forces from the entire Gaza Strip, and not to confiscate any inch of its land. Abbas also demanded increasing humanitarian and relief aid in Gaza “amid the current harsh weather conditions there”.

Spain will send the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA an additional 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) in aid, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told lawmakers on Monday. 

Major donors to UNRWA, including the United States and Germany, suspended funding after allegations emerged that around 12 of its tens of thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas. Madrid contributed 18.5 million euros directly to UNRWA in 2023, including 10 million euros approved in December following the decision to triple development and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories.

"UNRWA's situation is desperate and there is a serious risk that its humanitarian activities will be paralysed in Gaza within a few weeks," Albares told lawmakers.

On Friday, neighboring Portugal announced additional aid to UNRWA worth one million euros. Foreign Minister Joao Cravinho wrote on social media platform X it was essential "not to turn our backs on the Palestinian population at this difficult time". 

Three weeks ago, Arab and western diplomatic efforts to silence the Israeli killing machine and reach a ceasefire began gaining steam. Some are betting that this ceasefire can be made permanent and enhanced, giving rise to some kind of peace. While there is an urgent need to go in this direction despite the immense obstacles that remain, there is an equally pressing need to ponder the conditions of Arab countries, which vary from undergoing explicit catastrophes to having catastrophes whose postponement or latency does not blur its possible advent.

As Israel continues its relentless assault on Gaza, several Arab countries are facing a blend of crises: erasure of their national borders, subjugation to militias, and the collapse of their economies and educational systems. All of that is accompanied by two hemorrhages coupled with mass death: hemorrhaging people, who have migrated, sought refuge, or been displaced in overwhelming numbers, either within their countries or to others, and continuous and increasing hemorrhaging economic resources.

Let us take a moment to ponder one of several examples. Writing for "Daraj," my Sudanese colleague Youssef Bachir lays out the facts and figures of his country’s conflict. "Violent clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army have forced 7.6 million Sudanese to flee their homes, including 6.1 million internally displaced persons living in dire humanitarian conditions. Long-term displacement has led to the loss of livelihoods and the depletion of savings, exacerbated by the depreciation of the local currency."

"Among the displaced, 3.5 million children have been compelled to leave their homes, according to UNICEF representative Mandip O’Brien. O’Brien emphasizes that Sudanese children are living a harsh reality, with 14 million out of 24 million Sudanese children needing assistance in health, nutrition, and protection. Additionally, 19 million school-age children are not attending school, resulting in an estimated loss of $26 billion for Sudan."

"The catastrophe of war affects all aspects of life, particularly the escalating violence against women and girls facing threats of abduction, forced disappearance, and gender-based violence associated with the conflict. The United Nations anticipates that over 6.9 million women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence."

Bachir does not forget to point to the widespread fears in Sudan "of the ongoing conflict evolving into a protracted dispute, with insufficient international pressure to compel the conflicting parties to end it peacefully."

While countries plagued by open-ended civil wars - namely Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan - are at the forefront amid this catastrophic state of affairs, it has become obvious that the parties to these domestic conflicts are not interested in changing the painful reality they have created and continue to create for personal gain, and that non-belligerents or neutral parties are not capable of doing so.

Although piecemeal international initiatives for resolving these "crises" have been launched in the past, genuine solutions now require a substantial and concerted effort that addresses the region as a whole, a comprehensive international conference or something equivalent to that. While the current state of foreign relations might not be conducive to achieving this task due to international divisions (the war in Ukraine, the dispute over Taiwan...) and the state of the global economy is discouraging, arriving at such a theoretical perception could offer a horizon, whose presence is currently faint, if not totally absent.

An array of experiences have accumulated to demonstrate a fact that makes this push for a major international initiative an existential question: in many countries, the nation-state model, as understood in the region during the Cold War, is losing all credibility, as well as its capacity to endure. It might be time to consider alternative political and legal frameworks that are more aligned with realities on the ground and the will of the region’s people.

There's no doubt that the United States becoming "entangled in the region" once again, after a phase in which it had been said to be "withdrawing" from it, is something to build on as we move in this direction.

In many Arab countries, the situation can only be described as "secessionist." Exacerbating the belligerence, be it explicit or concealed, is the presence of occupying forces and aggressive neighbors.

In the Arab Levant in particular, the conditions of Syria - with everything we are seeing in Idlib, Daraa, and the northeast, which has been coupled with the erosion and reach of central authority, to say nothing about the toxic presence of Iranian officers and the Israeli responses to their presence - might best exemplify what we are suffering from.

However, Iraq, where one of its militias has suspended its military actions to avoid "embarrassing its government," is not very different, although its secessionism is hidden behind the fragile curtain of the state. In Lebanon, growing segments of the population find themselves branded "traitors" for rejecting the militia’s dictates, prohibitions, and conceptions of politics, patriotism, life, and perhaps even the afterlife.

Faced with this picture of broad fragmentation, decay, and collapse, we must delve deeply into our souls and ask: why? while resisting the temptation of quick and easy answers, whose magical allure has seduced us too many times before.

The Intercept website published a report highlighting how Israel ignores the International Court of Justice's order to prevent and punish acts leading to genocide.

The report, written by Prem Thakur, said that Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and prisons continued during the week following the court's decision.

He explained that Israeli forces killed at least 874 Palestinians and wounded at least 1,490 in Gaza during the aforementioned period, not to mention other Israeli acts of violence in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

The horror continues

The report says that the horror continues, noting also that a mass grave containing 30 bodies, handcuffed and blindfolded, was found in a school in northern Gaza.

The report quotes a 6-year-old girl who saw Israeli forces in Gaza shooting and killing her family inside the car she was traveling in. It talks about an Israeli soldier filming himself in the city of Khan Yunis, echoing Netanyahu’s speech about the biblical “story of Amalek.” Where “God commands the killing” of an entire community are comments that helped South African lawyers demonstrate Israel’s genocidal intent.

The report indicated that a young Palestinian man was chained, forced to wear a military uniform, and used as a human shield during a raid on a refugee camp in occupied Jerusalem, and that Israeli soldiers stormed a hospital in the West Bank and executed 3 sick Palestinians by shooting them “in the head at close range.”

Humiliation of the Palestinians

He also referred to the testimonies of the Palestinians who were released about being subjected to humiliation at home and showing signs of torture on their bodies. One of the clips showed an Israeli soldier forcing the kidnapped Palestinians to praise his family and say that they would be their slaves.

The report pointed to what it described as the broader misery faced by the entire population; 19,000 children were orphaned, and famine forced Palestinians to eat grass and drink polluted water.

American support for Israel’s continuation of its practices

The report cited American statements that support Israel’s continuation of committing the same crimes that it was ordered to stop practicing, referring to what US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the ministry believes that accusations of genocide are unfounded, stressing its continued support for “Israel’s right.” "In taking measures to ensure that terrorist attacks do not recur, but in a manner that is fully consistent with international humanitarian law."

The writer added that when Miller was asked about Israel receiving aid even at a time when Israeli government officials are calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, he replied that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made clear in his recent visit to Israel that he believes it is important for the Israeli government to speak out publicly against these matters and to reiterate that forcing Palestinians to leave Gaza is not the policy of the Israeli government.

Preventing aid from entering Gaza

Thacker concluded his report with what Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that allowing aid to enter Gaza conflicts with the goals of the Israeli campaign, and with a call from Ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot to also limit humanitarian aid, and the Israelis congregating at aid crossings trying to prevent aid trucks from entering Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation and malnutrition every day since the International Court of Justice ruling.

Source: The Intercept+ Aljazeera

The White House announced that US President Joe Biden will veto the bill on supporting Israel if it does not include aid to Ukraine and guarantee border protection.

The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement on Monday: “If the President is presented with this bill, he will veto it. The administration is persistently calling on both chambers of Congress to reject this political maneuver and instead forward to the President a bipartisan bill on allocate additional resources to national security needs as quickly as possible.”

The office indicated that the US administration opposes the adoption of a draft law on supporting Israel alone, because it “is devoid of any measures to protect the borders” and to support Ukraine.

It is noteworthy that a group of senators submitted a draft law on providing support to Israel. A vote on the bill is expected this week.

This comes at a time when the Senate presented a budget bill worth $118 billion, which includes a security aid package worth $14.1 billion to Israel and $60.06 billion to Ukraine.

In turn, House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that the bill submitted by the Senate “will not pass.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that the fate of the 6-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, and the paramedics Yousef Zaino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun, who went out to save her, has been unknown for 7 days.

In a statement, Monday evening, the Palestine Red Crescent Society appealed to the international community to intervene immediately to pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to reveal the fate of the child Hind and the ambulance crew that went to rescue her, stressing that international humanitarian law stipulates the protection of civilians and workers in the field of health care and work. Humanitarian.

The child, Hind, was riding in a vehicle with five members of her family (her uncle, Bashar Hamada, his wife, and his three children), at one o’clock in the afternoon last Monday, in an attempt to move from their place of residence in Gaza City to a family home on Al-Wahda Street in the city, when they were surrounded by invading occupation tanks. In the vicinity of the “Finance Roundabout” in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood, it opened fire with machine guns at the vehicle, killing everyone in it, except for her and her cousin, Layan (14 years old).

Layan tried to call the ambulance services center to help her and evacuate her and her family from the vehicle, but the occupation soldiers did not give her long before they opened their machine gun fire again at the vehicle.

The Red Crescent Society published an audio recording, in which the child’s voice can be heard, Layan, as she tries to tell the ambulance services what is going on around her, and she says: “My uncles are sitting and they hit us. The tank is next to us. We are in the car and next to the tank.” After that, the sound of a volley of bullets was heard while Layan was screaming. Then he cut off contact with her.

The ambulance crew of the Red Crescent Society went to the location of the targeted vehicle to rescue the little girl, Hind, but did not return until this moment, and contact with its personnel was cut off.

On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed an independent group to conduct a review of the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Guterres said in a statement: “In consultation with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, I appointed an independent group to conduct a review of the agency’s work, led by Catherine Colonna, former French Foreign Minister.”

He added, "The group will evaluate whether UNRWA is doing everything it can to ensure its neutrality and respond to allegations of serious violations when they occur."

The statement explained that "Ms. Catherine Colonna will work in cooperation with 3 research organizations in Sweden, Norway and Denmark."

The group is expected to complete its final report, which will be published in late April, according to the same statement.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society announced the evacuation of about 8,000 displaced people from Al Amal Hospital and the society’s headquarters in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, after the Israeli occupation forces besieged them for two weeks.

The association said that these displaced people lived "an atmosphere of terror and panic" throughout the siege period as a result of continued bombing and shooting.

It added in a statement that the Israeli forces summoned the member of the association’s executive office, the general director of Al-Amal Hospital, Haider Al-Qudra, and the hospital’s administrative director, Maher Atallah, and took them to an unknown destination.

The Red Crescent indicated that only 40 displaced elderly people remained in Al Amal Hospital, in addition to about 80 sick and wounded people, and 100 administrative and medical staff.

The death toll from the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip also rose to “27,478 people and 66,835 injured” since October 7, 2023.

This came in a statement issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, in which it presented the latest statistics on “the 122nd day of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.”

It explained that "the Israel committed 13 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, killing 113 people and injuring 205 during the past 24 hours."

It pointed out that "there are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the roads, and Israeli forces prevents ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them."

The internal disputes in the Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, regarding a possible prisoner exchange deal with the Hamas movement, reflect the features of the divisions in Israeli society and the differences in positions regarding the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip, which has failed to achieve its goals.

Opposition to the potential exchange deal includes the head of the “Religious Zionism” coalition, Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and the head of the “Jewish Greatness” party, Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, as well as other ministers and members of the government, as Netanyahu faces at this stage his weakest political position in the right-wing camp since his political career. 

Despite Netanyahu's experience in the field of political marketing and the alleged achievements during his tenure as prime minister, this task is not simple at all at this stage, with the strengthening of the Israelis' convictions that the war on Gaza has failed to achieve its goals. Perhaps this is the source of concern among the Israeli opposition over the fate of exchange deal.

According to readings from Israeli analysts, Netanyahu is no longer able to provide guarantees to settlers that he will annex the West Bank or parts of the Gaza Strip, as well as sign more “Abrahamic Agreements” without paying any price, and remain on the horse of the prime minister’s chair.

Analysts' estimates unanimously agree that if Netanyahu actually reaches an exchange deal, he will take a risk that he has not taken since his first term, which includes a clear departure in a sharp issue against the extreme right, and it appears - according to Israeli estimates - that Netanyahu has no other choice or alternative.

Limited options

Regarding the Israeli disputes and division regarding the exchange deal, Haaretz political affairs editor Ravit Hecht says, “It is very difficult to predict the Israeli political scene, when the main players are a prime minister who excels in the art of evasion and procrastination, in order to preserve his political career and remain in the prime minister’s chair.” 

She added, "All indications indicate that reaching an agreement to release most of the kidnapped people in exchange for a ceasefire has become closer, as Netanyahu will have to take a risk against the far-right coalition partners that he has avoided for years, but it does not seem that he has another choice."

She explained that Israel is ultimately a point in the Middle East, even if at this stage it is a “weak point,” noting that the dynamics of regional and international discussions regarding a ceasefire have risen to high levels, as it has become clear that America, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have clear and immediate interests in ending the ceasefire. War and completing an exchange deal regardless of the position of the extreme Israeli right.

Hecht believes that the real challenge for Netanyahu will be to reach a deal with the right, and to promote the exchange and ceasefire deal as a “complete victory,” or rather a decisive step on this path, in contrast to the complex situation that Netanyahu is trying to impose, by continuing the war until the end of Hamas, and refusing to liberate thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

Electoral recruitment

As for political affairs analyst at the Walla website, Tal Shilo, she believes that Netanyahu is using the swap deal negotiations in his upcoming election campaign, and is seeking that the deal - if completed - will boost his popularity, which has fallen to its lowest levels due to the war on Gaza.

It is likely that the disagreements within the government regarding the exchange deal or the ceasefire reflect signs of a rift in the far-right coalition, and the matter would contribute to the dismantling of the government and heading to early elections, according to consensus between the various political parties in the Knesset.

Shilo considered that Netanyahu's promises of "complete victory" aimed to dispel Israelis' awareness of the disaster and failure that Israel suffered under his leadership, and also to delay and carry over the scenarios of the day after the war on his political career.

However, Shilo says, “Commitment to complete victory guarantees that the war will not end soon, delays the political scenarios that threaten Netanyahu’s career, may overthrow the emergency government, and postpones the investigation into the failure of the events of October 7, and this is what will push the Israeli public to go out for widespread protests and demonstrations.” Until the overthrow of the Netanyahu government.”

For his part, spokesman for the “Peace Now” bloc, Adam Clare, said, “Netanyahu is seeking, through evasion and procrastination regarding the exchange deal, to escape forward and gain more time, and he may do the impossible in order to maintain the state of fighting and postpone the deal.”

He pointed out in statements to Al Jazeera Net that Netanyahu, who is looking for any manifestations of achievements from the war on Gaza, and to avoid the repercussions of the protests calling for early elections for the Knesset, will continue to evade in an effort to succeed in penetrating the position of his partners in the government coalition from the far-right parties, and he will work to convince them not to dismantle and overthrow his original government.

Despite the disagreements and divisions within Netanyahu's government coalition, which relies on 64 members of the Knesset, regarding the exchange deal and ending the war, Clare expects that if a deal is concluded and the ceasefire enters into force, Ben Gvir may not carry out his threats, and the settler parties and the extreme right may refrain from dropping The government because of a meeting of interests.

Scenarios

The Israeli spokesman does not rule out dismantling the war council and overthrowing the emergency government with the withdrawal of the head of the "National Camp", Benny Gantz, if Netanyahu continues to exploit the war for his goals and personal political reconciliation, as well as being dependent on the policies and agenda of the partners in the coalition from the extreme right parties and the Haredi religious parties.

Western writers - in articles and reports published in international newspapers and websites - focused on Israel's inability to resolve matters in the Gaza Strip, and some of them said that the war it is leading without a vision has made it lose international support and has plunged it into global isolation.

Foreign Affairs magazine stated that Israel “will not be able to resolve the situation in the Gaza Strip as it wishes,” and writer Colin Clark warned of the possibility that Gaza could turn into a quagmire - in his opinion - that will last for years.

According to the writer, “The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) can adapt to its new reality by relying on the tunnel network and using the destroyed infrastructure and hills of rubble to its advantage. It can also, along with other fighting groups inside Gaza, begin deploying suicide bombers targeting Israeli soldiers.”

The British newspaper "The Guardian" focused on the situation in Israel, and said that it is witnessing a stage that it described as brutal due to an internal and external war.

Simon Tisdale believes that the international isolation to which Israel is exposed is “real and growing,” and that what he called “Netanyahu’s eternal war” heralds deeper divisions and greater ostracism.

In the same regard, Jean-Pierre Filiu, in the French newspaper Le Monde, touched on the erosion of international support for Israel, and compared it to what happened to the United States, which he said benefited from the world rallying around it following the September 2001 attacks, but quickly lost that momentum due to the invasion of Iraq.

In the writer's opinion, Israel "benefited from great international support after October 7, 2023, but it began to lose it because of the Gaza war that it is waging without a vision."

On the other hand, Amira Hass wrote in the newspaper "Haaretz" that the West is punishing Gaza collectively by suspending funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The writer pointed out that 15 countries, led by the United States and Germany, are underestimating the seriousness of the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. In order to please Israel.

Source: Al Jazeera

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid announced on Monday his support for the ouster of Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister.

Lapid's position came in the context of his comment on a report published by Israeli Army Radio, about the move of the leader of "National Unity", Minister of the War Council, Benny Gantz, to oust Netanyahu.

Lapid wrote on his account on the “X” platform that his party, “There is a future, will give its 24 votes to any such step (removing Netanyahu).”

Earlier Monday, Army Radio said that Gantz tried to overthrow Prime Minister Netanyahu, using members of the Likud party, which the latter leads.

According to the radio, envoys on behalf of Gantz recently made contact with ministers and Knesset members from Likud in an attempt to promote the replacement of Netanyahu in the Knesset.

She added: "Likud members were told that if they succeeded in constructively withdrawing confidence from Netanyahu (in the Knesset), so that the government was not overthrown, they would take care of their political future in the National Unity Party."

The idea is to topple Netanyahu and replace him with another candidate from the Likud party that he leads.

In this regard, the radio said that those close to Gantz proposed various Likud candidates for the position of prime minister, and did not demand that Gantz be appointed to the position, without mentioning the names.

She pointed out that "the basic idea is to appoint an agreed-upon candidate for a specific period, who pledges not to run for the presidency of Likud in the future."

The radio noted that "Gantz chose not to comment on the report."

In recent weeks, calls have emerged to hold early elections in Israel, but Netanyahu rejected the idea in a time of war.

Netanyahu faces repeated criticism from the Israeli street and a number of politicians, even those affiliated with the War Council, against the backdrop of the crisis of Israeli prisoners detained in the Gaza Strip and the failure to find a path to guarantee their return alive, in addition to accusing his government of failing to detect and deal with the attack of October 7, 2023.

In response to "daily Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people and their sanctities," on October 7, Hamas attacked military bases and settlements around Gaza, resulting in hundreds of deaths. It was later revealed that many of them were killed by Israeli army fire, according to Hebrew sources. Hamas also captured about 240, it exchanged more than 100 of them during a truce with Israel, which detains more than 8,600 Palestinians.

Israeli Channel 12 said on Monday that 540 Israeli soldiers have been accidentally injured since the start of ground battles in the Gaza Strip on October 27, 2023.

The channel added that its information was based on data from the Israeli army, without further details.

Israeli army data showed that since the beginning of the war, 2,820 soldiers had been injured, 1,300 of them since the beginning of the ground maneuver, and 540 in operational incidents, according to the channel.

She added that among the total injured, 429 are in serious condition, 731 are in moderate condition, and 1,660 are in mild condition.

According to the latest statistics published more than a month ago, 38 soldiers were killed as a result of these incidents since the beginning of the ground battles.

According to Israeli army data, 562 soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war on October 7, including 225 since the beginning of ground battles on October 27, 2023.

A spokesman for the Israeli occupation army told the American channel NBC last month that the rate of soldiers killed by friendly fire is terrible, and added that lessons are being learned to reduce such horrific incidents, as he put it.

Israeli Army Radio said, "The number of soldiers killed by friendly fire in the Gaza battles represents one-fifth of the number of soldiers killed during the ground operation."

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which as of Sunday left 27,365 killed and 66,630 injured, most of them children and women, according to the Palestinian authorities.

Haaretz newspaper said that 11,500 children were killed in Gaza, and there were children who witnessed the death of their loved ones, parents who buried their children, people who recovered bodies from fire and rubble, thousands of disabled children and tens of thousands in a state of shock forever.

The Israeli newspaper explained - in a column by its writer Gideon Levy - that the Al Jazeera network published the list of names that it learned over the weekend, and they represent half of the 11,500 children who were killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, where a child is killed every 15 minutes, 1% of them. in Gaza.

The newspaper said that thousands of names of children killed by the Israeli army in Gaza during the past four months are flowing one after another like the credits at the end of a long movie, with a sad tone in the background, including 260 names of children who have not and will not celebrate their first birthday or anything else, and no one will know what their dreams were.

Although the writer does not find any explanation, justification, or excuse for this horror, he does not think that the Israeli propaganda machine should try to search for it, as “the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) cannot be responsible for all of this,” and therefore it cannot be the only explanation is the existence of an army and a government in Israel that does not abide by any law or morals.

Banal justifications

There are children who died in their beds - as the writer says - and children who tried to escape for their lives to no avail, and there are 10,000 small bodies lying in mass graves and crowded emergency rooms. All of this is happening not far from Tel Aviv without it being reported in Israel, and without any public discussion. About the violent rampage that Israel allowed itself to wage this time, without anyone thinking about what would come from this mass killing and what Israel might gain from it, and what price it would pay for it.

It takes only 7 minutes to view the list of thousands of dead children, which passes as quickly as their miserable lives, minutes that make one feel suffocated, sad, and extremely ashamed.

The justifications seemed trite and pathetic - as the writer says - “they started it” and “there is no choice” and “what do you want us to do?” “The Israeli army is doing everything in its power to avoid killing innocent people,” but the truth is that Israel does not care. “They will only grow up to become terrorists.”

Meanwhile, Israel is erasing generations in Gaza, and its soldiers are killing children in numbers that rival the most horrific wars, and this is what cannot be forgotten, because how can a people forget those who killed their children in this way? How can people of conscience around the world remain silent about this mass killing of children? The writer wonders.

The writer concluded that it is impossible for people to remain silent, and even Israel, immersed in its grief and concern over the fate of the detainees, cannot ignore what is happening in Gaza, where it takes only 7 minutes to display the list of thousands of dead children, passing at the same speed as their miserable lives, which is Minutes that make one feel suffocated, sad, and extremely ashamed.

Source: Haaretz

The Daily Beast website said that Thomas Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, encourages a bloody conflict in the Middle East using obscene metaphors that compare Muslims to insects and parasites, and described him as a lover of war, whether justified or ill.

The site explained - in writer Ben Burgess's column - that Friedman was the most enthusiastic supporter in the New York Times of George W. Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, until his reputation worsened due to his constant calls that the United States needed "another six months" to change the course of the war and achieve a "Decent result" until the six-month period was called "Friedman's Unit".

The writer said that - knowing Friedman's record - he should not have been surprised by his recent contribution to making the American discourse on foreign policy more bloodthirsty and more naive, but he was surprised nonetheless.

Caterpillars and wasp eggs

Thus, Friedman wrote in one of the most prestigious newspapers in the world that he “prefers to think” about the complexities of war and politics in the Middle East, and he went on to say, “According to Science Daily, the wasp injects its eggs into a live caterpillar, and the small wasp larvae slowly devour the caterpillar (the second larval stage of "Insect growth stages) from the inside out to explode once those larvae are satisfied."

After narrating this scientific fact, Friedman wondered: Is there a better description of Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq today than that they are caterpillars, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a hornet, since the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Kataib Hezbollah are the eggs that hatch inside the host, and eat it from the inside out? “We have no counter-strategy that can safely and efficiently kill the hornet without setting the entire forest on fire,” he commented.

On the other hand, the writer, who found the analogy extremely ugly, imagined “if a widely circulated newspaper wrote an editorial comparing Israeli soldiers and settlers to termites, for example, and saying that the difficulty facing Iran and Hamas is that they are trying to figure out how to kill termites (safely and efficiently) without detonating the entire house." Would this be worse than what Friedman already wrote?"

The writer described Friedman's speech as no worse in this hypothetical situation than in the context of the real world, because it goes back to this type of inhumane colonial metaphors, at a time when Israel caused the displacement of 1.9 million residents of Gaza, and the International Court of Justice issued a temporary ruling against it concluding the existence of a "Real and imminent danger of genocide."

In such harsh conditions in Gaza and the possibility of “genocide” referred to by the International Court, Friedman likens the United States and Israel to people facing the sad dilemma of how to kill “the hornet and its eggs,” including the “egg” Hamas in Gaza, without burning the entire area.

Confronting Iran aggressively

Although Friedman - as the writer says - is not a fan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sees him as too extremist, and although he is a supporter of a two-state solution when all this is over, he does not call on Israel to agree to a long-term ceasefire, and he does not see the United States backing down completely. Critical to a broader regional war on the verge of breaking out.

In his last article in the New York Times before he thought about the Middle East as a jungle full of hornets, Friedman said that the problem with Netanyahu's positions is that he makes it more difficult for Washington.

He called on the United States to bring together “NATO and the Arab and Muslim allies it needs to confront Iran in a more aggressive way,” hoping that this “more aggressive” action would not turn into an all-out war.

Because Tehran is in a much stronger position than the Taliban or Iraq were when George W. Bush launched his wars in the early 21st century, this war will be much worse, and therefore if the United States imposes its will in the “jungle” of the Middle East and “confronts Iran in a more aggressive manner,” how many atrocities will Friedman's units inflict on ordinary people trying to live their lives in that "jungle"?

This is what the Pulitzer Prize winner might have to stop to think about if he allows himself to remember that the inhabitants of the countries where the United States and Israel are waging war are humans, not caterpillars hosting the eggs of parasitic wasps.

Source: Daily Beast + Aljazeera

The President of El Salvador, of Palestinian origin, Najib Bukele, announced that he had won a second presidential term after obtaining more than 85% of the votes, making him the first president of El Salvador to be elected for a second term of 5 years in nearly 100 years.

Najib Bukela wrote on his page on the social networking site “X” on Sunday: “According to our numbers, we won the presidential elections with more than 85% of the votes,” before launching fireworks minutes later in the capital, San Salvador.

According to Agence France-Presse, more than 6.2 million voters, including more than 740,000 abroad, went to the polls. The campaign of the President of El Salvador, of Palestinian origin, on drugs and criminal gangs has led to an increase in his popularity in the country.

Five years ago, Najib Bukela was able to win the presidential elections for the first time, and his victory as president of El Salvador at that time was considered a political earthquake, given that he was a candidate from outside the two largest major parties that had been accustomed to alternating power since the end of the civil war in the country in 1992.

The President of El Salvador, of Palestinian origin, is considered a politician and businessman. He was born on July 24, 1981 in the city of San Salvador in the Republic of El Salvador. He worked at an early age, not exceeding 19 years, in the field of entrepreneurship, then headed to political work in 2012.

The origins of the President of El Salvador are Palestinian

Bukele has a Palestinian father whose origins go back to the city of Bethlehem. He is the influential Christian doctor and businessman Ermando Bukele Qattan, who later converted to Islam and then became the imam of a mosque in El Salvador, which he built near his textile factory.

While his mother is Salvadoran Olga Ortaz, he has 3 brothers: Youssef, Karim, and Ibrahim. The President of El Salvador, of Palestinian origin, married Salvadoran Gabriela Rodriguez in 2015.

While his father died in 2017, that is, two years before he assumed the presidency of the country, he turned to entrepreneurship to follow in his father’s footsteps and succeeded in his field.

The Hamas movement is still studying the Egyptian-Qatari proposal regarding the next phase of the prisoner exchange deal, as its leaders stress the principle of a complete and final cessation of the war in the Gaza Strip, in an attempt to ensure that the Israeli aggression against Gaza does not resume after the completion of the planned first phase, which includes releasing 35 elderly and injured women and men during a six-week truce.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz says that on Thursday, February 1, the expanded security ministerial council in Israel discussed the proposal put forward by the mediators, but the two sides did not reach a final agreement on some details, such as the “key,” that is, the ratio of the number of liberated hostages to the number of prisoners. The Palestinians released in the deal, as well as their identities.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ministers from the Likud Party and the far right continue to present a unified approach, which is that Israel will not stop the war and will not release thousands of Palestinian prisoners, which hinders any possible agreement, according to Haaretz.

Biden offers Netanyahu a lifeline, but the latter rejects it

The Hebrew newspaper says that the Egyptian-Qatari proposal has the support of the United States, which is working to promote the proposal as part of a larger, comprehensive regional deal. In addition to resolving the hostage issue, the American move means that such a deal may include the formation of a new government in the Gaza Strip, which will include the Palestinian Authority, renewed efforts to revive the two-state solution, normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and the formation of a strong regional axis that confronts Iran.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is scheduled to arrive in the region on Sunday, February 4, to promote this initiative.

The American administration works within a restrictive and narrow time frame that the Israelis do not understand. First, Arab countries are putting pressure on them to stop the war in Gaza before the month of Ramadan, which begins in the second week of March. Second, the ambitious regional plan must begin to advance during the spring, before the US presidential race enters its final months before the November elections.

“Biden’s Middle East Doctrine” fails in the face of “Netanyahu’s Doctrine”

President Joe Biden's team has embarked on a long media campaign among senior American media commentators in order to present this initiative, which has already been dubbed in the media as the "Biden Doctrine for the Middle East." Although the plan is very complex, full of different elements that depend on the good faith of all parties (a doubtful prospect), the White House is trying to be optimistic.

Washington assumes that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is interested in signing a defense agreement with the United States, along with a normalization agreement with Israel, before the November elections.

In parallel, the United States views the regional initiative as a potential lifeline for Netanyahu, whose internal standing was greatly weakened after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, but at the present time, Netanyahu is adopting a contrary and stubborn position, and presents himself as ready to do everything necessary to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and to thwart any attempt to include the Palestinian Authority or others in the solution “the day after the end of the war” in the Gaza Strip, in clear defiance of the American administration.

America does not want escalation in the region

In this context, it is important to look at the targets that the United States avoided bombing in response to an attack carried out by pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, in which three American soldiers were killed by a suicide drone on the Jordanian-Syrian border. The United States did not bomb targets on Iranian territory, repeating its claims that it is not interested in a comprehensive military confrontation with Iran. It was keen to issue early warnings so that Iran could evacuate senior officers who might be injured in these air strikes.

The attacks focused on command and control centers, logistics routes and weapons depots. This was very similar to Israeli strikes against similar targets (a similar attack occurred in the Damascus area on Sunday, February 4), although the US attack was larger in scope.

The morning before the attack, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reportedly spoke by phone with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

The Biden administration sent a message indicating that this is not the end of the reprisals, and that it will carry out more strikes, and at the same time the militias responded with special attacks against US military bases in Iraq.

The Israeli defense establishment was aware of the nature of the attack planned by the United States in advance, but it hopes that the Americans will intensify their reactions if the pro-Iranian militias and the Houthis continue their attacks, as Haaretz says. During the war on the Gaza Strip, there were reports of a relatively large number of Israeli air strikes against Iranian targets in Syria, in which a number of senior members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed.

The Russian Foreign Ministry was quoted by TASS news agency on Monday as saying that the ministry would summon Israeli Ambassador Simona Halperin over “unacceptable statements” she made in an interview.

The ministry stated that Halperin misrepresented Russia's foreign policy position in the interview conducted with her by the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant and published yesterday, Sunday.

An Israeli report said, on Monday, that the attack by a number of ministers on the terms of the new deal with Hamas, which according to sources familiar with it includes an exchange of prisoners and efforts to cease fire in the Gaza Strip, was “planned in advance.”

The Hebrew daily Maariv quoted unnamed sources as saying, “The attack against the deal was planned before the Israeli Cabinet meeting held on Sunday.”

It added: “According to the sources, a number of Likud ministers (the ruling party in Israel) were asked to speak publicly in the media against the parameters of the deal, even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads this party.”

It continued: “The sources explained that this does not mean that the ministers were asked to say things they disagreed with, but mainly that they were asked to highlight and publicize their position, while publishing the attack on the deal at the cabinet meeting well.”

It pointed out that the Likud ministers who opposed the deal were the Ministers of Economy Nir Barkat, Diaspora Affairs Minister Emhai Shikli, Foreign Affairs Minister Yisrael Katz, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, Justice Yariv Levin, Education Yoav Kisch, and Transportation Miri Regev.

The newspaper quoted Justice Minister Levin as saying during the cabinet meeting that “the number of prisoners scheduled to be released for each hostage is ‘unacceptable’ without details.

He added, “It is also impossible to release them to the West Bank.” We have to find a solution for this,” according to the same source.

As for the Minister of Education, he said at the meeting: “This cannot be the deal.” What was published in the media does not look good at all. “It is worrying.”

In turn, the Minister of Economy said: “The idea of a ceasefire day for every hostage is fictitious. In the previous round, they received a ceasefire day for every ten hostages.”

The newspaper did not explain the reasons for asking the ministers to attack the deal.

Israeli reports indicated that the United States is “pressing for the parties to accept this deal.”

In this context, Israel says that it is awaiting Hamas’ response to the specifics of the deal, which have not yet been officially revealed.

The deal includes the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons in exchange for Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip and a ceasefire in the Strip, according to unofficial reports and statements.

Qatar and Egypt are mediating between Israel and Hamas in order to complete this deal.

On January 28, a meeting was held in the French capital, Paris, with the participation of Israel, the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, to discuss a prisoner exchange deal and stop the war in Gaza, which will take place in 3 stages, according to Palestinian and American sources.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are about 136 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while it holds no less than 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both parties, but there is no confirmation of the final number by both parties.

As part of its fierce campaign against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Israel plans to prevent the agency from working in the occupied Palestinian territories and replace it with another agency that is also affiliated with the United Nations. Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported today, Monday, that the most likely option is the World Food Program.

Israel claims that UNRWA employees participated in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack carried out by Hamas fighters in southern Israel, last October 7. Since the beginning of the war, Israeli bombing has targeted many UNRWA centers and facilities in the Gaza Strip.

The newspaper reported that Israel is considering another option to replace UNRWA, which is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which was working in the sector to a reduced extent, and Israel is considering expanding its activity if the United States agrees to that.

Israel is also considering introducing other international civil bodies in the fields of education and health into Gaza, or establishing bodies formed by states and providing humanitarian care.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on this plan, which aims to ensure that UNRWA will not be part of the “day after” in the Gaza Strip after the war. The newspaper reported that the Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, instructed the Ministry's Director General, Yaakov Blitstein, last Thursday, to form a special working group on this plan.

The plan will be subject to approval by the government and the political-security cabinet in Israel. Katz called for the dismissal of the head of UNRWA, and instructed his ministry employees not to hold meetings with him.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed during his cabinet meeting yesterday, “In recent days, we revealed to the world that UNRWA is cooperating with Hamas, and even that a portion of its employees participated in the massacre and kidnapping on October 7. This reinforces what we have known for a long time, "UNRWA is not part of the solution, but rather part of the problem. It is time to begin the process of replacing UNRWA with other bodies that are not tainted by supporting terrorism."

A number of citizens were killed and others were injured, today, Monday, as a result of the continued Israeli bombing in various areas of the Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, 8 dead bodies were recovered in the targeting of a house in the Al-Zawaida area, the majority of whom were children.

The Israeli warplanes also bombed the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, causing smoke to rise.

They added that the Quadcopter drones opened fire on citizens near the Wadi Gaza Bridge on Salah al-Din Street in the center of the Gaza Strip, wounding a number of them.

They added that 14 dead arrived at Nasser Hospital as a result of continued Israeli artillery shelling on the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip since this morning.

In Deir al-Balah, 4 citizens were killed and others were injured, as a result of the Israeli warplanes bombing a house in the Al-Hakar area.

In the south, a young man was martyred and another was injured by Israeli sniper bullets inside the Zahra School, which houses displaced people in Khan Yunis.

The Israeli forces have continued their aggression against the Gaza Strip since the 7th of last October, resulting in the death of more than 27,365 citizens, most of whom were children and women, and the injury of 66,630 others, while more than 8,000 are still missing under the rubble and on the roads, where Israeli forces prevents ambulance crews from reaching them.

International newspapers continue to highlight the repercussions of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the ideas and projects being raised inside Israel, as well as fears of the expansion of the conflict and the outbreak of a regional war.

The newspaper "Israel Today" said that the Israeli Knesset intends to discuss a draft law submitted by Knesset member Yulia Malinowski from the "Israel Our Home" bloc, demanding the end of relations with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA), whether directly or indirectly, preventing any of its activities, and imposing sanctions on... the organization.

The newspaper indicated that the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee in the Knesset (Parliament) will discuss this issue on February 20.

In turn, an analysis on the American Al-Monitor website said that the extreme right in Israel defends without deterrence the return of settlers to Gaza, adding that the Israeli extreme right - as part of preparations for the upcoming elections - has already begun a campaign to resettle the Jewish communities that were evacuated during the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Gaza in 2005.

The article points out that for such a step to take place, the Knesset must repeal the Gaza Disengagement Law of 2005.

For its part, the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" said that the European Union is considering imposing sanctions on "extremist" settlers in the West Bank, following the executive order issued by US President Joe Biden, which includes sanctions against 4 of the toughest settlers in Israel.

The newspaper notes that European sanctions are likely to include a ban on entry into the European Union and a freeze on assets, adding that it is unclear whether the countries that have stood by Israel since the outbreak of the war will support such a step.

As for Kamel Ahmed, he wrote an article in the British newspaper “The Guardian” about what happened to the history and culture of the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli war, noting that more than 200 buildings of cultural and historical importance were turned into rubble, including mosques, cemeteries and museums.

The writer said that the few Palestinians who remained in their homes and the much larger number who were displaced with the hope of returning, their culture and history turned into memories.

In turn, the French newspaper "Liberation" wrote from Baghdad about the growing mixed feelings among Iraqis regarding regional tension, noting that "there is a clear escalation of anti-American sentiment, and on the other hand there is a fear that Iraq will turn into a war zone in the future."

The newspaper adds that the situation in Gaza is strongly present in the Iraqi street, and quoted Iraqis as saying that the suffering of the Palestinians is tearing their hearts apart.

Today, Monday, the Israeli forces launched a massive arrest campaign in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.

Talk about “guarantees” related to stopping the aggression against Gaza has returned to the forefront of the scene awaiting the response of the resistance in Gaza, led by the Hamas movement, to the proposal that was finally formulated and approved in the Paris understandings to stop the aggression, amid continuing consultations at several levels, whether between Resistance factions or between the factions and the international forces supporting them, as well as between mediators.

There appeared to be a willingness to accept a “suspension” of the ceasefire, interspersed with a truce that would ultimately lead to a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.

But the need for further consultation recently prompted Hamas to postpone the visit of a high-level leadership delegation to Cairo, which was scheduled for the end of last week.

These developments came amid disagreement regarding the proposal presented, which does not explicitly provide for a complete ceasefire, leaving that part to understandings during the period of suspension of military operations, guarantees from mediators, as well as signals from the American administration of a desire to end the war.

Hamas sees the danger of handing over prisoners to the Israel

This raises concern for the rest of the factions, which see an extreme danger in the occupation government handing over its prisoners without obligating it to end the aggression completely, which makes them resume military operations after getting rid of the internal pressures imposed on them by the opposition and the families of the prisoners, and perhaps more ferocious than before. They underestimated the importance of American promises, in light of the occupation’s failure to adhere to any previous pledges.

In this context, a prominent leader in the Islamic Jihad movement denied "the existence of any disagreements with Hamas regarding the vision presented to the resistance." He said: “There are no differences at all, and whoever promotes this has malicious goals,” adding: “The matter is merely more consultation, exchange of opinions, and consultation among us, in light of the unity of the resistance in Gaza, in the field and at the political level, and everyone presents his opinion, explaining the reasons.” 

The leader of Al-Jihad confirmed, in an interview with Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, that “during the ongoing discussions with the brothers in Hamas, we affirm the principle of stopping the war, which is the same vision that they adopt, as there is an agreement that the sacrifices made by the people of Gaza must be It has a great price paid by the occupation, which does not stop at ending the aggression only, but also includes breaking the siege that was imposed on the Gaza Strip for the past 17 years, after the complete withdrawal from Gaza, facilitating the reconstruction process, and alleviating the burden on the shoulders of the displaced and displaced.

The leader continued: “We see that the proposed guarantees may be insufficient before agreeing to the proposal presented to the resistance in Gaza, and it is possible that the movement will accept negotiations or a cessation of military operations, provided that this ultimately leads to a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, as well as the presence of clear guarantees.” It is stipulated that the mediators and the American administration adhere to.”

He said: “Today we have in our hands what places the neck of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu under the feet of the resistance - in reference to the prisoners - which makes him, his government, and the American administration eager and eager after the resistance in order for it to agree to a ceasefire and the exchange deal, especially after the war entering its fourth month without achieving any of the goals they announced.”

Hamas is committed to a complete end to the aggression

For his part, a Hamas leader stressed that “there is no change in the movement’s position,” stressing “their adherence to the necessity of ending the aggression completely.”

The leader of the movement, preferring not to mention his name, said in statements to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “A decision, such as concluding a deal with the enemy, must be taken with complete agreement between the resistance factions, as they are partners.”

He pointed out, "If there is no agreement from the first moment on a permanent ceasefire in any proposal, the guarantees surrounding that must be clear, and this is what is being agreed upon between the factions." He stressed, at the same time, that "there is no disagreement about this principle, and that what is currently taking place is further discussion to produce a response in the appropriate form, whether accepting or rejecting the presented offer, if it does not meet the aspirations of our people."

The leader of the movement believed that a delegation headed by Haniyeh would arrive in Cairo within a few days to discuss the offer, before announcing the official position, pointing out that the visit would take place during the current week.

The leader of the Hamas movement, Osama Hamdan, said the day before yesterday that “the discussion and consultation on the general framework proposal, which was circulated at the Paris Quartet meeting, is based on the negotiations reaching a complete end to the aggression, a complete withdrawal of Israeli army out of Gaza, and lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, ensuring shelter for the displaced, reconstruction, completing a serious prisoner exchange deal, and practical international recognition of our people’s right to self-determination and establishing their independent, fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

Hamdan stressed, during a press conference from Beirut, that the movement “will be where the interest of our Palestinian people is,” noting that it is “in constant communication and consultation with all Palestinian resistance forces and factions, especially partners and comrades in the field and in arms.”

For his part, Deputy Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Muhammad al-Hindi, indicated in press statements that “the Paris meeting came to search for a way out of the war for Israel.” He said, "The talks during which came in twisted and unclear language about talking about a humanitarian truce leading to a ceasefire, but they did not talk about a complete ceasefire and ending the occupation." Al-Hindi confirmed that Netanyahu seeks to "snatch the Israeli prisoners from the hands of the resistance, so that Israel will continue its aggression against the Gaza Strip."

This comes as the Hamas movement announced, earlier, consultations that took place between the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and the Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Ziad al-Nakhalah, as well as with the Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Jamil Mezher, during which “initiatives to end the aggression” were discussed.