The Hebrew newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" said that high-tech factories in Israel find it difficult to import components from China, which imposes "sanctions on us" against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.

The newspaper says, citing importers, that the Chinese have begun to create bureaucratic difficulties for shipments to Israel of components that can be used for civilian and military purposes.

The newspaper also quoted a government source as saying: “It is clear that this is related to the war” on Gaza.

The components being discussed can also be used for military purposes.

Israeli importers say that Chinese suppliers have begun bureaucratic practices without announcing sanctions against Israel and are required to fill out many forms. They are delaying shipments under the pretext of not filling out the forms correctly, and the result is difficulties in obtaining supplies.

An Israeli government source told Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that: “In recent weeks, high-tech companies have complained about delays in the supply of dual-use components (civilian and military) from China.”

The source adds, "In all the checks we conducted with official bodies, this was not a change in regulations, but rather a measure that had not been done in the past. We fear that the measure will be implemented strictly while we are at war (over Gaza). Appeals have been sent to the Chinese." "Their official response is that there is no change in policy. The problem is that until all the new requirements are met, it is impossible to know whether the supply will be carried out. It is clear to all of us that this is directly related to the war" on Gaza.

The Chinese government took a clearly pro-Palestinian line in the war.

A high-ranking source in one of the factories told Yedioth Ahronoth: “The Chinese are imposing some kind of sanctions on us. They do not announce this officially, but they are delaying shipments to Israel. They have various pretexts and excuses, such as asking suppliers from China to issue export licenses to Israel that were not It didn't exist before. In addition, it requires us to fill out a lot of forms, and it takes time. This has never happened to us before. And this is in many different types of components.. An electronic product has tens of thousands of components, but if it does not arrive, the product cannot be supplied.”

The newspaper says that importing through a third party caused a problem with high costs and delayed delivery time.

China, according to senior Israeli officials, refuses to send workers to Israel during the war. Against the backdrop of a shortage of workers in the construction and agricultural sectors.

According to senior officials, the Chinese are not interested in Israeli considerations such as “who is with us in the war and who is not with us.”

Russia's First Deputy Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, said that the "indecisive resolution" adopted by the Security Council regarding the Gaza Strip was unable to stop the ongoing Israeli cleansing of the Strip.

Polyansky wrote on his Telegram channel: “What is happening (now) is exactly what we warned about during the voting process on the humanitarian resolution on Gaza. Israel interprets it as follows: Creating the conditions for a long ceasefire implies continued cleansing of the Strip.”

He added: "What the Palestinians and Arabs in general benefited from this text remains a mystery to me. Had it not been for their urgent requests, and even their pleas, we would have used the right of veto on this - inconclusive decision -."

This is how the diplomat commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement regarding the expansion of Tel Aviv's military operation in the Gaza Strip, which is suffering from the scourge of war.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, confirmed that he did not use his veto against the humanitarian resolution issued by the Security Council, only out of solidarity with the Arab countries.

Nebenzia stressed that Russia “categorically disagrees” with the content of the resolution adopted, and noted that “responsibility for all possible consequences will fall on those countries that gave their consent to its version, which was pushed by the United States, and we cannot agree to that.” .

He stressed before the vote that the United States included a dangerous element in the draft resolution it adopted that would allow Israel to cleanse the Gaza Strip, noting that with this decision, “the Israeli armed forces will have full scope to move to cleanse the Strip just as they are doing. Whoever votes on the resolution will be complicit and responsible for the destruction of Gaza.” ".

The UN Security Council adopted a draft resolution prepared by the Arab countries aimed at facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. 13 countries voted in favor of this document, and Russia and the United States abstained from voting.

One of the items on the Israeli government's agenda was to name the war on Gaza that Israel has been waging in Gaza for more than 11 weeks.

This will be Netanyahu's second attempt in this regard. In the first week of the war, the Israeli Prime Minister, for reasons known only to him, called it the “War of the Iron Swords.” The name was printed on official statements, but it was not widespread among the Israeli public. Even Netanyahu's ministers and Israeli army generals rarely used this term. This time, Netanyahu preferred to call it the “Genesis War” (derived from the biblical “Book of Genesis”).

It is, of course, an exercise in futility for politicians to try to name a war, says the British newspaper The Times, which says: “Netanyahu, the son of a historian, should realize that wars usually acquire their name over time, through popular culture, media usage, and finally the judgment of history".

Netanyahu gives a misleading name to the war on Gaza

But Netanyahu is keen to frame the narrative of what is happening in Gaza for his own political purposes, and the “Genesis War” conjures an epic event that has nothing to do with anything that came before it. It is an attempt to convince the Israeli public that the sudden Hamas attack on October 7 has nothing to do with his policies and management of Israel’s affairs during the long years that preceded the attack while he was prime minister.

These attempts have failed so far. In almost every poll and survey conducted since the war began, an overwhelming majority of the Israeli public has responded that it sees Netanyahu responsible and believes he should resign, either immediately or once the war is over. A clear majority of Israelis also want early elections.

Netanyahu would lose the elections if they were held today

If the elections were held today, most opinion polls predict that the Likud Party would lose about half the votes it received just one year ago, and that Benny Gantz, the former defense minister who joined the mini-war government that was formed days after the war began, would achieve a comfortable victory and become Next Prime Minister of Israel.

Netanyahu was in a difficult political position even before the war began. Due to corruption indictments and a lawsuit against him, in which he faces the possibility of ten years in prison, the centrist parties in the Knesset refused to join a government coalition under his leadership.

In June 2021, he lost power and remained in the opposition for a year and a half until he regained power at the end of 2022 in the fifth Israeli elections in four years.

Although his coalition of far-right and ultra-religious parties finally won a majority, Netanyahu struggled to control his new government, and was unpopular at the national level. Throughout the year, Israelis protested his government's controversial "judicial reform" program, which sought to weaken the independence of the Supreme Court.

He lacks a majority and distances himself from military decisions

Netanyahu now heads the war government, but he lacks a numerical majority in it. In addition to Gantz, the government includes current Defense Minister Yoav Galant, a member of the Likud Party who has distanced himself from his party's leader since last March, when Netanyahu tried to dismiss him after criticizing the government's controversial plan to reform the Israeli judicial system. And Gadi Eisenkot, a political ally of Gantz. All three were former senior army generals, unlike Netanyahu, who only reached the rank of captain. His only ally in the war cabinet, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, moved to Israel only as an adult and with no military experience.

A senior ministerial aide said: “Most of the decisions in the war government are made by the three former generals, and Netanyahu is waiting to make his decision until he sees which way the wind is blowing. He is not involved in most of the day-to-day military decisions, and needs a lot of convincing before he signs on the biggest decisions.” 

He spends his time in propaganda and trying to absolve himself of negligence in the face of the Al-Aqsa flood

But that doesn't mean he's not busy. He spent long hours during the war in meetings with political advisers and sympathetic journalists, and at photo ops with world leaders and visiting celebrities like Elon Musk.

There were also carefully designed visits to troops in the field, whether to young recruits who had to hold their tongues, or on rare occasions to well-screened reserve forces.

However, at the beginning of the war there were a few incidents in which reserve soldiers harassed the Prime Minister and demanded that he resign.

In the coming days and weeks, the Israeli government will have to make a series of decisions that will determine the future of the war and its aftermath. Netanyahu will not be alone in taking it, but he will be strongly involved in the process since it will have political repercussions.

Netanyahu must make a decision to reduce the ground offensive

The most urgent decision is the timing of reducing the ground offensive in Gaza. While the Israeli government is not expected to agree to a ceasefire, the war will take a different form now that most of Hamas' strongholds in Gaza City have been destroyed and the Israeli army has occupied most of Khan Yunis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip.

However, Hamas as a military force has not been defeated, as thousands of its fighters are still hiding in tunnels or have disappeared among the civilian population. The Israeli army believes it will take several more months to eliminate them, but the campaign will be more mobile, with smaller units deployed than the current full divisions.

And conclude a temporary truce

Another major decision will be whether or not to agree to another temporary truce with Hamas to allow for an agreement to release the hostages. There are still 120 Israeli hostages being held in Gaza. Hamas demands a comprehensive ceasefire as a condition for the talks. Although the government views the previous week-long truce as a success after Hamas released 110 hostages, the war cabinet was originally divided over whether to allow Hamas some breathing room. Netanyahu hesitated and did not take sides.

“The hostage agreement could have been concluded weeks earlier if Netanyahu had not been so hesitant,” said a security official advising the government. “It cost valuable time.” With Hamas expected to push a harder deal this time, and the hostage situation turning desperate, the dilemmas will be more severe.

And expanding the aid allowed into Gaza

The government will also have to decide whether to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza for the more than two million people there, most of whom have been displaced by the fighting. Any such decision will lead to the division of the entire government. However, Netanyahu is also under intense pressure from Israel's main ally, the Biden administration, to make an effort to allow more aid to Gaza residents.

American pressure plays a major role in shaping Israel's strategy for the days that follow the war in Gaza. President Biden's stated policy envisions the Palestinian Authority assuming control of Gaza. Netanyahu has repeatedly opposed that plan, but this appears to be primarily a ploy to bolster his flagging nationalist base rather than a true final position.

He wants to create a subordinate Palestinian authority in Gaza, but the Americans refuse to do so

Last week, Netanyahu's national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, published an opinion article on the London-based Arabic website Elaph, saying that there will be a need for a moderate Palestinian ruling body that enjoys broad support and popularity. He added: "In its current form, the (Palestinian) Authority finds it difficult to do this, and it will require great effort and assistance from the international community as well as from the countries of the region, and we are ready for this effort."

Hanegbi would not have written this without his boss's approval.

The Israeli prime minister appears stuck: the far-right parties that keep him in power are threatening to topple the government if the scope of the war is reduced and the Palestinian Authority is allowed to return to Gaza. However, Israel needs continued American support, and the more pragmatic Gantz may also leave the war cabinet if he believes that politics are guiding Netanyahu's decisions, and join calls for early elections.

Whatever Netanyahu does next, it will determine not only how the nameless war will proceed, but also his immediate political fate, his legacy at home and on the international stage, and perhaps his freedom.

Rajagopal noted that the current events in Gaza reflect “institutional impunity,” noting the importance of holding the occupation accountable, and bringing charges regarding war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide.

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, has called for the establishment of a new international court, if the ICC does not take effective action “in a very short time” regarding Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

In his post on the “X” platform, Rajagopal indicated that the current events in Gaza reflect “institutional impunity,” noting the importance of holding the occupation accountable, and bringing charges regarding war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide.

He continued, explaining what he meant: “Impunity for: occupation, war of extermination, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.”

Rajagopal added: “If the International Criminal Court does not act very soon, we will need a special international court for Gaza, and action by states.”

Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a war on Gaza, which as of Sunday left 20,424 dead, 54,36 wounded, most of them children and women, massive infrastructure destruction, and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to authorities in the Gaza Strip and the United Nations. .

The American newspaper "The Washington Post" said that there is evidence proving that the damage inflicted by Israeli forces on Gaza exceeds what happened in other conflicts in the current century, and that this war is one of the most destructive wars.

It added that this war has claimed - so far - the lives of more than 20,57 people, displaced the vast majority of the population, and destroyed large areas of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Perhaps the most ferocious attacks came from air strikes that flattened entire residential blocks and created craters in courtyards and gardens.

The American newspaper stated in its report that it analyzed satellite images, air strike data, and the United Nations assessment of the resulting damage, and conducted interviews with health care providers and experts in munitions and air warfare.

Huge destruction

It explained that the evidence she collected shows that Israel launched its war in Gaza at a pace and level of destruction that likely exceeds that caused by any modern conflict, and this was evident in the demolition of buildings in a shorter time than the devastation caused by the Syrian regime’s battles in Aleppo in the period between 2012 and 2016, and the campaign US-led military forces against ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria, in 2017.

The newspaper said it concluded that the Israeli army launched frequent and widespread air strikes near hospitals, “which are supposed to be given special protection under the laws of war.”

Satellite images, reviewed by the Washington Post, showed dozens of clear craters near 17 of the 28 hospitals in northern Gaza, the area that witnessed the heaviest bombing and fighting during the first two months of the war. 10 craters indicate the use of one-ton bombs. , which is the largest of its kind in continuous use.

The newspaper quoted the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoliaric-Eger, who visited Gaza on December 4, as saying, “There is no safe area,” adding, “I passed through the streets and did not see a single street that escaped the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals.” ".

Terrifying numbers: The Washington Post quoted the Ministry of Health in Gaza, saying that the war resulted in the wounding of more than 53,320 people, and the killing of more than 7,700 Palestinian children.

Women and children make up about 70% of the dead, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which also says that 1.9 million people have been displaced from their homes, equivalent to 85% of the population. Michael Lynk - who served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights Humanity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories - “Palestinian civilian deaths in such a short period of time appear to be the highest rate of civilian casualties in the 21st century.”

The newspaper reported that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant informed his forces on October 10 that they were “liberated from all restrictions” and that “Gaza will never return to what it was.”

On the same day, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said, "We are now focusing on what causes the most damage."

The Washington Post reported that, over a period of just over two months, the Israeli Air Force fired 29,000 surface-to-air missiles, 40% to 45% of which were unguided, according to a recent assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The Israeli army did not hide that it viewed Gaza's hospitals as military targets, according to the newspaper, which based this on Hagari's statement on November 5, in which he said, "Hamas is systematically exploiting hospitals as an essential cog in its war machine."

Source: Washington Post

On the 79th day of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the Israeli artillery and air strikes on areas north of the Gaza Strip have not stopped since the morning hours.

This comes in conjunction with the announcement of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), that it targeted an Israeli force of 10 soldiers in Juhr al-Dik, and sniped Israeli soldiers in the Jabalia camp.

Fierce clashes continue between the Palestinian resistance and the occupation forces, which are trying to penetrate into Jabalia and its camp.

The Israeli army announced the killing of 9 soldiers and officers and the serious injury of others during the battles in the Gaza Strip, after announcing yesterday evening, Saturday, the killing of 5 of its officers and soldiers, bringing its announced death toll within hours to 14 and bringing the death toll of soldiers and officers killed since the start of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle to 486 dead including 157 killed since the start of the ground incursion into the Gaza Strip on October 27.

The death toll from the Israeli aggression on Gaza rose to 20,424 dead and 54,036 injured since October 7, after 166 people were killed, in addition to 384 others injured, during the past 24 hours, according to what the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip confirmed.

On Sunday evening, the occupation warplanes and artillery continued to target several areas of the Gaza Strip.

Since this morning, the occupation forces have continued their heavy artillery and occupation aircraft bombardment of areas north of the Gaza Strip, specifically Beit Hanoun and northern Jabalia.

Israeli infantry forces fired live bullets directly at a group of citizens south of Gaza City, while they were trying to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, wounding a number of them.

The occupation artillery bombed agricultural land in the Nuseirat camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip, wounding a number of citizens, in addition to the death and injury of others in a bombing that targeted the southern region.

Local sources reported that the occupation artillery bombarded civilian homes east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

It said that a number of injuries arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as a result of the occupation’s targeting of the Martyrs’ Roundabout in Al-Bureij Camp.

It indicated that the occupation army carries out field executions on a daily basis, according to eyewitnesses and medical sources at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, and a number of killed and wounded arrived as a result of Israeli bombing near the Palace of Justice, south of Gaza City.

In the south, at least three citizens were murdered in an Israeli bombing on the vicinity of Al Awda Schools, east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

Citizens were also killed and injured in an Israeli bombing on Old Crescent Street in the city of Khan Yunis.

The director of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis said that severe and critical injuries occurred due to the occupation's use of weapons that may be internationally prohibited, adding that medical personnel and ambulances are unable to provide their services in Gaza.

Civil defense crews in Gaza indicated that a large number of martyrs had their bodies decomposed due to the difficulty of reaching them, especially in Jabalia, which is subject to a real genocide.

In an infinite toll, the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since the 7th of last October has resulted in the death of 20,424 citizens and the wounding of about 54,036 citizens, more than 70% of whom are women and children.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement issued this evening, Sunday, that Israel is working to "deepen the war" on the Gaza Strip, stressing that his government "will continue the war until complete victory over the Hamas movement."

He considered that "this is the only way to return the hostages, eliminate Hamas, and ensure that Gaza will not pose a threat to Israel," and continued, "It will take some time, but we are united and determined to fight until the end: the fighters, the people and the government."

Netanyahu added, "War has a price, a very high price that we pay with the lives of our heroic warriors, and we are doing our best to preserve the lives of our warriors. But we will be careful not to do one thing, which is that we will not stop until we achieve victory."

The army is investigating an allegation that Israeli soldiers killed unarmed men in full view of their families. This is what the army spokesman answered, in response to a question directed to him by the newspaper "Haaretz" regarding the control of an Israeli military force over a residential building in Gaza City, on the evening of Tuesday, December 19.

The first information in this regard arrived on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, before midnight, in the form of recorded and desperate audio calls calling for the rescue of the wounded. The next day, more tweets were added, and then the news sites added a few more details, based on reports from family members and the testimony of two women. 

The main report appeared on the website of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, and includes the names of 11 men who were killed. While other reports indicated 13 names and 15 dead, their ages were approximately thirty years. However, one woman testified that her father was also shot dead, along with her husband and brothers.

After the soldiers shot the men, according to testimonies, the women and children, 27 people in number, were gathered in one room, something was fired in their direction, and then it exploded. The testimonies referred to a “shell,” and the testimony was translated in one report as saying that a hand grenade had been thrown and live bullets had been fired. A number of women, an infant girl, and two six-year-old children were injured, according to reports. In the Al-Awda building that was attacked, the Anan family lives, along with three families who were displaced from their homes, and are related to the family living in the building. These families are Al-Ashi, Al-Ghalayini, and Al-Sharafa.

Many details are missing or not detailed enough, and many questions were not asked, perhaps due to the objective difficulties in the field: the deployment of soldiers in the area, the prohibition of access to the site, and the inability to communicate with witnesses on an ongoing basis. While the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a warning statement regarding the “disturbing information,” explaining that the killing of the men had been verified, but the circumstances of the incident required verification.

We, who cover life under the occupation regime on “normal days”, usually first verify the report independently, relying on the professional investigations of human rights organizations. But there are several reasons to go beyond this normal procedure, and I will list my initial reasons:

Until we can, if we can, conduct our own examination, a lot of time will pass, and it is reasonable to assume that the number of independent investigations will be small. Meanwhile, Arab television channels continue to show images of bodies distributed among piles of ruins, and bodies thrown next to hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, and on the sides of the roads. Not mentioning these reports and field scenes, no matter how partial, urgent, and terrifying they may be, represents cooperation with the false advertising slogan launched by the army spokesman, stating that “the army is committed to opening fire orders and international law, and is taking precautions in order to reduce harm to those not involved in the fighting.”

The army spokesman's response that the allegations are under investigation, even though "the details of the incident described are not known to [the army]," differs from the definitive answer sent to Haaretz to another question related to how the army took over Kamal Adwan Hospital. In this case, the army spokesman said last Sunday, “The allegations that the army buried civilians alive in the vicinity of the hospital are dangerous and lack any basis.” This change in wording indicates that there is at least a grain of truth in the reporting of the events of the Al Awda Building.

Even on “normal days,” it is necessary to question the Israeli assumption that if a Palestinian is killed by an Israeli soldier, then he deserves to be killed. But especially these days, as sociologist Yagil Levy explained in an interview with Calcalist, the killing of three of the Israeli kidnapped by Hamas by IDF soldiers “fundamentally indicates that there is no real adherence to the firing rules in Gaza but the army treats Gaza as a sterile zone: it has ordered all residents to flee, and therefore, in the eyes of the army, any human wandering in the area is a legitimate target.” 

In addition, according to Levy, “the fear and exhaustion of the soldiers,” in addition to the tone of the Israeli discourse, which says, “The distinction between those involved and those not involved in the fighting has nothing to do with reality, after the events of October 7, because we consider that the ordinary Gazan bears responsibility.” Collective responsibility for what happened, and even if he does not bear responsibility for the events, we must not think about distinguishing between those involved in the fighting and those who are not, in order to achieve the goal of victory and the elimination of Hamas.”

Despite the order to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip, Khan Yunis, and then the center of the Gaza Strip, a large number of civilians remained in these areas, including women, the elderly, children, and youth.

They simply have no place to go, no shelter to take refuge in, and in the Gaza Strip, in any case, there is no safe place. These people are thirsty, hungry and exhausted, and lack protection and sympathy from the world's heads of state. The bombings have already killed their families and the families of their friends, and among them are determined, frightened and tired Israeli soldiers, with adrenaline, vengeance and anger coursing through their veins.

Meanwhile, journalists and human rights organizations in Gaza are no longer able to investigate the circumstances of the killing of any civilian, due to the large number of deaths, and because of the danger that threatens the life of every human being, everywhere. 

For this reason, ignoring live Palestinian allegations and reports creates a smokescreen that protects the Israeli army and its ambiguous statements, without raising any journalistic question marks.

Former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, retired Major General Yair Golan, described the statements and actions of the occupation army minister, Yoav Galant, as "stupid and unnecessary."

Golan said in radio statements published by the Hebrew newspaper Maariv on Sunday that Israel waging a war “in which its best sons are sacrificed without military objectives is shocking.” Stressing that "the problem with the ground operation is that the political level does not clarify the goals of the war."

The "Israeli" military commander stressed that "it is impossible to ignore that the war began with an overwhelming failure for Israel, even if we get Yahya Al-Sinwar (head of the political bureau of Hamas in Gaza)."

Golan called on the political leadership in the occupying state to "tell the truth and delay the elimination of Hamas." Adding: "It is inevitable to reach an agreement with Hamas and not with any other actor."

He explained: “The government’s current lying approach means that our citizens will not return to their homes on the border (the Gaza envelope and the settlements in northern occupied Palestine). We must build a prosperous Zionist institution here, so how will we do that after everything that is happening?!”

He noted that "Hamas is the only one capable of releasing the kidnapped people (prisoners of the occupation held by the resistance in the Gaza Strip), not us."

He warned that the Hamas movement "entered the war (the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood) realizing that the scenario of the destruction of the southern suburb (Lebanon) was possible." He stressed: “Hamas achieved a strategic goal when it said to Israel: I am the one managing the conflict.”

He reiterated that Gallant's statements regarding Sinwar are "stupid and meaningless war propaganda." Stating: “Gallant calls on Sinwar to go out to Gaza to see the extent of the destruction. These are foolish statements. Didn’t Sinwar see the destruction in the wars of 2014 and 2021? Didn’t he see what happened to the southern suburbs in Lebanon? This is foolishness!”

Former Major General in the occupation army, Yair Golan, considered that, despite the destruction caused by the occupation army in the Gaza Strip, "we appeared as a weak country that could not defend itself except with American assistance."

He demanded that "elections be held now." Explaining: "It is impossible to continue fighting with this government that is unable to define the goals of the war, and it is necessary to change the Netanyahu government as soon as possible."

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets on Super Saturday en masse, to protest the day before Christmas Eve, a time when shoppers often try to get last-minute gifts before the holidays.

The “Shut It Down for Palestine” movement, made up of pro-Palestinian groups, had plans to “organize boycotts, disruptions and rallies in malls on December 23,” according to the website of the activist group ANSWER.

Organizers say Israel's genocidal attack on Gaza continues with incredible brutality. “This Christmas, occupation forces are preying on Christians taking shelter in their besieged churches in Gaza, and Christians in Bethlehem have announced the cancellation of their celebrations. People everywhere must continue to declare that there can be no Christmas as usual during genocide.” !

The protests, which were called for on social media, succeeded in mobilizing thousands of large pro-Palestinian protests in cities such as New York City, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, and Toronto. In one clip, protesters in New York City appeared to chant: "While you're shopping, bombs are falling."

More than 20,000 people were killed in the enclave during the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement on Friday, Gaza health officials said. The war, which began on October 7 with a Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis, is about to end three months later.

On Friday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution to increase aid to Gaza and also called for the rapid release of hostages currently held by Hamas. Although 13 countries voted in favor of the resolution, the United States and Russia abstained from voting.

“Colleagues, this Council made clear today that addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza must remain at the top of our agenda,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote.

The convoy of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pier Battista Pizzaballa, arrived in the city of Bethlehem from the occupied city of Jerusalem today, Sunday, to preside over the Christmas midnight mass.

Patriarch Pizzaballa, who was accompanied by a group of bishops, senior patriarchal officials and parish notables, was received on the pavement of Manger Square by the recipients according to the usual status quo, led by the acting governor of Bethlehem, Muhammad Taha, the mayor of Bethlehem, Hanna Hanania, and the commander of the Bethlehem region, Brigadier General Nader Abu Omar, the Director General of the Governorate Police, Brigadier General Muhammad Abu Al-Rub, the notables of the Latin parish, and the priests of the Franciscan Fathers.

The procession started from the office of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem towards the city of Bethlehem, arriving at the Monastery of Saint Elias, before continuing its progress to reach the Catholic Action Roundabout, after which it walked on foot to Manger Square, passing through Al-Najma and Ras Aftais Streets.

After receiving him in Manger Square, the Patriarch walked with his recipients, and in front of the church he was bid farewell by his recipients. Then he entered the church and presided over a special mass in the parish church of St. Catherine, in preparation for the midnight mass that he will preside over.

Sources familiar with the Hamas movement's talks in Cairo reported to the Saudi Al-Sharq TV channel that the movement's delegation returned to Qatar to consult with the Political Bureau regarding the initiative proposed by Egypt, which includes three stages of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.

The sources explained that the head of the movement’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Doha after the end of the 4-day talks in Cairo, indicating that “Hamas” will study, within the framework of its political bureau, the Egyptian initiative paper that it received in Egypt for a ceasefire.

A Hamas delegation led by Haniyeh arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, last Wednesday, to discuss the issue of prisoners and files related to the Gaza Strip, such as relief aid, reconstruction, and what the sources described as “ending the division.”

Stages of a ceasefire

The first stage

The first phase includes the start of a humanitarian truce for two weeks, which can be extended for two or three weeks, during which Hamas releases 40 Israeli detainees, women and children (under 18 years old), and elderly males, especially the sick.

In return, Israel releases 120 Palestinian prisoners of the same two categories, during which hostilities cease, tanks withdraw, and food and medical aid, fuel and cooking gas flow to the Gaza Strip.

The second phase

Establishing a Palestinian national dialogue under Egyptian sponsorship with the aim of “ending the division,” and forming a government of technocrats (independents) that will supervise humanitarian relief issues, the Gaza Strip reconstruction file, and paving the way for Palestinian general and presidential elections.

Third level

A complete and comprehensive ceasefire, and a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal that includes all Israeli soldiers with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad movement, and other factions, during which an agreement will be reached on the number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel will release, including those with high convictions, and those who were arrested by Israel after October 7th.

The final stage includes an Israeli withdrawal from the cities of the Gaza Strip, and enabling the displaced to return to their areas in Gaza and the northern Strip.

"Technocratic" government

Informed sources reported to Al-Sharq TV that Egypt presented an initiative to the Palestinian forces to form a “technocratic” government after the end of the war in Gaza, to take over the administration of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in addition to the tasks of reconstruction and shelter, noting that the “Hamas” movement expressed its approval for this suggestion.

The sources indicated that it is expected that “Egypt will re-launch a Palestinian national dialogue after the formation of the government and not before it,” explaining that “Cairo realizes that launching a Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue now may face obstacles and disagreements regarding programs, quotas, etc., which may delay the launch of the reconstruction and relief process in the Gaza Strip.”

Hamas showed some flexibility regarding the management of Gaza after the war, and a movement official told Al-Sharq last November that Hamas prefers to form a Palestinian “technocratic” government capable of handling the huge responsibilities required to provide relief to the people of Gaza and rebuild the Strip. He added that such a government must be formed by national consensus.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory said that the Israeli occupation forces continue to invade schools where tens of thousands of displaced people have taken shelter, and carry out serious violations in them, including physical liquidations, arrests, abuse, and intimidation of civilians.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory said in a statement on Sunday: It documented the Israeli forces’ storming this morning of Al-Rafi’i School in Jabalia Al-Balad, which houses thousands of displaced people, and the arrest of males aged 15 years and above, after forcing them to strip naked and remain in their underwear, before the soldiers took them to an unknown destination and they forcefully remove women amid gunfire.

Euro-Med highlighted that Israeli forces have turned shelter centers, most of which are in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and carrying the UN logo, into permissible targets since the first days of their large-scale war on the Gaza Strip.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory indicated that the Israeli military attacks took several forms. In the beginning, shelter centers were repeatedly targeted by aerial bombardment, which led to the killing of hundreds of citizens and the wounding of hundreds of others, as happened several times in Al-Fakhoura School, and dozens of other schools in Gaza and its north, in addition to Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip and Al-Bureij in the center of the Gaza Strip.

It stressed that the preliminary information he collected indicates that these attacks were unjustified and targeted unarmed civilians who took refuge in shelter centers after receiving Israeli displacement orders from their homes and areas of residence.

The Euro-Med Monitor stated that the second phase of targeting schools and shelter centers accompanied the ground incursion, indicating that it had received dozens of reports about Israeli army forces storming those schools after destroying their walls and gates with tanks, amid heavy gunfire and shells from tanks.

It highlighted that the Israeli forces carried out field executions in many of these schools, as happened in the “Shadia Abu Ghazaleh” school in Jabalia, where, after the Israeli forces withdrew from the area on December 13, it was found that there were nine bodies, including women and children.

In its testimony about what happened, the elderly person, “Youssef Khalil,” told Euro-Med that after the Israeli forces stormed the school, two soldiers opened direct fire on his family members while they were in one of the classrooms.

“Khalil” stated that after his family members were liquidated, Israeli forces arrested him and others for several days, during which he was beaten and tortured, before he was later released. After the Israeli forces withdrew from the vicinity of the school where they were stationed for a week, Khalil returned to the school to find the bodies of his family members nearly decomposed. Among the victims were a woman, her husband, and several of their children.

Video clips from the school monitored by the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory, filmed from December 13 to 15, showed destroyed classrooms, at least two bodies on the floor, a number of bodies of people, including a woman, a mattress soaked in blood, bullet holes, and bloodstains on the floor.

Euro-Med stated that in addition to the killings in shelter schools, the Israeli forces are detaining males from the age of 14 years and above, forcing them to take off their clothes and transporting them to other locations with inhuman torture and abuse. As for the women, they are subjected to investigation and interrogation, arresting some of them, and releasing the rest.

Eyewitnesses told the Euro-Mediterranean Monitor team that Israeli forces looted money and personal belongings of the displaced, including confiscating gold for women in several cases.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory stated that the third stage of violations against these schools and shelter centers centered on converting them into military barracks for tanks or using them as temporary headquarters for the occupation forces and centers for interrogation and abuse of citizens.

It pointed out that the fourth stage of targeting shelter centers is to destroy them, whether by planting explosives or completely destroying them, as the Israeli forces publish video clips of these destruction operations, as happened when they destroyed a school on December 12 of this month, near the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, north of Beit Lahia. Gaza.

Euro-Med stressed that while these schools are affiliated with the United Nations, and many of them were built with European funds from taxpayers in European Union countries, they are supposed to enjoy special protection at the height of military attacks. However, on the ground, Israeli forces continue to target it and celebrate - in many cases shown in video clips - its destruction and targeting.

It pointed out that the deliberate targeting of shelter centers and the perpetration of killing, destruction and abuse are a natural result of the policy of impunity and the state of international silence that encourages Israel to commit more war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It stressed that the ongoing killings, physical liquidations, and systematic destruction of buildings and facilities have no explanation or justification other than that they are part of systematic revenge operations, the price of which is paid by civilians protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory called for the opening of an urgent international investigation into the horrific crimes committed by the Israeli army in areas of its land incursions into the Gaza Strip, including field executions, arbitrary arrests, widespread torture of men and women, and the unnecessary destruction of schools.

It stressed that under international humanitarian law, Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harming civilians, and ensure their ability to provide satisfactory conditions for safety and shelter, while stressing that civilians who choose to remain in areas designated for evacuation do not lose their protection and are prohibited from being targeted under any justification.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor confirmed that an immediate ceasefire is the basic requirement that everyone must take action to achieve. To save what can be saved from the crime of genocide targeting 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip, followed by activating all international mechanisms to investigate the crimes committed, in order to achieve accountability, justice and fairness.

The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip for the third month in a row casts a shadow over the atmosphere of Christmas celebrations in the city of Bethlehem. It was decided not to light the Christmas tree in the courtyard of the Church of the Nativity, as is usual, and to replace that with a model of the extent of the destruction that befell the Strip.

The model, created by the Palestinian artist, Tariq Selaa, represents the nativity scene in the middle of what appears to be a destroyed house. He called it “Nativity under the rubble” in a symbolic reference to the devastation that the Gaza Strip is witnessing as a result of the continuous Israeli bombing, in addition to statues of a Palestinian family during the Nakba.

Candles were lit and prayers were held in the courtyard of the Church of the Nativity, in the presence of a number of clergy, officials, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Palestinian Authority, and citizens.

Hanna Hanania, Mayor of Bethlehem, said during the opening ceremony of the artwork, “Here Gaza is present. The cave is not ordinary, as it was destroyed by bombing. Between its walls, it contains the Holy Family through its shape, which resembles the map of Gaza, and the children who rose as martyrs, like angels looking down from heaven.”

He added, "The light in the cave here is very dim because of the bombing and death, and in the middle the Virgin Mary embraces the child Jesus, declaring the new life for all of humanity."

He continued, saying, "Everything is exceptional this year, as Christmas comes under very difficult circumstances, in which thousands have been killed and wounded, and citizens have been displaced in Gaza."

He added, "Bethlehem, for the first time, the Christmas tree will not be placed, the streets of Bethlehem will not be lit, and the holiday will be limited to religious rituals only. It is a moral and national commitment. The shedding of blood eliminates any possibility of joy."

Residents of the city of Bethlehem used to begin Christmas celebrations by lighting a tree that was placed in the church square, eight meters high, and decorated with lights.

Rula Maayah, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said, “Merry Christmas is upon us this year as we live in the most difficult and darkest circumstances and times as a result of what our people are suffering in the besieged Gaza Strip and in all the cities, villages and camps of the West Bank and Holy Jerusalem as a result of the continuing aggression against our people.”

She added in her speech at the lighting ceremony of the cave, "The world is celebrating Christmas, and the city of Christmas is sad, depressing, and in pain. Its children, youth, women, and men are filled with fear, sadness, and pain from what is happening, and they do not know where things will go and how this massacre and tragedy will end."

The Minister reviewed the difficult situation in the city of Bethlehem, which is known as the city of the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

She said, "The city of the cradle, like the rest of the Palestinian cities, is completely besieged, closed and sad. No one can reach it or leave it. Its people and its people are without work and without hope as a result of the disruption and cessation of the tourist movement coming to it, which constitutes the backbone of its economy."

She added, "The city of the cradle, which annually received millions of tourists and pilgrims from all over the world, staying in its hotels, wandering in its alleys and roads, and shopping in its markets and stores, is today living in a state of complete recession."

Christian denominations that follow the Western calendar begin their Christmas celebrations by holding the midnight mass prayer in the Bethlehem Church.

Israeli Army Radio revealed that Benjamin Netanyahu's government recently sent a senior official to Cairo, as part of its efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, which insists on stopping the aggression before starting negotiations on this file.

Israeli Army Radio said that an Israeli official, whom it described as senior, visited the Egyptian capital, Cairo, last week, to discuss progress towards concluding a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip.

For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about the possibility of proceeding with the “hostage” deal.

Yesterday evening, Saturday, Israeli Channel 12 quoted an Israeli official as saying, “We are in the waiting stage, preparing for days of decision regarding a new exchange deal.”

Israel's efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal during a temporary truce come at a time when it is suffering more losses in life and equipment, and the killing of many of its prisoners in the raids it launches on the Gaza Strip.

Today, Sunday, the Israeli army announced that “485 soldiers and officers have been killed since the beginning of the war, including 158 killed since the start of the ground operation” in Gaza in late October.

Stop the aggression first

Hamas and Israel reached a temporary truce last November 4, which lasted for a week and during which they exchanged prisoners of women and children, with Qatari mediation and Egyptian-American support.

However, the Hamas movement currently refuses to negotiate a prisoner exchange before a permanent cessation of the Israeli aggression that has been ongoing for 79 days, which has led - so far - to the martyrdom of more than 20,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children.

Yesterday, Saturday, the leader of the movement, Osama Hamdan, said that there is no talk of exchanging prisoners before stopping the Israeli aggression completely and not temporarily.

Osama added that Hamas wants to return the Israeli prisoners and restore the Palestinian prisoners, while the government of Benjamin Netanyahu does not want that.

Israel says that Hamas is still detaining more than 130 Israelis in Gaza, while Hamas stresses that the price for releasing its detainees includes stopping the aggression first, lifting the siege, and emptying thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

The Prisoners' Club and the Prisoners' and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs Authority said that the Israeli occupation forces have arrested about 4,695 citizens from the West Bank since the start of the Israeli occupation's aggression against our people on the seventh of last October.

The Prisoners' Club explained in a brief statement on Sunday that the toll includes those who were arrested from homes, through military checkpoints, those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and those who were held hostage.

It pointed out that during the arrest campaigns, the occupation forces continue to carry out widespread abuse, severe beatings, field investigations, and threats against detainees and their families, in addition to widespread sabotage and destruction of citizens’ homes, and the seizure of their property.

It is noteworthy that the data related to arrest cases includes those who were kept in detention by the occupation and those who were later released.

President Mahmoud Abbas said today, Sunday, that the Israeli bombing does not distinguish between a Muslim and a Christian, in a scene that brings back memories of the Nakba of 1948.

Abbas’s speech came in a speech on the occasion of the birth of Christ, according to the Western calendar.

He added: "The brutal bombing committed by the occupation targeted the Evangelical Baptist Hospital in Gaza, the Orthodox Cultural Center, the Greek Orthodox Church Hall, and the Holy Family Church, in addition to mosques, schools, and hospitals. It did not differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian."

He continued: "The occupation's aggression targeted the Christian presence, all of our people, and our Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem and the West Bank."

Addressing his speech to the residents of Gaza, President Abbas said: “The sun of freedom and the independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital is inevitably coming, and is even just around the corner. The river of blood, the great sacrifices, the suffering, and the heroic steadfastness of our people on their land is the path towards freedom and dignity.”

He called for making Christmas this year “a time to stop the war and aggression against our people in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, and an occasion for goodness, prosperity and stability for our people and all peoples.”

He added that Eid falls this year, "and the city of birth, Bethlehem (south of the West Bank), is experiencing a sadness that it has not seen before this day. The occupation forces oppress and kill the children of Palestine, and snatch the innocent smiles from the faces of the living among them."

He continued: "None of our people, women, men, and the elderly, were spared from this killing, terrorism, attempts at forced displacement, and the destruction of thousands of homes, which reminds us of what happened in the Nakba of 1948."

He added: "We will continue our struggle to obtain our legitimate rights to live on the soil of Palestine, in a free, independent and fully sovereign state."

Celebrations for Christian sects that follow the Western calendar will be held on December 25, while sects that follow the Eastern calendar will celebrate on January 7.

Last November, churches in occupied Jerusalem announced the cancellation of Christmas celebrations because of Israel's devastating war on the Gaza Strip.

The American newspaper "Wall Street Journal" quoted Israeli military analysts as saying that the network of deep tunnels of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) hinders Israel's control over the territory of the Gaza Strip.

Military commentator Ron Ben Yishai revealed to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that there was a gap in intelligence information in the occupation army regarding the spending file and its size.

He said, "On the other hand, in the Khan Yunis area and in the so-called 'middle camps' located north of the city, outlets and tunnel nozzles are available almost everywhere for Hamas forces to launch from. The Israeli army was surprised when it discovered that the set of tunnels and tunnel nozzles belonging to Hamas is 100% larger." 500% to 600% of his estimates.”

The military commentator continued: “If the army previously believed that there were 500 kilometers of tunnels and about 1,000 craters throughout the entire territory of the Gaza Strip, now it is known that there are thousands of kilometers of tunnels and thousands of tunnel craters. These are unimaginable numbers.”

Today, Sunday, dozens of settlers stormed the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid heavy protection from the occupation police.

The settlers made provocative tours inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and performed Talmudic rituals.

Groups of settlers storm Al-Aqsa on a daily basis except Friday and Saturday.

The Christians of the world chant the angelic chant (Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men), marking the advent of Merry Christmas among the Western sects. Happy New Year to everyone.

In Palestine, when eyes turn tonight to Bethlehem, the cradle of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, for glorification, thanksgiving, and supplication at the climax of the Divine Liturgy, the celebratory prayer this year carries all the pain because it contains love and mercy for those who were befallen by the Nakba and who tasted the bitterness of deprivation in the brutal, prolonged aggression against Gaza. The sea was reassured next to it, and the war came to take away the joy of life from its people, and its children. But despite death, they remained armed with greatness, glory, exaltation, and honor, and Gaza’s status and value will remain engraved in all the minds of the unified people.

Bethlehem, while singing hymns of glory and Christmas hymns, decided to name (Birth under the Ruins) this year’s Christmas program, as the solidarity stand took place yesterday afternoon, Saturday, under the title (Birth Under the Ruins) and carried many messages, the first of which was that Bethlehem decided not to celebrate Christmas because our people are witnessing a horrific genocidal war and the whole world is watching.

The hearts of the residents of Bethlehem, and thousands of Palestinians in occupied Palestine and the diaspora, have been burdened with pain for eighty days as they witness this huge amount of destruction and ongoing war crimes without ever being condemned or held accountable.

Under this title, the procession of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Peri Battista Pizzaballa will proceed to celebrate the holiday mass before midnight. Before that, the events will be brief and will focus on the reality of the pain that Gaza is experiencing, especially the expected message that the children of Bethlehem will send to the children of Gaza under the title (Gaza has become the capital of humanity. Free now).

The children of Bethlehem will extend their hands, hearts and souls to the children of Gaza because they are children of one homeland and believe in eternal freedom and a glorious Christmas. Bethlehem will chant for the suffering, crying, bloody and hungry Gaza, hoping to cross the borders to heal the wounded and the judiciary to warm the hearts.

The skies of Gaza do not hear the call to prayer or the church bells, and in Bethlehem they will raise the call to prayer and ring the church bells for the sake of Gaza, its freedom, peace and security.

Bethlehem hopes that peace will prevail and that light will come with an appeal to the world that has been silent about the truth. What is required is for this world to take action to stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip before it is too late.

The government media office in the Gaza Strip announced on Sunday that Palestinian journalist Ahmed Al-Madhoun was killed in an Israeli bombing in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the number of journalists killed since the beginning of the Israeli war to 101.

The office said, in a statement: “The death of Ahmed Jamal Al-Madhoun, deputy director of the Palestinian Al-Rai Agency (affiliated with the Gaza government), at the hands of Israeli soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip governorate.”

It added: "This brings the number of killed journalists  to 101 since the start of the brutal war on the Gaza Strip."

It is noteworthy that the government office announced, in a statement yesterday, Saturday, that the number of journalists killed during the war on the Gaza Strip reached 100.

An article published by the American magazine "The Intercept" asked about the danger of the people who run the world not knowing the most basic political facts, against the backdrop of a recently published article about the Israeli attack on Gaza, written by the British politician Ben Wallace, who was the United Kingdom's Minister of Defense until a few months ago.

Writer John Schwarz stated that the problem is that Wallace attached great importance to the original charter of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) of 1988, without knowing that Hamas issued a new charter in 2017, in which it affirmed that “its struggle is with the Zionist project and not with the Jews because of their religion.”

The amended charter rejects the legitimacy of Zionism, and accepts "the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, along the lines of June 4, 1967, with the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes from which they were expelled, as a formula for national consensus."

Hamas Charter

The writer added that Wallace's failure to cite the current Hamas charter is displeasing, especially since his overall point of view is "reasonable" in terms of his indication that what Israel is currently doing will fuel the conflict for another 50 years.

Wallace was quoted as strongly criticizing the Hamas charter and accused it of being anti-Semitic and anti-democratic, claiming that "a ceasefire cannot be reached with Hamas unless it is prepared to announce it. Until then, they will have to pledge to amend their charter to do so."

The writer explains that, given the way Wallace presented the issue, it is unlikely that this former minister deliberately ignored Hamas’s revision of its charter in 2017. Rather, it is almost certain that he did not know that the revision existed at all, and this issue is considered important for two reasons:

The first - the writer explains - is that the current Hamas charter does not constitute an insurmountable barrier to accepting the two-state solution and achieving peace, according to the writer.

The second reason - the author continues - is the necessity of recognizing that many of the people who sit at the top of the power structures in the world have no idea what they are talking about. In this context, Jimmy Carter once wrote that he wished he had read about the history of American aggression in Central America before he became president, and perhaps the peoples of Central America wished that as well.

The writer adds that in a similar way, the Palestinians would be happier if people like Wallace - whose term as Defense Minister of the United Kingdom lasted 4 years - could gain knowledge of their history that at least matches what is available in the Wikipedia blog.

For additional information, Wallace could have learned the basics of the Likud Party, which is currently headed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The party's original 1977 platform declares that "between the sea and the Jordan River there will be nothing but Israeli sovereignty."

The writer stresses that there is no pressure on Wallace and others like him to learn these important facts. Rather, all the pressures push them in the other direction. For example, because of his trite observations about the reality of oppression that breeds extremism, Wallace has been accused of potentially “stirring up anti-Semitic hatred.”

The article concluded that the world desperately needs officials to have an understanding of the facts, at least so that they do not accidentally destroy everything.

Source: The Intercept +Aljazeera

The Israeli military censorship issued instructions regarding media coverage of the war on Gaza, prohibiting the media from covering, publishing, or dealing with 8 issues without obtaining prior approval from the military censor.

The memorandum, which was circulated by the military censorship to all media outlets, prohibits the publication of any personal information about the detainees, their health status, or any Israeli positions related to the negotiations aimed at their release.

The decision also prohibits the publication of any details about Israeli military and intelligence operations and missile attacks that hit sensitive sites in Israel.

It is also prohibited to provide information related to the visit of senior military officials to the battlefield, and related to weapons systems and equipment used by the Israeli army.

The decision also prohibits the broadcast of any reports that include details or information about government meetings, stipulating that all materials that include that information must be submitted for censorship before being broadcast.

Source: Al Jazeera

New testimonies of Israeli female prisoners who were released in the last exchange deal showed some of the good treatment they received during the captivity process.

One of the female prisoners explained that women are sacred and queens to them, and she said that one of the guards wrapped his hand in a piece of cloth when he played with her the game of “crackers.” When the broadcaster asked her about the secret of that, she answered: Because it is forbidden for them to touch us. Here another woman intervened and said: Women are sacred to them, women are like a queen.

The new testimonies come in light of circulating Israeli talk about why Hamas refrained from releasing the rest of its female prisoners, saying that the movement is afraid of their testimonies, alluding to their exposure to violations, a narrative that US President Joe Biden has also adopted.

The new testimonies showed the resistance’s concern for the prisoners to the point of protecting them from violent Israeli bombardment, and treating them as guests in accordance with the teachings of Islam, which forbids exposure to women.

Almog Goldstein, 48, told Israeli Channel 12 on Friday evening that Hamas militants were aware of the importance of the Israeli prisoners, referring to the conclusion of prisoner exchange deals.

She revealed that one night, during captivity in Gaza, prisoners, whose number she did not specify, were taken out to a supermarket to sit in a place she did not specify.

She said: “We were in a supermarket, then quickly there was an (Israeli) bombing on the street (where the supermarket is located), and (the shooting) was like an excavator approaching you. His coming to you, it was crazy, it was like this ta ta ta, and he comes to you.”

She added: “While we were like this, we folded the bed we were on, and our guards and armed kidnappers stood protecting us with their bodies.”

The Israeli journalist asked, “Do they protect you?” She replied, “From the shooting coming from the Israeli army, because we were very important to them.”

She pointed out that “there was a fear that they would receive some instructions, and perhaps something in the end that they would decide to kill us.”

She said: “And we would ask them that sometimes as well, and they would tell us: We will die before you die, we will die together (..) If that happens, we will die together because we are close to you, we are with you.”

Goldstein, her daughter Agam (17 years old), and her two sons Gal (11 years old) and Tal (9 years old) were released by Hamas three weeks ago as part of a prisoner exchange deal that included a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip.

Goldstein stated that she and her children were captured with other Israeli prisoners in an apartment for 5 weeks and said: “My fears were that this thing (captivity) would probably take years.”

She added: “We were asked to walk a little to move the body.”

She stated that she shook hands with one of the gunmen, saying: “He brought a towel and put it on his hand before greeting me, because he is not allowed to touch me.”

As for her daughter Agam, she said: “They told me: ‘You, we will marry you in Gaza, and we will find a husband for you here.’”

As for Goldstein, she said: “They also gave it a very beautiful Arabic name. They called it “Salsabil,” which means fresh water.”

However, her daughter Agam said: “I don’t want them to think that we were good there, that they were good there, that we saw some kind of humanity in them.” “We will never forgive and we will never show any kind of compassion towards these people.”

Israeli Channel 12 said: “Hamas, which detained the four family members, realized that it had a priceless bargaining chip in its hands, and instructed their captors to keep Goldstein and her children alive at all costs.”

Agam said: “Netanyahu wanted to bring down Hamas. But if you kill the two guards who were with me, where am I, and where will I go? “Here, we have received answers about where people would go without their captors. They were killed by the fire of our forces.”

In this regard, she pointed out that the Israeli army “accidentally” killed 3 Israeli prisoners in Gaza recently.

Referring to participating in the funeral of one of these prisoners, she added: “They asked me why I attended Alon’s funeral, and I said that I felt like it was us, but this did not happen to us in the end.”

On the other hand, a former advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu said that the only way to free the hostages is to stop the bombing and negotiate their release.

Daniel Levy said that the Israelis should think seriously, citing the US Secretary of Defense's statements that Israel risks a "strategic defeat" in Gaza if it does not respond to warnings about the high number of civilian deaths.

He said that "Israel" has already lost.

The Wall Street Journal quoted officials as saying that US President Joe Biden convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from launching a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon days after the Hamas attack on October 7. (October) last.

According to the officials, Israel had intelligence information that Washington considered unreliable, that Hezbollah fighters were preparing to cross the border, as part of a multi-front attack, which prompted some of the more hard-line Israeli officials to consider launching a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah.

The Wall Street Journal quoted informed sources as saying that Biden phoned Netanyahu on October 11 and asked him to slow down and think about the consequences of striking Hezbollah in Lebanon, while Israeli planes were in the air and waiting for the implementation order, according to what it reported. «Arab World News Agency».

The officials said that the American side received the first indication that Israel intended to launch a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah on the morning of October 11, when Israeli officials quickly informed the White House that they believed Hezbollah was planning to launch an attack.

The newspaper quoted American officials as saying that Israel was aware that it could not do this alone, and requested American support, and that after 45 minutes of discussion, Netanyahu ended the phone call with Biden, saying that he would discuss the matter with his government.

The officials added that Israeli officials agreed to abandon launching a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah after phone calls and meetings that witnessed a state of tension that lasted 6 hours, as Washington insisted that the intelligence information does not indicate an imminent attack by Hezbollah.

Palestinian observers believe that Israel's announcement of its intention to move to a "third phase" of its operations in the Gaza Strip may mark the beginning of an end to the war that has been ongoing since last October 7.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that the army is preparing to move to the "third phase" within weeks, which includes stopping the ground invasion and reducing military operations, including demobilizing members of the reserve forces.

The Commission stated that the Israeli army's plans for the third phase will be based on resorting to specific operations and assassinations against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and its leadership, and establishing a safe buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip.

At the end of last October, the Israeli army began ground maneuvers that included an expanded invasion with tanks and military vehicles in Gaza City and its north, and later in Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip.

- International and field pressure
Observers believe, in statements to Xinhua News Agency, that the announcement of a third phase in the operations launched by Israel comes in light of the escalation of international pressure on it and the continuation of Hamas to engage in field fighting in Gaza.

Palestinian military analyst Wassef Erekat says that the Israeli army is announcing a third phase in the war in Gaza at a time when it has not fully achieved its goals yet, and is facing active “resistance” from Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian factions.

Erekat points out that Israel has not achieved its declared goals, which include eliminating Hamas and liberating its detainees in Gaza, and is now aiming to create a buffer zone with a depth of up to two kilometers along the fence and reposition Israeli forces in the buffer zone.

He added, "There is a confusion of concepts in what Israel announces, given that the ground war has not yet achieved its goals and has not yet succeeded in completely encircling and clearing the capabilities of Hamas and other factions in Gaza."

Erekat believes that the Israeli army will find difficulties in building on the results of the ground war while it still has not achieved its goals, and therefore it will move to the “belt stage” in light of the presence of “continuous resistance” engaging in all axes of the incursion.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced last week during his visit to Israel that the Israeli army's transition from major military operations in Gaza to more precise operations "may ease regional tension."

- Search for a military achievement in points

Political analyst Firas Yaghi believes that Israel is looking to move to the stage of “looking for a military achievement with points in light of not achieving it so far, dealing a fatal blow to the Palestinian factions and pressures on the ground.”

Yaghi highlights that Israel is looking for alternative plans in the face of the pressures of world public opinion and the escalation of international criticism of it, by looking for the continuation of the fighting with “surgical and expanded operations in a specific geography.”

He explains that for the Israeli army in the next stage, “the military achievement with points is the most important to solve the dilemma of intractability in the field in order to achieve the matter with a final blow, and thus repositioning will provide a greater period of time for the war.”

Yaghi points out that Israel will insist on threatening a new, expanded response in the event that Palestinian factions target its forces stationed in the buffer zone or launch rockets at Israeli territory.

Yesterday, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the city of Khan Yunis may be the last stop in what the Israeli army calls the intensive phase of the war, so that its operations will begin to diminish in the near future.

Meanwhile, Haaretz newspaper reported, “The military plans of the Israeli army will change in Gaza soon in light of Washington’s pressure to create a buffer zone along the Gaza border and for Israel to change its combat tactics.”

- Pushing towards the decline of the war
Writer and political analyst Rajab Abu Sariya believes that Israel's move to a third phase in its operations in the Gaza Strip indicates "the push toward an ebb in the war" as it approaches the completion of its third month.

Abu Sariya says that Israel realizes that achieving its goals in the war will take many months, and its fate and outcome will be largely determined by two things, the first of which is the process of the battle on the ground, and the second of which is the regional and international developments accompanying it.

He adds, "A decrease in the pace of war looms on the horizon through a transition to another form of operations based on focusing on military objectives and greater avoidance of harming civilians."

But Abu Sariya links the rapid decline in the war to the results of the indirect negotiations ongoing between Israel and Hamas to return to the path of prisoner exchange and the movement’s insistence on a permanent ceasefire and not temporary truces.

He concludes, "Whoever imposes his condition between a temporary truce or a permanent ceasefire may achieve victory with points, although it is likely that both sides will be forced to make concessions that reduce the ceiling of their demands in light of the accumulated pressures they are exposed to."

Do you know, Mr. President, how many and who were killed by Israel in Gaza? As a reminder... twenty thousand so far... and now time continues indefinitely.

Seven thousand children other than those who died as fetuses in their mothers’ wombs.

Young, old and old, male and female, writers, historians, poets, journalists, engineers, doctors, nurses, skilled workers, craftsmen in all fields, farmers, teachers, artists, builders, ambulance, freight and taxi drivers, and athletes excelling in all sports.

Such people, Mr. President, built civilizations when they had the means of life, and unfortunately, you, Mr. President, covered up their killing and provided the perpetrators with the latest means of lethality, produced by American factories. Perhaps you do not know that these are brothers of scientists who contributed to building the United States, and relatives. There are thousands of professors who teach your children in your schools and universities, and cousins of Palestinians who gave you their votes to reach the White House. Perhaps you will look with some degree of justice at their cause and their legitimate human aspiration for freedom and independence.

This is a classification of those killed by your smart, i.e., “stupid” planes and missiles.

Mr. President, you graciously call for the two-state solution, but what is actually happening is the killing of the citizens of the state that did not exist, and which, if the situation continues as it is, will be a state on paper, or a place for the largest percentage of orphans, widows, the disabled, and frightened children, whose memory will never depart. The sounds of explosions, the roar of planes, and the scenes of the mass burial of those who were prayed over, without those still under the rubble even receiving a prayer in absentia.

Mr. President Biden... You do not support Israel, nor do you provide it with the capabilities of so-called self-defense. You encourage it to move forward with the double killing of Palestinians and Israelis, in the narrowest arena in the entire universe, Gaza and the West Bank.

Mr. President, you used the “veto,” which seemed as if it had only been invented in order for the American administrations to exercise it to prevent any glimmer of justice toward the Palestinians.

This veto, Mr. President, is responsible for the continuation of death and destruction. It is responsible for the drowning of Israel, which it loves, in the burning sea of Gaza. It is responsible for the American bleeding that does not stop to provide the perpetuation of a war that has no hope of achieving its goals, even if those in charge of it imagine that.

This, Mr. President, is a message to you... to your administration... to the hand that raises the “veto” sign in the Security Council, and to the air bridge that departs from America and lands in Israel, carrying everything necessary to continue this madness.

This, Mr. President, is a message that expresses a people who, despite all the horrors that are taking place, still seek freedom and lasting and just peace, and which you know well and from whom you are very far away, a people that numbers more than fifteen million people, and is the only one among the peoples of the entire world that does not have a state. Although our poet Mahmoud Darwish said wisely: How small is the state, and how great is the idea! Regarding his people, he said: We love life as long as we can.

When you visited us in Palestine, you said that you have the right to a state, but unfortunately it will not be achieved, neither in the long nor longer term, nor for the civilians. Do you not notice, Mr. President, that a war of extermination is being waged to prevent its birth in the first place?

Local sources said that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the city of Tulkarm late on Saturday evening, and violent clashes broke out between Palestinian resistance fighters and the occupation army, which penetrated into Tulkarm and the Nour Shams camp in the northern West Bank.

For its part, the Tulkarm Battalion, affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, said that “its mujahideen are engaged in violent clashes with the Israeli occupation forces in the Nour Shams camp near Tulkarm.”

The brigades added that they targeted the occupation forces with explosive devices, which led to the damage of many heavy military vehicles storming the camp and causing confirmed casualties among their ranks.

For its part, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - Rapid Response said that "its mujahideen participated in confronting the occupation forces' storming of Nour Shams camp."

It added that its members fired a barrage of bullets and detonated high-explosive devices in the occupation vehicles that stormed the camp.

Palestine TV said, "The occupation army sent in more military reinforcements and began imposing a siege on Nour Shams camp."

The television published a video clip showing a bulldozer and military vehicles heading to the city, and another video clip showing the sounds of gunfire.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that the resistance fighters targeted a foot force of the occupation army with an explosive device in Al-Manshiya neighborhood in Nour Shams camp, and they also targeted occupation vehicles with high-explosive devices.

On the other hand, the occupation forces arrested a number of citizens and deployed snipers in several buildings in the city and the Nour Shams camp.

The Biden administration seeks to link efforts aimed at normalization between Tel Aviv and Riyadh with discussions about the “day after” the war on Gaza, including pushing Riyadh to contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza and for normalization to include a “special process for the Palestinians.”

An Israeli report stated that Washington is seeking to link the efforts it is making within the framework of the process of normalizing relations that it seeks to establish between Riyadh and Tel Aviv, with the discussion it is engaging in with Israel about the future of the Gaza Strip, on the “day after” the ongoing Israeli war on the Strip for 78 days.

This came according to what Israeli Channel 13 reported, on Saturday evening, and pointed out that the issue was raised in the meetings held by US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, with officials in Tel Aviv, in the past two weeks.

According to the report, Austin explained that the United States has become more “flexible” regarding the timetables for discussions aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia “than it had planned before the war,” and the channel reported that Sullivan discussed this file extensively and in detail with Israeli officials.

The channel quoted an Israeli official that it said was “familiar with communications between Washington and Tel Aviv,” saying that “the administration of US President Joe Biden wants to return to the normalization process with Saudi Arabia, and integrate it with a process specifically for the Palestinians, broader and more important than what was discussed before the war.”

The Israeli official added, "The American administration wants the Arab countries, and primarily Saudi Arabia, to play an important role in the day after the war - including investments in Gaza and the reconstruction of the Strip, and may demand from them beyond that."

He continued, "The Biden administration realizes that announcing the establishment of a Palestinian state is not something viable in the foreseeable time frame, but in order to allow the integration of the Gulf states (with regard to the Israeli and American visions for the future of the Strip), Washington believes that Israel must establish a two-state solution, even within... 'Long-term vision', in order to allow Saudi Arabia to enter the process."