The World Bank expects the Palestinian economy to contract by 3.7% at the end of the current year, 2023, and by 6% in 2024, as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, noting that it had expected last September to record a growth of 3.2%. This comes after the bank conducted a preliminary assessment of the damage to the Palestinian economy since the start of the aggression.

This estimate can be adjusted - according to the World Bank - according to the duration of the war and its consequences, in terms of the extent of the destruction in the Gaza Strip and the restrictions imposed on the movement of Palestinians within the West Bank, the loss of their jobs by Palestinians working in Israel, and even the contraction of the Israeli economy itself, on which the Palestinians depend greatly.

The World Bank stated in its report that it expects the intensity of the conflict to decline in 2024, but the Israeli government will impose strict restrictions on movement and entry into the Gaza Strip, which will limit economic activity and trade.

The scale of destruction in the Gaza Strip will have an impact, even though the Gaza economy represents only 15% of the Palestinian gross domestic product.

The World Bank indicated, according to the data, that the extent of the damage in the Gaza Strip was very large at the end of November during the truce, as 60% of information and communications technology equipment was damaged or completely destroyed, more than 60% of the health and educational infrastructure, and 70% % of commercial infrastructure and up to half of the road network.

Dramatic deterioration

As of the end of last month, half a million people out of 2.2 million in the Gaza Strip had lost their homes, and the poverty rate, which had already reached 60% before the recent aggression, is expected to increase.

To avoid a more “dramatic” economic deterioration, the bank called for “a cessation of hostilities,” to allow for “major changes on the ground,” as well as the resumption of “trade and private sector activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” along with “increased financial support from the international community.”

He also announced the establishment of an emergency program worth $10 million, provided by Japan and Germany, to transport medical equipment to the Gaza Strip to meet the most urgent needs. The bank said that the equipment will enter the Gaza Strip through convoys from the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

According to the bank's estimates, 350,000 people in the Gaza Strip suffer from diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart problems, while the number of pregnant women is 50,000, 183 children are born every day, and the number of those in incubators currently stands at 130 children.

The number of displaced people has now reached 1.6 million people, and they are gathering in the southern Gaza Strip after fleeing the battles. Humanitarian conditions are described as extremely difficult, with shortages of medicines, food, water and fuel, especially to operate generators.

Minister of Social Development, Ahmed Majdalani, said that the detention of 142 women and their infants by the occupation forces from Gaza is a new crime added to the series of occupation crimes, calling on the international community and international institutions to take immediate action to pressure the release of them and their infants.

Majdalani pointed out that the occupation forces detained women hostage in unknown places, after they were randomly collected from the roads and shelter centers, pointing out that they were subjected to humiliation, threats of rape and strip search, and beating of pregnant women. Pointing out that the level of fears about the fate of detained women is increasing day after day.

Majdalani added, in a press statement today, that the Israeli occupation is carrying out horrific and terrible crimes against Gazan detainees, in addition to its refusal to reveal their fate, in terms of their numbers, places of detention, and their health condition.

Majdalani renewed his appeal for the necessity of urgent international intervention to force the occupying state to stop its devastating war on the Gaza Strip and the crimes of ethnic cleansing against our people, which exceeded all international norms and conventions and the most basic rights.

He stressed that the crimes of genocide committed by the occupation are a crime that exceeds all international standards and laws, by killing children, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities, and represents a desecration of the sanctity of life and the concept of humanity, and a violation of the most basic laws of humanitarian conflicts and respect for the weak, and more than that, it represents a brutal and obscene transgression of red lines.

One arm rose in opposition to the ceasefire proposal, while another arm appeared paralyzed, either for fear of criticism or perhaps as an expression of solidarity with common goals. 

This is how the situation appeared at the emergency Security Council meeting on December 8, 2023, in which the United Arab Emirates submitted a request for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called for the activation of Article 99 of the United Nations Charter, which is a rare article. What is used, grants the Secretary-General political powers instead of administrative ones, in a strict step by the United Nations to intervene after the continuous Israeli bombing that led to one of the greatest tragedies in contemporary history, during which the number of civilian casualties reached 18,000 dead as of the date of writing these lines, in addition to the displacement 80% of the population and complete destruction of the entire Gaza region.

The opposing arm that was raised aloft in defiance of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire was American, while the paralyzed arm that abstained from voting in favor of the comfort and peace of millions of helpless civilians was British. The rest of the members shook their heads in apparent disappointment, but there was no expression of surprise as they listened to US Special Political Affairs Representative Robert A. Wood describes the request as “detached from reality.” However, the truth emerges from the horrific numbers received from humanitarian organizations in Gaza, the same statistics that US President Joe Biden questioned, following in the footsteps of former President George W. Bush, who denied the extent of civilian casualties in his war on “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq. Which led to the death of a million Iraqis, pledging a better future for the region despite the atrocities.

Robert Wood continued to dehumanize the Palestinian people, sending a clear message to the rest of the membership by being busy with his phone during a speech by Palestinian diplomat Riyad Mansour at the United Nations. More than two months after the Israeli bombing, the world has not yet received a clear purpose for Israel's mission regarding this terrible disaster.

It became quite clear that Israel did not have a clear goal from the beginning. Eliminating “terrorism” is a vague mission that we have heard repeatedly in this region, but history has shown that America and its Western allies succeeded in waging wars using this pretext, but without ever accomplishing this alleged mission. Terrorism was not eliminated using this logic, but rather they only contributed to Empowering it by creating a more chaotic and suitable environment for its growth.

The United States' position made its allies realize that not all alliances are equal, and that its support and political relations are conditional. This was not surprising, as the United States had abandoned its ethics regarding human rights and international laws, thus presenting itself as a hypocrite in the eyes of the world it was preaching to. In every political endeavor, the most reliable path for governments to continue is to provide strong leadership and unwavering adherence to principles, regardless of alliances. However, this ideal approach often proves elusive in a complex global reality.

Now, after the events in Gaza, even the dreamers and optimists seem to have woken up to the harsh reality. There are moments in political history that are considered pivotal, and this genocide under the slogan “defending the state” became one of them, and history will record this war on Palestinian civilians and their displacement as a pivotal moment in which the world woke up to plans for occupation and expansion, and from now on, the old discourse will no longer be itself is sufficient to explain or justify the atrocities committed in pursuit of these goals. Robert Wood's raised arm also showed the stubbornness of the United States, which stood alone in its blind support for Israel. The world now realizes that if any other country had carried out the acts of terrorism that are broadcast globally, America would have mobilized all its forces to end these war crimes, and Benjamin Netanyahu would have faced justice in The Hague. However, this is not any other country, this is Israel, and the United States is prepared to risk its entire foreign political standing in defense of it.

Other governments appear to lack options, and the hope remains that they will take a defiant stance, indifferent to American logic, and take more decisive steps. To force the hand that controls terrorism to surrender, regardless of the costs involved.

Governments, whatever countries they represent, must respect international laws not only for the sake of Palestine, but also in order to restore the confidence of the peoples of the world and reassure them that justice and freedom are a legitimate right for all. In agreement with the Gulf

An Israeli official said, “The conditions under which new agreements can begin to be drafted are ripe, both from Hamas’ point of view and from Israel’s point of view.”

Estimates in Israel indicate that military pressure by the Israeli army on the Gaza Strip will lead to “progress” in the issue of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza during “next week,” according to what the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Kan 11) reported.

“Kan 11” stated, “The dilemma for the political level is to link progress in the negotiations to the release of the rest of the hostages, as in the previous agreement (according to the same previous conditions), or to reach a new agreement.”

It stated that opinions in Israel on this matter are “divided,” noting that “the decision on this issue will be taken next week.”

"Conditions are ripe"

"Kan 11" quoted an Israeli official who said he was familiar with "the negotiations with the mediators", saying that "communications with the Qataris are continuing as they were."

Israeli Channel 12 reported that Tel Aviv is “interested in renewing contacts” in order to release the hostages in Gaza. She stated, "For Israel, (possible agreements that may be reached) include women who are still in captivity, the sick, the wounded, and the elderly."

It stated that Israel is trying to increase pressure on the Red Cross. She also noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet the head of the organization who will arrive in the country in the coming days.

The channel quoted a high-ranking Israeli official as saying, “The conditions under which new agreements can be drafted have become mature, both from Hamas’ point of view and from Israel’s point of view.”

It stated that Mossad chief David Barnea and Major General Nitzan Alon had received “old and new instructions to start listening to what the mediators say, but not to initiate an Israeli plan.” The same source said: “If the Qataris want to talk, we will listen,” referring to Doha’s mediation in reaching the previous prisoner exchange agreement.

According to the Channel 12 report, estimates indicate that “it will not be possible to reach a new agreement next week,” but the Israelis “want to open a new path, to benefit from the pressure on Hamas in the fighting, and to prepare for the moment when (the head of the Hamas movement is in... Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar 'ready' for such an agreement."

“Problems” that may complicate reaching an agreement; No suggestions made

A security source said in this regard, “The intensity of the fighting has begun to open a path that should not be missed.”

The report pointed to "problems identified in Israel, and at its heart; the problem of command and control with Hamas, which could make the deal difficult."

The source was quoted as saying, “Part of the Hamas leadership left Qatar, and some of those who conveyed messages between the two parties were killed, and Israel is actually present in the two regions (in the north and south of the Gaza Strip) and not just in the north of the Strip, which complicates communication channels.”

The Haaretz newspaper reported in a report published on Monday evening that Hamas and Israel have not yet submitted proposals that include broad lines for resuming the release of Israeli hostages and the release of prisoners.

Although "the parties are far from formulating a new agreement," according to the newspaper, an Israeli official confirmed that "the focus of the talks in Qatar is still active," according to what Haaretz quoted from a source it said was familiar with the talks between the two parties.

On the other hand, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said in statements he made to Al Jazeera that “there is no talk of any prisoner exchange deal before the aggression against Gaza stops.”

Hamdan stressed that “the Israeli side’s leaks regarding an upcoming deal are for internal consumption and aim to confront internal pressures.”

Although the US administration confirmed on several occasions, and through a number of its highest officials, its categorical rejection of any attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinians of Gaza to Egyptian territory, President Joe Biden confirmed during a speech on the occasion of the Jewish Festival of Lights (Hanukkah) at the White House the day before yesterday, his request from the President Egyptian Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ensured that “the gate for them to enter Egypt” was opened.

Biden's statement came as part of his speech to the guests who attended the celebration of the Jewish occasion in the East Room of the White House, where Biden began his speech with Doug Emhoff, the Jewish husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, next to him, thanking the rabbis participating in the celebration, and appreciating their blessing of the White House.

In the context of presenting his efforts to support Israel's military effort and the release of hostages and prisoners held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Biden enumerated what he had done to support Israel, amid applause and praise from those present.

Open the gate

He said, "We are working tirelessly for the safe return of the hostages. I have personally spent countless hours - and I mean that, perhaps up to 20 hours - with the Qataris, Egyptians and Israelis to secure the freedom of the hostages, get the trucks in, get humanitarian aid flowing, convince them to open the gate, and make Sisi guaranteeing the opening of the gate to Egypt.”

As the Israeli aggression on Gaza continues and the humanitarian situation there worsens, there are repeated calls in some American circles for the Egyptian government to allow the entry of large numbers of Palestinian refugees into North Sinai.

The eyes of observers in Washington are directed to the Rafah crossing, as it is the only way out by land, but the Egyptian government strongly rejects the idea of accepting the influx of refugees, even temporarily, because it fears that this will lead to their permanent settlement, as happened with some Palestinians living in refugee camps in Other areas for decades.

During his visit to Cairo on October 15, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tried to reassure Egypt by saying that the United States does not support the mass deportation of Gaza residents to Egypt.

"We also want to make sure they are out of harm's way and that they get the help they need," he stressed.

The Biden administration is asking Congress to appropriate $106 billion to deal with “the global humanitarian impacts of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and the horrific Hamas attacks on Israel, including providing humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” as she put it.

The financial appropriation request included a special section entitled “Immigration and Asylum Aid,” in which Biden requested an additional amount of $3.495 billion, to remain available for spending to meet humanitarian needs.

The request indicated that these amounts would be placed in the account of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Administration (MRI) within the Ministry of State, and that these resources would “support displaced civilians and those affected by the conflict, including Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank, and meet the potential needs of the population.” Gaza fleeing to neighboring countries.

This ambiguous language left the door open for some to see it as an American willingness to provide financial resources that reflect plans to displace and resettle Gaza residents outside the Strip.

Forced deportation

For its part, Democracy for the Arab World Now warned the Biden administration regarding its request from Congress to approve $14 billion in funding for Israel, considering that this payment contains language indicating support for the idea of forced transfer of Palestinians from Gaza.

The organization urged Congress to reject the supplemental funding bill, which proposes to fund humanitarian aid for Palestinians displaced from Gaza to neighboring countries.

The White House reaffirmed during the Manama Security Forum last month, through Brett McGurk, coordinator for Middle East and North Africa affairs at the National Security Council, the White House’s vision for the Gaza crisis, which included rejecting any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

However, at the same time, many members of the Senate and Representatives, in addition to a number of newspaper editorials, do not stop pointing out the need for the Egyptian government to assume its responsibilities and open its lands to the Palestinians in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, without pointing out that the continuation of the Israeli aggression The sector is the cause of this unprecedented human suffering.

Source: Al Jazeera

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to a two-state solution with the Palestinians, stressing the European Union's insistence on a two-state solution. He also added in his statements that "a balanced solution to the problem must be found."

In an interview with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs during a session on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, in the General Assembly of the European Parliament, the European official said: “The most important thing at the present time is to prevent the death of more people, and to find a political solution to this conflict. Unfortunately, the Israeli Prime Minister He said that he opposes this policy, as it is the guarantee that a Palestinian state will never be established.”

While Borrell explained that the European Union's greatest commitment at the present time and in the future will be the possibility of working or not towards a two-state solution. He added: "This is why we must firmly raise our voice against the expansion of settlements, which contradicts United Nations resolutions. We must try to stop the violence not only in Gaza, but also in the occupied Palestinian territories."

Borrell criticizes Netanyahu

In criticizing the Israeli occupation government for its opposition to the two-state solution, Borrell said: “It is striking to hear over and over again the Israeli Prime Minister’s opposition to this matter. This solution is the only guarantee to stop what is happening now. How can the political solution that the international community wants be opposed?” Doesn't it make sense to support the two-state solution?

Borrell stated that Israel has the right to defend itself, adding that there is a limit to this, just like any other right. He continued: “We have to ask ourselves whether Israel respects international law. This is a question we all need to answer. I will not answer this question because there is no consensus (within the European Union), but I personally believe that this right has limits... killing such a large number of innocent people cannot be justified.”

While Borrell expressed his belief in their right to criticize the actions of the Israeli government without being criticized with anti-Semitism, he continued: “I demand the right to demand the existence of a Palestinian state without claiming to question the existence of the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu's statements

Earlier, Netanyahu confirmed the existence of a disagreement with US President Joe Biden regarding the day following the cessation of the war in Gaza, and the “post-Hamas” phase, stressing his adherence to his position aimed at not allowing the Gaza Strip to be run by either “Hamas” or even by the “Palestinian Authority.” This was in response to Joe Biden’s statements in which he called for the necessity of accepting the two-state solution, a statement that was condemned by the Palestinian Authority, and considered by “Hamas” as confirmation of the occupation’s intentions to target the Palestinian people.

The American President had also indicated, on Monday, December 11, 2023, that there were disagreements with the Netanyahu government, saying: “I have disagreements with some Israeli leaders,” without further details.

In a written statement, Netanyahu said, “I greatly appreciate American support for destroying Hamas and returning our hostages,” and added: “After an extensive dialogue with President Biden and his team, we obtained full support for the ground incursion and repelling international pressure to stop the war.” Netanyahu continued: “Yes, there is disagreement about today.” "What's next for Hamas, and I hope we can reach an agreement on this as well."

The Israeli Prime Minister stressed his previous position, and said in this regard: “I would like to clarify my position: I will not allow Israel to repeat the Oslo mistake.”

He said: “After the great sacrifices made by our civilians and soldiers, I will not allow those who teach terrorism, support terrorism, and finance terrorism into Gaza,” accusations he had previously made against the Palestinian Authority.

Before adding that “Gaza will neither be Hamastan nor Fatahstan,” referring to the Fatah and Hamas movements.

It is noteworthy that since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that, as of Tuesday evening, left 18,412 dead and 50,100 wounded, most of them children and women, massive destruction of infrastructure and an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to sources. Palestinian official.

The Pentagon said that Israel's protection of civilians in Gaza is not only a moral duty, but also a "strategic necessity."

This came in statements by Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder, in response to a question whether Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin agrees with President Joe Biden's statement that "Israel is losing support because of its indiscriminate bombing in Gaza."

Ryder said that his country's support for Israel's right to self-defense is "steadfast."

He pointed out that US continues to hope that Israel will carry out its operations in accordance with the law of armed conflict.

He stressed that Israel "not only has a moral responsibility to protect civilians in Gaza, but this also constitutes a strategic necessity."

On the other hand, Ryder explained that since October 17, American bases in Syria and Iraq have been subjected to 92 attacks by drones and missile strikes by groups supported by Iran.

A member of the Israeli War Council, Minister Gideon Saar, said that it is important to preserve the current Israeli emergency government during the war, in response to its attack by US President Joe Biden.

Sa'ar said during a meeting with the families of those killed in the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, commenting on Biden's statements: "There are no good decisions. There are necessities. We will not agree to a Palestinian terrorist state."

He continued that the war government in Israel is the only one “possible” currently, and “we will not agree to a Palestinian terrorist state - neither in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) nor in Gaza. We will not agree to give up security responsibility there,” stressing that the war government will not agree to Harmful settlement in the West Bank.

Biden made a surprising statement on Tuesday evening in which he said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must “replace his government... The current government is the most extreme government in the history of Israel and it does not want a two-state solution.”

Netanyahu confirmed in a previous statement on Tuesday that there are disagreements with the United States regarding the next day for the Gaza Strip, stressing that the Fatah movement “will not be there after the war... I will not allow Israel to repeat the Oslo mistake... Gaza will neither be (Hamastan) nor (Fathistan)” .

A medical source reported that more than 40 dead, including 10 children, arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours.

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that 4 dead bodies and a number of injuries arrived at Nasser Hospital as a result of the targeting of a house for the Al-Najjar family in the Qizan Al-Najjar area, south of Khan Yunis. Among them were two children, one of whom was an infant. Two children, one of them an infant, were killed and 7 were injured in a bombing that targeted a house for the Al-Amoudi family in Han Yunis camp.

Nine citizens, including children, were also killed when the occupation targeted a house for the Miqdad family in the Al-Amal neighborhood, west of Khan Yunis. Two killed and a number of injuries arrived at Nasser Hospital as a result of the military aircraft’s bombing of a house belonging to the Amer family in the Khan Yunis camp.

The Israeli occupation aircraft renewed artillery bombardment in the areas east and center of Khan Yunis, coinciding with the continuation of air strikes.

In Deir al-Balah, two children were killed and a number of wounded arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as a result of the occupation targeting a house belonging to the Fatayer family in Deir al-Balah.

The occupation artillery also bombed several areas in the central region of the Gaza Strip, and the Al-Tuffah and Al-Daraj neighborhoods.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden commented on reports that Israel had begun flooding some tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater to destroy the tunnel network, which it claimed was being used by Hamas.

During a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden explained: “Although I heard assurances that there are no hostages currently being held in those tunnels, the administration has not been able to confirm this beyond a reasonable doubt...but I know that every death of a civilian "It is an absolute tragedy."

Biden noted that he held talks with Netanyahu “to focus on protecting civilian lives when possible, even in the wake of the atrocities committed in the October 7 Hamas attack.”

He added: “I think we have made the matter clear to the Israelis and they realize that the measures they take must be consistent with trying to do everything possible to prevent innocent Palestinian civilians from being harmed, killed, lost, etc.,” pointing to “a set of efforts made by his administration to ensure the delivery of aid.” humanitarian aid to Gaza," he also praised Israel and the Arab countries involved in providing aid, including food and fuel.

Biden confirmed that two senior American officials will travel to Israel this week to hold important meetings, namely National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, where he will meet with the Israeli War Cabinet “to reaffirm our commitment to Israel as well as the need to protect civilian lives and ensure the flow of more humanitarian aid and its arrival in Gaza.” for Palestinian civilians,” and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also travel to the region to “intensify international efforts to protect the free flow of trade through the Red Sea.”

CNN had quoted an American official as saying that “the Israelis informed the United States that they had begun conducting “meticulous tests” to flood some tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater “on a limited scale” to see if that would deteriorate the tunnel network on the ground. Wider scope.”

The official continued: The Israelis are still not sure whether this plan will succeed or not, but they have assured the United States that they are keen to test it only in tunnels in which they do not believe there are hostages being held.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated earlier that it is believed that 135 hostages are still being held by Hamas.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military claimed to have “destroyed at least 500 tunnel openings in Gaza and located more than 800 of them around the Strip.”

The war on Gaza has entered its 67th day amid violent clashes and international fears about the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli forces continue to bomb cities and governorates north and south of the Strip.

As the Israeli war on Gaza entered its third month, and the battles intensified, the obstacles to the war began to become clearer in Israel, despite the attempts of the political and security leaders, with the help of the army and its media machine, and the support of a large section of analysts in Israeli channels, to market claims of military achievements on the ground, and signs of the collapse of the movement. agitation.

The dilemmas facing decision makers currently are many. Among the most prominent of these are the scarcity of strategic achievements on the battlefield, the increasing human losses of the Israeli army, despite the massive destruction of infrastructure and life in the Gaza Strip, the increasing differences between political decision-makers in Israel, the deepening of the economic crisis, and the beginning of the political and diplomatic clock turning against the clock. Israel's desires, and the failure of Israeli deterrence attempts on the northern front against Hezbollah.

Military obstacles

At the beginning of the third month of the war on Gaza, the official number of Israeli army deaths since the beginning of the ground battle was approximately 110 dead, and thousands were wounded, including two thousand disabled, according to unofficial reports.

The Israeli military establishment is making a special effort in an attempt to promote the narrative of achievements on the battlefield, and claims that the capabilities of the Hamas movement are declining. In fact, Defense Minister Yoav Galant stated that there are initial indicators indicating the beginning of Hamas’ collapse.

In an attempt to search for images of victory, even if they were fabricated, the Israeli media vigorously promoted images of groups of civilians in Gaza, almost naked, and claimed that they were scenes of mass surrender of Hamas fighters, and bragged about this achievement. But the army quickly retracted this claim, explaining that the majority of these people had no connection to Hamas, and that they were citizens who were in shelters.

This obsession with images of victory or achievements indicates the beginnings of frustration in the media and society, which may turn into a state of pressure on decision-makers in Israel. The failure to achieve strategic military achievements on the ground prompted a number of military analysts to begin asking difficult questions that the army, government, and society have tried to ignore until now, the most important of which are the possibility of defeating Hamas, achieving the declared war goals, and the time frame of the war.

|| When the limitations of Israeli power become clear, the consensus on war will begin to erode

Israeli analysts doubted the possibility of Israel achieving its goals in the war it is waging against Gaza. Some analysts believed that the Hamas movement is still far from being broken, and that there is no possibility of its surrender at present. In fact, a number of analysts are warning that the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip is heading towards failure, pointing to the lack of political solutions, and considering that the goals seem far-fetched.

Some hinted that the military and political establishment does not tell the whole truth. In recent days, the Israeli media published estimates by the army in which it is expected that the year 2024 will be a “year of combat,” as it will continue its military operations within the framework of its war on Gaza, military alert, and widespread deployment on the northern front, amid expectations that all battalions affiliated with the reserve forces will be required to continue  military service over the next year. These estimates are very important, and dispel Israel's illusions of achieving real achievements in the short term on the battlefield.

These estimates indicate that the state of reserve force recruitment will continue during the next year, with continued human losses, and the issue of Israeli prisoners and kidnapped persons held by Hamas not being resolved.

It also means that a large portion of the population of the settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip and the border with Lebanon will remain outside it, and that there will be no relief for the economic crisis soon, which means more political rifts within the Israeli government, especially within the War Administration Council, and the real possibility of a clash between the goals of the Israeli government and the goals of the American administration. .

Political rifts under the management of the war

Currently, there are not minor rifts between decision-makers in Israel, especially between the Prime Minister, the Minister of Security, and the military establishment. It is a continuation of the state of mistrust between them since the protests against the government plan to restrict the judiciary, and the continuation of Netanyahu’s attempt to pin the accusation of the major failure of last October 7 on the military institution.

Netanyahu and Gallant do not hide the existing tension between them and the scarcity of bilateral meetings, despite the lack of serious public disagreement about the goals of the war and the method of its management. It is clear that the source of the differences is political, and their dimensions and goals are essentially political.

Economic obstacle

The economic situation in Israel is heading towards further deterioration, and this will put serious pressure on the decision-maker and on Israeli society, as there is a need for more budgets for the army and shelter for residents who have left their homes and towns in the south and north.

According to estimates, income and domestic product will decline in 2024, tax collection will decline, and there will be a need to adjust the government budget, raise the deficit, and perhaps raise taxes. Currently, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich continues to distribute special budgets to partners in the government coalition, to sectors that do not contribute to economic growth or to the war effort, not caring about the criticism or voices saying that the government’s management of finances will lead to dire results.

|| Israel is trying through diplomacy and threats to remove Hezbollah forces from the border

Until now, the general economic situation in the country, and the economic decline in the case of individuals and families, have not caused any dissatisfaction or protest. Israeli society prioritizes the need for military decisiveness, and everyone enlists in the war effort. But this does not mean that the situation will remain this way, especially among the business sector and families whose incomes have declined. If the war continues for a longer period, or the approach of the Minister of Finance continues as it is, the economic axis will be a pressure factor and a serious obstacle for decision-makers.

Fear of expansion of the northern front

One of the factors that have become urgent in recent days for security and military decision-makers in Israel is the state of the northern front facing Hezbollah, as the severity and frequency of Israeli threats to the party and Lebanon are increasing.

It is important to point out here that the threatening messages between Israel and Hezbollah did not begin only after the war on Gaza, but rather began, albeit at a low pace and intensity, several months before that. At the beginning of this year, the Minister of Security threatened the party with returning Lebanon to the Stone Age, and Hezbollah responded in the same language.

It has become clear that the question of the situation on the northern border has gone beyond the Israeli question of the war on Gaza, so that Israel declares that the issue now relates to the question of the presence of "Hezbollah" forces on the northern border without any relation to the war on Gaza. The residents of the north made it clear that the status quo could not continue, and that they would not return to their towns as long as there was a presence of Hezbollah forces, for fear of a new version of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, which would be more difficult and severe. Not to mention that the Israeli military doctrine based on the principle of deterrence no longer works against Hezbollah in the manner required by Israel.

Israel is faced with the dilemma of how to deal with this reality, between its limited capabilities and the need to restore its deterrence capacity, while it is engaged in the war on Gaza, and faces an American refusal to open the northern front. Israel is trying to find solutions through diplomacy and threats to push Hezbollah forces away from the border all the way to the Litani River in the north, and it knows that there is no possibility of this succeeding.

The possibility of expanding and deepening the northern front constitutes another obstacle to the continuation of the war on Gaza, because any expansion of the northern front will force Israel to transfer forces from the southern front to the north, as it has so far relied primarily on reserve forces that cannot confront Hezbollah forces alone, and of course directing Air capabilities towards the north.

As the ground battles continue, and the human cost to the Israeli army rises, the obstacles to the continuation of the war in its current form are revealed. Israel has so far acted as if it is the only effective force in the region, and that it has the necessary tools to continue the war and resolve it without deterrence.

The course of events indicates a different reality. Israel is discovering the difficulty of achieving military goals, its economic and diplomatic costs, and the erosion of its image globally. In parallel, Israel fears the expansion of the war northward and its greater costs. When the limitations of Israeli power and capabilities become clear, the Israeli consensus and absolute support for the war of revenge will begin to erode, and the rifts will widen. This may lead to shortening the war without ending it.

Source: Alaraby Aljadeed

Its institutions and values have decomposed, and its viability and ability to survive have been undermined.

This is what the international system looked like in the Gaza test.

The helplessness was almost absolute in the face of the most heinous crimes against humanity in modern times.

Within four years, three tests followed, revealing the extent of its deterioration and its inability to meet its requirements.

The “Covid-19” pandemic was a serious test of the efficiency of the international health system and the ability of the international system to provide humanitarian support in the face of mass death, which mercilessly struck large areas of the world, including Europe and the United States.

During the pandemic, disintegration struck the structure of the European Union, which was unable to show the minimum level of solidarity among its members.

At the same time, the United States did not show any willingness to extend a helping hand to the supposed allies, and there was no significant role for the United Nations.

This was an indication of the imminent collapse of the international system, in which Washington has held the reins of power alone since the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Then the international order was subjected to a second test in the Ukrainian war.

The question has been widely asked: Whose leadership belongs and what are the nature of the calculations and balances of power within it? But he remained suspended in the space of war, which expanded and its repercussions exhausted the entire world.

Neither the United States won its bets on humiliating Moscow, nor did Russia raise the white flags despite the harsh sanctions imposed on its exhausted economy.

In the Ukraine test, the United States brandished the weapon of sanctions against Beijing, as well as displays of force in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in order to deter any potential Chinese intervention, economically and militarily, that supports Moscow.

In the Gaza test, similar messages were sent to prevent any regional party from “exploiting the situation” after the shock of October 7th.

In both tests, the United States, despite the superior power elements it invested in planning, financing, and armament, did not succeed in achieving the goals it sought.

In Gaza, its image in the Middle East was damaged as never before.

This was a strategic loss that had consequences for its interests in the region.

To a similar extent, its actual leadership of the international organization was damaged, keeping it in a state of paralysis and impotence.

The resort of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to the use of Article 99 of its Charter, which authorizes him to alert the Security Council to any matter that he deems may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security, was nothing but a protest against the obstruction of the powers of the international organization with all its institutions to stop genocide, or to alleviate from the weight of the horrific human tragedy.

The step itself is a historical precedent, and it means that things have gone wrong and the powers of the United Nations system have been suspended.

The United States was blamed before any other international party by virtue of its leadership of the entire international system.

The most serious thing is the collapse of the founding values of the United Nations in preserving freedoms and human rights and ensuring the right of peoples to self-determination.

The targeting of journalists in Gaza and southern Lebanon called for widespread human and professional outrage without it being possible to open any international investigation that would hold accountable and deter.

The tragedy culminated in the disruption of specialized United Nations agencies from performing their duties, especially the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Criminal Court.

Hospitals were besieged and bombed, the war of starvation expanded to unprecedented limits, and any human rights were completely undermined without an influential voice being raised by the international organization to lend it credibility and respect.

The offices and schools of UNRWA, which was established specifically to provide relief to Palestinian refugees after the 1948 Nakba, were bombed, without a cry of protest indicating punishment.

With the power of the American veto and its influence, the Security Council failed to issue a resolution to stop the war.

Despite all this, after more than two months, Israel has not been able to achieve a single sign of victory.

It did not succeed in uprooting Hamas and freeing Israeli prisoners and hostages by force without paying heavy political prices.

It negotiated with them through mediators before breaking off the truces and returning to war.

With every failure in direct confrontations, the ferocity of targeting civilians increases.

The world can no longer tolerate an extension of the war, which has left tens of thousands of civilian victims dead, injured, and missing under the rubble.

According to US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, Israeli leaders must end the war within weeks, not months.

The political burdens of the war on Gaza have undermined the standing of the United States and Joe Biden’s chances of extending his term for a second term in the 2024 elections.

In answer to the question: What next? Ideas were put forward for circulation, some of which were a flight of illusions, such as the safe exit of the resistance, similar to what happened in 1982 after the occupation of Beirut and the deportation of the Palestine Liberation Organization to Tunisia.

The situation this time is completely different, as the resistance is fighting on its own land, not on any other land.

The scene of civilians being stripped naked to humiliate them under the pretext of belonging to Hamas and the expansion of indiscriminate, cold-blooded killing in the West Bank carried the opposite message: Fighting until the last martyr.

With the power of images, the vast differences between the treatment of Israeli prisoners and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons have disappeared.

This was a complete moral defeat.

Asking the question “the next day” seemed somewhat hasty: Who will fill the security and political vacuum in Gaza?

The war proved that the matter would not be as easy as previously imagined. Resistance is an original idea and is not imposed on Palestinian society.

Neither the re-occupation of Gaza is acceptable to the Americans, Europe, nor the Arabs, nor is the establishment of buffer zones acceptable to the American sponsor, nor is the exclusion of the Palestinian Authority and the replacement of Mahmoud Abbas with another man according to the specifications of the occupation that the Palestinian people can accept despite any broad objections to the performance of the Authority.

The demonstrations that took place in major Western capitals and cities, and within the United States itself, in support of and support for the Palestinian cause, confirmed the huge contradiction between the institutions of its countries and public opinion in them.

It is a signal of change under the political skin.

In other words, it is a new and warning sign of a crack in the international system.

Undermining that system without clarifying what comes after it.

China has no intention of filling the leadership role vacuum, nor does it have any foreseeable estimate of its costs and costs. The Chinese are content with monitoring roles from afar and positions of solidarity without getting involved in the Ukrainian and Palestinian wars.

Nor is Russia ready to open a new conflict front, even though it is one of the most strategic beneficiaries of the decline in the Ukrainian war, medially and politically, after the war on Gaza.

We are facing a complete disintegration of the structure of the international system that indicates widespread chaos to come, without any sign of a new birth to any foreseeable extent.

Source: Sama News

The Palestinian Information Center reported today (Wednesday) that 11 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of two homes in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

The center explained on its Telegram account that Israel bombed a house in the Al-Amal neighborhood, west of Khan Yunis, killing 9 people, according to what the Arab World News Agency reported.

He added that two Palestinians were killed and 7 were injured in an Israeli targeting of a house in Khan Yunis camp.

UN General Assembly which includes all 193 member states of the United Nations, voted by a majority of 153 votes in favor of the resolution; The resolution responds to an unprecedented call made by Guterres to the Security Council, to express his fear of “a complete and imminent collapse of public order” in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza, which the UN Security Council failed to achieve, increasing pressure on Israel and Washington.

Ten countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against the resolution, while 23 countries abstained from voting.

The General Assembly resolution calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” the protection of civilians, humanitarian access, and the “immediate and unconditional release” of all hostages.

However, like the text adopted by the General Assembly at the end of October, which called for “an immediate, permanent and sustainable humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities,” the current draft resolution does not condemn Hamas, a provision that Israel and the United States systematically criticize.

The US Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, asked, “Why is it difficult to say without ambiguity that killing infants and killing families in front of their children is a terrible thing?”

The Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, described the decision as “historic.”

Mansour told reporters after the issuance of the resolution, “Today was a historic day in terms of the strong message sent by the General Assembly. It is our collective duty to continue on this path until we see an end to this aggression against our people.”

The Americans had requested that the draft resolution be amended to include a condemnation of the “hateful terrorist attacks launched by Hamas” on October 7, but their request was rejected.

A request to amend a draft resolution to include a similar condemnation was also rejected at the end of October. Austria prepared another amendment aimed at indicating that the hostages in Gaza are being held by “Hamas and other groups.”

Arab countries had requested a special meeting of the General Assembly, after the United States used its veto on Friday against a draft Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”

Several countries and organizations defending human rights expressed their regret at the failure of the UN Security Council on Friday.

The Security Council needed more than a month after the start of the war to speak with one voice, and in mid-November, after rejecting four texts, it contented itself with requesting humanitarian “truces.”

More than two months after the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on October 7, Israel is still bombing the Gaza Strip and launching a ground attack in the Strip.

The United Nations constantly warns of a catastrophic situation in Gaza, where the humanitarian system is “on the verge of collapse.”

During his presentation of the draft resolution, Egyptian Ambassador Osama Mahmoud Abdel Khaleq Mahmoud denounced the delay in putting an end to “this war machine,” denouncing the efforts of a minority of countries and their opposition to international public opinion that supports the ceasefire.

A joint statement by the heads of government of Australia, Canada and New Zealand after they voted in favor of the resolution said: “The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians.”

But even with overwhelming support for a non-binding text, “no one imagines that the General Assembly can persuade Israel to cease fire, just as it cannot order Putin to leave Ukraine,” according to Richard Gowan, a researcher at the International Crisis Group.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate confirmed, today, Tuesday, the continued state of chaos and terrorism by the Israeli occupation army against the Palestinian media without any exception, as part of targeting the Palestinian people in its unjust aggression.

A statement issued by the union’s Freedoms Committee stated that the systematic destruction of media institutions continues by the occupation army, which is now targeting Palestinian printing presses licensed by the Palestinian Ministry of Information and operating in the West Bank.

The statement stated: The Freedoms Committee monitored and documented the occupation’s closure of 8 media printing presses, and the seizure and destruction of their equipment following their storming in the governorates of Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Al-Bireh, since the start of its comprehensive aggression against our people on the seventh of last October.

The head of the union’s freedoms committee, Muhammad al-Laham, said, “The occupation uses a bandit policy to destroy all media property, steal it, and cause the greatest damage to it,” noting that the occupation forces refused to hand over to the owners of the printing presses any book or document with the printing presses and the contents they seized, in a clear legislation for theft without even a decision from an occupying moot court. It also deliberately destroyed devices and contents.

Al-Laham estimated the value of the losses to the printing presses that were initially targeted by the occupation at about one million US dollars.

The Commission for Prisoners' and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said on Tuesday that the Israeli occupation authorities transferred three female detainees from Hebron to administrative detention, while extending the detention of a fourth to issue an administrative detention order against her.

The authority and the club stated in a joint statement that the occupation issued administrative detention orders for a period of four months against the female detainees: Jenin Muhammad Amr (21 years old), Angham Yousef Asafra (21 years old), and Shahad Muhammad Asafra (20 years old). Meanwhile, the detention of Baraa Jamal Karama (18 years old) was extended to examine the possibility of issuing an administrative detention order against her.

It is noteworthy that the occupation forces arrested the four girls on December 3, after storming their family homes in Hebron Governorate.

It is worth noting that the occupation continues to escalate the crime of detention, as the number of administrative detainees as of the end of last November reached more than 2,870 administrative detainees, noting that the number of administrative detainees before October 7 was about 1,320.

On Tuesday evening, Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Ya`bad, southwest of Jenin.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces stormed the town of Ya'bad, deployed an infantry squad on the western side of the town and set up ambushes between the houses. They also deployed infantry among the olive groves at the entrance to the town.

The storming of the town of Ya'bad comes in conjunction with the continuation of the Israeli aggression against the city of Jenin and its camp since dawn today, which resulted in the martyrdom of 7 citizens, the injury of others, and the arrest of more than 100 citizens.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced today, Tuesday, that the Israeli army stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and detained the hospital director, Ahmed Al-Kahlot, and all the medical staff, before taking dozens of health personnel “to an unknown destination outside the hospital.”

The ministry said this evening that “the Israeli occupation forces arrested the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital and took him to an unknown destination outside the hospital,” adding that “the occupation forces released 5 doctors as well as women health personnel, and took more than 70 health personnel outside the hospital to a destination.” "Unknown."

It stated, "The occupation forces asked the remaining cadres to gather all patients and staff in one building, and to evacuate the other buildings."

It added that "in addition to medical personnel, there are 65 wounded and 12 sick children in children's care, without electricity, water, or food."

The ministry added: "We fear that the Israeli occupation will create a new lie and narrative, which it will use as a pretext to commit crimes and destroy the hospital."

The Hamas movement said, "The Zionist occupation army's storming of Kamal Adwan Hospital is a desperate attempt to force our people to leave the north after its repeated failure."

“The occupation arrested a group of men from the medical staff.”

A nurse at the hospital said in statements she made to Al Jazeera, “The occupation arrested a group of men from the medical staff and is detaining them in the hospital courtyard.”

It stated that "only 8 nurses deal with the hospital's 65 patients, in addition to 12 children and 5 premature infants." The nurse pointed out that "the occupation is surrounding the hospital from all sides and tanks are at the doors."

It stressed that "there is no Palestinian gunman in the hospital, and we only deal with patients."

On December 5, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the Israeli forces penetrating the northern Gaza Strip had taken Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service “by force, terrorism, and tank nozzles.”

Palestinian medical sources reported on the same day that the Israeli army bombed with artillery and drones the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital, which led to “the fall of martyrs and the outage of its electricity,” according to the official Wafa news agency.

The Israeli army is escalating its targeting of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip, coinciding with a devastating war it is waging on Gaza, which, as of Tuesday evening, has left 18,412 dead, 50,100 injured, most of them children and women, massive destruction of infrastructure, and an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to the statement. Palestinian official sources.

The Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand said in a statement that they support urgent international efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The prime ministers stressed that the continued suffering of civilians in Gaza cannot be the price for the defeat of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), as they put it.

They stressed their opposition to any reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, reducing its area, or imposing forced displacement of Palestinians, and affirmed their support for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

They added that the ceasefire in Gaza should not be unilateral, and Hamas should release all its detainees, according to the statement.

White House officials told the Washington Post that US President Joe Biden does not show enough sympathy for Palestinian civilians, despite his sympathy for many people.

The United States says that photos of civilians being arrested in Gaza while they are almost naked are “deeply disturbing.”

At a fundraising event in Boston last week, Biden spoke passionately as he recounted the events of the attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7.

“There are reports of women being repeatedly raped, their bodies mutilated while they were alive, women's bodies being desecrated, and Hamas terrorists inflicting as much pain and suffering on women and girls as possible, then killing them,” Biden said.

The US President has repeatedly expressed his "sympathy and sadness for the suffering of Israelis" and "the concerns of Jews" around the world after the October 7 attacks.

But many Arab and Muslim Americans, as well as young voters and anti-war liberals, say the same empathy and conviction were often missing in Biden's rhetoric about the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, even as the death toll there rose to more than 17,000, including children.

Shibli Telhami, a researcher in Middle East affairs at the University of Maryland, said: “The president, other than his graphic description of Hamas’ horrific attack on Israeli victims... rarely spoke about Palestinian children torn apart, or hundreds of thousands of people without water or food,” adding: He talks about (the Palestinians) as if they were victims of an earthquake or a natural disaster, without linking them to what the Israeli government is doing thanks to his support and support.”

Muslims and Arab Americans feel that Biden's emotional tone and expressions of sympathy are starkly different when he talks about Israelis and Palestinians, especially with the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, where about 80% of Gaza's population has been displaced, and an increasing number of them lack basic necessities.

Some were particularly upset by the president's questioning several weeks ago of casualty figures provided by the Ministry of Health in Gaza. In response to a journalist's question about the rising death toll, the president replied, "I have no idea that the Palestinians are telling the truth about the death toll."

However, the Department of Health's numbers closely match the internal U.S. census.

According to US government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, in late November, the ministry estimated the death toll at more than 15,000.

The US said: “Officials presented the same number to Congress, saying it matched the latest assessment of US numbers.”

Many Arab and Muslim Americans felt that Biden was denying this by ignoring up to thousands of lives lost.

The next day, Biden apologized to a group of American Muslim leaders and promised to do better, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A White House official said that Biden's comment stems from the fact that the US government does not have anyone on the ground in Gaza to verify the numbers, and the fact that the Ministry of Health's numbers do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

When he talks about suffering and death in Gaza, Biden shows a reluctance to criticize Israel directly, which creates a growing disagreement with some of his employees, as many senior officials in the Biden administration have become more willing to point out Israel’s guilt, and to speak sympathetically with the Palestinians, since Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza struck the south with the same ferocity with which it struck the north.

On a recent trip to the Middle East, Vice President Kamala Harris declared that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” adding: “Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming out of Gaza are devastating.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking Dec. 2 at the Reagan National Defense Forum, also warned Israel that when it comes to civilians, “if it pushes them into the arms of the enemy, it is trading tactical victory for strategic defeat.”

During a recent visit to Tel Aviv, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recalled images of Palestinian children being pulled from under the rubble, saying: “When I look into their eyes through the television screen, I see my children.” Blinken also recently said that there is a “gap” between Israel’s stated intention to protect civilians and what is actually happening in Gaza.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said that Biden and his aides "continuously pressed our Israeli counterparts to do everything in their power to avoid civilian casualties."

US officials say this has led Israel to reduce the size of its ground forces in Gaza and allow in significantly more humanitarian aid.

But officials acknowledged that American warnings to Israel about casualties in southern Gaza were not heeded. The Biden team does not support imposing conditions on US aid to Israel or any other punitive moves that might increase pressure on its ally in the Middle East.

Source: RT

Reuters quoted US President Joe Biden as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must change his hard-line government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Biden stressed that the current government is the most extremist government in the history of Israel and does not want a two-state solution.

He added that the Israeli government began to lose support from the international community due to the indiscriminate bombing in the Gaza Strip that led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, and that he spent hours speaking with Qatari and Egyptian mediators to secure the release of more than 100 detainees held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

During his speech at a fundraising event in Washington, Biden said that the safety of the Jewish people is currently at stake, as he put it.

In addition, Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted the American President calls on the Prime Minister to change his government and says that Netanyahu cannot say no to a Palestinian state in the future.

Biden: Israel is starting to lose support around the world

Biden: Netanyahu must strengthen and change the Israeli government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Biden: The safety of the Jewish people is literally at stake

Yesterday, in an interview with the foreign press, government spokesman Elon Levy denied that Israel intends to transfer Palestinian residents from the Gaza Strip, and said that all this talk is “a lie and a scandal.” Levy's words came in response to a question directed to him, and to the accusations of the Jordanian Foreign Minister that Israel has "an intentional policy of expelling the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip during the war."

In fact, the words of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi intersect with concerns expressed by diplomats of other countries regarding Israel's attempt to expel the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, or encourage them to immigrate to other countries. The Israeli Embassy in Washington was forced to issue a clarification last month regarding an article published by Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, in which she proposed a “voluntary transfer” of Gaza residents. The embassy said that the article did not represent government policy.

Three diplomats from Western countries that have supported Israel since the beginning of the war confirmed to Haaretz that the issue was raised in talks with senior Israeli officials in recent weeks, and the Israeli minister’s words were not the only reason. Fear has emerged among more than one Western government that the Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Drimmer, who is close to Netanyahu, is studying the possibility of encouraging immigration. In response to a question asked by these governments about this matter, Dreamer completely denied the matter.

Egypt also expressed its concern about Israel's attempt to push the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip towards its borders. The issue was raised in talks between Egyptian officials and the American administration in light of the expansion of the Israeli military operation southward, and near the Gaza Strip’s borders with Egypt. Vice President Kamala Harris also confirmed in her meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi her opposition to any attempt to expel citizens from the Gaza Strip or encourage immigration to other countries. This is in addition to the United States’ opposition to establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza, changing the border line in the Strip, or permanently occupying it by Israel.

Levy's denial was categorical, and he considered the Jordanian warnings of the consequences of expelling the Palestinian population from Gaza as "false and scandalous accusations." He added that Israel encourages the population to move to safe areas and stay away from combat zones, and it does not encourage them to move to another country.

One diplomat familiar with the matter told Haaretz that Levy's words were "encouraging and important, but if Israel wants to reassure its friends in the world, it must say it through higher-ranking people and in Hebrew."

An investigation conducted by the French newspaper “Liberation”, published on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, revealed that the allegations issued by Israel regarding the occurrence of atrocities in the “Operation Flood Al-Aqsa” attack, on the seventh of last October, were false, and their aim was to mobilize Israeli and international public opinion for violent retaliation against Gaza.

The newspaper’s investigation revealed that “no heads were cut off, no children were placed in ovens, no pregnant women’s stomachs were cut open, or no children’s hands were tied behind their backs.”

The newspaper also revealed that "during the October 7 attack, only one infant was killed out of 40 minors killed in the attack."

The investigation conducted by the newspaper's "Investigation Department" noted the inconsistency of a number of testimonies given by Israeli parties, in addition to the fact that many of them were false, according to data collected over the course of two months after the attack.

The newspaper concluded that “these false atrocities claimed by Israel were part of Israeli propaganda aimed at mobilizing international support,” stressing that this propaganda campaign involved soldiers from the occupation forces and members of the Civil Defense, along with senior political officials. Then the newspaper asked: “Did Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, and the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, participate in spreading these lies?”

It is not the only investigation

The French newspaper’s investigation was not the only one that refuted the occupation’s allegations. Rather, the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” refuted, in an investigation published on Sunday, December 3, 2023, what Tel Aviv promoted about allegations of beheading Israeli children and burning their bodies during the Hamas attack on settlements around the Gaza Strip on October 7, stressing that this narrative is “incorrect and has no basis in reality.”

The newspaper said that what happened that day led to the spread of "horror stories, none of which happened in reality." Israel relied largely in justifying its devastating war on the Gaza Strip on these allegations, which the investigative investigation revealed to be untrue.

Spreading lies

The newspaper indicated that the alleged stories about “committed atrocities,” some of which were based on details provided by Israeli officials, soldiers in the occupation army, and volunteers in search and rescue teams.

The newspaper revealed that some of these allegations were found to be unfounded, and the occupation army also acknowledged that one of these false stories was spread based on allegations made by at least one Israeli soldier.

The Israeli non-governmental organization ZAKA, which works in the field of relief and rescue and volunteered to work at the sites of the attacks, said that some of its members “may have misunderstood” what they saw; Because they are not forensic specialists.” The newspaper notes that workers in the organization gave testimonies to the media.

The newspaper points out that one of the most prominent stories that people circulated about the events based on unreliable testimonies and misleading information is the story of the killing of some Israeli children and infants.

False testimonies of soldiers

The newspaper drew attention to a report published by the Israeli "i24" news channel a few days after the attack, which claimed that the attackers beheaded 30 children, and this alleged news quickly made headlines around the world.

The newspaper adds, “Despite growing doubts about the veracity of this story, other unreliable testimonies began to appear about alleged atrocities committed against children and infants, the most prominent of which was testimony given by Colonel (res.) Golan Fach, head of the Israeli military search and rescue unit, who claimed he saw the burned bodies of infants.”

Then, last week, an Israeli reporter published an interview with a soldier who claimed to have seen a group of “children and infants hanging on a clothesline,” according to the British website Middle East Eye.

Haaretz confirmed that these allegations are false, and information collected by the Israeli National Insurance Institute and investigations by police and kibbutz leaders revealed that these bodies are almost finished identifying the Israelis killed on October 7, yet they have only identified an infant. One of the dead so far.

The newspaper explains, "The children who were killed that day included a 4-year-old child, two 6-year-old children, and two 5-year-old children. The majority of the children killed were between 12 and 17 years old, and some of them were killed by missiles."

Haaretz also quoted an Israeli military spokesman - whose name was not mentioned - as saying that the soldier who claimed to have seen “children hanging on a clothesline” was a reservist and did not speak in an official capacity, and the Israeli army denied his allegations.

When the Israeli military spokesman was asked about what Colonel Fach, who claimed to have seen burned infants, said, the spokesman said he made a mistake and said “infants,” but he meant “children.”

“American public opinion is boiling, but the press does not see the steam,” as Biden’s popularity declines significantly among his most loyal base, so that the American president appears to be at risk of an electoral disaster due to the loss of youth votes, but what is strange is that the main American media monitors the decline in his popularity, but they underestimate The effect of the Gaza war on the elections seems deliberate.

Reports on opinion poll numbers show that the current US President, Joe Biden, is facing an unprecedented problem, which is the decline in his popularity among young voters, leftists and minorities, especially Muslims, which are the groups that contributed to his victory over former US President Donald Trump, according to a report by the website. the American Real News.

In the 2020 election, Biden's popularity with young voters was about 20 points higher than Trump's; But now, Biden is effectively on par with Trump when it comes to support from young voters in 5 key swing states.

Biden's popularity is declining... This is agreed upon

The headlines are not looking good for the president. The New York Times warned that “Trump is leading in 5 critical states where voters are critical of Biden, as the Times/Siena poll showed.”

The headline of another article published in Politico read: “Biden’s Big Hole, and How to Get Out of It.” Voters' malaise predates Biden's issuance of a blank check for Israel's current war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas-led surprise attack on October 7, and escalated dramatically with Israel's subsequent blockade, invasion and brutal bombing campaign. But the situation has become much worse recently, which has raised alarm bells among donors and party leaders.

But the American media does not ask why

The Real News website says, “Recent reports on bad Biden polls in The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, ABC News, New York Magazine, and the Financial Times completely ignore the role of Biden’s support for the Gaza bombing.

None of the surveys mentioned specifically asked respondents about Biden's role in Israel's scorched-earth bombing and Gaza blockade.

This decline in support for the incumbent president is certainly newsworthy in itself, but what could cause so many potential voters to become dissatisfied with Biden?

It tries to focus on broad, traditional issues

The vast majority of mainstream reporting attempts to answer this question by pointing to broader indicators of voter concerns such as election integrity and voting rights, gun policy, crime, immigration, abortion, climate change, and, most vaguely, foreign policy.

What most of these same reports miss is an explanation of the specific role that Joe Biden's support for the massacre in Gaza almost certainly plays in this free fall in support given to him by young voters, progressive voters, and Muslim and Arab voters, according to the American site report.

He ignores that the main reason is the Gaza war, in light of indications of democratic anger

None of the above polls specifically asked respondents how much Biden's popularity with them was affected by his role in Israel's bombing of Gaza, the scorched earth policy, and the blockade of the Strip. Instead, they focused on general issues such as economic distress and perpetual “swinging” issues. These are all impressive enough, but they may not be enough to explain how poorly the president has performed, especially among young voters.

And all this, despite the fact that major indicators indicate that there are real shifts taking place in the base of the Democratic Party.

A March Gallup poll found that “Middle East Democrats now sympathize more with the Palestinians than with the Israelis, 49% to 38%.” A separate Data for Progress poll conducted on October 18-19 found that 80% of Democrats either “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” with the following statement: “The United States should call for a ceasefire and stop escalating violence in Gaza. The United States must take advantage of its close diplomatic relationship with Israel to prevent further violence and civilian deaths.

However, Biden — and the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Congress — are blatantly not keeping pace with these shifts among their base.

Muslims vowed not to vote for Biden

As NBC News noted, “Muslim and Arab Americans, who overwhelmingly supported Biden in 2020, have threatened not to vote for him next year because of what they say is a lack of US action to stop the killing of Palestinian civilians.”

A new survey of Democrats in Michigan found that his support is declining among Arab Americans, and the state is considered a stronghold for them, and at the same time it is a swing state, and it may play a pivotal role in deciding the elections.

But most reports in the mainstream US media leave one with only a partial picture of what could lead to this “deteriorating” support, but Al Jazeera recently produced a clip depicting the anger and disgust among the Arab Democratic voting base. And Muslims in the swing state of Michigan. It's definitely worth watching, according to the American site.

In a powerful op-ed published in In These Times on October 25, Saqib Bhatti, co-executive director of the Action Center on Race and the Economy, declared unequivocally: “I will not vote for Joe Biden in 2024.” “There are few things as dehumanizing as when a politician you voted for gives the green light to the genocide and deliberate starvation of children who could be your children,” Bhatti wrote. “For many, like me, Gaza is the last straw.”

Even if statisticians and pollsters are not sure that Biden's decline in popularity is due to his policy regarding the Gaza war, and that it is a major factor in the decline in his approval ratings, it is certainly at least a possible factor that deserves some mention, according to the American website.

Ignoring this fact weakens the pressure on the White House to stop the war

The site says that the absence of these points of view from popular media discourse is not an easy matter; It has enormous political consequences.

That the mainstream US media has ignored the fact that Biden's popularity has been damaged by his role in the destruction of Gaza - and his continued support for the killing of thousands of civilians, including large numbers of children - is astonishing, especially when this downside is so easily inferred by almost every poll.

This reduces pressure on the White House, and those in power can view the status quo as politically sustainable.

The American public is deprived of having its voice heard

The problem is that the American public is denied the opportunity to express its opinion about the large-scale massacre that the United States supports while it is taking place. Voting, with all its flaws, can serve as a useful accountability mechanism, and popularity (or lack thereof) can drive public policy decisions.

But it is impossible to record popular anger over Gaza when pollsters do not ask about it, and the American media ignores this when they try to solve the mystery of Biden’s declining popularity among an electoral base that was loyal to him and furthest from Republicans.

The Real News website says that it is unfortunate that politicians are more affected by electoral consequences than by convincing moral arguments or defamation.

The position of the mainstream American media has become untenable, according to the American website, especially since it ignores the escalation of anger led by American youth, and tries to avoid the media monitoring the reality of genocide, denying and discussing the death toll as bodies pile up in the thousands, and in addition to ignoring the attempt to ban the proposed TikTok application. Claiming his support for the Palestinians.

There is a dearth of coverage that takes the anger of an influential segment of the American public seriously as a political force, even as tens of thousands take to the streets, and creative acts of protest are spreading on an astonishing scale across the United States, with landmarks from New York's Grand Central Terminal to downtown Chicago. To the Statue of Liberty, to arms manufacturers, to ports, and to the offices and homes of members of Congress.

The website says that we are witnessing a huge surge in anti-war mobilization, in the United States and abroad, that is difficult to track.

The matter has reached a boiling point and threatens to cause Democrats to lose their base

For those who are paying attention, it is clear that liberal and progressive despair over the rising rate of death and suffering in Gaza has reached a boiling point. The problem is that the powers that be are not listening, and much of the media is working to ensure that the scale of this despair is reduced to zero.

The website adds that any party, organization, or class of political power brokers who do not pay attention to this reality is bound to lose a large portion of their base (referring to the Democratic Party).

As for the press, by insulating the broader public from this apparent emerging dynamic that is driving, at least in part, polls showing Biden's declining popularity, it not only helps mask the political downside of supporting mass killing in Gaza, but potentially prevents any course correction. 

Source: Arabic Post

Today, Tuesday, dozens of settlers stormed Tel Ma'in in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, and held their Talmudic prayers, while the occupation closed the roads between the population centers.

Local sources said that dozens of settlers stormed Tel Ma'in, set up a "menorah" in the place, and performed their Talmudic rituals, while the occupation forces set up military barriers on the main roads and entrances to the population centers in Al-Musafer, and prevented the people from moving.

The settlers continue their provocative tours in all the ruins and communities in Masafer Yatta, and their pursuit of sheep herders and farmers.

The official spokesman for the Palestinian Presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said that the statements made by Netanyahu, in which he said that the occupation army is preparing for a possible confrontation with the Palestinian Authority security services in the West Bank, clearly express his premeditated intentions, and the existence of an Israeli decision to ignite the West Bank, in order to complete the war. The comprehensive attacks launched by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people, their land, and their sanctities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem.

Abu Rudeina added that Netanyahu’s statements in which he referred to the establishment of a civilian authority affiliated with the occupation in the Gaza Strip are condemned and rejected, and constitute a challenge to the international community as a whole, and to the declared positions of the American administration, which announced its refusal to reoccupy Gaza or cut off any part of it.

He stressed the position of President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he affirmed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the land of the State of Palestine, and that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

He pointed out that these statements come within the context of the ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, including killings and arrests of Palestinian citizens, raids into cities, villages and camps, forced displacement of residents, especially in the Jordan Valley, and withholding of Palestinian clearing funds.

The official presidential spokesman said that the Israeli occupation authorities will drag the region into endless wars and threaten international peace and security.

Abu Rudeina called on the American administration to assume its responsibilities and oblige the Israeli occupation authorities to stop their escalating crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, because they are the only party capable of stopping the aggression.

He pointed out that the use of the United States of America's veto power was what gave the Israeli occupation the green light to continue the war, aggression, and crimes, which exceeded all the prohibitions of international law, stressing that the decision to stop the war is in the hands of the American President first and foremost.

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For its part, the Hamas movement said, “Netanyahu’s statements, in which he indicated the readiness of the occupation army to attack the Palestinian Authority and its security services in the West Bank, confirm the occupation’s intentions to target our Palestinian people, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, and that it does not even care about those who accepted a political settlement with them.” He seeks to consolidate the occupation in our occupied territories, especially Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

In a statement, Hamas called on the Palestinian Authority and its security services to “overcome the effects of the Oslo Accords, stop all forms of security coordination with the occupation, and move to the square of comprehensive resistance and mobilize all energies to confront the occupation and its herds of settlers until the land and holy sites are liberated and the aspirations of our people are fulfilled by extracting our full national rights from the occupation.” He only understands the language of force."

5 young men and a child were dead and at least 5 people were injured, including seriously, in Jenin, as a result of being bombed by an occupation drone and gunfire from the invading forces on Tuesday morning.

The last killed was Fouad Imad Abahra (36 years old) after the occupation prevented the ambulance from transporting him to the hospital for half an hour after he was injured in the thigh and left without treatment until he died. A sick child Ahmed Muhammad Samar (13 years old) was obstructed by Israeli army to reach the hospital to receive treatment. 

This comes after the occupation army stormed Jenin and its camp from the dawn hours of Tuesday until this afternoon, amid an exchange of gunfire with Palestinian youths and the arrest of a number of young men.

The Israeli occupation army, the Shin Bet, and the Border Guard issued a statement this afternoon, Tuesday, saying, “Tonight we began an operation against terrorism in the Jenin camp and city. A drone attacked a cell of terrorists that threw explosive devices toward our forces. So far, we have detected weapons ammunition and an explosives manufacturing workshop were destroyed.

The army indicated in its statement that so far dozens of suspects have been arrested.

The director of Jenin Hospital, Wissam Bakr, reported earlier that four young men arrived at the hospital as a result of being directly targeted by a drone. Among them were Rafiq al-Dabbous, Mahmoud Abu Srour, Bakr Siddiq Zakarneh, and Thaer Abu al-Tin.

Washington expects that the most intense phase of the Israeli war on Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip will be reduced in early next January, to become more targeted, according to what American officials confirmed to the British newspaper “Financial Times” on Tuesday.

Officials say that Israel still has what they described as “legitimate military targets” in southern Gaza, justifying its ongoing attack around Khan Yunis and other areas where senior Hamas activists are believed to be hiding, but Washington expects a shift in tactics away from a full-scale ground attack. Most likely in January, there will be successive raids to pursue senior Hamas leaders and other high-value targets, according to what officials who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity confirm.

A senior US administration official says: “Now is the most intense phase,” stressing that at some point, the approach will be different, with fewer forces on the ground.

In addition, a senior Israeli official says that there is no disagreement between the United States and Israel regarding the objectives of the operation, which are to eliminate Hamas, end its ability to rule the Gaza Strip or attack Israel. He adds: “There is a high level of understanding of what we are doing,” stressing that Israeli officials inform their American counterparts about the operations they are carrying out several times a week.

While American officials stress that they do not want to see Israel occupy Gaza, they acknowledge that a temporary occupation may be necessary until long-term arrangements are reached with Arab countries and other partners.

Israel said it expects security control over the Gaza Strip indefinitely, but American officials stress that this does not mean a long-term occupation.

The Financial Times quotes a senior American official as saying that the Israelis understand that controlling Gaza does not mean being there, but rather retaining the right to enter it.

Expectations that Israel will change its tactics come at a time when US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is preparing to visit the region again this week to hold discussions about the war and preparations for the period that follows. He is expected to urge the occupation government to be more precise in its military operations, and to allow greater humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

It seems that the war in Gaza will soon witness a new humanitarian truce, and a deal to exchange detainees and prisoners between Israel and Hamas, in light of what informed Egyptian sources spoke to “Sky News Arabia” about Tel Aviv’s request for Cairo’s mediation in order to complete a new deal for the detainees.

Farag notes in a statement to "Sky News Arabia" that Egypt is working on a ceasefire project that it will present to the Security Council in the coming hours, and is mobilizing extensively for it internationally until it is passed. Egypt is leading the political and diplomatic movements in order to establish calm and a ceasefire within Gaza Strip, and these efforts face many difficulties and challenges, perhaps the most prominent of which is that the Hamas movement was the one who started it, and there was a determination on the part of Israel to respond and preserve the army’s position that was lost during this war, according to Faraj.

But Egypt is making every effort today, in communication with all international and regional parties and in continuous communication with the American administration, as well as security and intelligence efforts, in order to reach a permanent ceasefire.

Egyptian moves for new mediation

Sky News Arabia learned from informed Egyptian sources that Israel requested the mediation of Egypt and Qatar to conclude a prisoner exchange deal within the framework of a new humanitarian truce.

The sources explained that the Egyptian side has already engaged in new mediation with the Qatari and American sides to implement a new prisoner exchange deal soon between Hamas and Israel.

The sources indicated expected meetings between Israel, Egypt, and Qatar, under American sponsorship, soon in this context.

A humanitarian truce between Hamas and Israel that lasted for a week and ended on December 1 witnessed the release of 105 hostages from Gaza, including 80 Israelis, in exchange for Israel releasing 240 Palestinian prisoners.

But efforts to extend the truce have faltered, and Israel says at least 137 hostages are believed to still be held by Hamas.

The nature of Egyptian movements

Egyptian journalist specializing in Arab affairs, Ahmed Gomaa, says that Cairo is continuing its intensive contacts and movements to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allow the entry of more urgent humanitarian aid and the fuel necessary to operate hospitals and important government facilities inside Gaza.

Egyptian efforts, according to Gomaa, are taking place in parallel with political and diplomatic movements that believe that the only way to resolve this conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis will not be resolved by force. On the contrary, the only way will be to return to the negotiating table to discuss ways to activate the two-state solution and establish an independent Palestinian state on 4 borders. June 1967.

A new prisoner exchange deal

Egypt is working at an accelerated pace to convince the Palestinian and Israeli sides of the necessity of engaging in a prisoner exchange deal between the two parties to resolve this issue, which will push towards a truce between the Palestinian factions and the Israeli side during the coming period.

The Palestinian leadership and citizens in the Gaza Strip are counting on the success of the Egyptian mediation in stopping the war on Gaza as quickly as possible, in light of the major collapse in all vital facilities and infrastructure, with Israel imposing a policy of siege, starvation and starvation of the residents of Gaza to force them to migrate and forcibly move out of their land.

There are great fears of the outbreak of a regional war as a result of the continued American support for the war waged by Israel on Gaza, which could push towards a state of instability for a long period. Perhaps the escalation against American facilities and interests in Iraq and Syria is conclusive evidence and a dangerous indicator of the possibility of the outbreak of an armed conflict led by Regional parties whose fuel is the Palestinian factions in Gaza or armed entities in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Source: Sky News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged today, Tuesday, that there are differences between his government and the administration of US President Joe Biden over what he described as “the day after Hamas” in the besieged Gaza Strip, in reference to who might be entrusted with managing the Gaza Strip  after the genocidal war waged by Israel against the besieged Strip.

Netanyahu reiterated his assertion that Tel Aviv, under his leadership, will not “repeat the Oslo mistake,” as he put it, and will work to prevent the administration of the Gaza Strip by a Palestinian party, considering that the Gaza Strip will not turn into “Hamastan or Fatehistan, after the enormous sacrifices made by our citizens and fighters” according to his expression.

Netanyahu stressed that his government would not allow “those who teach terrorism, support terrorism, and finance terrorism to be brought into Gaza,” referring to the Palestinian Authority, and said: “Yes, there are disagreements with Washington about ‘the day after Hamas,’ and I hope that we will reach an agreement.” There was also an understanding on this issue.”

This came in a video speech issued by Netanyahu’s office, in which he expressed his “appreciation for the support provided by the United States to Israel to destroy Hamas and return the Israeli hostages” in the Gaza Strip, and added, “After intensive talks with President Biden and officials in his administration, we obtained full support for ground entry.” And reduce the international pressure we are subjected to, to end the war.”