OPINIONS

Fri 10 Nov 2023 9:52 am - Jerusalem Time

The truces also facilitate the complete emptying of northern Gaza

Translation for "Al-Quds" dot com

Translation for "Al-Quds" dot com

Opinion Writer

By Ali Hamada

The daily humanitarian truces in the northern Gaza Strip announced by the White House through spokesman Admiral John Kirby for four hours a day coincide with the intense diplomatic movement taking place at more than one level in the region. 


Calls have multiplied from all sides for Israel to declare humanitarian truces at the very least, and a comprehensive ceasefire at the most. The level of international pressure on the United States has increased to urge it to force Israel to accept a humanitarian truce in the northern Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of citizens still reside. Of course, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly issued a position stating: “The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of the kidnappers.” Strangely, Kirby explained the content of the agreement with Israel on humanitarian truces, saying: “Israel informed us that there will be no military operations during periods of ceasefire.”


 

In any case, we must wait for implementation, if it takes place, in order to judge the position of the White House, which appears to be imposing a fait accompli on Israel, even without consulting it. Otherwise, what does it mean for Netanyahu’s office to rush to refuse to stop the fighting? Unless it is part of a functional distribution between the two parties in order to improve the terms of agreement on humanitarian truces that could be accompanied by the release of a number of American and non-Israeli hostages as a first stage.

 

Perhaps it is important to point out the very important meeting that was held in Doha at the invitation of the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, and included both the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, and the head of the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, David Barnea. 


The goal of the meeting is to search for ways to reach a deal that would lead to Hamas and the other factions releasing the largest number of hostages, in exchange for a truce that could last for three days or more, according to what the US President said in a statement yesterday. In addition to the above, the crossings were opened to allow aid to enter more widely. Israel knows that the release of hostages will remain an unresolved issue for a long time due to the large number of them.

 

The Israelis believe that the truces must be extracted from them with great difficulty, and at a great price: the release of the largest number of hostages. But the issue is more complex than that, and the hostage issue may drag on for months and perhaps several years. What is most important of all is that the truces may ultimately lead to emptying the entire northern part of the Gaza Strip of civilians, and this may be preceded by Tel Aviv’s success in closing the last hospitals that are still operating in Gaza City. 


Emptying the northern Gaza Strip of its entire population may pave the way for a long-term street war between Israeli forces and Palestinian factions, and make it easier for the Israelis to carry out a systematic demolition of the city, such that after weeks it will become rubble. Rebuilding will take many years.

 

Therefore, it is all important to know that the truces, which constitute an opportunity for the attackers to release hostages, and an opportunity for the defenders to catch their breath and reorganize their ranks, will undoubtedly be a step towards the deportation of the remaining civilians in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. It is a delicate equation and the margins for maneuver in it are narrow for everyone.

 source: Annahar Al-araby  

 


ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 10 Nov 2023 9:47 am - Jerusalem Time

Netanyahu: “The future of Gaza Strip is clear , it will be demilitarized and governed by a civilian government.”

Netanyahu to Fox: Hamas leaders, including Sinwar, are in Gaza, “and we will reach them. Israel does not seek to occupy or control Gaza, nor to displace anyone. Anyone who believes that peace (normalization with Saudi Arabia) is dead is mistaken.”


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, during an interview with the American Fox network last night, that the war on Gaza is “progressing, and the Israeli army is working excellently,” and claimed that “we are doing everything we can to refrain from targeting civilians.”


He added in response to a question that Hamas leaders, including the movement's head in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, are in Gaza City or in the tunnels, and he said, "They are there and we will reach them." He added that Israel will continue the war until "Hamas collapses, and we are obligated to win. This will not be the victory of Israel alone, but the victory of the entire civilized world over barbarism."


Netanyahu considered that "Israel does not seek to occupy or control Gaza," claiming that the goal of the war is "to give the Gaza Strip and the entire Middle East a better future, and this requires defeating Hamas."


Netanyahu indicated that he had set goals and a timetable for the war. I would have liked it to take a short period of time, but we are progressing step by step, and in this way we are reducing the number of deaths among our soldiers and among those not involved in the fighting in Gaza, and we are eliminating the largest possible number of Hamas saboteurs. .


Netanyahu considered that it took a long time for the United States to be able to defeat Al-Qaeda and ISIS, “and I do not think that Israel will need this long of time, but we will make Hamas collapse and it does not matter how long that will take because our future, the future of neighboring countries, and the future of the Palestinians are linked to the side that Will he win this war - the terrorist axis of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, or the forces of progress and prosperity: Israel, the United States and the moderate Arab countries?


Netanyahu claimed, "Israel does not seek to displace anyone. We are trying to evacuate Gazans from the north of the Strip to the south, away from the war."


According to him, “The future of Gaza is clear. Hamas will not exist, the Strip will be demilitarized, will be subject to deradicalization, and will be reconstructed. All of these goals are achievable. We will be able to find (i.e. install) a civilian government to govern Gaza, but in the foreseeable future we have to make sure “In order not to repeat the events of October 7, and in order to prevent the emergence of an entity like Hamas, there is a need for a reliable force to enter the Gaza Strip and kill the killers.”


Netanyahu touched on the contacts that the United States was conducting regarding the agreement to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and said, “I believe that now is the hour of testing, but those who believe that peace is dead are mistaken. I believe that after the victory over Hamas, the conditions will be more ripe.”



ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 10 Nov 2023 9:02 am - Jerusalem Time

Arab foreign ministers approve the draft final resolution of the Riyadh summit

Arab foreign ministers concluded their preparatory meeting for the emergency Arab summit scheduled to be held on Friday and Saturday in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to push the Israeli occupation to stop the aggression and massacres it is committing in the Gaza Strip.


In their meeting held yesterday, headed by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and in the presence of Arab foreign ministers, heads of delegations, and Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, the ministers approved the final version of the draft resolution, which will be submitted to the Arab Summit to consider its adoption.


Hossam Zaki, Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, said at the conclusion of the preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers that the meeting approved the final version of the draft resolution, which will be submitted to the Arab Summit next Saturday.


Zaki explained in statements to reporters at the conclusion of the meeting that the resolution addresses a set of elements of the Arab-Palestinian political position, allows the international community to properly understand the Arab and Palestinian position, and aims to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza immediately.

He stressed that the summit will adopt the draft resolution to meet the aspirations of the Arab peoples, stressing that there will be an Islamic summit that will follow the Arab summit, where a decision will be taken within the same Arab framework.


PALESTINE

Fri 10 Nov 2023 8:53 am - Jerusalem Time

Israeli armed forces bomb homes of Palestinian detainees in Dura, south of Hebron

At dawn on Friday, the Israeli occupation forces blew up the homes of detainees Muhammad and Saqr Al-Shanter, in Khallet Manna, south of the city of Hebron.


Our correspondent reported that large forces from the occupation army stormed the homes of the family of the detainees Al-Shanter and evacuated them by force, before planting them with explosives, and blowing up the second floor of the first two-story building, which has an area of 400 square meters, and a residential apartment in the second building, which consists of several floors.


He added that the occupation forces brought a bulldozer to the site, apparently to complete the demolition process, and are still imposing a military cordon on the area and preventing anyone from approaching it.


PALESTINE

Fri 10 Nov 2023 8:49 am - Jerusalem Time

United Nations: Israel destroyed half of Gaza's housing in one month

The United Nations Development Program announced yesterday, Thursday, that 50% of the housing stock in Gaza was destroyed in one month as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since last October 7, which led to the death of more than 11,000 people, most of whom were women and children.


This came in a press conference held by Abdullah Al-Dardari, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Director of the Regional Office for Arab States at the United Nations Development Programme, and Rula Dashti, Secretary-General of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).


The conference was held under the title "The Gaza War, he Expected Social and Economic Repercussions on the State of Palestine."


Al-Dardari reported that 50% of the housing stock in Gaza was destroyed in just one month, and pointed out, for comparison, that Syria lost this percentage of housing stock in its fourth year of war.


In turn, Dashti said that the destruction in Gaza has reached an unprecedented level, and pointed out that 96% of Gazans who cannot access basic services are now suffering from multidimensional poverty.


Dashti stressed the need for the international community to come together to establish lasting peace.


PALESTINE

Fri 10 Nov 2023 8:43 am - Jerusalem Time

Israel targets hospitals in the Gaza Strip


On Thursday and early Friday, Israeli warplanes targeted a number of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa Complex and Al-Rantisi Specialized Hospital for Children.


The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that a fire broke out inside Al-Rantisi Hospital following the Israeli bombing that targeted it.


Large fires were also recorded in the basement of the hospital and a number of its facilities.


The vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City was targeted again by Israeli bombing.


The official Palestinian News Agency, Wafa, reported that the Israeli army launched a series of violent raids in the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, which led to the death of a number of citizens and the wounding of others.


It pointed out that "the bombing caused serious damage to some hospital facilities, as well as cases of panic among citizens who rushed to it, trying to take shelter from the bombing."


ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 10 Nov 2023 5:57 am - Jerusalem Time

Iranian Foreign Minister: Expanding the scope of the war has become inevitable

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Thursday that expanding the scope of the war has become inevitable due to the increasing intensity of the war waged by Israel on Gaza.


The Iranian Foreign Ministry published a tweet by Abdullahian on the “X” website (formerly Twitter), in which he said, “The time for the continuation of Tel Aviv’s crimes is quickly approaching its end.”


The Iranian minister added that the war that Israel has been waging against Gaza for more than a month has clearly shown "the criminal, violent and aggressive face of the Zionist entity in its extermination of women and children in Gaza."



For his part, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said Thursday that the escalation of what he described as crimes in Gaza will complicate the situation in Palestine and the region.


Raisi added, during his speech at the Economic Cooperation Organization summit in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, that comprehensive Western support for Israel is an essential factor in the continuation of the war.


The Iranian President also said that Israel is deterred by some countries cutting off their political and economic relations with him.


Iran stressed that it does not seek to expand the circle of war in the region, but it has repeatedly warned that Tel Aviv’s persistence in its comprehensive war on Gaza will lead to the expansion of the confrontation across the region.


Late last month, the Iranian Foreign Minister said that continuing to kill women and children would lead to the loss of patience among the resistance forces and the peoples of the region.


Source: Al Jazeera + agencies

ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 10 Nov 2023 5:51 am - Jerusalem Time

US State Department: The death toll in Gaza may be much higher

American officials warned of the consequences of statistics in underestimating the extent of the disaster witnessed by the Strip


American officials suggested that the death toll in the Gaza Strip may be much higher than the more than 10,000 cases reported by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in the Strip, noting that doubts about the integrity of the statistics issued by the health authorities in the Hamas-run Strip may reduce the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip. The scale of the humanitarian disaster, according to what was reported by the Wall Street Journal.


In a session before a US House of Representatives committee on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf warned that the announced numbers were less than the truth, stressing, “We believe they are very high,” according to what the American newspaper reported in her words.


She added that in times of war it is difficult to obtain an accurate assessment, "We will not know until the weapons fall silent."


During a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Lev acknowledged that Hamas is “particularly adept” at spreading propaganda and disinformation via social media, but said that based on the feedback they are receiving from a variety of individuals and partners on the ground, “it is "It is very likely that the number will be higher than it is now."


Leaf pointed out that health officials in Gaza do not separate the numbers of civilians and militants killed, explaining that it is difficult to know the true number of deaths as long as the fighting continues, according to what was reported by the Associated Press.


Health authorities in Gaza say that more than 10,800 people were killed there, most of them women and children, following the surprise attack launched by Hamas on Israel, which killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.

ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 10 Nov 2023 5:49 am - Jerusalem Time

The war in Gaza "undermines Ukraine's hopes" for holding a peace summit

The war in Gaza has undermined Ukraine's hopes of holding a peace summit bringing together world leaders in the coming months, according to what Western diplomats told the Wall Street Journal, noting that Ukrainian efforts to do so have begun to lose momentum, as a result of growing tensions in the Middle East.


Dozens of countries, including India, South Africa, Brazil and other major powers that were neutral regarding the war between Ukraine and Russia, sought for several months to focus on some basic principles, such as the sovereignty of states over their territories, which would have formed the basis for peace talks.


But the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has caused new divisions between the United States, other Western countries, some Arab powers, and developing world countries that Ukraine had hoped to bring to its side.


After meetings in Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Malta this year, Ukrainian and European officials hoped to hold a leaders' summit before the end of the year. But it seems that this is no longer likely now, according to what diplomats told the American newspaper.


The Middle East crisis has shifted international attention away from Ukraine, which has captured the attention of policymakers who are now focused on many other challenges, such as releasing hostages held by Hamas, delivering aid to civilians in Gaza, and preventing the escalation and expansion of the conflict in the region.


Ukraine and its supporters hoped to enlist neutral powers, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and perhaps China, in upholding the principles of sovereignty and political independence of states and avoiding the use of force to resolve disputes.


Russia has been excluded from this process. Moscow said it is open to peace negotiations if they are based on Ukraine first ceding areas of territory that the Kremlin claims to have annexed, while Kiev insists on the necessity of Russia withdrawing from its territory.


It is noteworthy that the momentum of the Ukrainian talks began in the summer, and the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in August, included more than 40 countries and organizations to hold talks at a high official level, including China, which sent its peace envoy, and the United States, whose national security advisor attended, Jake Sullivan.


Ukraine and Saudi Arabia established a series of working groups on the international impact of the war, and senior Ukrainian officials, led by the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, began regular meetings on the peace track with ambassadors to Kiev.


German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after the Jeddah meeting in an interview with German media that the talks "increase pressure on Russia to realize that it has taken the wrong path and that it must withdraw its forces and make peace possible."


Even before the war broke out between Israel and Hamas, momentum was flagging. After his arrival in Jeddah, the Chinese ambassador to Kiev stopped attending the weekly meetings chaired by Yermak, according to what three diplomats residing in Kiev told the American newspaper.


Ukraine has struggled to find a large, neutral country to host the talks, with Zelensky pressing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the UN General Assembly in September to host the event.


South African officials later said this was “logistically impossible,” knowing that weeks earlier, South Africa had hosted a BRICS summit in the presence of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and the Indian Prime Minister. Narendra Modi and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.


From Alhurra

OPINIONS

Fri 10 Nov 2023 5:29 am - Jerusalem Time

Dominique de Villepin: About the most dangerous traps set by Hamas for the West

Translation for "Al-Quds" dot com

Translation for "Al-Quds" dot com

Opinion Writer

Aisha Al-Basri


In an interview with Radio Monte Carlo International following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) against Israel on October 7, 2023, the former French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, put his finger on the most dangerous traps into which the West fell as a result of this. The unprecedented attack. The right-wing diplomat and writer said, “Hamas set three traps for us: one trap of military violence, another that isolated the West, and a third moral one.” While de Villepin’s analysis indicates the danger of the West falling into these traps, one after the other, he does not go far in assessing their effects on the future. The Western system is at a critical period in human history.


De Villepin says at the beginning that the West, by which he means the Israeli occupation and its sponsors (Euro-Americans), fell into the military trap set for them by the Hamas movement, as it lured them with the violence of its attack to the maximum level of violence and terror, while the army cannot solve an issue as serious as the Palestinian issue. 

What the former diplomat did not dare to admit here is that the sweeping Hamas attack humiliated Israel and its supporters, and made them all lose their ability to control the West’s unbridled brutality, to the point that leaders of Israel became unable to hide their intention to annihilate the entire Palestinian people in Gaza.


The Al-Aqsa Flood Operation humiliated the mighty occupying state, and exploded in its society a volcano of crime, revealing its true face to the world, which began to see it as a genocidal state, killing children, bombing civilians, and an unjust nuclear state that had exhausted the reserve of Jewish oppression that it had been feeding on since World War II. Through its absolute diplomatic, military and media support for the Israeli extermination campaign, this appears to be a branch of that tree, and Israel is nothing but a descendant of the European settler occupation that committed genocide on indigenous people from Australia to America, before heading to its last and greatest kiss in Palestine.


The West’s support for the genocide campaign waged by the occupation in Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian territories constitutes a comprehensive violation of all the laws, rights, freedoms and international justice on which the Western system is based.


Speaking about the second trap, De Villepin said that the October 7 attack cornered the West into a bloc that became confrontational with the international community, after the West had had influence in the world for more than five centuries. Here too, the French diplomat did not go so far as to acknowledge that the support of Western governments and their media machinery behind Israel’s crimes today and yesterday is what isolated the West from the rest of the countries. If the Ukraine war had united it in the face of Russia, and created a clear rift between it and many countries, Asian ones in particular, His rapid slide into Israel's trenches gave it the green light for a genocidal campaign, which widened this gap and prompted his isolation even more than before.


One of the consequences of the absolute Western support for Israel's fifth war on Gaza and its rejection of international demands for a ceasefire is that it may further reduce its political and economic influence in many parts of the world in favor of China. While the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries are increasingly open to China, Russia and other Asian powers, the project has faltered. The American plan to link infrastructure in India to the Middle East and Europe via Saudi Arabia and Israel, in light of Saudi Arabia’s freezing of the normalization project with Israel, thus making US President Joe Biden’s dream of blocking the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative out of reach.


The third trap that the October 7 attack set for the West is moral, according to De Villepin, who believes that the problem of double standards has emerged very sharply, and has made the West the focus of urgent questions such as, “You condemn what happened in Ukraine, but you are very shy in confronting the Gaza tragedy.” In fact, this trap goes beyond double standards, and mainly concerns the collapse of the international system (meaning the Western one) based, at least in theory, on law, basic freedoms, and human rights. A regime that Washington and those within its orbit are still using as excuses and bragging about, while they are arming a nuclear occupying state to attack a people who have been suffering under the most horrific occupation in human history for about 75 years.


De Villepin's analysis points to the danger of the West falling into Hamas's traps, and does not go far in assessing its effects on the future of the Western regime


The West’s support for the campaign of extermination waged by the Israeli occupation in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories constitutes a comprehensive violation of all the laws, rights, freedoms, and international justice on which the Western system is based. This causes the West to lose its credibility and rings the end of a human rights system that Washington has been trying since its war on Iraq to replace with rules derived from The law of the jungle, and she calls it the “rules-based international order.”


The Israeli-Western war on Gaza showed that the blocs that were formed within the framework of an international system based on the rule of law after World War II, led by the United Nations, had eroded and reached the peak of their inability after the Security Council turned into a rhetorical platform incapable of issuing a ceasefire resolution. To bring in humanitarian aid, let alone prevent the first televised genocide in human history.


It is true that the October 7 attack on Israel brought calamities on the residents of Gaza, but it may also provide opportunities unless the Hamas resistance stops clashing with the extermination forces, and unless the residents of Gaza are forcibly displaced to the Sinai desert. This is because it forced the countries sponsoring the occupation to talk about ending the occupation and the two-state solution, albeit as an attempt to absorb international anger, and to rely on Israel to return to its genocidal plans as soon as the smoke of cannons and incendiary phosphorus bombs cleared from the skies of Gaza. 


Turning talk about a two-state solution into a political gain depends primarily on the Palestinian people, and the extent of their ability to unite their forces, renew their leadership, and formulate a national project that can be negotiated with the internationally collapsing West, in the name of the resisting Palestinian people.

From Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed



OPINIONS

Fri 10 Nov 2023 4:12 am - Jerusalem Time

Israel’s war crimes in Gaza are by design, not default

ِAljazeera

ِAljazeera

Opinion Writer

For Israel, violence is not incidental, accidental or coincidental. It is part and parcel of its colonial DNA.

Marwan Bishara


Palestinians look for survivors following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 [AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman]

The gruesome scenes of death and destruction in Gaza are a reminder that for Israel, violence is not incidental, accidental or coincidental. It is part and parcel of its colonial DNA. Like the French in Algeria, the Dutch in Indonesia and South Africa, the Belgians in the Congo, the Spaniards in South America and the Europeans in North America, the Zionists have also dehumanized the natives of the land as a precursor to or justification for guilt-free repression and violence. But colonialism must not be conflated with Judaism. If anything, the Jews have historically been the victims of racism for centuries, rendering many of them anti-colonialists.


In 1948, Israel was established on the ruins of another people, the Palestinians. It was made into a Jewish majority state through the deliberate ethnic cleansing of the land’s 750,000 Palestinian inhabitants. Since then, Israel has maintained security through state repression, military occupation, bloody wars and countless massacres against civilians. 


Nazareth, the city of my birth, was one of the few to be spared from ethnic cleansing but only because a military commander named Benjamin Dunkelman, a Canadian Jew who led the 7th Brigade of the Israeli army, refused to carry out his superiors’ evacuation order for this Christian majority city, as he later wrote, mainly out of fear of the international repercussions. 

About 400 other Palestinian towns and villages were not so lucky. They were all depopulated, and a majority was entirely decimated. Their inhabitants were either killed or kicked out. The properties in them were either demolished or confiscated. They were given new Hebrew names. Those Palestinians who tried to return to their homes were either shot or forcibly sent to neighboring countries. 


In his book, Sacred Landscape: The Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948, Meron Benvenisti, an Israeli political scientist, writes: “Not since the end of the Middle Ages had the civilized world witnessed the wholesale appropriation of the sacred sites of a defeated religious community by members of the victorious one.” Since then, Israel has set its eyes on the people per se, regardless of its leadership or theirs. Palestinians are seen by Israel either as an enemy from within that must be eradicated or as a demographic threat that needs to be removed. It is no coincidence that since its inception, Israel has established an oppressive regime of “Jewish superiority”. This regime was extended after the 1967 war and occupation to the entirety of historic Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. 

Hence the Palestinian cry, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” For decades, Israel has used disproportionate force and carried out countless massacres against Palestinian civilians as a form of revenge, punishment and deterrence. Last month, the Palestinians commemorated the 70th anniversary of the massacre of Qibya, where, in retaliation for a Palestinian attack on an Israeli settlement that killed three people, including two children, Israeli forces under the leadership of Ariel Sharon attacked the West Bank village of about 2,000 inhabitants, killing 69 Palestinians, mostly women and children. 

That same vengeful mindset has been applied 70 years later in Gaza. It is a deterrence strategy, deliberately aimed at harming civilians to distance them from their leaders and the groups fighting in their name. Today, the Israeli propaganda machine is busy collating desperate and angry cries, real and manufactured, from Gaza residents projecting blame on Hamas for bringing Israel’s wrath upon them. 

Israel never accepts an “eye for an eye” in its confrontations with the Palestinians. It insists on a ratio of 1 to 10 or 20 when it comes to its civilian casualties vs Palestinian civilian casualties. Hence, the Palestinian civilian must pay a heavy price in each and every clash, regardless of any moral or legal consideration.


Nowhere is the dissymmetry more pervasive than in Israel’s 56-year military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, which by its very nature is a perpetual system of violence against civilians. Generation after generation of Palestinians have had to endure a racist, gruesome and illegal military occupation that has included daily humiliations, collective punishment, land confiscations, and the destruction of lives and livelihoods. For Gaza, this has meant a 17-year siege of the strip through a dreadful and inhumane military blockade, military incursions, bombings of civilian infrastructure and more.


Although Israel claims it has “no choice”, its occupation is in fact driven by strategy, not by necessity. Throughout the past six decades, Israel has controlled the Palestinian territories in part to colonize them through hundreds of illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian lands, in part to hold their population hostage until their leaders accept its political dictates, which is by definition a form of state terrorism, which means using violence against civilians for political ends. 

Another important factor behind Israel’s violence against Palestinian civilians, as I explained here, is hatred – hatred that is propelled by fear, envy and anger. 

Israel fears all that is Palestinian steadfastness, Palestinian unity, Palestinian resistance, Palestinian poetry and all Palestinian national symbols. Such fear generates hatred because a state that is always afraid cannot be free. Israel is angry at the Palestinians for refusing to give up or give in, for not going away – far away. They refuse to cede their basic rights, let alone concede defeat. Israel is also envious of Palestinian inner power and outward pride. It is envious of their strong beliefs and readiness to sacrifice. 

In short, Israel hates the people of Palestine for impeding the realization of the Zionist utopia over all historical Palestine. And it especially hates those living in Gaza, as I wrote last year, for turning the dream into a nightmare. 

But the answer in Gaza and the rest of Palestine cannot be more killing and more occupation. In fact, Israel’s ongoing industrial-scale slaughter and nationwide repression of the Palestinians, in retaliation of Hamas’s gruesome October 7 attacks in southern Israel, is both utterly criminal and terribly foolish. Israel has tried to live by the sword for the past 75 years, but it has sowed more of the same insecurity, infamy and anger.


Repeating the same strategy again and again and expecting different results is indeed stupid. If it continues to deny the Palestinians a life and a future, Israel also will end up with no life or future worth living in this Arab region.

ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 10 Nov 2023 4:07 am - Jerusalem Time

An American official refers to the "appropriate body" to manage Gaza after the end of the war

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said that the Palestinian Authority is the appropriate body to manage the Gaza Strip after the end of the war.


She said before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, “The Palestinian Authority, as we all know, is the only Palestinian government that emerged from the Oslo Accords, and whatever its defects, it is a government for the Palestinians in the West Bank, and we believe that in the end, the votes must be Palestinian aspirations are the focus of governance and security in the post-conflict phase in Gaza.”


She added that the US State Department "is looking into all of these issues now and wants to begin those discussions sooner rather than later," based on the fact that "our Arab partners are strongly focused on issues of humanitarian crises and focused on reaching a ceasefire."

The United States is urging Israel to avoid occupying Gaza if Hamas no longer rules the area, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alarmed American officials when he said earlier this week that Israel would be responsible for Gaza's security for an "indefinite period."


The advisor to the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, confirmed that no one has the right to talk about the management of Gaza after the war, stressing that “we do not allow anyone to talk about the management of Gaza after the war... We are the ones who decide how to manage Gaza, not international forces or anyone else.”


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced, during his meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the Palestinian Authority’s readiness to take over the reins of government in the Gaza Strip.


Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh stressed that "Jordan will not send any military forces to Gaza and will not accept replacing the Israeli soldier with a Jordanian soldier."




ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 10 Nov 2023 4:04 am - Jerusalem Time

Yedioth: An international plan to transform the coast of North Sinai into an alternative to Gaza's hospitals

Israeli media revealed an international plan to transform the coast of the northern Sinai Peninsula in Egypt into a health zone as an alternative to hospitals in the Gaza Strip, at the request of Israel.


According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, ships from Italy, France and Greece will serve as floating hospitals in the Sinai Peninsula to treat the wounded in the Gaza Strip.


At the same time, Egypt, European countries, and the United Nations are working to establish field hospitals near the border to create an alternative system for hospitals in the Gaza Strip.


Yesterday, Wednesday, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced that his country would send a hospital ship to treat the wounded in the Gaza Strip to help treat wounded Palestinians who were injured during the war.


According to Crosetto, the ship is leaving the coast of Italy with 170 crew members on board, including 30 with high-level medical training. In addition, Rome is working on a plan to establish a field hospital in Gaza.


France is also in talks with Egypt to establish a field hospital with surgical capabilities for Gaza residents, French Defense Minister Sébastien Le Corneau said in an interview with L'Orient Le Jour.

France sent a helicopter carrier to the area, which, according to President Emmanuel Macron, was intended to support hospitals in Gaza.


The ships are supposed to dock in the city of Al-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and the wounded are supposed to arrive there.


Meanwhile, Egypt is building field hospitals in Al-Arish and elsewhere, and Israel has agreed for the United Nations to build field hospitals in Gaza.


A spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza said: “We are not looking for floating hospitals, but rather we want to provide hospitals with medicines, medical equipment and fuel.”

Yedioth said that yesterday, with Israeli approval, five planes carrying medical equipment and food from the United Arab Emirates landed at Al-Arish Airport in the Sinai Peninsula, where the equipment will be used to establish a field hospital in southeastern Gaza.

The Hebrew newspaper explained that a close associate of the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, was on board one of the planes that arrived in Al-Arish.

Source: Sama News

OPINIONS

Fri 10 Nov 2023 3:51 am - Jerusalem Time

Hassan Nafaa: Israel has ready plans for displacement, and the most likely scenario is that the war will develop into a regional one

Ramallah - “Al-Quds” dot com

Ramallah - “Al-Quds” dot com

Opinion Writer

Dr. Hassan Nafaa, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University, proposed three scenarios for the war on Gaza: 

The first scenario, Israel succeeds in achieving its goals by prolonging the war; The second scenario: The war on Gaza continues for several weeks, during which Israel is exhausted, the fighting stops, and a prisoner exchange deal is concluded pending another decisive round. The third scenario: The war develops into a large-scale regional, and perhaps global, war through the entry of Hezbollah in full force, and perhaps parties from the axis of resistance, and Iran.


Nafaa analyzed the three scenarios, and their repercussions on the region and the world, as well as on the future of the Authority and the resistance, explaining that he ruled out the first scenario, which is Israel’s success in eliminating the Hamas movement and its rule, due to the steadfastness of the people of Gaza despite the more than 10,000 martyrs left by the war. And 26 thousand wounded, noting that the realization of this scenario will lead to the collapse of the Palestinian resistance, the decline of the influence of Iran and the axis of resistance, and the expansion of the influence of the United States, which will give Israel greater regional roles as a regulator in the region, in addition to the expansion of Turkey’s influence, and the imposition of normalization on the Arab countries.


Nafaa explained that the scenario of stopping the fighting after weeks will strengthen the resistance and give it a strong impetus, especially since it includes a prisoner exchange deal and the evacuation of Palestinian prisoners from all prisons, in addition to strengthening the role of Iran and the axis of resistance, the recovery of the influence of China and Russia, and the decline of the influence of the United States, in addition to the fall of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Nafaa suggested the scenario of the war turning into a regional one, with Hezbollah entering with full force, especially in light of Hezbollah’s equation that it would not allow Hamas to lose the war or attack Lebanon, although he ruled out Iran’s entry, explaining that in this scenario Israel might try to direct a strike on the Iranian nuclear reactor, confirming that the war in Gaza is part of the transformations in the international system, and this in turn is reflected in the role of both China and Russia.


This came during a dialogue session organized by the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies (Masarat) entitled “The Regional and International Repercussions of the War on Gaza,” with the participation of more than 60 participants, including Palestinian and Arab politicians, academics, and researchers. The dialogue was moderated by Hani Al-Masry, General Director of Masarat Centre.


Nafaa said that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation was unprecedented and established a new era, as it inflicted a crushing defeat on Israel, and it differed from all the wars that were fought within the framework of the Arab-Israeli conflict, explaining that it was an amazing operation that launched from Palestinian land towards occupied lands in the year 1948, and in which the resistance used a Deception plan, and it succeeded, as happened in the October War of 1973, praising the performance of the resistance, its professionalism, its superior capabilities, and its military performance.


He explained that the Israeli reaction to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation was violent and of great brutality, pointing out that Israel had set high goals, which were to eradicate Hamas and overthrow its rule, thus ending the resistance completely, with security control over the Gaza Strip regardless of who rules the Gaza Strip after the war.


Nafaa criticized the weak and shameful position of the Arab countries. It is a shame to wait 5-6 weeks to hold the Arab summit, explaining that the Arab countries are clashing or colluding with Israel, and they can use many means of pressure, such as severing relations by withdrawing Arab ambassadors and expelling Israeli ambassadors, cutting off trade relations, and using oil weapons, noting the Arab countries are extremely embarrassed if they do not take punitive measures against Israel, so there must be public pressure on the regimes for them to take action.


Nafaa touched on displacement, pointing out that Israel has ready plans for displacement, and it wants to seize all Palestinian land and expel the population, and this is not in the Gaza Strip, but in the West Bank as well, explaining that there are projects ready to settle immigrants in Sinai.

In a question about the future of the Authority, he explained that its future depends on the outcome of the war.

The audience asked a set of questions about the repercussions of each of the scenarios on the future of the Palestinian Authority, the two-state solution, and displacement, as well as on the international system, and major projects such as the Belt and Road, and the trade route linking India to America, passing through the Gulf states and Israel, in addition to human rights, international law, and the role of the General Assembly. To the United Nations.

Sama News

PALESTINE

Fri 10 Nov 2023 3:44 am - Jerusalem Time

Netanyahu: I set goals, but I did not set a timetable for achieving them

On Friday, the American Fox News network quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that the fighting against Hamas in Gaza will continue, even if it will include safe passage for civilians away from the fighting sites, considering that the ceasefire will be a surrender to the movement.


Netanyahu said, according to the network, “In specific locations, and for a specific period, a few hours here, a few hours there, we want to facilitate safe passage for civilians away from combat zones, and we are doing this.” Earlier today, the American CNN network quoted US President Joe Biden as telling journalists that he had asked Netanyahu for a humanitarian truce for more than three days.


However, the Israeli Prime Minister told Fox News that he did not agree with the US administration on everything, saying that “one of the things we did not agree on was a ceasefire.” He added, "A ceasefire with Hamas means surrender to it... and therefore there will be no ceasefire without the release of the hostages." He continued, "We do not want to seek to rule Gaza. We do not want to seek occupation, but we seek to give it and us a better future in the entire Middle East. This requires defeating Hamas. I set goals, but I did not set a timetable for achieving them, because as you know, it may take longer." .


According to CNN, Biden expressed optimism about the release of more than 200 detainees held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including Americans, saying, “We are optimistic; things are moving forward.” Biden downplayed concerns about whether Netanyahu was listening to the United States, but said, according to the network, that the process “took a little longer than I had hoped.”


Yesterday, Thursday, the Times of Israel newspaper quoted a high-ranking Israeli official as saying that Israel had agreed to a “tactical” truce. The Israeli official stated that the truces mean expanding humanitarian corridors that were recently identified to allow Gazans to move from the north of the Gaza Strip to its south, away from areas where fighting is raging.


The official added that these truces will be imposed for four hours in a different neighborhood in northern Gaza each day, with residents notified three hours before the scheduled time. According to the official, residents will be able to use this time to either head south through the two humanitarian corridors established by Israel, or leave their homes in order to obtain food, medicine, and other aid.


However, Taher Al-Nono, media advisor to the head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement, denied reaching a truce agreement with Israel. Al-Nono said in a statement, “Talks are continuing regarding the truce, and no agreement has been reached at this moment.”


Earlier today, the American CNN television network quoted White House spokesman John Kirby as saying that Israel will begin implementing a four-hour cessation of military operations in the northern Gaza areas daily.


Israel continues its attacks and ground operations in the Gaza Strip since Hamas and other factions launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns and camps adjacent to the Gaza Strip on October 7th.

Alsharq Alawsat



PALESTINE

Fri 10 Nov 2023 3:41 am - Jerusalem Time

10,812 dead in Gaza: Continuing battles...talks without agreement on a “humanitarian truce”

Ground battles between the occupation forces and Hamas fighters were concentrated in Gaza City in the northern besieged Strip after the war on Gaza entered its second month, while Qatar is leading mediation efforts to release a number of hostages held by the movement in exchange for a temporary truce.


The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has continued since October 7, and at a time when the White House announced today that Israel will begin implementing a four-hour daily truce in northern Gaza starting today, the Israeli political and military level has ruled out a ceasefire without the release of detainees. in Gaza.


For its part, Hamas denied reaching a truce agreement with the occupation, and said, "The talks are continuing and no agreement has been reached until this moment. If any agreement is reached, this will be clearly announced to our people."


The number of victims of the war on Gaza has risen to 10,812 martyrs, including 4,412 children, 2,918 women and 667 elderly people, since the start of the war, while the Israeli bombing continues for the 34th day on several sites in the Gaza Strip, while clashes take place between the occupation forces and the “Al-Qassam Brigades” inside. Neighborhoods of Gaza City.


The Israeli army announced on Thursday that three more of its soldiers had been killed since the start of ground operations in Gaza, bringing the death toll of soldiers killed since the start of its ground operations to 36, while the total toll since the start of the war amounted to 354 dead soldiers and officers.

ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 09 Nov 2023 11:02 pm - Jerusalem Time

Yemeni Houthis announce the launch of ballistic missiles at "sensitive targets" in Israel

The Houthi group in Yemen announced this evening (Thursday) the launch of a batch of ballistic missiles at “various and sensitive targets” in southern Israel, including “military” targets in Eilat, while the Israeli army confirmed the interception of a missile launched from Yemen towards the coastal city.


The spokesman for the Houthi military forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement broadcast on Al-Masirah TV, the group’s spokesman, that these forces “launched a batch of ballistic missiles at various sensitive targets for the Israeli entity south of the occupied territories, including military targets in Eilat.”


He stressed that the operation "successfully achieved its objectives and led to direct hits on the specified targets, despite the enemy's silence about it."


The spokesman renewed his threat that the Houthi forces would continue to carry out their military operations “in support of the oppression of the Palestinian people and until the Israeli aggression against our brothers in Gaza stops,” as he put it.


This is not the first time that the Houthis have announced the launch of ballistic missiles and drones at targets in Israel, as the group announced last October and this November the launch of batches of ballistic missiles and drones more than once at various targets in Israel.
The Houthis have controlled the capital, Sanaa, and most of the northern Yemeni governorates, including the coastal governorate of Hodeidah on the Red Sea in the west of the country, for more than nine years.


On the other hand, the Israeli army announced today the interception of a missile launched from Yemen towards the city of Eilat.


The army said in a statement, "Following up on reports of activating warnings in the Eilat area, talk of a missile being launched from Yemen towards Israel was successfully intercepted by air defenses via the Arrow-Hetz system to intercept long-range missiles."


The statement confirmed that the missile did not penetrate Israeli airspace.


Before that, Israeli sources reported that a drone had fallen into a school in the city of Eilat, causing an explosion.


The military spokesman for the Israeli army said in a statement, “A short while ago, a drone struck a civilian building in the city of Eilat,” noting that “the diagnosis of the drone and the details of the incident are still under investigation.”


Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 14 reported that an explosion was caused by a drone falling over a school in the city of Eilat.


The channel added that investigations are still ongoing into the source of the march, its affiliation, and whether it belongs to the Israeli army or to hostile parties.


The explosion did not result in any physical injuries, while seven people suffered panic, according to the Israeli ambulance authority.


The Israeli police spoke of a "security event" in the city of Eilat, without indicating its nature.


The Eilat municipality announced in a statement that there were 43 students in the school when the explosion occurred, and none of them were harmed.


PALESTINE

Thu 09 Nov 2023 10:37 pm - Jerusalem Time

A march in Jenin denouncing the massacre committed by the occupation in the city and its camp

Masses of our people in Jenin Governorate participated, this Thursday evening, in a massive march denouncing the massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the city of Jenin and its camp, which resulted in 14 martyrs and a number of wounded.


The march began in front of Jenin hospitals, where citizens lifted the bodies of the martyrs on their shoulders, arriving at Jenin Governmental Hospital, chanting slogans denouncing the crimes of the occupation against our people, and calling for national unity.


The participants also called on the international community to intervene and stand by our defenseless people, who are subjected to continuous Israeli aggression, liquidations, executions, and massacres in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.


A massive crowd will roam the streets of the city and its camp, and prayers will be held for their souls in the Great Jenin Camp Mosque, before the bodies of a number of dead are transported to their hometowns in Nablus and Yamoun and Anin to be buried, while the bodies of the Jenin dead will be buried in the camp’s martyrs’ cemetery.


The martyrs are: the child Muhammad Youssef Azzam Zayed (15 years old) from the town of Al Yamoun, Ayham Muhammad Ibrahim Amer (23 years old), Muhammad Nasser Hassan Mutahin (30 years old), Raafat Akl Omar Abu Akl (21 years old), and Mahmoud Hussein Ali Abu Al Nada ( 47 years old, Qais Raed Jamal Dweikat (21 years old) from Balata camp in Nablus, Lutfi Sayel Huwaiti (21 years old), Muhammad Abdel Karim Al-Sabagh (30 years old), Mutassim Fawaz Issa (32 years old) from Anin, and Ahmed Mahmoud Shafiq Khalaf (18 years old). 2 years old), Muhammad Tariq Hussein Fayed (19 years old), Ibrahim Hassan Dhaher Abahra (25 years old) from Al-Yamoun, Ahmed Tayseer Mahmoud Abu Qatnah (22 years old), and Thaer Muhammad Marei Abu Qatnah (23 years old).

PALESTINE

Thu 09 Nov 2023 9:35 pm - Jerusalem Time

Hamas: Talks are continuing and no agreement has been reached for a truce in Gaza

The Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" announced Thursday evening that talks are continuing and a truce agreement has not yet been reached in the Gaza Strip, which has been under continuous Israeli attack for more than a month.


Taher Al-Nono, media advisor to the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a statement, “The talks are continuing and no agreement has been reached until this moment, and if any agreement is reached, it will be clearly announced to our people.”


While the Israeli army announced that “there is no ceasefire, but there are tactical and local pauses in providing humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.”


The army stated in a statement, "These tactical stops are limited in time and space... We are also providing humanitarian corridors for civilians in Gaza to temporarily move south to safer areas where they can receive humanitarian aid."


The State of Qatar is mediating indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to announce a ceasefire agreement, allowing the release of dual national hostages in the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian supplies to the population.


ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 09 Nov 2023 9:07 pm - Jerusalem Time

UNRWA seeks to raise half a billion dollars for aid

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Thursday that it is seeking to raise $481 million for the Gaza Strip due to the “unprecedented devastation” there, the growing needs in the occupied West Bank, and a possible mass exodus of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.


Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said: “A month into a tight siege and a brutal war, the humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip are enormous. "It increases by the hour."


UNRWA said in a statement that the funds will be used to provide basic food aid, shelter, water and sanitation to 1.6 million people in Gaza and provide health care and protection to those living in the occupied West Bank.


It also stated that funding is necessary for Lebanon “in anticipation of a possible mass exodus of Palestinian refugees, specifically in the Sidon and Tyre regions in the southern part of the country.”


The United Nations said that tens of thousands have already been displaced as a result of clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border, which have escalated since the outbreak of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.


The new appeal follows a previous appeal announced by the United Nations last week to raise $1.2 billion.


The death toll from the Israeli aggression on Gaza rose to 10,818 martyrs, including 4,412 children, 2,918 women, 667 elderly people, and 26,905 citizens injured since October 7, according to the Ministry of Health.

PALESTINE

Thu 09 Nov 2023 8:01 pm - Jerusalem Time

Foreign Ministry: The aggression against Jenin Governorate is a deliberate escalation to detonate the situation in the West Bank.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned in the strongest terms the brutal assault and attack committed by the occupation forces since this morning against our people in general and against Jenin, its camp and its towns in particular, which continues until now, which has left dozens of martyrs and injured, in addition to the widespread destruction of infrastructure and homes and intimidation of defenseless civilian citizens, including They include children, women, school students, and teaching staff, who still cannot go home.


The Ministry warned again, in a statement, Thursday evening, of the consequences of exploiting the global preoccupation with the aggression against Gaza, its victims and its devastating effects, to single out the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to implement their racist colonial plans, accelerate the gradual annexation of the West Bank, and expand the circles of killing outside the law, in an attempt to break the will of steadfastness among our people.


It saw this hideous exploitation and exclusivity as an attempt to explode the situation in the occupied West Bank and plunge it into a spiral of violence that is difficult to control, something that the Ministry has always warned against, especially its repercussions on the conflict arena and the entire region.


It indicated that the occupation authorities are practicing collective punishment on our people in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, and are trying to impose new changes on reality by force, in a way that serves their map of colonial interests.


The Ministry called on the international community to quickly intervene to stop the occupation’s aggression against our people, and force the occupying state to submit to the international will for peace and end its occupation of the land of the State of Palestine before it is too late.



ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 09 Nov 2023 6:56 pm - Jerusalem Time

Palestinian organizations file an appeal to the International Criminal Court regarding Israeli war crimes

A French lawyer announced Thursday that he had sent a letter on behalf of three Palestinian non-governmental organizations to the International Criminal Court regarding war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli occupation army in its ongoing aggression against Gaza.


The letter sent yesterday evening, Wednesday, to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court stated that the facts presented by Al-Haq, Al-Mezan Center, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights are “genocidal intent, incitement to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.”


Lawyer Emmanuel Daoud requested that arrest warrants be issued against “those most prominently responsible for these crimes, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.”


He said that the organizations want “Israeli officials who wage war with complete impunity, where war crimes and crimes against humanity are committed every day, to understand that they must personally bear responsibility for their actions before international justice.”


He added, “Since the international community is unable to impose a ceasefire on Israel, international criminal justice must assume its responsibilities, as it has the necessary means to do so.”


In their statement, the three organizations stressed that the operations carried out by the occupation forces were very destructive and fatal to the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, who were forced to flee and were deliberately starved.


It also condemned the use of toxic gases and the destruction of many homes and non-military buildings.


Court Prosecutor Karim Khan said his mandate would apply to alleged crimes committed during the current war. But his teams were unable to enter Gaza, nor to Israel, which is not a member of the International Criminal Court.


As for the European Children's Rights Organization, Eurochild, it called on the European Union to stand against Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip, especially against children.


The organization's communications director, David Rambaldi, said that the European Union must support civilians equally, regardless of their religion, nationality, or place of residence.


He said that doing otherwise would demonstrate unacceptable double standards in the EU's response to humanitarian crises, and would ultimately undermine its credibility in various social, democratic and international aspects.



ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 09 Nov 2023 6:50 pm - Jerusalem Time

Reuters: A tripartite intelligence meeting in Qatar to release prisoners

Reuters revealed that a reliable source told it that a tripartite meeting was held in Doha, on Thursday, between the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the head of the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad), and the Qatari prime minister to discuss the parameters of an agreement to release the hostages and reach a truce from the attack on Gaza. .


According to Reuters, “The advantage of the tripartite meeting is to bring the three parties together at one table at one time to speed up the process.”


The talks also discussed allowing the import of fuel to Gaza for humanitarian purposes.


The agency notes that a source had told it on Wednesday that negotiations were being mediated by Qatar to secure the release of ten to 15 people detained by Hamas in exchange for a humanitarian truce for a day or two in Gaza.


The source added that the negotiations are taking place in coordination with the United States, and that the truce will allow Hamas to collect details about all civilian detainees and secure the release of dozens of others.


The source, who requested to remain anonymous, said, "The exact number is still unclear at this stage."


Reuters also quoted an Egyptian security source as saying that a ceasefire is expected for between 24 and 48 hours, or a determination of the scope of the main operations during the next week, in exchange for the release of detainees.


The source said that the United States and other countries have intensified pressure on Israel to achieve this.


US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the fighting for humanitarian reasons. The G7 foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo called for a humanitarian truce in Gaza.


The United Nations says that the health system in Gaza is on the verge of collapse after being subjected to air strikes, overcrowding with patients, and running out of drugs and fuel.

ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 09 Nov 2023 6:15 pm - Jerusalem Time

The White House: A 4-hour daily truce and two “humanitarian corridors” in Gaza

The White House announced that Israel will begin implementing a truce for four hours a day in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, to allow civilians to escape.


White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby added, "Israel has informed the states that there will be no military operation during periods of pause in the fighting."


He considered that "these pauses in fighting are a step in the right direction."


Kirby pointed to "two humanitarian corridors that will allow residents to flee the fighting in Gaza."


The White House stressed that “more aid must enter the Gaza Strip,” noting that “Washington aims to enter at least 150 humanitarian aid trucks daily,” but explained that “the United States is still concerned about the possibility of Hamas preventing civilians from escaping.” .

PALESTINE

Thu 09 Nov 2023 6:13 pm - Jerusalem Time

Palestinian faction Al Jehad Military wing: We are ready to release two detainees

The military spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad movement, announced the movement's readiness to release the Israeli detainees Hanna Katsir and the boy Yagil Yaakov "for humanitarian reasons."


In a video statement, the spokesman said that the Al-Quds Brigades "are an integral part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Al-Qassam Brigades."


He added that the Israeli enemy has been trying for many days to advance towards Gaza from several axes, but has suffered defeat, as he put it.


ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 09 Nov 2023 5:50 pm - Jerusalem Time

Lebanese Hezbollah attacks Israeli military sites and clashes continue

Today, Thursday, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon announced the targeting of an Israeli infantry force in the occupied Lebanese Tarbikha, in support of our Palestinian people and in support of their resistance.


A Hezbollah statement added, “Our mujahideen targeted the Israeli infantry force with missile weapons and caused direct hits.”


The resistance targeted the Israeli military site of Metulla with guided missiles, and achieved direct hits, causing the site to catch fire. It also targeted the Israeli military site Shtula with direct fire.


The Islamic Resistance confirmed that two Merkava tanks were hit and their crews were killed or wounded in the missile attack on the Metula site.


The Islamic Resistance continues to clash directly with the occupation forces at the Israeli “Miskav Am” site.


The Islamic Resistance launched missiles directly at a military target in the occupied Hunin Valley, while military operations are concentrated this afternoon in the central and eastern sectors.


Israeli media said that sirens sounded in the settlements of Shtula and Evan Menachem, close to the border with Lebanon.


The same media outlets indicated that “what distinguishes Hezbollah’s attacks today from previous days is the intensity compared to other days.”


Israeli bombing


The occupation forces bombed the outskirts of the towns of Kafr Kila and Deir Mimas, but the bombing of the two towns stopped after the Islamic Resistance targeted the Israeli site of Metulla.


The Israeli occupation targeted the outskirts of the town of Al-Habbariyah in the eastern sector with an air strike, noting that the Israeli bombing renewed on the outskirts of the towns of Ramiya and Beit Lev in the western sector.


Earlier today, Israeli artillery bombed the outskirts of the town of Al-Qawzah. An Israeli shell also fell on the outskirts of the town of Al-Adissa.


The north...a ghost zone!


Israeli media spoke of a state of fear and panic prevailing in the northern settlements, close to the Lebanese border, such that the area has become devoid of settlers and resembles a “ghost zone,” in light of the escalation of the confrontation with the Islamic Resistance - Hezbollah.


The Israeli Channel 13 correspondent in the north stated, “All of Upper Galilee has become empty, while Hezbollah presents this as an achievement,” stressing that “the region is empty, like a ghost zone.”


Yesterday, Wednesday, the former prime minister of the occupation government and head of the opposition, Yair Lapid, said in an interview with the Israeli “Channel 12” that “if we cannot tell the settlers of Beeri (the Gaza envelope) and the settlers of Kiryat Shmona (in the north) that they can return to their homes, then this “It is considered a collapse of Zionism.”


PALESTINE

Thu 09 Nov 2023 5:12 pm - Jerusalem Time

The occupation admits: A drone hit a building in Eilat

On Thursday evening, the Israeli occupation forces admitted that a drone had hit a building in the city of Eilat in southern occupied Palestine.


The Hebrew media reported that a huge explosion was heard in Eilat amid a state of panic and excitement among the residents.


In its first comment, the occupation forces stated that they were treating what happened as a security incident, before admitting that a drone had hit one of the buildings.


The occupation forces confirmed that there were 7 casualties.


The Yemeni armed forces previously announced the launch of drones and winged missiles towards the occupying entity during the past days, and the occupying army claimed that they were intercepted.


The occupation forces said: They are investigating the source of the drone launch.



PALESTINE

Thu 09 Nov 2023 4:32 pm - Jerusalem Time

3 hospitals stopped working and health services for children in Gaza were disrupted

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that work had stopped in three hospitals, with the cessation of medical services for children, and the start of the countdown to the closure of additional hospitals.


Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said in a press conference on Thursday evening: The Israeli occupation increased targeting of health personnel, which led to the martyrdom of 195 health personnel and the destruction of 51 ambulances.


He stated that the Israeli occupation targeted 130 health institutions and put 18 hospitals (out of 35) and 46 health centers out of service due to targeting and running out of fuel.


He said: The Israeli occupation targeted Al-Shifa Medical Complex and Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital with artillery shells, wounding 7 displaced people with various injuries.


He stressed that the Israeli violations against the health system are a flagrant violation of Security Council Resolution No. 2268 of 2016, which stipulates the necessity of respecting medical workers and not directing attacks against hospitals and health facilities.


Health status


He reviewed the difficult health reality 34 days after the aggression, and said: We launched multiple distress calls that reached all corners of the earth and all parties, but without a response, which led to the exhaustion of fuel in several new hospitals in Gaza and northern Gaza.


He announced the cessation of services at the only government eye hospital in the Gaza Strip as a result of running out of fuel, which will pose great risks to patients


He also announced that the only mental health hospital in the Gaza Strip had stopped working and was out of service as a result of running out of fuel, which would have serious repercussions on psychiatric patients and society.


He confirmed that all medical services for children at Al-Rantisi Specialized Hospital for Children and Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital had been stopped, and that intensive care and nursery operations were to continue by operating only a small generator.


It was announced that the last medical line for children’s services in Gaza and North Gaza had fallen after the cessation of services at Al-Rantisi Specialized Hospital and Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital, and before that, Al-Durrah Children’s Hospital.


He warned that the cessation of children's hospitals deprives sick children of dialysis sessions, oncology treatments, heart services, chest diseases, treatment of convulsions, and internal services, and this will have serious repercussions on the lives of children.


He said: Now Al-Nasr children are being directly bombed again, and there are a number of wounded who may be martyrs, but ambulances are unable to arrive until this moment due to the intense targeting.


He also announced the cessation of work at Al-Awda Hospital, affiliated with Al-Awda Health and Community Association, with the start of the countdown to the cessation of services at the Indonesian Hospital and Kamal Adoun Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, and their exit from service after only 24 hours due to the lack of fuel.


He announced the start of the countdown to the cessation of sensitive services and the exit of Al-Shifa Medical Complex from service after only 36 hours.


He stressed that the cessation and out-of-service of hospitals in Gaza and the northern Gaza Strip means the tragic death of thousands of wounded and sick people, especially in sensitive departments, as a result of the lack of fuel entry.


He pointed out that the Israeli occupation uses the weapon of starvation against thousands of patients, wounded, medical staff, and displaced people in hospitals, which is considered a full-fledged war crime.


He said: 900,000 residents of Gaza and northern Gaza, including the wounded, the sick, medical staff, and the displaced, have become without shelter, without food, without drink, without medicine, and without protection.


He pointed out that they were able to evacuate 99 wounded people and 73 companions through the Rafah land crossing only since the beginning of this month, and we evacuated part of them without securing safe passage for them.


He stressed that the process of evacuating the wounded for treatment outside the Gaza Strip is proceeding very slowly and disproportionately with the large number of serious cases that must be released urgently and in a safe manner before they lose their lives while waiting.


He pointed out that UN institutions seem to be dependent on Israeli decisions, and until now they have not found mechanisms to carry out their humanitarian mission to prevent the catastrophe to which the residents of the Gaza Strip are exposed.


He accused UNRWA of turning its back on the residents of Gaza and North Gaza, disrupting all health services, leaving children without vaccination, leaving pregnant women without follow-up, and leaving those with chronic diseases to face their fate without any interventions.


He said: In light of the ongoing threat to the health system, we call on the United Nations to activate international resolutions and agreements related to the protection of medical institutions, health service providers, and legal frameworks to protect civilians.


He also called on all parties to work immediately to provide a safe humanitarian corridor for the entry of medical supplies, fuel, and medical personnel, and for the urgent exit of thousands of wounded.




PALESTINE

Thu 09 Nov 2023 4:12 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israel accuses Gaza photojournalists of knowing in advance about the October 7 attack

Gantz: “Judging journalists who were present at the massacre is similar to judging its perpetrators,” and his statements were based on the report of an Israeli organization biased toward Israel and accused of inaccuracy. "CNN." The work of the photographer and the AP agency is suspended. She says she had no prior information


Today, Thursday, Israel accused photojournalists from the Gaza Strip working for international media outlets of having perhaps known in advance about the Hamas attack on the “Gaza Strip” on October 7th, which the photographers documented, and the editorial boards of these media outlets demanded clarifications. About their presence with Hamas fighters who carried out the attack.


A statement by the Israeli Ministry of Information said: “These journalists are complicit in crimes against humanity. This is a violation of professional ethics. Last night, the Government Press Office sent a letter to the editors of the media outlets that employ these photographers and demanded clarification on the matter. The National Media Authority demands that action be taken.” "Instant."


The head of the “National Camp” bloc and member of the Israeli “War Cabinet,” Benny Gantz, considered that “if there were journalists who knew about the massacre, and remained silent while children were slaughtered, then they are no different from the saboteurs and their punishment is similar. And whoever was present at the massacre and photographed, and whoever was there was a massacre and looting, and whoever was present in the massacre and remained silent is a terrorist. The same ruling will be imposed on the terrorists.”


Honest Reporting, an organization that supports Israel and follows what it describes as “biased reports against Israel,” published a report last night. The organization claimed that the presence of photographers, who work independently with international media outlets such as CNN. The Associated Press, in the early stages of the Hamas attack, raises questions related to professional ethics, and hinted that the photographers may have known in advance about the attack.


Haaretz newspaper reported on its website that this organization was founded in 2020, and is registered as an association with the Registrar of Associations in Israel, and is also active in the United States, Britain, and Canada. The “Fire Torah” association for spreading Judaism in Israel and the world funded the organization’s website. The newspaper pointed out that international media had criticized this organization in the past, and said that it had a habit of making inaccurate allegations with the aim of supporting Israeli propaganda.


One of the cameramen works for CNN. And another photographer for the Associated Press (AP). CNN announced today that it will suspend work with Gazan photographer Hassan Saleh. The network said that Saleh works as a freelance photographer, “but at this stage we did not find any reason to question his journalistic work for us, and despite that we decided to suspend all communications with him.”


The Associated Press said in a statement, “We use images from independent photographers around the world, including in Gaza. Hassan Al-Saleh has sometimes worked for the Associated Press. The agency’s mission is to collect information about news events around the world, wherever they occur, even when they are... "These events are horrific and there are many injured. The agency did not have any information about the October 7 attacks before they occurred."

Arab48



PALESTINE

Thu 09 Nov 2023 4:08 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli forces storm the Al-Balou area in the city of Al-Bireh

This afternoon, Thursday afternoon, Israeli occupation forces stormed the Al-Balou’ area in the city of Al-Bireh.


According to local sources, the occupation forces stormed the Al-Balou’ area, closed Al-Bireh-Nablus Street in both directions, and prevented the passage of citizens.


The sources added that Israeli occupation forces removed a number of fuel tanks parked on the side of the street.