The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said that from the Rafah crossing he saw the gates leading to “the ongoing nightmare in which people suffocate under constant bombardment.”

Turk said in a press conference held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after his visit to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, that people in Gaza are crying over the loss of their families, and are struggling in search of water, food, electricity, and fuel, noting that his colleagues in the United Nations Human Rights Office are among those besieged and those who lost family members "suffer sleepless nights filled with torment, anger and despair."

He added that the Rafah crossing was a lifeline for about 2.3 million people in Gaza during the past month, adding that this lifeline was unfairly weak and infuriating.

He called for a ceasefire, delivering humanitarian needs at significant levels to all parts of the Gaza Strip, and enabling the political space to achieve a permanent end to the occupation, based on the rights of Palestinians and Israelis to self-determination.

Turk said: “It is no longer enough to just say that the occupation that has been going on for 56 years must end. The international community must be part of creating a just and equitable future for Palestinians and Israelis. They are each other’s only hope for achieving peace.”

The High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke about his visit to Al-Arish Hospital in North Sinai, where he met citizen Ikram, who was eight months pregnant when she was hit by shrapnel in her stomach. She lost her fetus and had to undergo a hysterectomy. “She is still alive, but her eyes were lifeless.”

He also met the child Muhammad, 12 years old, from Jabalia, who suffers from spinal injuries and broken bones. He said, “Muhammad arrived in Rafah unaccompanied, and says he does not remember what happened, but the shock was clear on his face.”

He added: "We have fallen into the abyss. This situation cannot continue. Even in the context of a 56-year occupation, the current situation is the most dangerous in decades."

Turk indicated that during his visit he heard many concerns about double standards in dealing with this conflict, adding that the world cannot bear the cost of double standards.

He stressed the need to emphasize the global standards on the basis of which the situation must be evaluated, which are human rights law and international humanitarian law.

He pointed out that he described Gaza before October 7 as the largest open prison in the world, under 56 years of occupation and 16 years of Israeli siege.

He added, "The collective punishment imposed by Israel on Palestinian civilians also amounts to a war crime, as does the illegal forced eviction of civilians. The intense bombing has led to the killing, wounding and maiming of women and children in particular."

He pointed out that the latest death toll in the Gaza Strip reached more than 10,500 martyrs, including 4,300 children and 2,800 women, saying, "All of this has an unbearable impact on civilians."

He stressed the need to commit to neutralizing the civilian population and civilian facilities, and to adhere to international humanitarian law, stressing that attacks against medical facilities, medical personnel, the wounded and the sick are prohibited.

He stressed that "Israel's obligations as an occupying power remain in full force. This requires it to ensure that the greatest possible amount of life's necessities reaches everyone who needs them. People still need help in all parts of Gaza. There is an urgent humanitarian need to reach a population whose isolation is deepening." , including in the northern and central areas of the Strip, who are cut off from the very limited aid entering Gaza.”

“In the past few days, my colleagues have received reports of an orphanage in northern Gaza containing 300 children in need of urgent assistance,” he said. “With communications cut off, roads impassable and unsafe, we are unable to reach these orphans.”

He added: “During the past month, Gaza witnessed at least three complete communications outages, which led to the isolation of Palestinians there from their families inside the Strip and from the outside world. The power outages have dire consequences for rescue workers who are struggling to find and rescue victims of the bombing. This is in addition to "It has consequences on families trying to find out the condition of their loved ones and access emergency health care, and on the process of monitoring and documenting the situation on the ground."

He continued: "As for journalists who try to document and cover the events in Gaza, they pay the price with their lives. At least 32 Palestinian journalists were killed in the Gaza Strip last month."

On Wednesday evening, Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Ya'bad and the villages of Jalboun and Faqou'a, south and northeast of Jenin.

According to local sources, the occupation forces stormed the town of Ya`bad, raided the Al-Baajwa and Abu Shamla neighborhoods, deployed an infantry squad and launched a combing campaign.

The sources added that Israeli forces stormed the villages of Faqoua and Jalboun, deployed infantry teams, raided several neighborhoods in the two villages, and marched their military vehicles through their streets in a provocative move, which led to the outbreak of confrontations between young men and the Israeli occupation forces in Faqoua, during which the occupation soldiers fired bullets and stun grenades, without anyone being informed about injuries.

Former Israeli Prime Minister: Netanyahu was in a state of nervous breakdown, as he sought to avoid being ousted from office for failing to protect national security after Hamas attacks.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "psychologically destroyed by his gross failure in the field of national security."

In an interview with Politico, Olmert said that Netanyahu was in a state of "nervous breakdown, as he sought to avoid being ousted from office for failing to protect national security after Hamas attacks."

A surprise attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7 left 1,400 dead, the majority of whom were civilians. They were killed in general on the first day of the attack, and more than 240 hostages were taken, according to the Israeli authorities.

Olmert warned, saying: "The priority must be to negotiate the end-game with the international community, including returning to talks on forming a Palestinian state, rather than turning back the clock toward full military supervision of Gaza."

Olmert added, describing Netanyahu: “Throughout his life, he falsely considered himself the master of security. He is the master of nonsense.”

He continued: "Every minute Netanyahu spends as prime minister, he poses a danger to Israel. I mean that seriously. I'm sure the Americans understand that he is in bad shape."

He added, "It is not in Israel's interest to supervise Gaza's security. It is in our interest to be able to defend ourselves in a different way than we did before the October 7 attack. But to control Gaza again? No."

The White House said yesterday, Tuesday, that Hamas will not be part of the equation in Gaza, explaining that Washington is holding discussions with Israel about what Gaza will look like after the end of the ongoing conflict there.

White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said that Israel's reoccupation of Gaza would not be right.

On Monday, Netanyahu announced that Israel would assume “comprehensive security responsibility” in the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period after the war it is currently waging against Hamas.

Olmert also warned that the patience of Israel's Western allies was beginning to run out due to the failure of Netanyahu and his ministers to draw up a realistic plan to govern Gaza in the post-Hamas era.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced today that the death toll in the Strip due to the Israeli bombing since October 7 had risen to 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children. It also confirmed that the number of infected people had risen to 26,475.

In its second month, the war between the Israeli army and the armed Palestinian factions in Gaza continues today, Wednesday, while there is no sign of a ceasefire or implementation of a temporary humanitarian truce, while the number of civilian casualties increases as a result of the Israeli bombing, and the situation in the Strip is getting worse, which has become disastrous. .

The anticipated meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is on track for next week on the sidelines of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, but the White house is not expecting the face-to-face to result in major changes to the relationship between the two nations, according to a person familiar with the planning.

The White House announced late last month that U.S. and China had come to an agreement in principle for Biden and Xi to speak to each other in person on the sidelines of the summit — the first engagement between the leaders in what’s been a tension-filled year between the world’s two biggest economic powers. But with Biden set to arrive in San Francisco in a week for the summit, exact timing and other logistical details have not yet been formally announced.

The U.S. believes that the two sides will be able to made some modest announcements following their meeting, but the fundamental differences in the relationship will remain unchanged, according to the person, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Jude Blanchette, chair of China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Biden and Xi were looking “to intentionally keep that bar low.”

A coalition of 13 relief groups, including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, and Oxfam, urged world leaders to press for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to Israeli aggression since last October 7.

In a statement, the organizations called on “French President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of countries... to do everything in their power for an immediate ceasefire,” on the eve of Paris hosting a humanitarian conference dedicated to the situation in the Gaza Strip.

She added that priorities must also include concrete measures to protect the entire civilian population, ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and respect international humanitarian law.

In addition to Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty, and Oxfam, the list of signatories to the statement includes Action Against Hunger, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and the International Federation for Human Rights.

"We are receiving increasingly desperate pleas for protection and assistance from our humanitarian workers in the besieged Gaza Strip," Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a statement.

He added, "The lack of a humanitarian ceasefire, a humanitarian corridor, and an end to the stifling siege so far is unacceptable." He called for Thursday's humanitarian conference in a hurry on the sidelines of the annual Paris Peace Forum.

Its goal is to “mobilize all partners and stakeholders to respond to the needs” of the people of Gaza, according to what a Macron advisor told reporters on Wednesday, requesting anonymity.

During a meeting in Japan on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries called for “humanitarian truces and corridors” to protect civilians, but without calling for a ceasefire.

The Ministry of Health announced that the toll of martyrs and wounded among our people as a result of the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip had risen to 10,515 martyrs and more than 26,000 wounded.

Israel’s attorney general and state attorney are working with police and military to formally investigate the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, they announced Wednesday.

“Our goal is to investigate and initiate legal proceedings against those who perpetrated, planned and otherwise took part in these heinous acts -– wherever they are,” the statement said. It said Israel would punish the Hamas militants with “the utmost severity, commensurate with their crimes.”

Police are working to collect evidence from towns across the south as attorneys for the Ministry of Justice decide how best to proceed with the investigation.

A long line of thousands of Palestinians fled on foot from northern Gaza Wednesday — families, children and older adults, crying babies — carrying only what they could take in their arms or on their backs.

They were seen in Associated Press video walking down Gaza’s main north-south highway, heeding the Israeli military’s orders to evacuate during a five-hour window as its troops battled Hamas militants deep inside Gaza City. 

Some evacuees were pushing relatives in wheelchairs, with one older adult wheeled down the road in a hand truck.

Abeer Akeila left her home in Gaza city after relentless strikes forced all her neighbors to flee southward. She said life in the city has become increasingly difficult amid dwindling water and food supplies.

“There was shelling and bombardment overnight,” she said. “We didn’t have food or drinking water ... They struck the bakeries. There is no life in Gaza.”

About 15,000 people fled northern Gaza on Tuesday — triple the number that left Monday — according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Many of the people walking south are refugees or their descendants who fled or were expelled from their homes in what is now Israel in 1948.

Today, Wednesday, the authorities in Gaza, the Hamas movement, and international organizations presented figures showing the extent of the humanitarian catastrophe and destruction resulting from the continuous Israeli bombing of the Strip for more than a month.

The head of the government information office in Gaza, Salama Marouf, said that Israel is waging a starvation war on the residents of the besieged Strip, in which it does not differentiate between the residents of the north and the south.

Marouf warned - in an interview with Al Jazeera - that signs of malnutrition and dehydration had begun to spread among children in Gaza.

He pointed out that the aid trucks that have entered the Gaza Strip so far are equivalent to what was entering in one day before the war, explaining that the loads of those trucks do not respond to the real and urgent needs of the residents of the Gaza Strip.

Water and electricity

In Beirut, Hamas leader Bassem Naim said that potable water in Gaza has been lost by more than 90%.

Naim added - in a joint press conference with the movement’s representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan - that the residents of Gaza are often forced to resort to seawater, which causes them diseases.

He pointed out that since the beginning of the aggression, the Israeli occupation has deliberately cut off water to the Gaza Strip in a crime against humanity, saying that it is a shame for the international community to allow the occupation to use water to blackmail the residents of Gaza.

The Hamas leader also said that the residents of Gaza are suffering from a stifling crisis in providing a loaf of bread due to the occupation’s bombing of bakeries.

Naim accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of colluding with Israel by neglecting its role established by international laws, calling on the global community and the United Nations not to submit to the will of the occupation.

The Hamas leader indicated that 2% of Gaza's population had become either martyrs, wounded, or missing.

For his part, Jalal Ismail, head of the Palestinian Energy Authority in Gaza, said that 70% of the electricity transmission and distribution networks in the Strip were destroyed by the ongoing Israeli war.

Ismail added that losses in the electricity sector in Gaza are estimated at more than $80 million.

Hospitals stopped

Also on the humanitarian level, Enas Abu Khalaf, head of the media office of Doctors Without Borders, said that more than 40% of hospitals in Gaza have stopped serving.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Abu Khalaf called for a ceasefire as it was the only way out of the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

In this context, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qudra, warned of the escalation of the occupation’s threats to hospitals and the repeated request to evacuate the Rantisi Children’s Hospital, calling on the Red Cross to come inside the hospitals to protect them from the occupation.

He called for the ability to work to provide humanitarian corridors for aid and fuel to enter, to allow the exit of the wounded, and for medical teams of all specialties to enter.

Destruction of housing units

On another topic, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, Irene Khan, revealed that Israel’s attacks on Gaza caused the destruction or damage of 45% of all housing units in the Strip.

Irene Khan added that this led to the internal displacement of 1.5 million people, and the death of more than 10,000 people, including more than 80 United Nations employees.

The UN official described the destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure in Gaza as an international war crime.

Irene Khan called on the world to act immediately to end the widespread attacks against civilian housing and infrastructure in Gaza, which have caused a heavy cost in lives.

For his part, the United Nations rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, told Al Jazeera that the population in Gaza is at risk of genocide.

Americans have become more likely to describe Israel as an ally that shares U.S. interests and values since the war with Hamas began, but they’re divided over whether Israel has gone too far in its response to last month’s attack, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey, which was conducted from Nov. 2 to 6, also reveals skepticism among Democrats toward Israel, which could present a challenge for President Joe Biden as he tries to balance support for the country’s defense and his party’s shifting priorities.

The result is a rather muddled picture that presents few easy options for the White House as it keeps one eye on public opinion with an election year on the horizon.

“It’s just so complicated,” said Carolyn Reyes, a 36-year-old Democrat in New York. “And I will not even pretend to understand the complicated nature of the relationship between the United States and Israel.”

During an August poll, only 32% of Americans described Israel as an ally that shares U.S. interests and values. But that figure increased to 44% in the latest survey, which was conducted after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that killed 1,400 Israelis.

However, only 36% said it’s extremely or very important to provide aid to Israel’s military to fight Hamas. And 40% of Americans said Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip has gone too far. The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas, said 10,000 Palestinians have died from weeks of Israeli bombardment and a recent ground invasion.

Reyes recalled hearing about the death toll on the news and thinking “it seems so high, I thought that can’t be right.”

Four thousand children have died in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry there, and Reyes said “that’s the line that’s too far.”

It’s a sentiment more common among Democrats, 58% of whom view Israel’s counterattack as excessive.

Overall, 38% of Americans said Israel’s response has been about right, and just 18% said it has not gone far enough.

Complicating the situation is Americans’ interest in balancing several foreign policy goals simultaneously. About 6 in 10 believe it’s extremely important or very important for the U.S. to help recover hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, while roughly half said the same thing about preventing harm to Palestinian civilians or providing humanitarian relief in the territory.

Nearly two thirds of Americans (63%) disapprove of how Biden is handling the conflict between Israel and Hamas, while only one-third approve. That’s in line with his overall job approval: 60% of US adults disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president, while 38% approve.

The West Bank remains under military occupation. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but instituted a blockade when Hamas took control, and there has been sporadic fighting for years. Americans pin blame for the current conflict on Hamas, which the U.S. government considers to be a terrorist organization. About two-thirds of Americans (66%) said Hamas has a lot of responsibility for the war, while 35% said the same about Israel.

About half of Americans (52%) say they are extremely or very concerned that the recent war between Israel and Hamas will increase prejudice against Jewish people in the United States. About 4 in 10 share the same concern about prejudice against Muslim people (43%). Majorities of Democrats are similarly concerned about prejudice against Jews (57%) and Muslims (58%). A slight majority of Republicans are worried about prejudice against Jews (54%) with fewer being concerned about Muslims (28%). Philipson said he didn’t want to vote for Donald Trump again, but would consider backing the former president in a potential contest with Biden next year.

The “Group of Seven” demands “humanitarian truces” and Blinken rejects the return of the occupation and the displacement of the Palestinians

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven major industrialized countries called for “humanitarian truces” that would allow the introduction of humanitarian aid into Gaza, support the protection of Palestinian civilians, and the release of hostages held by “Hamas,” while US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken presented the clearest visions of President Joe Biden’s administration for what is called “today.” Next» in the Strip after the end of the war, warning the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against seeking to reoccupy Gaza, in the latest indication of increasing pressure from the United States and Western countries on Israel to stop the attack that has so far led to the death of more than ten thousand people.

About two weeks after the start of the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on October 7, voices rose across the United Nations and countries around the world to allow the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to about 2.4 million Palestinians living under the stifling siege in Gaza.

The group includes the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. The latter currently holds the rotating presidency of this bloc, which held two-day meetings in Tokyo at the level of foreign ministers. The final statement fell short of calling for a comprehensive ceasefire, for fear that this would risk the Gaza Strip’s authority remaining under the control of “Hamas,” according to Secretary Blinken’s statements.

Truces and corridors

The unified statement of the foreign ministers stated: “We support humanitarian truces and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, the movement of civilians and the release of hostages,” stressing “the importance of protecting civilians and complying with international law, especially international humanitarian law.”

As the ministers reiterated their condemnation of the Hamas attack, which the Israeli authorities announced led to the death of about 1,400 people, they said that “there is an urgent need for more humanitarian assistance to civilians” in Gaza, where the invasion, air strikes and bombings led to the death of more than ten thousand. One person, and more than 26 thousand were injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Despite the great support from the administration of President Joe Biden for what it calls “Israel’s right to defend itself” and its goal of eliminating “Hamas,” it has steadily raised its calls for a temporary halt to the fighting for humanitarian reasons in order to deliver aid to Gaza. During an entire month of the war, the United Nations was able to bring about 520 aid trucks into Gaza, noting that this number of trucks was sent daily to the besieged Strip before the start of this war.

Settler violence

The statement by the G7 ministers expressed their concern about “the escalation of extremist settler violence against Palestinians” in the West Bank, stressing that they will work together to “deprive (Hamas) of the ability to raise funds and use them to commit atrocities,” including by imposing new sanctions. 

The statement also called for a return to the “two-state solution” as “the only way to achieve a just, lasting and secure peace” in the Middle East. It urged Iran to “refrain from providing support to the Hamas movement, and from taking further measures that destabilize the Middle East, including support for the Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-governmental entities,” calling on Tehran to “use its influence with those groups to calm tensions.” Regional.

Unity of position

The statement appears to align more closely than previous G7 statements with the approach taken by Japan since the beginning of the war. While most of its G7 peers have offered full support for Israel, Japan has distinguished itself by issuing more moderate public statements calling on “all parties” to “exercise maximum restraint” in the conflict, and expressing concern about the number of casualties in both Israel and Gaza.

During the meetings in Tokyo, Blinken warned that Israel should not reoccupy Gaza, in a direct response to Netanyahu’s statements that Israel could bear responsibility for Gaza’s security “for an indefinite period as he said: “We all want to end this conflict as soon as possible, while at the same time reducing civilian suffering to a minimum.” But, as I discussed with my G7 colleagues, those demanding an immediate ceasefire have an obligation to explain how a ceasefire would work, and to address the unacceptable outcome that would likely result in Hamas remaining in power with more than 200 hostages. “With the declared ability and intention to repeat what happened on October 7 over and over again.”

Transitional period

Blinken added, “We are very clear about not reoccupying, just as we are very clear about not displacing the Palestinian population in the Israeli attack on Gaza.” He added that, on the other hand, “Hamas cannot continue to administer Gaza,” explaining that “the truth now is that there may be a need for some transitional period at the end of the conflict, but it is necessary for the Palestinian people to be central to governance in Gaza and the West Bank.” . He pointed out that Israeli leaders told him “that they do not intend to reoccupy Gaza,” without naming any of these officials.

This response from the chief American diplomat was the latest indication of potential tension between the Israeli government and its largest military supporter, the United States.

American officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to sensitive internal discussions, said that Netanyahu’s statements “raised a warning to the Biden administration, whose position is that Israel needs to avoid any reference to an open occupation of Gaza.” US officials appear to be increasingly concerned about Israel's plans for post-conflict Gaza. Blinken said that the administration “also wants to ensure other forms of protection for the residents of Gaza,” explaining that the basic elements for ending the conflict must include “no forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, neither now nor after the war,” in addition to that “the territory of Gaza should not be reduced.” .

Solidarity between black and Palestinian organizers is intertwined with historical roots. However, experts and activists believe that the events that occurred in recent years led to the crystallization of the intersections and similarities of the demonstrators...

American solidarity and popular support towards the Palestinian cause is increasing, about a month after the violent Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, which many human rights organizations described as “genocide” against the Palestinians.

Anne Eliza Canning Skinner describes her participation in the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020 as the first time she “experienced the meaning of solidarity.” Three years later, the 28-year-old young woman took to the streets of New York to demonstrate in support of the Palestinians.

The death toll from the continuous Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip since then has reached more than ten thousand people, most of them civilians, children and women, according to the latest toll of the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Canning Skinner is one of thousands of demonstrators across the United States who took to the streets demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US funding for the Israeli army. Demonstrators in the United States are increasingly linking the Palestinian liberation movement to the black liberation movement.

In Brooklyn recently, Canning Skinner, a black woman, came out with demonstrators who raised signs reading “Black lives for Palestine” and “White silence is violence,” and the young woman asserts, “Everything is interconnected.”

There are historical roots of solidarity between black and Palestinian organizers. However, experts and activists believe that the events that occurred in recent years led to the crystallization of the similarities and intersections of the demonstrators.

“In terms of doing this kind of ideological work to convince people that Palestine is an issue they should engage with, I think Black Lives Matter was very important,” asserts Derek Ide, a historian at the University of Michigan.

He added, "There are more people in the streets, and this is certainly a result of the type of organizing that black activists have been doing alongside Palestinian groups and organizations."

Sam Klug, an African American studies historian who focuses on decolonization, explains that with the emergence of the Black Power and anti-war movements in the mid-twentieth century, “it became more common in African American activist circles to understand Palestinians as an oppressed people.”

He says that the 1967 war was an important turning point, noting that the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee - which was a major organizing force during the American civil rights movement - issued a bulletin that “took a strong pro-Palestinian position.”

He added, "She described a kind of shared state of oppression and occupation between African Americans and Palestinians and a kind of global colonial society."

Decades later, the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked mass protests against racism and state violence, and the Black Lives Matter movement began to attract American attention.

In the summer of 2014, Israel launched a military campaign against Gaza for seven weeks, and historian Aydi confirms that “seeing these two things happening at the same time (..) reinforced that these are two unified struggles” for many activists.

He noted, "We saw a kind of wave of action and dialogue between the demonstrators in Ferguson as well as the Palestinians in Gaza (...) the exchange of tactics, strategies, and stories of oppression and resistance to oppression."

In 2020, the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police sparked more massive protests and strengthened efforts to combat racism in the United States.

Klug believes that “it is difficult to imagine” the current protests in the United States without the “Black Lives Matter” movement, and he said, “It is certainly not the only factor (..) but I think it is important.”

A number of demonstrators have recently pointed to the existence of links between Israeli law enforcement and American police, pointing in particular to programs that see American officers trained alongside their Israeli counterparts. Even before the current war, Israel has been waging military operations, some of which have included the use of lethal force against civilians. .

Klug noted “a clear shared visual language that people can see when Israeli security services brutalize Palestinian civilians, and which Americans have become familiar with from scenes of white police officers committing acts of violence against African-American civilians.”

These factors may help provide a partial explanation for why American opinion has grown and improved on the Palestinian issue, especially among young people in recent years, in a country whose government affirms unwavering support for Israel.

Klug asserts that the protests over the killing of George Florid and the work of Black Lives Matter that preceded them led to a shift in the conversation about the Palestinian issue for many black activists - and also more broadly "among young Americans of all races."

Klug spoke about the increasing activity on the left among anti-Zionist Jewish movements such as the “Jewish Voice for Peace” and the “If Not Now” movement, both of which have played a strong organizational role in recent weeks.

Joe Behanzen, who recently took part in a demonstration in Manhattan, confirmed that, inspired by “Black Lives Matter,” it is about what he described as “global solidarity.”

Source: arab48

Guterres comments on the number of civilian casualties resulting from the devastating Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip, and considers that “it is clear that there is an error in the method of carrying out military operations.” He says that "it is not in Israel's interest that a dire picture of tragic humanitarian needs appear on a daily basis."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the number of civilians martyred in the Gaza Strip clearly shows that “there is something wrong with Israeli military operations” in Gaza.

Guterres added, in statements to Reuters, that the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) “when one looks at the number of civilians killed in military operations, it necessarily becomes clear that there is something wrong.”

He added, "It is also important to make Israel realize that it is not in its interest to display a terrible daily picture of the tragic humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people. This does not support Israel before world public opinion."

Guterres compared the number of children killed in Gaza with the number of children killed in conflicts around the world, on which the Secretary-General reports annually.

“Every year, the maximum number of children killed by any of the actors in all the conflicts we witness is in the hundreds,” he said.

He added, "We have thousands of children killed in Gaza within a few days, which means that there is a clear error in the method of carrying out military operations."

The United Nations report on children and armed conflict includes a list aimed at exposing parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to implement measures to protect children.

This matter has been controversial for a long time, and diplomats said that Israel has exerted pressure in recent years in an attempt to remove it from this list.

Israel pledged to eliminate Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, after its militants killed 1,400 people and detained more than 240 in an attack on October 7. Since then, Israel has continued an air and ground attack on the besieged Strip.

For 33 days, the Israeli army has been waging a war on Gaza, during which it destroyed residential neighborhoods on top of their residents, killing 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, and wounding 26,475.

Also, 163 Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets in the occupied West Bank, hundreds were injured, and 2,280 were arrested in the West Bank, according to official sources.

Citizens were injured by live bullets on Wednesday evening, and others were injured as a result of settler attacks in the West Bank.

In Sebastia, a young man was injured by live bullets during the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of the town, northwest of Nablus.

The mayor of Sebastia, Muhammad Azem, said that a young man was injured by occupation bullets in the thigh, during confrontations that broke out with the Israeli occupation forces in the town after they stormed Antiquities Square.

In Salfit, two brothers were injured and bruised as a result of colonists assaulting them while picking olives on their land in the town of Burqin, west of the city.

Citizen Bashar Rafiq Abd al-Rahman reported that a group of colonists from the “Bruqin” colony attacked his two brothers, Muhammad and Hamza, with stones and sticks, while they were picking olives on their land in the northern side of the town of Burqin, and injured them with bruises, fractures, and wounds, after which they were transferred to the Martyr Yasser Arafat Hospital in Salfit.

Today, Wednesday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested three young men from the towns of Ya`bad and Jaba, south of Jenin.

According to local sources, Israeli occupation forces arrested the young man, Ali Muhammad Salem Amarneh, from the town of Ya’bad, and the two brothers, Osama and Salim Ahmed Sultana, from Jaba, after they headed to Salem camp, west of Jenin, based on the occupation forces summoning them to meet his intelligence services.

The Ministry of Education condemned the Israeli occupation forces’ attack on school students in Shuafat and Anata camps in the Jerusalem Governorate.

The Ministry confirmed in a statement issued this evening, Wednesday, that these ongoing unfair practices against children, students, and members of educational families in all regions require taking a position from human rights and legal institutions and child protection organizations. Especially in light of the escalating rate of attacks and genocide against the Gaza Strip and its children, which impedes students’ access to their schools, and deprives them of receiving their education in a safe, free and stable manner like the children of the world.

Imran Hussein, a member of the British House of Commons from the opposition Labor Party, resigned from his position as Minister of Labor and Unemployment Affairs in the shadow government in protest against the party leader’s refusal to demand a ceasefire in the Israeli war on Gaza.

Hussein will remain an elected member of the Labor Party in the House of Commons, and a few days ago he signed among 39 Labor Party delegates a parliamentary proposal to “immediately stop the escalation and fighting” in Gaza.

Labor Party Chairman Keir Starmer has so far rejected the growing calls in his party to demand a ceasefire, and his official position on the issue is to support a “humanitarian truce” that allows supplies and basic needs to enter the Gaza Strip, which is the same position adopted by the British government.

34 local councils affiliated with the Labor Party support a ceasefire, and a quarter of the party’s representatives in the House of Commons, and more than 20 ministers in the shadow government, also support the decision. They are pressuring the party’s leadership to change its position and support the ceasefire, which may cause widening divisions within the party. It jeopardizes Starmer's authority within him, according to a report by the British newspaper The Times.

Starmer has sought to win Jewish votes for the party since taking office in 2020, and followed the example of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the conflict in the Middle East, saying that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas.

MP Andy McDonald, a close associate of former party leader Jeremy Corbyn, was accused of using “anti-Semitic” language for chanting at a demonstration, “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”

While John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor during Corbyn's leadership, defended the right of Labor MPs to use this language, considering that it expresses justice for the Palestinians.

Masses of people participated, this Wednesday evening, in a vigil and march in the center of the city of Ramallah, denouncing the continuing aggression of the Israeli occupation against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The participants in the march, which was led by members of the Executive Committees of the Liberation Organization and the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement, and national and community activities in the governorate, raised Palestinian flags and banners, and banners denouncing the crimes of the occupation.

The participants chanted to denounce the crimes of the occupation, its ongoing massacres and its practice of genocide against our people, demanding an end to the continuing aggression and ethnic cleansing committed by the occupation in the Gaza Strip, and its ongoing crimes in the West Bank.

The Israeli Mini-Ministerial Council for War Affairs (War Cabinet) is expected to meet this evening, Wednesday, at the headquarters of the army’s Central Command, to discuss many developments, most notably the escalation taking place in the occupied West Bank, following recent operations, and attempts to carry out other operations.

The session also aims to develop a plan to avoid a scenario similar to the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation carried out by the Hamas movement on October 7, this time from the West Bank.

Maariv newspaper reported on Wednesday that an unnamed Israeli political source said at the beginning of the week to Israeli political correspondents: “We are not prepared for a situation in which thousands of Palestinians from Qalqiliya (in the West Bank) storm the city of Kfar Saba. There is a need for preparation in the West Bank as well.” ".

According to the political source, the head of Israeli government, Benjamin Netanyahu, asked the army to “plan for intensified operations in the event of an event similar to what happened on October 7th in the West Bank. We are talking about a scenario in which a thousand Palestinians arrive in a settlement,” indicating that “a response must be prepared.” An act in the West Bank at the same time as measures are being taken against the national crime.”

The "War Cabinet" will also discuss the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip and the issue of a ceasefire.

According to Maariv, after US President Joe Biden confirmed that he requested a truce in his last conversation with Netanyahu, Israeli officials clarified that “the talk is not about exerting American pressure at this stage, but about a request. Our line has not changed, and the truce will not be considered unless in exchange for the release of the kidnapped.

Yesterday, Tuesday, the heads of local authorities in the settlements met with Israeli Security Minister Yoav Galant, and presented to him security warnings and serious concerns about scenarios similar to the Hamas attack in the south on October 7.

US Representative Rashida Tlaib criticized her colleagues' focus on silencing her voice regarding developments in Gaza, instead of saving Palestinian lives.

This came in a statement issued by US Representative Tlaib, of Palestinian origin, regarding a draft resolution condemning her in the US House of Representatives after she criticized the policies of “Israel” and the policies of US President Joe Biden regarding Gaza.

She said in her statement, “At a time when the death toll in Gaza has exceeded more than 10,000, I feel extremely saddened by my colleagues’ efforts to silence me instead of saving the lives of others.”

She confirmed that many members of the House of Representatives told her that “the lives of the Palestinians are not important to them.”

She pointed out that her colleagues “instead of accepting the ideas and point of view of the only Palestinian-American in the Council, they resorted to distorting her position through blatant lies.”

Yesterday, Monday, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene renewed an attempt to pass a draft resolution condemning Tlaib because of her criticism of the policies of “Israel” and President Biden regarding Gaza.

On November 3, Tlaib published pictures of dead Palestinian children on the “X” platform, and wrote, “President Biden supports genocide against the Palestinian people. The American people will not forget this.”

She added: “Biden, either support the ceasefire now, or trust us (don’t count on us) in the 2024 (elections).”

Likud Knesset members push a bill to repeal the disengagement law. Ambassador of a Western country: “We know that Netanyahu fears confrontation with the extreme right in the coalition. If they ask him for dangerous matters, he may agree, and we will have to be prepared and express our opposition.”

Foreign diplomats in embassies in Tel Aviv warned Western countries that statements by ministers and members of the Knesset regarding Israel’s return to establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip would cause harm to Israel, and that Israel’s transition from words to actions in this regard would have dire consequences.

In light of the war on Gaza, Knesset members from the Likud Party are pushing a bill to amend the disengagement law, so that the freedom of movement of Israelis in the Gaza Strip is allowed, similar to a similar amendment that allows the movement of Israelis in the northern West Bank.

Knesset member Amit Levy, from Likud, told the Israel Hayom newspaper, “The Knesset must repeal this law that prevents Jews from entering the Gaza Strip.” Israel dismantled the settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank under the disengagement plan in 2005.

Today, Wednesday, Haaretz newspaper quoted foreign diplomats from countries that supported Israel's war on Gaza, saying that any Israeli operation to establish new settlements in the Gaza Strip will harm Western support for Israel's war on Gaza.

One of the diplomats added, "We are currently treating these as statements from foreigners, people who are relatively marginal, and are not partners in the bodies where war decisions are made, but we are following the campaign that supports these ideas. This is disturbing."

The ambassador of one of the Western countries told the newspaper, “The main problem is the influence of the extreme right in the government on Netanyahu.” He referred to Netanyahu's decision not to dismiss Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu after his statements about targeting Gaza with a nuclear bomb.

The same ambassador added, "We know that Netanyahu fears confrontation with this wing of the coalition. If they ask him for dangerous matters, he may agree, and we will have to be prepared and express our opposition."

Israeli diplomats said in interviews conducted with international media in recent days that talk of establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip does not reflect the policy of the Israeli government.

According to a senior Israeli official, “It is clear that if these statements turn into actions, they will cause us great damage, but this is currently still under control. Meanwhile, most of our partners in the world realize that the people who talk like this are not the ones who make the decisions.” ".

Qatari mediation has so far succeeded in releasing four hostages: two Americans on October 20 and two Israelis on the 23rd of the same month.

Discussions are taking place, mediated by Qatar, to release between 10 and 15 hostages held by the Hamas movement since its attack on Israel a month ago, in exchange for a day or two of shooting in the Gaza Strip. A source familiar with the talks said Wednesday.

The source, who refused to reveal his identity due to the sensitivity of the talks, said, “Negotiations are taking place under Qatari mediation and in coordination with the United States, to secure the release of 10 to 15 hostages in exchange for a ceasefire for one or two days in Gaza.”

Hamas has been holding more than 200 hostages between Israelis and foreigners since October 7, when it launched an attack on Israel.

The death toll from the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza since then has reached 10,569 people, most of them civilians, including more than 4,000 children. According to what the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday.

So far, Qatari mediation has succeeded in releasing four hostages: two Americans on October 20 and two Israelis on the 23rd of the same month.

On November 1, Qatar warned that Israel’s expansion of its attacks in Gaza to include civilian targets “would undermine mediation and de-escalation efforts,” denouncing the Israeli bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani, confirmed during a press conference on Sunday that “Qatari mediation efforts in the field of releasing prisoners are still continuing,” despite “the complexity of the field situation due to the practices of the Israeli occupation army.”

Source: Arab48

Reporters Without Borders said that 36 journalists were killed in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, bringing the rate of journalists killed by the occupation bombing in the Gaza Strip by one or more journalists every day.

Reporters Without Borders called for the protection of media actors who are still working in the sector, in an official statement published by the organization on Tuesday evening.

The organization stressed in its statement that there is no longer a safe place for journalists in Gaza. Whether they are visible in the field or in press tents set up near hospitals to facilitate media coverage, or they are resting with their families in their homes or in shelters, journalists are at risk of death in Any moment during their work to cover current events in the sector, yet they continue to convey the picture of this conflict, which is considered one of the bloodiest conflicts of the twenty-first century.

Reporters Without Borders reported that the toll of journalist casualties in the Gaza Strip is horrific, as “36 journalists were martyred in the Israeli raids on Gaza during 31 days of bombing,” and the organization noted that journalists are living under “permanent pressure from the continuous Israeli bombing.”

The organization pointed out the Israel’s claims that its forces do not target journalists, and stressed that the occupation does not hide its lack of commitment to protecting them, as at least 10 of the journalists who were martyred in Gaza out of 36 rose while covering the ongoing events, and according to “Reporters Without Borders,” they were It is easy for the occupation forces to know the nature of their work and their identity before targeting them.

Reporters Without Borders noted that the Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip destroyed more than 50 media offices, either completely or partially, noting that the Agence France-Presse office was added on November 3 to the list of media buildings that were destroyed.

Reporters Without Borders confirmed that the situation is tragic for the press in Gaza, where “more than one journalist has been killed every day since October 7, noting that this huge number of deaths among media actors, among thousands of civilians, is rising day after day.” .

The organization recalled statements attributed to Jonathan Dagher, Director of the Middle East Bureau at Reporters Without Borders, in which he said: “The situation is tragic for the press in Gaza, where more than one journalist has been killed every day since October 7, knowing that this huge number of deaths are among the perpetrators.” Media professionals, among thousands of civilians, are on the rise day after day, as the Israeli army, through its raids, is continuing to effectively eliminate them one by one, while describing in unacceptable statements the extent of its blatant disregard for international humanitarian law, which it ignores. In this emergency situation, we immediately demand the protection of journalists in Gaza and the opportunity for foreign correspondents to enter the Strip and work there freely.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the violations of the Israeli occupation and the prison administration and their crimes against Palestinian detainees, by escalating the operations of abuse and targeting of them, violent isolation of them after their arrest, and attempts to harm their dignity and humiliate them in ways that have nothing to do with humanity, law and morals.

The Ministry warned in a statement today, Wednesday, that extremist Minister Itamar Ben Gvir found in his government's vengeful mentality that prevails these days a climate to satisfy his desires to practice the worst forms of abuse, repression, and crimes against detainees.

For its part, the Foreign Ministry asked its embassies and missions in countries around the world to immediately go to the foreign ministries and decision-making and public opinion centers in the host countries, to expose the oppression and killing of detainees subjected to an official Israeli decision.

The Foreign Ministry also provided its embassies with discussion topics detailing all daily forms of torture practiced against detainees, so that the international community, all states, and the relevant international and international organizations, including the International Red Cross and the countries that signed the Geneva Conventions, bear their responsibilities and intervene urgently to provide protection for the detainees.

Today, Wednesday, the American newspaper "The New York Times" quoted statements from leaders of the Hamas movement, who pointed to the reasons and motives for the "Al-Aqsa Flood" attack launched by the movement on the "Gaza envelope" on the 7th of last October, which was followed by the endless war, Israel continues to launch and deepen it, and it has resulted in the death of more than ten thousand Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority of whom are civilians.

A member of the supreme leadership body of the Hamas movement, Khalil Al-Hayya, said that it was necessary to "change the entire equation and not just the clash. We succeeded in returning the Palestinian issue to the table, and now no one in the region feels calm."

For his part, Hamas's media advisor, Taher Al-Nono, said, "I hope that the state of war with Israel will become permanent on all borders, and that the Arab world will stand with us."

Al-Nono's statements come at a time when Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging limited missile and artillery strikes on the Lebanese border, while the United States has mobilized an important part of its fleet in the region in an attempt to prevent the war from expanding and Iran and Hezbollah joining it on a large scale.

Al-Hayya added, "What can change the equation is a great work," referring to the "Al-Aqsa Flood" attack, and continued, "Without the slightest doubt, it was known that the reaction to this great work would be great."

Al-Hayya considered that "we had to tell people that the Palestinian cause will not die."

Al-Hayya pointed out that "Hamas's goal is not to administer Gaza and provide it with water, electricity, etc." He added, "Hamas, Al-Qassam, and the resistance woke the world from its deep slumber and showed that this issue must remain on the table."

He stressed, "This battle was not because we wanted fuel or workers. It did not seek to improve the situation in Gaza. This battle aims to completely turn the situation around."

The newspaper referred to the tightening Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, since 2007, by quoting statements made by the head of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, including his statement, in 2011, “They wanted the prison to be a grave for us. A mill to grind our will, our resolve, and our bodies.” ".

Sinwar had said in an interview with an Italian journalist for an Israeli newspaper, in 2018, “I am not saying that I will not fight anymore. I am saying that I do not want war anymore. I want the end of the siege. You walk to the beach at sunset and see all these people.” "Teenagers on the beach talking and wondering what the world across the sea is like. What life is like. I want them free."

Today, Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces prevented farmers in the town of Kafr al-Dik, west of Salfit, from picking olives, forced them to leave their lands, and threatened to seize their agricultural equipment.

Local sources reported that Israeli soldiers stormed the “Al-Khala” area, west of the town, adjacent to the “Beduel” colony, which was built on citizens’ lands. They prevented the farmers from continuing to pick olives, threatened them with seizing their equipment, and forced them to leave the area at gunpoint.

It is noteworthy that the town of Kafr al-Dik, especially the western side of it, is exposed on a daily basis to harassment by occupation soldiers and attacks by settlers, which prevents them from harvesting the olive trees that extend over a number of threatened dunams in the town, as is the case with most of the villages and towns of Salfit Governorate, which suffer from terrorism. Settlers and soldiers and their attacks on olive pickers since the beginning of the season.

In light of the ongoing war between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made a visit to Baghdad - which was not announced in advance - and lasted for one hour, during which he met with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani.

One day after Blinken's quick visit to Baghdad on November 5, 2023, the Iraqi Prime Minister arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and was received by Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, then he met with the Supreme Leader of the Revolution in Iran, Ali Khamenei.

The coincidence of Sudanese going to Iran on November 6, following his meeting with Blinken in Baghdad, raised several questions about whether there was a connection between the two issues, and what the former was carrying in his visit and meeting with the Iranian leadership, and his return to Iraq on the same day after talk about a Gulf tour that he would begin. From Tehran.

On November 5, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) said, “The Prime Minister will begin on Monday (November 6) a regional tour on the developments of events in Gaza,” noting that “he will begin his tour from Tehran and follow it with Gulf capitals.”

Carrying messages

Several speculations were made by Iraqi observers regarding the coincidence of Al-Sudani’s visit the day after he received Blinken, but a private political source confirmed that “the Iraqi Prime Minister is carrying a message to the Iranian leadership, even though his visit to Iran was scheduled before the American Secretary of State arrived in Baghdad.”

The source, declining to reveal his identity, said, “Al-Sudani carried a clear message from the United States to Iran about the need for the latter to control the militias loyal to it and prevent the attacks launched since October 17 on American forces in Iraq and Syria.”

The source suggested that “when Washington learned of Al-Sudani’s visit to Tehran, it sent its foreign minister to send him a message to the Iranian leadership about the necessity of not expanding the circle of war in the region, due to the relations Iraq enjoys with Iran on the one hand, and with America on the other hand.”

But Hussein Allawi, the security advisor to the Prime Minister, denied during a television interview on November 6 that Al-Sudani had carried an American message to Iran.

Allawi said, “Iraq has a path to resolve the crisis in Gaza and stop the Zionist attacks on the Palestinians, so we do not transmit messages, because Iraq is independent.”

Ask for reassurances

For his part, Iraqi political analyst, Ghaleb Al-Daami, said, “The Sudanese visit to Tehran carries several demands, including coordination of positions, especially since the regional and international situation is very confusing, while Iraq is not clear in its policy.”

Al-Daami explained during his statement to the Iraqi newspaper “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” on November 6, “This comes in light of the tendency of the Iraqi factions (militias) to escalate, with the presence of international positions calling on the Sudanese government to restrain those factions, before Iraq enters with economic and political problems.”

The Iraqi expert believed that “Al-Sudani’s goal in Tehran is to gain its support to put pressure on its friends in Iraq, especially since the factions are influenced and listen to Iran more than they listen to others, as it is linked to the Guardianship of the Jurist. He also wants Iranian reassurances to calm the factions and prevent any escalation from them against the Americans.”

Al-Daami pointed out that Iraq is now counted among the countries of what is known as the “Axis of Resistance,” and that the Prime Minister also wants to visit some Gulf countries in order to clarify the country’s position in its foreign policy.

In the same context, the Iraqi newspaper “Al-Zaman” said on November 6 that Al-Sudani carried a specific message to Iran regarding the need to stop targeting American forces and interests in Iraq, Syria, and the entire region through armed factions loyal to Tehran.”

According to Al-Zaman, several identical sources (whose identity was not revealed) informed it that “there is a special message about the launching of missiles and marches from the Houthis in Yemen towards American naval vessels or targets in southern Israel.”

Aqlam Horra

By Marwan Bishara

The Biden administration is preaching peace to cover up Israeli war crimes in Gaza. 

America’s Middle East diplomacy and Israel’s war on Gaza are two sides of the same coin. Washington’s efforts to shield Israel as it carries out war crimes in Palestine have implicated it in yet another war that threatens to engulf the whole region. 

Since the Israeli army embarked on its bloody assault on Gaza a month ago, the Biden administration has dispatched its foremost naval strike force, including two aircraft carriers, to the Middle East in order to put its detractors on notice and its allies at ease. It has also sent its top diplomat to do Israel’s bidding in Arab capitals and to buy time for its military to “finish the job” in Gaza.

In meetings with Arab officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has deflected all criticism of Israel’s war conduct, which has been killing hundreds of Palestinians and injuring thousands each day. He has parroted false official Israeli statements and rejected any discussion of a ceasefire, lending unconditional US support to Israel’s all-out war on Palestine. But as Israel has intensified its bombings of hospitals, schools, mosques and residential buildings, and pushed forward with its land invasion of the densely populated strip, the Biden administration has switched emphasis from talking about the war to talking about future peace.

In his third visit to the region, last week, Blinken failed to contain the fallout from the war on Gaza or defuse the anger and disappointment in Arab capitals. Arab ministers he met with condemned Israel’s war crimes, expressing outrage at the skyrocketing death toll, which has surpassed 10,000 people.

Blinken tried to take the focus away from the war. He tried to convince Arab leaders to stop talking about a ceasefire and start talking about the desired “lasting peace” that follows. But his fanciful promise of peace fell on deaf ears in the Arab capitals, as they refuse to discuss the “day after”, at least in public, before the US agrees to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Blinken enjoyed a better reception at the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) headquarters in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. PA President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed US overtures, agreeing to take over Gaza in the context of a comprehensive post-war peace settlement. This is truly mind-boggling, both in terms of its cynicism and gullibility.

The cynicism is derived from the PA’s collusion with the US-backed genocidal war on Gaza, where some 2.3 million Palestinians are struggling to survive a crippling blockade and heavy bombardment by Israel. Although the PA has condemned Israeli war crimes in Gaza and spearheaded Arab diplomatic efforts at the United Nations, it has also cracked down on all forms of Palestinian protest against the war.

Worse still, as Israel has intensified its military incursions into the occupied West Bank, including the city of Ramallah, arresting thousands, the PA leadership has remained quiet. And as violent Jewish settlers have escalated their attacks on Palestinian villagers, Abbas has been eerily indifferent.

Abbas’s gullibility lies in his blind belief that the Biden administration, which is complicit in the genocide in Gaza, is able and willing to deliver just peace for the Palestinians. If only he could keep the West Bank calm a bit longer, as Israel decimates Gaza – he reckons – he soon could rule over Hamas-free Gaza.

What a farce! The mere idea of the PA getting back into Gaza on the back of Israeli fighter jets and tanks razing it to the ground is so obviously foolish. Abbas & co must be delusional to think that Israel is spending blood and treasure in order to hand over both the West Bank and Gaza to their incompetent regime. In fact, the Israeli government is making no secret of its plans to maintain overall control of the strip, indefinitely. 

If they truly believe that a post-war, victorious Israel will help them establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, I’ve got a bridge in China to sell them. Why on earth would President Joe Biden spend any political capital, no less in an election year, on establishing an independent Palestinian state? If his administration cannot lean on Israel to accept a two-day or even a two-hour humanitarian pause, whether to save lives or save face, how in hell would it convince the Israeli government and society to accept a two-state solution? 

In reality, America will be hard-pressed to find a single Israeli party, let alone a major one, ready to end the illegal settlements and withdraw from the occupied territories in return for peace with the Palestinians. The fascists and fanatics that make up the unity Israeli government and hold the absolute majority of parliament today are thinking of new ways to expel the Palestinians, not to reward them with a state of their own.

The best case scenario, under the current circumstances, would see America pressure Israel to accept a half-state on half of the West Bank administered by the PA, in return for full Arab normalization and a zillion more dollars in US aid. 

On the eve of the US invasion of Iraq some 20 years ago, President George W Bush also proposed a “vision of a two-state solution” and devised, along with the Europeans, an international roadmap to achieve that objective the “day after” the war. And the result? More of the same bloody occupation, illegal settlement and siege, in addition to the forever wars that have wreaked havoc in the region. In truth, thanks to America’s unconditional support, there is no Israeli peace partner to engage with, today or the “day after”. None. Nada. No Israeli de Gaulle to end the occupation, and no Israeli de Klerk to end its racist system of apartheid. 

Only with popular resistance and the direct involvement of the international community as a whole can Israel be forced – as France and South Africa were – to give up its racist colonial project.

The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported that the picture of the battles in the Gaza Strip is more complex than the one that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to portray as achieving a "tremendous success," noting that the size of the tunnels and their complexities are greater than what the Israeli intelligence services knew.

The newspaper added, through an analytical article published by military analyst Amos Harel on Wednesday, based in part on information obtained from army leaders, that part of the successes that Israel is talking about may be the result of Hamas’ attempts to maintain its strength for the next stages of the war.

The writer explained that the intelligence information collected by Israel about Hamas’ tunnels in Gaza does not reflect their true size, extent of development, or complexity, and does not come close to the size of this project on the ground.

Harel believes that an essential part of achieving success depends on the issue of tunnels. “It has gradually become clear to the Israeli army that everything that Israeli intelligence knew about the defense tunnel system dug by Hamas does not come close to the size and complexity of this project, which is perhaps the largest of its kind in the world.” According to intelligence officials in the West and in Israel, the organization’s leadership and military wing have built capabilities that allow them to stay in the tunnels for several months.”

On the other hand, the writer referred to statements by Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant that “Israel has developed new technological capabilities in order to destroy tunnels.”

The picture of war is more complex

Harel quoted officers in the Israeli army, who are leading the battle in Gaza, and from other officials who are managing it in the General Staff, that the picture of the war is more complex than what is portrayed.

However, the writer points out that the leaders in the Israeli army are “satisfied, and even surprised, for the better by the professional level of the ground forces in the second week of the ground incursion into Gaza. They praise the determination and fighting spirit (among the occupation soldiers) and the cooperation between the air force and the intelligence agencies, but still There are questions about the extent of Hamas’ willingness to continue the war now.”

The newspaper recalled that the day before yesterday, Monday, witnessed “a few incidents, given that Israeli army forces are encircling Gaza City and are active on its southern and western outskirts, and yesterday the fighting was more intense.”

Haaretz added: “But there is still the impression that Hamas prefers in some places to keep its members in underground tunnels, and in the face of the large forces of the Israeli army, to send only small groups that focus on firing anti-tank missiles from close range and trying to place explosive devices on tanks.” "And armored personnel carriers. Hamas may want to preserve most of its power this way."

The writer believes that the fact that Hamas refuses at this stage any actual negotiations regarding the release of a large number of Israeli prisoners may also indicate that its leadership does not currently see the situation as critical.

Harel indicated that the past two days witnessed a certain decrease in the volume of rocket firing towards the Tel Aviv area, and this may be due to two reasons, in his opinion: “The difficulty of Hamas launching rockets from the northern Gaza Strip in light of the Israeli army attacks, and the desire to leave enough medium-sized rockets.” "The scope for the next stages of the fighting."

“An idea or ideology cannot be eliminated.”

The writer pointed out that the length of the war with this size of forces may not last long, and that the United States, which supports the Israeli operation to defeat Hamas, is in return pressing for longer humanitarian truces, sending signals that in the near future there will be a need to study changing the form of fighting.

Meanwhile, the Southern Command of the Israeli army wants several more months to complete the operation to strike Hamas, especially in the northern Gaza Strip, and to carefully comb these areas with the aim of striking the resistance and collecting weapons.

Regarding the reality that the Israeli army wants to depict for the day after the war, Harel said that the answers are “unclear” at this stage.

He stated that the prevailing thinking in the army is that it is possible to dismantle the military and organizational power of Hamas, but not eliminate it completely, because an idea or ideology cannot be eliminated.

However, the prevailing idea, according to the author, is that the continuation of intense attacks on Hamas will eventually lead to change, and that the increasing pressure on its formations in the northern Gaza Strip and the loss of its military capabilities, “will enhance a future settlement in which Arab and international powers participate, while removing Hamas from the game.” politics in the Palestinian arena.

The Israeli military analyst believes that the plan is somewhat ambiguous and full of gaps, especially regarding the later stages, “but it at least addresses these questions (about the aftermath of the war). While Netanyahu displeases the Americans, he refuses to talk to them about the desired final conditions.” .

Washington - One month after the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation and the subsequent ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, which has so far resulted in the death of more than 10,000 Palestinians and the injury of more than 30,000 others, it is not easy for those who follow American affairs to understand the logic behind the full support from President Joe Biden for this aggression.

With the continued bombing, Israel’s closure and siege of the Gaza Strip, and the complete destruction of the infrastructure and services, including schools, hospitals, and power stations, American public anger increases over President Biden’s position of supporting, without any restrictions or conditions, the Israeli aggression.

In this context, Al Jazeera Net interviewed Ms. Lara Friedman, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), about Biden’s position and justifications for providing this “blank check” bond to Israel to do whatever it wants with the Gaza Strip and its residents, without regard to any legal, moral or ethical dimensions. Humanity.

Friedman heads the Middle East Peace Foundation, which was founded in 1979 and “works to ensure a just, safe, and peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis.” Ms. Friedman previously worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and served in diplomatic positions in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunisia, and Beirut. She also previously served as Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now.

The organization funds programs, projects and initiatives that serve several priorities: The most important of which are: enhancing respect for international law, democratic standards, human rights and dignity in the Israeli-Palestinian context.

As well as "supporting and sustaining the anti-occupation sector, and enabling Palestinians to remain in their homeland," in addition to "working to expand the space for criticism of Israeli policies and procedures, and supporting Palestinian voices, including within universities, in the media, and in public debate." The organization issues a weekly report on Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.

How do you evaluate Biden's position and policy towards the current crisis?

I believe that the Biden administration's response to the Hamas attacks last October 7 is "understandable, and his position in support of Israel at that time is understandable, correct, and expected after it was subjected to these massive terrorist attacks."

But since then, Biden's position has become very problematic. Supporting Israel does not mean giving it a blank check to do what it wants and however it wants with 2.3 million Palestinians, who are the entire population of the Gaza Strip, and this is exactly what Biden and his administration are doing regarding this crisis.

How do you explain Biden taking this position?

I do not know what is going on inside President Biden's head, but from an analytical standpoint, it appears that he has adopted the Israeli framing that says, we have the right to self-defense, and for them this means that we have an absolute right to do anything, and we do what we see fit to pursue Hamas. In Gaza in this context.

And again, this appears to be what the Biden administration has advocated in this context. Therefore, any civilians killed in Gaza are not Israel's fault, but rather blame Hamas.

Israel says, and Biden agrees, that Hamas started this battle, and that Hamas is using civilians as human shields, or that it is the fault of the civilians themselves for not moving away from the bombing areas in which they are warned not to stay, or that it is the fault of the civilians for not uprooting the Hamas movement before all of this. Therefore, it seems that the Biden administration has adopted the Israeli narrative 100%.

On the other hand, as you know, I think there is a psychological dimension to understanding Biden's position. I mean, the president is fiercely loyal to Israel, and that's proven in word and deed, and that's something he repeats with great pride.

And even there are some Israelis who say that deep devotion to Israel is not synonymous with putting no limits on what Israel can do. Arguably, that is not good for Israel.

There are, of course, Biden's political calculations, and there is enormous pressure, and this comes from Congress, and from various organizations that deal with the Biden administration, and impose enormous pressure to support Israel.

There is enormous pressure to frame any counter-narrative, any narrative that says, Israel is doing something wrong, or Israel should not do something, that makes it synonymous with anti-Israel or “anti-Semitism,” or is accused of supporting Hamas, and these are the political calculations. All of the above is part of Biden’s calculations regarding the events taking place in Gaza.

What does Biden’s adoption of the Israeli framing of the war mean?

The Biden administration's adoption of the Israeli framing results in essentially relieving Israel of any responsibility for what it does on the ground against civilians, and placing all responsibility on Hamas, even if Israel is dropping huge bombs on areas and neighborhoods densely populated with innocent civilians.

What is the most important thing your organization is doing as the aggression on the Gaza Strip continues?

Our organization is a non-profit, not a lobby group, and we are not an advocacy group. We are working and coordinating with a number of non-governmental organizations to continue to support Palestinian organizations and some Israeli organizations, especially in the context of supporting Gaza and the people of Gaza.

Currently, we are working to provide grants to many Palestinian institutions and initiatives so that they can carry out useful service and knowledge activities and projects.

Do you classify what is happening now in Gaza as “ethnic cleansing” or a “war crime”?

I am not an expert in international law, and this is a question that legal experts answer. I know that international lawyers are discussing this, and that there is a whole discussion taking place now about this classification.

But in my opinion, as a political analyst here and an observer of the American position, does what is happening meet the legal definition of genocide? Does what is happening meet the legal definition of war crimes? As a non-lawyer, I think it is.

But, I would say, at this point, arguing about words and terms seems to be a luxury that people outside Gaza have, where we can argue about which words to use.

I'd rather people focus on what's actually happening, whether you want to call it "genocide" or not. The clear intention of many in the Israeli government and in the Israeli army, as they express their intentions, is to erase Palestinian life in all or most parts of the Gaza Strip.

There is a clear intention expressed by many to try to push the Palestinians as much as possible from Gaza to Sinai or beyond. Aside from this intention, look at the actions on the ground. They are killing thousands of civilians, including thousands of children, and they do not seem to stop. Rather, they seem to be accelerating it.

If you don't want to call it ethnic cleansing, that's fine. But let's talk about the fact that there are over a million people who have already been forced to flee their homes, due to the ongoing bombing in the south. These are measures and actions to displace them further and further, and the Israelis do not hide this. They want them to move beyond the borders.

So I feel that the debate about "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" is important, but for people who want to argue about this, I would say, what's more important is to talk about what's happening on the ground, let's talk about Israeli officials declaring what they're trying to achieve. .

Do you think that the Biden administration has set red lines for the Israelis, whether with regard to the number of casualties or a time limit for military attacks, or has given them a green light?

This is a very important question, and I mean starting from what we've seen so far, the Biden administration hasn't set any red lines. If they have red lines, we will know about it immediately.

The Biden administration may discover at a more serious stage later, and talk about the problem of the absence of any red lines, but so far, Israel has already crossed many of the red lines related to international law, related to international humanitarian law, and the laws of war, and it can be said that the red lines have been crossed. It has surpassed it in the eyes of world public opinion.

I do not know when the Biden administration will say to Israel, “Enough is enough. You have killed sufficient numbers of Palestinians, or wounded huge numbers.” Let us not forget that the effects of all this on the Palestinians are still horrific. I mean the numbers of dead and wounded, and then there are buildings and areas destroyed that will certainly never be rebuilt.

What effect do you think this killing and destruction has on the Israeli army?

It is important to note the impact of what the Israeli army does on combat doctrines around the world. This is the first time that an army can do whatever it wants without any deterrents or limits preventing it from behaving in such a horrific manner.

Yes, this is not the first time that armies and countries have behaved horribly in war, including the United States, look at Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Gaza war brought about a new military combat doctrine, which states that there are no red lines at all. This allows the Israeli government to do all this, at a time when the Biden administration promises that Israel is still a good victim, and that it respects international law.

What do you tell Arab readers about the interactions of the Gaza war within Washington?

Honestly, I don't think I have anything more to say than what I've already said. I mean, Washington's actions, policies, and values speak for themselves in this conflict, and it's very difficult to imagine what the future looks like. The United States has taken equally indefensible actions in the past, such as the invasion of Iraq.

Today, even if the motive is to rally and support solidarity with the incredibly traumatized Israeli people following the attacks of last October 7, and Israel's right to self-defense. But what we are witnessing is much further than that. Even if you believe that Israel's only mission here is to remove Hamas, and if you actually believe that, it is difficult to imagine Israel having a free hand to do anything, literally, for every man, woman and child in the Gaza Strip.

I cannot imagine that this is consistent with the values of America or the values of the Americans who elected Joe Biden. The aggression taking place today against the innocent citizens of the Gaza Strip cannot be explained or justified.

Source: Al Jazeera

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with his Egyptian counterpart, Lieutenant General Mohamed Zaki, on Tuesday, to discuss efforts to enhance security in the Middle East, following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

Austin expressed his appreciation for Egypt's work to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and the safe evacuation of American citizens from Gaza, according to the US Department of Defense (Pentagon).

The two ministers also discussed the importance of protecting civilians. Austin stressed his support for “Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorism, consistent with international humanitarian law, its focus on deterring state and non-state actors from escalating the conflict, and the readiness of the United States to defend itself from Iranian-sponsored attacks on American personnel.” According to the Pentagon.

In a separate post on the “X” platform, (formerly “Twitter”), Austin said that he confirmed during his call with the Egyptian Minister of Defense: “Our mutual support for the safety of civilians, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.”