PALESTINE

Wed 11 Oct 2023 8:28 am - Jerusalem Time

Two martyrs killed by occupation bullets in occupied Jerusalem

Two young men were killed by Israeli army last night, during confrontations that broke out in the town of Silwan, south of occupied Jerusalem.


Local sources reported that two young men were killed by Israel occupation police during confrontations that broke out in the Ain al-Loza neighborhood in the town of Silwan: Abd al-Rahman Faraj and Ali “Abasan” al-Abbasi.


It pointed out that the Israeli occupation police shot directly at the two young men, wounding them and leaving them bleeding without allowing them to be treated until they recovered.


The Israeli occupation forces also stormed the Ras al-Amud neighborhood and fired bullets and poison gas bombs at citizens and their homes, leading to the outbreak of confrontations.


In the town of Al-Issawiya, north of occupied Jerusalem, confrontations broke out with the Israeli occupation forces, after they stormed the town, targeted citizens with bullets and poison gas bombs, and set up military checkpoints.

PALESTINE

Wed 11 Oct 2023 8:26 am - Jerusalem Time

Gaza Electricity Company is threatened with shutting down within hours

The government media office in the Gaza Strip confirmed on Wednesday morning that “the electricity generation company is threatened with shutting down within hours due to running out of fuel, which threatens to plunge the Strip into complete darkness and make it impossible to provide the continuation of all basic life services.”


The media office indicated in a statement, “In the face of this reality that threatens the lives of more than 2.3 million people, we are launching a very urgent distress call to the international community and its humanitarian and relief organizations.”


The media office called on the international community "to act quickly to stop this crime against humanity and this multi-form mass killing, and to ensure that the Gaza Strip is provided with all means of life, and not to leave its population hostage to the killing tools used by the occupation."

ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 11 Oct 2023 8:18 am - Jerusalem Time

US Secretary of State visits Israel on Thursday

The US State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel later this week to show support for its government.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a press conference yesterday, Tuesday, that Secretary Blinken will arrive in Israel on Thursday. While Miller did not provide additional information about the logistics, saying that “this is a visit that we are still preparing,” it aims to show full American support for Israel.

"Our message will be one of solidarity and support," Miller said. He added: "We are there (in Israel) to support them as they (the Israelis) fight these brutal terrorist attacks, and to talk about the additional assistance we can provide to them."


PALESTINE

Wed 11 Oct 2023 8:08 am - Jerusalem Time

Gaza subjected to genocide... bombing entire neighborhoods and causing total destruction

For the fifth day in a row, the Israeli occupation forces continue to commit massacres in the Gaza Strip.


Several neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip were subjected to major destruction after being bombed randomly, which led to the death of dozens of citizens, the majority of whom were children and women who were safe in their homes.


The occupation forces used phosphorus bombs and high-explosive bombs to target neighborhoods, which led to massive destruction of citizens’ homes and infrastructure.


Warplanes bombed the Karama neighborhood, as well as the Al-Qaizan neighborhood in Khan Yunis, the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood, the Daraj neighborhood, and other neighborhoods, with hundreds of tons of explosives.


According to the latest statistics, the number of martyrs rose to 900 martyrs, and 4,500 were injured with varying injuries.


According to the Ministry of Health, among the killed were 260 children and 230 women, while 10% of the casualties were children.


The occupation's crimes led to massacres against 22 families, and these massacres led to the martyrdom of 150 of their relatives, a large number of whom are still under the rubble.


It indicated that 6 medical personnel were martyred and 15 were injured, while 8 journalists were martyred and 20 were injured.


Israeli warplanes bombed several homes and residential buildings in different areas of the Gaza Strip.


While the resistance continued its bombing of the occupation settlements and cities adjacent to the Gaza Strip with dozens of missiles.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 10:33 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli army storms Deir Dibwan and settlers gather near Wadi Fukin

On Tuesday evening, Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah.


Local sources reported that the occupation forces stormed the town of Deir Dibwan, drove their military vehicles through its streets, and then withdrew without any arrests being reported.


In a separate context, settlers gathered near the entrance to the village of Wadi Fukin, west of Bethlehem.


The head of the Wadi Fukin Village Council, Ibrahim Al-Haroub, said that a large group of settlers gathered near the entrance to the village, raising the flags of the Israeli occupation state, in addition to playing loud music, indicating that citizens fear that the settlers will launch an attack on the village.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 9:51 pm - Jerusalem Time

Palestinian injuries and clashes with the Israeli army in Bethlehem and Al-Bireh

Two young men were injured by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets, Tuesday evening, during confrontations that broke out at the northern entrance to the city of Al-Bireh.


Local sources reported that two young men (18 and 19 years old) were injured by live bullets in their lower limbs, during the confrontations that broke out at the northern entrance to Al-Bireh.

In Bethlehem, confrontations broke out with the Israeli occupation forces, Tuesday evening, in the village of Husan. Director of the Husan Village Council, Rami Hamamra, reported that the confrontations broke out in the “Al-Muteena” area at the eastern entrance to Husan, west of Bethlehem, during which the occupation forces fired live bullets. Rubber-coated metal, gas and stun grenades.


In the same context, confrontations broke out with the Israeli occupation forces in the town of Al-Khader, centered in the “Umm Rukba” area south of the town, during which the occupation forces fired live bullets and rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades and toxic tear gas, but no injuries were reported.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 9:23 pm - Jerusalem Time

Two Palestinian injuries by Israeli army north of Jenin

Two citizens were injured by Israeli occupation forces' bullets, Tuesday evening, during clashes that broke out at the Al-Jalama military checkpoint, north of Jenin.


The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its crews dealt with two injuries with live bullets at the Jalameh checkpoint, the first in the chest and hand, and the second in the foot, and they were taken to the hospital.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 9:16 pm - Jerusalem Time

Hamas military wing claims rocket fire from Lebanon

On Tuesday evening, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, announced the firing of rockets from southern Lebanon towards the Upper Galilee.


The Brigades said in a statement that they carried out this bombing within the framework of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, and that it was an integral part of the battle with the Palestinian people inside Palestine, and as a step on the path to liberation.


It pledged to continue resistance work until the Israeli occupation is defeated.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 9:07 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli extremist settlers throw stones at Palestinian' vehicles between Nablus and Ramallah

On Tuesday evening, settlers threw stones at citizens' vehicles near the "Shilo" settlement on the road linking the cities of Nablus and Ramallah.


The young man, Baraa Owais, from the village of Al-Laban Al-Sharqiya, reported that a number of colonists attacked his vehicle and smashed its windshield with stones.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 9:05 pm - Jerusalem Time

Three young Palestinians injured by Israeli army in Tulkarm

Three young men were injured by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets, today, Tuesday, during confrontations that broke out in the vicinity of the apartheid separation and expansion wall, west of the town of Attil, north of Tulkarm.


Local sources reported that the young men were injured by live bullets in the lower extremities, and they were transferred to Attil Governmental Hospital, and their condition was described as stable.


A vehicle march was launched from Nour Shams camp towards the city of Tulkarm, denouncing the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and in support of our people there.

ARAB AND WORLD

Tue 10 Oct 2023 8:58 pm - Jerusalem Time

Chinese FM activates emergency consular protection mechanism in Palestine and Israel

CGTN: The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip has led to heavy casualties on both sides. What’s China’s comment? 

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning: China is closely following the escalating conflict between Palestine and Israel. We’re deeply saddened by the civilian casualties and oppose and condemn acts that harm civilians. We oppose moves that escalate the conflict and destabilize the region and hope fighting will stop and peace will return soon. The international community needs to play an effective role to jointly help cool down the situation.

 

To end the cycle of conflict between Palestine and Israel, it is essential to restart the peace talks, implement the two-state solution and settle the Palestine question fully and properly through political means at an early date so as to take care of each party’s legitimate concerns. China will continue to work relentlessly with the international community towards this end.

 

CCTV: The scale of the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict has exceeded that of previous ones. Does the Foreign Ministry have information regarding the extent of its impact on Chinese nationals there and the local Chinese community? What help will China give them?

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning: The Foreign Ministry activated the emergency consular protection mechanism immediately after the conflict broke out to coordinate and engage in work on protecting Chinese nationals and institutions in Palestine and Israel. Our Embassy in Israel and Office to Palestine have issued emergency safety alerts. They are staying in contact with Chinese nationals on the ground and doing everything they can to protect the safety of Chinese nationals and institutions there.

 

We remind Chinese nationals not to travel to Palestine or Israel and ask those already there to follow closely the security situation on the ground, take extra precaution, and avoid going outdoors. In case of emergencies, we urge them to contact the Chinese Embassy in Israel and the Office to Palestine for help.


Q: Fierce conflict has broken out between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip, causing massive casualties on both sides. Does China have any comment on this?

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: China is deeply concerned over the current escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel. We call on relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation.

 

The recurrence of the conflict shows once again that the protracted standstill of the peace process cannot go on. The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine. The international community needs to act with greater urgency, step up input into the Palestine question, facilitate the early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, and find a way to bring about enduring peace. China will continue to work relentlessly with the international community towards that end.

 


PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 8:51 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli military spokesman acknowledged 50 Israeli soldiers are prisoners in Gaza

An Israeli military spokesman acknowledged, on Tuesday evening, that 50 soldiers had been informed by their families that Hamas had kidnapped them during its attack on the cover settlements.


Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hajri pointed out in a press briefing that 155 soldiers had been killed so far, while 44 police officers and policemen were killed while engaging in direct clashes with Hamas members.


He pointed out that his forces eliminated 4 militants who tried to infiltrate from Zikim, along with two others who tried to infiltrate Ra'im.


He claimed that 103 militants were liquidated in Kibbutz Be'eri alone, and hundreds of bodies of militants are being collected in other areas.


He touched on the assassination of two members of the Hamas political bureau, saying that assassinating the movement's leaders is a priority.



PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 4:53 pm - Jerusalem Time

Putin: War between Israel and Hamas is "an example of Washington's failure" in Middle East

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the war between Israel and Hamas showed the "failure" of US policy in the Middle East, considering that the establishment of a Palestinian state is "necessary."


“This is a clear example of the failure of American policy in the Middle East,” Putin said during a meeting in the Kremlin with Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani.


The Russian President accused the United States of having a "monopoly" on settling the conflict without taking into account "finding acceptable settlements for both parties." On the contrary, it "promoted its own ideas about the way forward and put pressure on the two parties."


He continued, "It did this every time without taking into account the basic interests of the Palestinian people."


He considered that "it is necessary to implement the United Nations Security Council resolutions related to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state."


Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that establishing a Palestinian state is "the most reliable way to find a solution to the conflict" between Israel and Palestine.


In recent years, Russia has maintained good relations with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities, as well as with several regional players including Iran, Egypt and Syria.


Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's scheduled visit to Russia is being prepared, but its date has not yet been set.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 4:02 pm - Jerusalem Time

Hamas military wing Al-Qassam bombs Tel Aviv again

On Tuesday, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, renewed its bombing of the city of Tel Aviv.


Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and its surroundings.


The Phalange said that it targeted Lod Ben Gurion Airport.


While Israeli sources said, the bombing did not cause any casualties.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 3:58 pm - Jerusalem Time

Two members of Palestinian Hamas political bureau were killed

Two members of the Hamas political bureau were martyred as a result of an Israeli raid that targeted a residential building they were inside in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.


According to sources in the Hamas movement, the head of the National Relations Office, Zakaria Abu Muammar, and the head of the movement’s economic committee, Jawad Abu Shamala, were killed as a result of the bombing.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 3:56 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli occupation soldiers beat a young Palestinian in Salfit

Today, Tuesday, the Israeli occupation forces severely beat a young Palestinian at the northern entrance to the city of Salfit, and he was transferred to the Martyr Yasser Arafat Hospital to receive treatment.


According to local sources, the occupation forces severely beat the citizen Ali Yasser Lafi Odeh (37 years old), a resident of the town of Huwwara, south of Nablus, and described his condition as stable.


It is noteworthy that the occupation forces constantly attack citizens passing through the northern entrance to the city of Salfit, whether by firing live bullets or severely beating them.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 2:52 pm - Jerusalem Time

Palestinian Prisoner Club: Considering Gaza detainees illegal combatants is against international law

The Prisoner's Club said that the issuance by the Minister of the Israeli Occupation Army, Yoav Galant, of a decision deeming detainees from the Gaza Strip illegal combatants, is a dangerous matter, as it denies them the status of prisoners of war, and is considered a violation of international humanitarian law.


According to the media officer at the Prisoner’s Club, Amani Farahna, international law and the Third Geneva Convention stipulate that detained fighters are prisoners of war, and they are dealt with accordingly, and this obliges it not to investigate them, and not to bring them to trial, stressing that Israel, with this decision, has exceeded what the law stipulates in the event of conflict and war.


Yesterday, Army Minister Galant issued a decision stating that Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip are illegal combatants based on the “Unlawful Combatant Law” issued in 2002. The order stipulated that detainees from the Gaza Strip be detained in a camp called “Sdet Yaman,” near From Beersheba.


In turn, Tala Nasser, a lawyer at the Addameer Foundation for Prisoner Care and Human Rights, said that this decision, which considers the detainees who were arrested from Gaza during the aggression as illegal combatants, is dangerous, because according to it any citizen can be detained for an open period, without an indictment being filed, and a judicial appearance before the central cour every six months, under the pretext that his file is confidential, and neither the detainee nor the lawyer can access it, in addition to arbitrarily detaining him administratively, as is the case in administrative detention.


She stressed that this decision violates international humanitarian law, which considers detainees from the Gaza Strip to be prisoners of war, and is in violation of the Third Geneva Convention, pointing out that the number of detainees from the Gaza Strip during the aggression on Gaza exceeded 50 detainees.


She demanded that all detainees be considered prisoners of war, stressing that there is communication with the institutions concerned with prisoners in the West Bank and Gaza to unify the discourse and work on the lawyers’ refusal to deal with any detainee inside the court as an illegal combatant, and to confirm that they are prisoners of war.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 2:26 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israel heads towards a national emergency government with Netanyahu to form it

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported, Tuesday, October 10, 2023, that the heads of the government coalition in Tel Aviv unanimously supported the formation of an “emergency government” and authorized Netanyahu to work on its formation in conjunction with the war waged by the occupation against the Palestinian resistance.


This comes after a member of the extreme right in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government called for the inclusion of politicians opposed to the government, as part of efforts to stabilize Israel, which is waging war on Gaza, as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a blog post on social media: National emergency government now!


The head of the “National Camp” bloc in the Knesset, Ze’ev Elkin, said, according to what was reported by Palestinian media: “We asked to form an emergency government from the beginning, and the ball has been in Netanyahu’s hands for several days, and we are prepared for this matter because it is very important for the internal bloc, and it is important (as a message) to our enemies." 


There is no partisan policy in this, and we have not set coalition conditions, nor are we looking for positions, but we want one thing, which is to influence decisions, and I hope this will happen during the day, and there is no reason it did not happen last Saturday evening.”


Gantz conditioned his joining the government on the formation of a mini-ministerial council (cabinet) to manage the war, while the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, rejected this condition, saying that “the former army chiefs of staff, Gantz and Eisenkot, did not demonstrate capabilities that justify relying on them, and they are partners in the failure that led to The sudden Palestinian attack, last Saturday.


For his part, opposition leader Yair Lapid made it a condition for joining an emergency government to remove the two extremist and fascist ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, from the cabinet.


This comes at a time when Israeli occupation aircraft renewed their raids on various areas in the Gaza Strip, targeting its north and south. The occupation army said that it bombed 200 targets in Gaza and Khan Yunis during the night.

On Monday, October 9, 2023, the occupation army carried out a massacre in the Jabalia camp in the Gaza Strip, and the Ministry of Health in the Strip said that dozens of martyrs and wounded were killed in an Israeli air strike on the camp.


Confrontations continue between Palestinian resistance factions and the occupation. At dawn on Saturday, October 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza launched the “Al-Aqsa Flood” military operation against Israel. “In response to the continuing attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people, their property and their sanctities,” especially Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.


The resistance factions were able to penetrate into many settlements in the Gaza envelope area, and in return, the Israeli army began Operation “Iron Swords” and continues to launch intensive raids on many areas in Gaza, which is inhabited by more than two million Palestinians who suffer from deteriorating living conditions as a result of an ongoing Israeli siege since 2007.


The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported, in its latest statistics as of this morning, that the number of martyrs had risen to 788 and wounded to 4,100 as a result of Israeli strikes since the start of the Al-Aqsa Deluge Battle.

While Israeli media reported that the number of Israeli deaths in the confrontation with the Palestinian factions reached 900, and 2,616 were wounded.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 2:24 pm - Jerusalem Time

A young Palestinian killed in confrontations with Israeli army in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron

The Ministry of Health announced the death of the young man, Ahmed Sharaf Khalaf Awad (20 years old), as a result of wounds he sustained in confrontations in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.


The Israeli occupation forces attacked the mourners of the martyr Montaser Abdel Hamid Zaqeq (31 years old), who died after being critically wounded by live Israeli occupation bullets in the head, during confrontations that the town witnessed earlier.


The occupation forces tried to prevent thousands of citizens from reaching the cemetery to participate in the funeral, amid the outbreak of confrontations during which they fired live bullets, rubber-coated metal bullets, and poisonous gas towards the citizens, causing two young men to be injured by live bullets, one of which was described as serious in the head, and dozens to suffer from suffocation, including journalists.


It was later announced that the young man, Awad, died from his critical wounds.

ARAB AND WORLD

Tue 10 Oct 2023 2:09 pm - Jerusalem Time

The Russian Foreign Minister criticizes NATO's expansionism

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized NATO's expansionism and its attempt to expand its presence in the entire Eastern Hemisphere.


In an article published on the official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry today (Tuesday), Lavrov warned that NATO is undermining the current regional structure around the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and creating a new hotspot of geopolitical tension in the Asia-Pacific region.


He said that Washington forms small military-political alliances under its control, such as the “Ocus” alliance, which includes the United States, Britain, and Australia, and the tripartite alliance, which includes the United States, Japan, and South Korea, in addition to the quadripartite alliance, which includes Tokyo, Seoul, Canberra, and Wellington, and engages them in practical cooperation with NATO. NATO, which deploys its infrastructure in the Pacific arena.


Lavrov explained in his article entitled “Adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter in their entirety and their interconnectedness is a guarantee of international peace and stability,” that these efforts constitute a threat to the comprehensive regional structure based on consensus around ASEAN.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 1:58 pm - Jerusalem Time

Middle East crisis tests limits of China's diplomatic push

When China announced a surprise deal restoring ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran this year, it signaled Beijing's desire to be a diplomatic heavyweight in the Middle East.


The crisis in Israel and Gaza threatens to expose the limits of that ambition.

After the March Saudi-Iran agreement, which China brokered, Chinese media hailed Beijing's rising profile in a region long dominated by Washington. Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, said the country would continue to play a constructive role in handling global "hotspot issues".


But after the killings of more than 900 Israelis in coordinated assaults by the Islamic group Hamas, China's response was muted.

A foreign ministry spokeswoman repeatedly stopped short of condemning Hamas, instead calling for de-escalation and for Israel and Palestine to pursue a "two-state solution" for an independent Palestine. China's leader Xi Jinping has been silent on the issue.

"Certainly it does poke a hole in the type of propaganda ... of China being this kind of massive player in the Middle East," said Bill Figueroa, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and an expert on China-Middle East relations.

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China's neutrality has drawn criticism from U.S. and Israeli officials, with some saying it undermines Beijing's claims to be an unbiased peace broker in the region.

That should not come as a surprise, say analysts. Chinese diplomacy has long been risk-averse, and the spiraling conflict between Israel and Hamas puts its diplomats in a difficult spot, given China's historic support for the Palestinians and its rivalry with the United States.


”We have made it clear that China is highly concerned about the continued escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and urges all parties concerned to immediately cease fire and stop fighting. China is willing to maintain communication with all parties and make unremitting efforts for peace and stability in the Middle East," Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Tuesday.


PALESTINE SENSITIVITY

Since the end of China's nearly three years of COVID lockdowns, Xi has launched a diplomatic push aimed at countering the United States and its allies, who he says seek to contain and suppress his country.


Beijing has deepened alliances with non-Western led multilateral groups such as the BRICS bloc of nations, while hewing more closely to Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine and strengthening ties with countries in the Middle East and the Global South.

Although there is a chance to build on its Iran-Saudi success, China is unlikely to engage deeply in the current crisis.


One factor is a longstanding policy of non-interference that can sometimes clash with China's aim of acting as a great power on the global stage.


"China under Xi (Jinping) wants to be respected and admired everywhere, including in the Middle East, but it is ultimately unwilling to do what it will take to resolve the really hard regional security issues," said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London. "It goes for the low-hanging fruits and basically stops there."

China has previously worked on Israel-Palestine issues.


China's special envoy on the Middle East, Zhai Jun, has engaged officials from Israel and the Palestinian Authority - which governs in the occupied West Bank - as well as the Arab League and EU in the last year to discuss a two-state solution and recognition for Palestine at the United Nations.


But China's longstanding regional relationships, including with the Palestinians, limit its options.

Some Chinese scholars recently criticized the marginalization of the Palestinians and a U.S.-led deal to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, as root causes fueling the crisis.

"The most important external factor behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the United States' attempt to enforce the Abraham Accords," wrote Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Institute for Middle East Studies of Shanghai International Studies University, in an interview published by a Chinese media outlet. "The achievement of peace in the Middle East region and the just settlement of the question of Palestine are inseparable."


A LIMIT TO RISK TAKING

Condemning Hamas could also put China at odds with Russia and Iran.

"It is unclear who is behind Hamas, and it very possibly is China’s partner(s)," said Yun Sun, Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center in Washington. "Russia benefits in the sense that the U.S. will be distracted, and Iran is a likely candidate. For China to denounce the attack also means China will be obligated to take actions if and when the culprit is named.”

Although China is one of the few countries with leverage over Iran - it has nearly $400 billion of planned investments in the country in the coming decades - there is skepticism in Israel that Beijing will step up.

"China doesn't use its voice, its heft on the international stage to change things for the better," said Tuvia Gering, a China researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel.


The Asian giant's oil imports and investments in the Middle East, including telecoms and infrastructure as part of Xi's Belt and Road Initiative, means Beijing desires peace, but there are clear limits to Xi's willingness to take risks.

"China is very successful in a stable environment in the Middle East when it's possible to broker reconciliation agreements between Saudi Arabia and Iran," said Jean-Loup Samaan, Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore.


"But when it comes to conflict management, that's a very different situation," Samaan added. "And I don't think China ever wanted to play that role."

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 1:52 pm - Jerusalem Time

Don’t get involved, US general warns Iran after Hizbollah strikes

The United States’ top general on Monday warned Iran not to get involved in the crisis in Israel and said he did not want the conflict to broaden, as Lebanese armed group Hizbollah fired a salvo of rockets into northern Israel.


The White House on Monday said that Iran was complicit in Hamas’s attack on Israel, even though the US has no intelligence or evidence that points to Iran’s direct participation.


Asked what his message for Iran was, General Charles Q Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “Not to get involved.”


Israeli shelling on Lebanon killed at least three Hizbollah militants on Monday, and Israel said one of its officers was killed during an earlier cross-border raid claimed by Palestinians in Lebanon.


The death toll from the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas has reached at least 900, with dozens more taken hostage. More than 600 people have been killed in Gaza, Palestinian authorities said.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 1:48 pm - Jerusalem Time

United Nations: Displacement of about 200,000 Gaza residents

The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs said on Tuesday that about 200,000 people, or nearly ten percent of the population, have fled their homes in Gaza since the attacks began, and are vulnerable to lack of drinking water and electricity due to the blockade.


Office spokesman Jens Laerke said in a press conference in Geneva, “The pace of displacement has escalated significantly throughout the Gaza Strip, as the number has exceeded 187,500 people since last Saturday, and most of them are taking shelter in schools.”


He added that more displacement is expected as the war waged by Israel in the Gaza Strip continues.


A World Health Organization spokesman said that the organization had recorded 13 attacks on health facilities in Gaza since the start of the Israeli war at the beginning of this week, adding that the medical supplies that were stored in the Strip had already run out.


At dawn on Saturday, Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza launched Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” in response to “the continuing attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people, their property, and their sanctities, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.”


On the other hand, the Israeli army launched Operation Iron Swords and continues to launch intensive raids on many areas in the Gaza Strip, which is inhabited by more than two million Palestinians who suffer from deteriorating living conditions as a result of an ongoing Israeli siege since 2006.


On Monday evening, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced that the death toll of Palestinian martyrs had risen to 687, including 140 children and 105 women, as a result of the continuous Israeli raids for the third day, while Hebrew media reported that the number of Israeli deaths in the confrontation with the Palestinian factions reached 900, and the wounded 2,616. .

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 1:41 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli settlers attack olive pickers south of Nablus

Today, Tuesday, settlers attacked olive pickers in Yanun, part of the Aqraba lands, south of Nablus.


According to local sources, a group of settlers attacked farmers and olive pickers on lands classified as B, opened fire on them, and forced them to leave the Yanun Valley area, without causing any casualties.


The sources added that the region is witnessing an escalation in settler attacks in Yanun, which is surrounded by several settlements and settlement outposts.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 1:36 pm - Jerusalem Time

Report: Iran helped Hamas plan Israel attack, gave go-ahead in meeting last week

Iran's powerful military had helped Hamas, the group which controls the Gaza Strip, to plot a multi-prong attack on Israel, the most deadly in several years, a Wall Street Journal report said.


Iran helped to plan Palestinian terror group Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel and gave approval for the assault at a meeting in Lebanon's capital Beirut last week, senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Iran-backed group, told the Wall Street Journal.


Officers of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the country's most powerful military, had been working with Hamas since August to devise their multi-prong attack on Israel by land, air and sea, they said.


Israel's attack was discussed during several meetings in Beirut that were attended by IRGC officers and representatives of four Iran-backed terror groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah. Hamas control the Gaza Strip while Hezbollah is a Shiite terror group and political faction in Lebanon, the Wall Street Journal reported.


Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had attended at least two of the meetings since August, according to Hamas and Hezbollah members.


The attack on Israel was intended while the country appeared distracted by political bickering over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The strike was also aimed at disrupting US-brokered talks to normalise Saudi Arabia-Israel relations, which Iran saw as threatening, they told the publication.


The powerful Iranian military's broader plan was to create a multi-front threat "strangling" Israel from all sides -- Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the north and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, said senior Hamas and Hezbollah members and an Iranian official.


Notably, Iran is setting aside other regional conflicts, including its open feud with Saudi Arabia in Yemen and focusing on IRGC's foreign resources toward financing and arming terror groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, to attack Israel.


However, when Mahmoud Mirdawi, a senior Hamas official, was asked about the meetings with Iran in Beirut, he claimed it was a "Palestinian and Hamas decision".


A spokesperson for Iran’s mission to the United Nations said his country backed the actions by Hamas in Gaza, but asserted that Tehran did not direct them, the Wall Street Journal reported.


"The decisions made by the Palestinian resistance are fiercely autonomous and unwaveringly aligned with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people," the spokesperson was quoted by Wall Street Journal as saying, on the condition of anonymity. "We are not involved in Palestine’s response, as it is taken solely by Palestine itself," he claimed.


US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was no evidence Iran was behind the latest attacks on Israel but he said there are long-standing ties between Tehran and Hamas.


Israel on Saturday launched a counteroffensive to wipe out Hamas's hideouts in the Gaza Strip, after the group launched 5,000 rockets into Israel and its members infiltrated the country by land, air and sea.

 

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 1:06 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli Ministry of Finance: Major economic effects will result from the war

The Israeli Ministry of Finance conducted an evaluation process in light of the prevailing security conditions, in which all the ministry’s management participated. At the meeting, which was chaired by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, estimates were presented indicating that the “iron spears” aggression would have major economic effects, and it was learned that the ministry was working on estimating them in light of the prevailing developments in recent days.


At the meeting, they focused on the need to support the war efforts and provide funds for operational institutions in order to be able to operate without budget restrictions during the days of war.


They said in the ministry that the army, security forces, police and rescue units work according to their practical needs and not according to budget restrictions. They added: "We are closely following the escalating needs of the various government ministries and are working to coordinate budgets according to operational needs."


Based on the recommendations of the Minister and the Ministry’s budget official, budgets were set to cover civilian losses resulting from the war. They said: “We work according to the required needs, and civil damages will be covered from the property tax fund.”

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 12:28 pm - Jerusalem Time

World Health Organization calls for opening a humanitarian corridor to the Gaza Strip

The World Health Organization requested, on Tuesday, the opening of a humanitarian corridor to the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to continuous Israeli aggression since last Saturday.


A World Health Organization spokesman said during a press briefing in Geneva, “Opening a humanitarian corridor is necessary to provide basic medical supplies to citizens,” noting that the organization is holding talks with various parties.

PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 12:25 pm - Jerusalem Time

Rafah crossing was evacuated after being bombed several times

Today, Tuesday, the administration of the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian side informed the crossing crews on the Palestinian side to evacuate it immediately due to threats of bombing it.


According to the Ministry of the Interior in the Gaza Strip, today, Israeli occupation aircraft once again bombed the gate of the Rafah crossing between the Palestinian and Egyptian sides, preventing the departure of travelers from the Strip and their arrival there.





PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 12:16 pm - Jerusalem Time

Haniyeh: Prisoners’ file will not be opened before the end of the battle

Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, said on Tuesday that his movement informed all parties communicated with it regarding the occupation’s prisoners held by the resistance, that this file will not be opened before the end of the battle, and it will only be at a price that the resistance will accept.


In a press statement, Haniyeh addressed the media reports stating that the attack was carried out with the orders and knowledge of Iran. The head of the Hamas movement said: - The battle of the Al-Aqsa Deluge is a Palestinian battle, whose decision and implementation are Palestinian, and this does not diminish our conviction of the necessity of participating and entering into this battle from all the peoples of our nation, especially the resistance forces. like he said.


He added: Our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip prove once again that they are at the level of the Al-Aqsa deluge battle that inaugurated the liberation phase, and demonstrated their ability to withstand and challenge and their willingness to sacrifice what is precious for the sake of their freedom and dignity, and here they are thwarting the enemy’s plans to separate the people from their valiant resistance. According to him.


He continued: The destruction and brutality practiced by the fascist entity’s government against our heroic people in Gaza reflects the resounding results caused by the strikes of Al-Qassam and the resistance factions since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa deluge Battle, and that everything the enemy does will not erase the shame of the defeat that befell him, and the enemy will pay a heavy price for his crimes and terrorism. According to him.





PALESTINE

Tue 10 Oct 2023 12:15 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli army arrests a sheep shepherd in northern Jordan Valley

Today, Tuesday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a sheep shepherd in the Ain al-Hilweh area in the northern Jordan Valley.


According to local sources, the occupation forces arrested sheep herder Musab Abdel-Ghani Al-Awawda (18 years old), while he was herding livestock in Khirbet Humsa Al-Fawqa in the northern Jordan Valley.


It is noteworthy that shepherds in various areas of the northern Jordan Valley are subjected to daily attacks and violations by settlers and the occupation authorities.