Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen expected that a general framework for an agreement on the normalization of diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would be reached by 2024.

Cohen said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio about normalization efforts with Saudi Arabia, “There is progress (in the discussions), but there are gaps that will take some time to fill,” without clarifying the nature of these gaps.

Cohen added, "I believe that by the first quarter of 2024, we will be able to reach a general framework for the agreement with Saudi Arabia."

Israel has been seeking to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia since announcing agreements to normalize its diplomatic relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco in 2020.

Defense for Children International-Palestine won the Rafto Human Rights Award for its efforts to defend the rights of Palestinians. The Rafto Foundation said, “For more than thirty years, Defense for Children International has investigated, documented and pursued gross human rights violations against children, and held the Israeli authorities accountable.” and the Palestinian territories in accordance with the principles of universal human rights.”

The statement stressed that "since 1967, the long-term Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, has deprived Palestinian children of their childhood and basic human rights."

The organization pointed out the arbitrary arrests and the existence of two separate legal systems applied by Israel in the same region. Israeli settlers are subject to the legal and criminal system, while the Palestinians live under military law.

Defense for Children International-Palestine asserts on its website that “every year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12, are detained and tried in the Israeli military justice system” on charges that are often stone-throwing.

In October 2021, Israel classified Defense for Children International - Palestine and five other Palestinian NGOs in the occupied West Bank as “terrorist,” considering that they constitute a cover to promote and finance the activities of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In the Palestinian territories, the organization works against early marriage, corporal punishment and domestic violence.

The award, which bears the name of Norwegian historian and human rights activist Thorolf Rafto, was previously awarded to four figures who later won the Nobel Peace Prize, which is also awarded in Norway: Jose Ramos-Horta, Kim Dae-jung, and Shirin Ebadi.

The famous Tunisian cartoonist, Tawfiq Omran, was pre-trially arrested on Thursday on suspicion of “insulting others” on social media after publishing two cartoons criticizing Prime Minister Ahmed Al-Hashani, according to what his lawyer told Agence France-Presse.

Lawyer Ayachi Hammami stated that the painter was arrested at around 17:00 local time at his home in Mqrin in the southern suburb of Tunis.

The 64-year-old painter was taken to the police station in Maqrin, where he underwent three hours of interrogation regarding two cartoons published in early August on his “Omran Cartoons” page criticizing Al-Hashani’s choice for the position of prime minister, according to Al-Hamami.

He added that the Public Prosecution decided to detain him as a precautionary measure following interrogation.

Al-Hamami, who opposes the policy of President Kais Saied, said that what happened was another violation of freedom of expression, this time affecting a major cartoonist.

Omran has been famous since the 1980s for his drawings of a political nature.

His arrest was met with strong criticism on social media, expressed by a number of civil society figures who denounced an “attack on freedoms.”

The head of the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate, Mehdi Al-Jalasi, called for the “immediate release” of the painter.

The Journalists Syndicate and local and international non-governmental organizations regularly denounce the decline in freedoms in Tunisia since Saied assumed full power in the country on July 25, 2021.
These organizations also denounce the "intimidation" of journalists through "purely political" prosecutions and arrests.

In his speech at UN General Assembly the Palestine President he specified the part of it to the Palestine catastrophe "Nakba" : 

This painful anniversary continues to be ignored and denied by Israel, which is the party that is primarily responsible for this Nakba.  

I call upon you today to criminalize its denial, and to designate the 15th of May of each year as an international day to commemorate its anniversary, to commemorate the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were killed in massacres committed by Zionist gangs and whose villages were demolished and who were forcibly displaced from their homes, with their number reaching 950,000 people, which constituted more than half of the Palestinian population at the time. 

This is the least that the United Nations should do in honor of these victims and in condemnation of this human tragedy.

For several years, we have presented our Palestinian narrative, and the story of our people, which has been deliberately distorted by the Zionist and Israeli propaganda.  We are relieved that the peoples of the world and many of its countries have begun to believe our narrative and sympathize with it, after having been misled for decades. We thank all those who contribute to sharing this narrative and all who support and sympathize with it. We also thank people of conscience everywhere in this world who today are standing up for Palestinian rights and support our people’s struggle for freedom and independence.

My message today to the Israelis is that this hideous occupation against us will not last regardless of their ambitions and delusions, because the Palestinian people are remaining on their land, which they have inhabited for thousands of years, generation after generation, as again confirmed by a recent UNESCO resolution regarding the city of Jericho. They cannot leave their land, and if anyone must leave it must be the occupiers and usurpers.  

My message to the international community is that it should assume its responsibilities with full courage and implement its resolutions related to realizing Palestinian rights.

The Ministry of Health announced, at dawn today, Friday, that a citizen died as a result of his injuries sustained during the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of the village of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin.

The Ministry explained that the martyr was Abdullah Imad Abu Al-Hassan from the town of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, and he was hit by a bullet in the stomach.

The martyr's brother said in an interview with Al-Quds.com's correspondent in Jenin, "Imad was among the resistance fighters who confronted the occupation. He went from Al-Yamoun to the town of Kfardan and participated in confronting the invasion of the occupation forces. He was injured by a bullet, and he belonged to the Jenin Brigade."

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, discussed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a number of international and regional issues of common interest, most notably the Palestinian issue and its developments.

The spokesman for the Secretary-General, Jamal Rushdi, said that the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, dealt with informing the Russian minister of the conclusions of the ministerial meeting held on the sidelines of the General Assembly to promote the Arab Peace Initiative, under joint Arab-European sponsorship, where The Secretary-General pointed out the importance of Russia's participation in this effort aimed at preserving the two-state solution and keeping the Arab Peace Initiative on the international agenda.

Rushdi added that Aboul Gheit discussed with Lavrov ways to strengthen Arab-Russian relations, within the framework of existing cooperation between the two sides, which is embodied by the Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum, whose next session is scheduled to be held before the end of the year.

The British government officially ratified on Thursday an agreement allowing the exchange of information data between the United Kingdom and the United States, which will enter into force on October 12 after the agreement concluded between Brussels and Washington.

This agreement stipulates the establishment of a “data bridge” with the United States “through a British extension” of the agreement between the European Union and the United States, according to a document published Thursday on the British government’s website.

The government stressed that the new system “will not undermine the level of data protection for data subjects in the United Kingdom.”

The United Kingdom and the United States announced in June in a statement that they had reached an initial commitment to this agreement, which will allow “licensed American companies (...) to receive British personal data.”

The EU-US data transfer agreement (“Data Privacy Framework”) adopted in July is a critical tool for the digital economy after European Court decisions invalidated previous frameworks.

The Privacy Shield agreement was canceled in 2020 before the UK effectively left the European Union in January 2021.

The "Privacy Shield" and the previous system were the subject of challenges filed by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems in response to concerns about the protection of European Union data transferred to the United States, where it could be subject to surveillance by US intelligence services.

The activist had previously announced his desire to challenge the third agreement before the European Court of Justice, a procedure that will take several months.

President Mahmoud Abbas addressed world leaders participating in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, saying: “Whoever thinks that peace can be achieved in the Middle East without the Palestinian people obtaining their full legitimate national rights is delusional.”

The President sent a message to the Israelis that the occupation will not last, regardless of their ambitions and illusions, because our people will remain on their land, which they have inhabited for thousands of years, generation after generation, and if anyone has to leave, they are the occupiers.

President Abbas called on the international community to implement its decisions related to realizing Palestinian rights and ending the occupation, which defies the international community’s more than a thousand resolutions, violates the principles of international law and international legitimacy, and is racing against time to change the historical, geographical and demographic reality on the ground, in order to perpetuate it and perpetuate apartheid. (Apartheid).

The President also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to preserve the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its sanctities, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, warning against turning the political conflict into a religious one.

In his speech, President Abbas raised several questions and demanded answers to them: Why remain silent about all the flagrant violations of international law committed by Israel, the occupying state? Why is it not subject to serious accountability and accountability, and sanctions not imposed on it for ignoring and violating international legitimacy resolutions, as is the case with other countries? Why practice double standards when it comes to Israel? Why accept that a state be above the law?

The President said: Despite the painful reality, and thirty years after the Oslo Accords from which Israel dissolved, we still have hope that the United Nations will be able to implement its resolutions that require ending the occupation and embodying the independence of the fully sovereign State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders. Resolving the refugee issue in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, especially Resolution 194, and implementing the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, which confirm the illegality of occupation and settlement, especially Resolution 2334, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative.

President Abbas stressed that, in light of the difficulty facing the peace process due to Israeli policies, all that remains is to ask the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to make arrangements for holding an international peace conference, in which all concerned countries will participate, which may be the last opportunity to keep the two-state solution possible, and to prevent The situation deteriorated more seriously.

The President called on the United Nations to provide protection for the Palestinian people from the continuing aggression of the occupation army and settlers, and to support Palestine’s approach to the courts and international bodies with jurisdiction, as the current situation is no longer tolerable.

He said that the State of Palestine will file complaints with the relevant international bodies against Israel because of its continued occupation of our land, and the crimes that have been committed and are still being committed against us, and against both Britain and America for their role in the ill-fated Balfour Declaration, and against everyone who had a role in the catastrophe and tragedy of our people, to demand recognition. An apology, reparation, and compensation in accordance with international law.

President Abbas called for the criminalization of denial of the Palestinian Nakba, and the adoption of May 15 of each year as an international day to commemorate it and the memory of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were killed in massacres committed by Zionist gangs, and those whose villages were demolished or who were displaced from their homes, who numbered 950,000. More than half of the Palestinian population at the time.

The President called on the member states of the United Nations to take practical steps based on the relevant international legitimacy resolutions and international law, and for the states that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to announce this recognition, and for the State of Palestine to gain full membership in the United Nations.

The President stressed the need for the United Nations to take deterrent measures against Israel, which has not adhered to the conditions for its accession to the United Nations, namely the implementation of Resolutions (181 and 194), until it fulfills its obligations that were presented in a written declaration by its Foreign Minister at the time, Moshe Sharett.

President Abbas stressed that our people will continue to defend their homeland and their legitimate rights, through peaceful popular resistance as a strategic option for self-defense, and to liberate the land from a settler occupation that does not believe in peace, and does not value the principles of truth, justice, and human values.

The President expressed his satisfaction that the peoples of the world and many of its countries began to be convinced of our Palestinian narrative and sympathize with it, after it had been misled for decades by the Zionist and Israeli propaganda machine. He thanked everyone who contributed to spreading this narrative, supporting it, and sympathizing with it.

Regarding holding general elections, His Excellency said that the Israeli government is obstructing their holding, as it did in 1996, 2005, and 2006, through its decision to prevent elections from being held in East Jerusalem, despite the significant interference from many countries and regional and international organizations, to enable our people in Jerusalem to vote. And run in these elections.

President Abbas reiterated his rejection of any position that holds us responsible for not holding these elections, which represent a Palestinian necessity. He said: We will continue to go to international bodies to raise cases against the Israeli government and force them to allow us to hold these long-awaited elections.

Regarding financial support from the international community, His Excellency said, “As long as we continue to suffer under the hateful Israeli occupation, we will continue to need international financial aid, as well as providing financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

He added: Israel bears full responsibility for the restrictions it imposes on us, which prevent us from accessing our natural resources, unlawfully detains our money, continues its siege on our people in the Gaza Strip, and controls all crossing points and dividing lines between the West Bank and its surroundings.

President Abbas extended appreciation and gratitude to all of our people in Palestine, in the refugee camps and in the diaspora, and everywhere in the world, for their steadfastness and insistence on upholding rights.

The President saluted the souls of our honorable martyrs, our brave prisoners, and our heroic wounded, and said: “No right is lost without demands, and victory is ours, and we will celebrate the independence of our state in Jerusalem, our eternal capital.”

The following is the text of the President's speech:

“Whoever thinks that peace can be achieved in the Middle East without the Palestinian people obtaining their full legitimate national rights is delusional.”

Once again, I come to you carrying the cause of my people struggling for freedom and independence, to remind you of the tragedy caused by the Nakba seventy-five years ago, the effects of which are still exacerbated by the Israeli occupation of our land, this occupation that challenges your resolutions, which exceed a thousand, and violates the principles of international law and international legitimacy. While he is racing against time to change the historical, geographical and demographic reality on the ground, in order to perpetuate the occupation and perpetuate racial segregation (apartheid).

Despite this painful reality, and thirty years after the Oslo Accords from which Israel dissolved, we still have hope that your esteemed organization will be able to implement its decisions requiring an end to the Israeli occupation of our land, and the embodiment of the independence of the fully sovereign State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the borders of the Fourth of May. June 1967, and the issue of Palestinian refugees was resolved in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, especially General Assembly Resolution No. 194, and the General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, all of which confirm the illegitimacy of the Israeli occupation and settlement, especially Resolution 2334, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative.

Ladies and gentlemen

While I stand before you here, the Israeli racist right-wing government continues its attacks on our people, and through its army and its racist terrorist settlers, continues to intimidate and kill our people, destroy homes and property, steal our money and resources, and withhold the bodies of the martyrs, in full view of the world, and without any deterrence, punishment or punishment. Accountability. Indeed, the leaders of this government and its ministers have become proud of the policy of apartheid that they practice on our people under occupation.

The occupation government also violates the city of Jerusalem and its people, attacks our Islamic and Christian sanctities there, and violates the historical and legal status of the holy places, especially in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which international legitimacy has recognized as an exclusive right for Muslims alone, including the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall and the Buraq Wall, according to the report. League of Nations in 1930.

The occupying state is also diligently digging tunnels under and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, which threatens to collapse it, or parts of it, which will lead to an explosion with undesirable consequences. We have repeatedly warned against transforming the political conflict into a religious conflict, for which Israel will bear full responsibility, and here I call on society. The international community assumes its responsibilities in preserving the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its sanctities, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.

I wonder here: Why remain silent about all the flagrant violations of international law committed by Israel, the occupying state? Why is it not subject to serious accountability and accountability, and sanctions not imposed on it for ignoring and violating international legitimacy resolutions, as is the case with other countries? Why practice double standards when it comes to Israel? Why accept that Israel is a state above the law? Isn't it time to answer these questions?

For our part, we will file complaints with the relevant international bodies against Israel because of the continued Israeli occupation of our land, and the crimes that have been committed and are still being committed against us, and against both Britain and America for their role in the ill-fated Balfour Declaration, and against everyone who had a role in the catastrophe and tragedy of our people, demanding recognition. An apology, reparation, and compensation in accordance with international law.

Ladies and Gentlemen

In light of the difficulty facing the peace process due to Israeli policies, we have nothing left but to ask you to hold an international peace conference, in which all countries concerned with achieving peace in the Middle East in general will participate. Therefore, I ask your esteemed organization, and the Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, to put Arrangements and calls for this conference, which may be the last opportunity to keep the two-state solution possible, and to prevent the situation from deteriorating more seriously, which threatens the security and stability of our region and the entire world.

I also call on your organization and the Secretary-General to implement the decisions to provide protection for the Palestinian people from the continuing aggression of the occupation army and the terrorist Israeli settlers, and to support our approach to the courts and international bodies with jurisdiction, because the current situation is no longer tolerable.

In light of everything that Israel is doing, ladies and gentlemen, in terms of its systematic destruction of the two-state solution, it has become necessary, in order to protect this solution, for me to call on the member states of your esteemed organization; Each country, in its national capacity, must take practical steps based on relevant international legitimacy resolutions and international law. I also call on countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to announce this recognition, and for the State of Palestine to gain full membership in the United Nations.

I cannot understand nor accept that some countries, including America and European countries, are reluctant to recognize the State of Palestine, which the United Nations has accepted as an observer member. These countries confirm every day their support for the two-state solution, but they recognize only one of them, which is Israel. Why? What is the danger posed by the State of Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations?

Israel, which enjoys this international recognition, has not adhered to the conditions for its accession to the United Nations, which are the implementation of Resolutions (181 and 194). Therefore, we call on your esteemed organization to take deterrent measures against Israel, until it fulfills its obligations that were presented in a written declaration by its Minister of Foreign Affairs in At that time, Moshe Sharett.

Our request is for the sake of peace and justice, and out of respect for international law, international legitimacy, and your esteemed organization.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Our people defend their homeland and their legitimate rights, through peaceful popular resistance as a strategic option for self-defense, and to liberate the land from a settler occupation that does not believe in peace, and does not give weight to the principles of truth, justice, and human values. We will continue our resistance to this brutal occupation until it is defeated from our land.

Ladies and Gentlemen

We manage our affairs under extremely difficult and complex circumstances as a result of the restrictions imposed on us by the occupying state, which prevents us from accessing our natural resources, unlawfully detains our money, and continues its siege on our people in the Gaza Strip, with the consequent increase in the suffering of our people.

Likewise, Israel bears full responsibility, through its control over all crossing points and dividing lines between the occupied West Bank and its surroundings, for the deliberate spread of weapons, drugs, and criminal killings taking place in Arab cities inside Israel, part of which extends to our regions, which has become a A great threat to the societal security of Palestinians everywhere in our land.

Allow me to tell you: As long as we continue to suffer under the hateful Israeli occupation, we will continue to need financial aid from the international community, as well as providing financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). We are thankful to the international community for the support it has given us to build our state and our economy. We look forward to continuing this support until the occupation leaves and we are able to rely on ourselves.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Our state institutions are engaged in a comprehensive reform and development process, and in this context, they cooperate with international institutions and with our partners in the region and the world.

We have recently held local elections, elections for institutions, federations, syndicates, and others. There is a specialized committee to develop the justice sector in Palestine. Civil society is also playing its role in adding vitality to our political system. All that remains for us is to hold democratic general elections, as took place in the years 1996 and 2005. 2006, but the Israeli government is obstructing this, through its decision to prevent elections from being held in East Jerusalem, despite the significant intervention of many countries and regional and international organizations, to enable our Palestinian people in Jerusalem to vote and run in these elections, and today we renew our rejection of any position that holds us responsible. Not holding these elections, which are a Palestinian necessity that we want today before tomorrow.

In the face of this stubborn position of the Israeli government, we will continue to approach the relevant international bodies to file cases against the Israeli government and force it to allow us to hold these long-awaited elections.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Last May, I participated in commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, as approved by your esteemed organization, after this painful anniversary was ignored by Israel, the party primarily responsible for this Nakba, and I call on you today to criminalize its denial, and to adopt the fifteenth. May of each year is an international day to commemorate her memory, and the memory of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were killed in massacres committed by Zionist gangs, and whose villages were demolished or displaced from their homes, who numbered 950,000 and constituted more than half of the Palestinian population at the time, and this is the least possible. That the United Nations should do this, in honor of these victims, and in denunciation of this human tragedy.

Ladies and gentlemen

For several years, we have continued to present our Palestinian narrative, and the story of our people, which has been deliberately distorted by the Zionist and Israeli propaganda machine. It is a source of relief for us that the peoples of the world and many of its countries have begun to be convinced of our narrative and sympathize with it, after it was misled for decades. We thank all those who Contribute to spreading this narrative, supporting it, and sympathizing with it. We also thank people of conscience everywhere in this world who are standing up for the Palestinian right today and supporting the struggle of our people to achieve freedom and achieve independence.

Ladies and Gentlemen

My message today to the Israelis is that this hateful occupation that they are practicing against us will not last, regardless of their ambitions and illusions, because the Palestinian people are remaining on their land, which they have inhabited for thousands of years, generation after generation. This was confirmed by the recent UNESCO resolution regarding the city of Jericho, and this people cannot He leaves his land, and if anyone has to leave it, they are the occupiers and the usurpers.

My message to the international community is that it bear its responsibilities with all courage, and implement its decisions related to realizing Palestinian rights.

Finally, I address all of our people in Palestine, in the refugee camps and in the diaspora, and in every place in this vast world, with the highest expressions of appreciation and gratitude, for their steadfastness and insistence on upholding rights, and I address a greeting of reverence and honor to our honorable martyrs, our brave prisoners, and our heroic wounded, and I say to everyone what has been lost. A right with demands behind it, and victory is ours, and we will celebrate the independence of our state in Jerusalem, our eternal capital, the crown jewel and the flower of cities.

Israeli occupation forces shot a young man, Thursday evening, at the light rail station in the French Hill neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem.

According to local sources, the occupation forces shot a young man, whose identity is not yet known, and deployed in the area after it was closed, while the movement of the light train stopped completely.

Workers in Gaza fear they will no longer have jobs in Israel and the occupied West Bank once the crossing opens again

Palestinian workers from Gaza say they fear for their livelihoods amid the Israeli closure of the Erez crossing in Gaza.

The closure, now in its sixth day and expected to last for an additional six days, has left workers employed in the occupied West Bank and Israel at risk of being laid off over their absences. 

Israeli forces closed crossing points with Gaza earlier this week, leaving thousands of Palestinians unable to go to work, as they carry out a “security assessment".

The decision to close the border came after Palestinian protests demanding the "right of return", the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

However, workers who spoke to Middle East Eye said that the decision constitutes a form of “collective punishment,” and will have a significant impact on Gaza’s economy, as well as their own livelihoods.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a teenager  from the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

The Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority said that the occupation forces arrested the teen, Muhammad Qaws (13 years old).

On the other hand, the occupation authorities sentenced the young Jerusalemite Hamza Shuqirat to 15 months in prison, and extended the administrative detention of the young Jerusalemite Muhammad Ali for the third time in a row for a month.

It also extended the detention of the young Jerusalemite, Saleh Fakhouri, until next Sunday, and the detention of the two young Jerusalemites, Muhammad Shatara and Adam Ghazawi, until next Tuesday. It also extended the detention of the young Jerusalemite, Ramadan Dabash, until next October 26, and the Jerusalemite child, Basil Obaidiya, until next October 9, and the young man. Al-Maqdisi Mahmoud Zahayka until next Wednesday.

The occupation authorities released the Jerusalemite child, Amir Najeeb, on condition of house arrest, a fine of 1,000 shekels, and a ban on communication and use of the Internet.

The Jordanian King, King Abdullah II, warned of the consequences of the Palestinians’ succumbing to any potential normalization agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel, in an interview conducted with him by the head of the Al-Monitor Media Foundation, Andrew Paraceletti, in New York, on Wednesday, during the Middle East Global Summit, which was organized by the Foundation. “Al-Monitor.”

The dialogue, which was also attended by Jordanian Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II, discussed developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and other issues such as Jordan’s efforts to work towards peace and regional integration, in addition to the increasing pressures resulting from the Syrian refugee crisis.

In his response to a question about the possibility of moving forward with the peace process, King Abdullah II pointed out the need to focus on the issue of “the transition to a new Palestinian generation of leaders, where the Palestinians are heading, and where Israel is heading,” wondering how we can reach an understanding about the political horizon. "?.

In response to a question about US efforts to achieve normalization between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel, the king indicated that any such agreement might lead to a new horizon, but at the same time he warned against overstepping the Palestinians, stressing that “the challenge lies in the Israeli government and the belief among some that You can bypass Palestine and deal with the Arabs, and then turn to the Palestinians, and this is not possible, as there will be no real peace without a solution to the Palestinian issue.”

The Jordanian king pointed out that there are requirements for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States, but “what the Palestinians will gain and what the region will gain from this matter must also be taken into account.”

The Jordanian King pointed to the decline in international interest in the Syrian refugee issue and the significant decline in international support, warning that the refugee issue may return to “troubling us all” as a result of the instability in southern Syria.

This Thursday evening, settlers closed “Road 90” in the center of the town of Al-Auja, north of Jericho.

According to local sources, dozens of settlers, protected by the occupation police and soldiers, were present on the main street known as “Street 90” in the center of the town, closed it, and raised Israeli flags.

Informed Palestinian and Syrian sources revealed, this evening, Thursday, the details of the assassination carried out by an Israeli reconnaissance plane in the village of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside.

The sources told Al-Quds.com that the two people who were assassinated were Ali Okasha, known as “Abu Al-Jarrah,” and Zaher Al-Saadi, “Abu Al-Ala.”

In an interview with Al-Quds.com, the sources indicated that they are of Syrian origin, and not, as some various media outlets previously indicated, that they are Palestinians belonging to the Islamic Jihad movement.

A leading source in Islamic Jihad in Beirut confirmed to Al-Quds.com that they do not belong to the movement.

Syrian sources told Al-Quds.com that Okasha and Al-Saadi both belong to the Islamic Group, which is a Syrian opposition party, active in some areas of the Damascus countryside and other areas of Syria, and is also known in some of them as the “Islamic Front.”

The sources revealed to Al-Quds.com that the assassination was carried out because they were behind rocket launches (between 2 and 4) against Israeli targets near the border between the years 2016-2019.

The sources indicated that Okasha and Al-Saadi were buried in their hometown in the town of Beit Jinn.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli army announced that it had fired shells at two temporary Syrian buildings that the Syrian army had established in the security zone, which constituted a violation of the ceasefire.

The Israeli army considered that the Syrian regime was responsible for everything that happened on its territory.

A number of citizens suffered from suffocation, Thursday evening, during the Israeli occupation forces’ suppression of peaceful marches in the eastern Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, the occupation soldiers stationed inside their positions and military vehicles deployed along the separation fence opened fire and fired a barrage of toxic tear gas bombs at dozens of boys and young men demonstrating in several areas near the separation fence east of Gaza City and east of Khan Yunis and Rafah. In the south of the Gaza Strip and Jabalia in its north, a number of them suffered gas suffocation.

Peaceful marches continue for the sixth day in a row near the separation fence in several areas east of the Gaza Strip, in protest against the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the continuing crimes of the occupation against our people in all governorates of the country and against our sanctities and our prisoners.

More than 43,000 people were displaced, according to the United Nations, as a result of the massive floods that swept eastern Libya, especially the city of Derna, where communications were restored on Thursday after a 24-hour interruption.

While search operations continue for thousands of missing people who are believed to have died as a result of the floods, the International Organization for Migration on Thursday published new estimates indicating an increase in the number of displaced people after the passage of Storm Daniel on the night of September 10-11.

The International Organization for Migration said that the tragedy caused the displacement of 43,059 people.
She added that "the lack of water supplies may have prompted many" of the displaced inside Derna to leave it to go to other cities in the east and west of the country.

The International Organization for Migration noted that the urgent needs of the displaced include “food, fresh water, mental health, and psychosocial support.”

The floods led to the death of 3,351 people, according to the latest official provisional toll announced by the Minister of Health in the Libyan East, Othman Abdel Jalil, on Tuesday evening.

However, humanitarian organizations and Libyan authorities fear that the number of victims is much higher due to the number of missing persons estimated in the thousands.

The communications networks and the Internet witnessed a blackout on Tuesday evening, and journalists were asked to leave the stricken city the day after a demonstration by Derna residents to demand that the authorities in the east of the country be held accountable, considering them responsible for the disaster.

The authorities spoke of a “cut in optical fiber,” but according to analysts and Internet users, the cut was deliberate and aimed at imposing a “blackout” after the extensive media coverage of the demonstration the day before.

The Libyan Supreme Committee for Emergency and Rapid Response, which was formed by the eastern authorities to supervise relief efforts, announced “the return of communications and Internet services throughout the city of Derna.”

The head of the Libyan government recognized by the United Nations, Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, announced on his account on the “X” website (formerly Twitter) that “the efforts of the field crisis team for the communications sector were crowned with success in restoring communications and Internet services to the city of Derna and the eastern region, after re-implementing new paths for fiber cables.” Optical communications infrastructure.

A strong storm struck eastern Libya on the night of Sunday, Monday, September 11, and the rain falling in huge quantities led to the collapse of two dams in the city of Derna. Water flowed forcefully and several meters high into a riverbed that is usually dry, sweeping away parts of the city along with its buildings and infrastructure.

The United Nations announced earlier this week that its agencies, especially the World Health Organization, are working to "prevent the spread of diseases and avoid a second devastating crisis in the region," warning of risks linked to "water and the lack of sanitary supplies."

On Thursday, rescue crews continued their efforts to find the bodies of the missing, especially at sea, after the floods swept away entire neighborhoods.

Libya has been mired in chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, and two governments are competing for power. The first is based in Tripoli in the west and is headed by Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba and is recognized by the United Nations, and the other is in the east of the country, which was struck by the storm, headed by Osama Hammad and is appointed by the House of Representatives. It is supported by the strongman in the East, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

In 2018, Haftar's forces took control of Derna, which was a stronghold of extremist Islamists and the only city outside their control in eastern Libya. But the eastern authorities consider Derna an opposition stronghold since the Gaddafi era.

After opening an investigation into the circumstances of the disaster, Libyan Attorney General Al-Siddiq Al-Sur confirmed that the two dams that collapsed had developed cracks since 1998 and had not been repaired.

The friend in charge of investigating the disaster, Al-Sour, promised in a television interview on Wednesday evening that the results would appear “soon.”
He stressed that the Derna investigations "will affect officials."

Like many of my readers, and unlike my wife and children, I am an Israeli by choice. I immigrated to Israel nearly 46 years ago. My wife and children were born in Israel. Nearly six years ago,one of my children left Israel with her husband and daughter.   They decided they didn’t want to raise their young child in Israel. They did not want to live in a country which was becoming increasingly religious, right-wing, racist, lacking tolerance of diversity, and apartheid-like. My two grown-up sons have so far remained in Jerusalem. They participate in the anti-government protests, but not regularly, and unlike my wife and I, they don’t always participate in the “Gush neged haKibush” – the bloc against the occupation part of the protests. I don’t know if my two sons and their partners will stay in Israel, they are here with us for the time being. We are seeing some of our friends leave Israel and some others seriously thinking about leaving. I don’t think about leaving, for me the struggle has not yet been lost and I am not willing to give up fighting for a just and democratic Israel in which all citizens live with equality and an Israel that no longer occupies the Palestinian people. For me Israel has always been home in thedeepest sense of the word and it is not easy to leave home. 

Part of my struggle is that I no longer define myself as a Zionist. It took me a long time to come out and say this publicly. My difficulty was mainly because I became an Israeli based on the Zionist Law of Return. Had I been born in Israel; I would have declared that I am no longer a Zionist a long time ago. I came out in support of the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israeli in 1975. For me, in those days it was the Zionist solution which would enable Israel to be the democratic nation-state of the Jewish people and all of its citizens. I thought that if there was a national home for the Palestinians on part of historic Palestine, then not only would Israel end its occupation of the Palestinian people, but also the Palestinian citizens of Israel could be treated equally as full Israeli citizens, as they would no longer be suspect of identifying with the enemies of their state. As long as there was a viable peace process with the Palestinians, I thought that was a chance that true equality could exist within the State of Israel and that the occupation could end. That has not happened. The occupation has become harsher than ever. Discrimination against Israel’s Palestinian citizens has deepened with increasing racism and hatred between the Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel and growing alienation of the Palestinian citizens towards the State of Israel. As Israel has become more right-wing and much more religious and the agenda of genuine equality is not within the platform or any of the religious right-wing political parties and civil society organizations it seems impossible to imagine the reality that I dream of and work for. 

What is done in the name of Zionism now and for many years are actions that are diametrically opposed to everything that I value. Zionist responses are actions of building more settlements on Palestinian land, erasing Palestinian villages, pogroms against innocent Palestinians, passing the Nation-State law, and a lot of other legislative initiatives on the way as well as daily encroaching annexation. I do no longer believe in the idea of a Jewish democratic state, it is no longer possible – perhaps it never really was. Jewish supremacy in the State of Israel has taken on proportions that make it impossible to imagine Israel as a state where all of its citizens can be genuinely equal. With no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the horizon and the daily encroachment of annexation of the West Bank without granting millions of Palestinians even the most basic human rights, Israel has truly become a new form of apartheid. The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid defines “the crime of apartheid” as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them”. The term racial group is a broad term, as we use it in Israel, not limited to skin color or other race-based definitions, but rather related to ethnicity, religion, national identification, etc. Israel is not apartheid South Africa, there are many differences, but Israel does fit the international definition of apartheid. 

My struggle for what I want my home- Israel to be, comes from two sentences in Israel’s Declaration of Independence (and not from the whole Declaration). “it(the State of Israel)will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its citizens irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

And of course: “We extend our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.” 

Israel has not lived up to those declarations of intent -particularly with regard to Israel’s closest neighbors – the Palestinian people. Israel is further away from them than ever before. The current Israeli government will do nothing to bring us even one millimeter closer to ending the occupation. In fact, it will continue to implement the plans of the most right-wing elements of this government – building more settlements and doing everything possible to encourage Palestinians to leave. The present and the future look quite gloomy and it is easy to sink into despair. I understand people who are relocating or seeking to relocate. If my children were small perhaps, I too would consider it. But for me, with grown up children, and no other place in the world which feels like home to me, I am here to fight for what I believe in. Here I need to draw on the ability to imagine a better tomorrow and use strategic thinking to develop the road map to reach that better place. 

When reality is so bleak it is very difficult to draw on imagination which is not naïve fantasy. We must remain connected to reality and seek to define the ways in which it would be possible to change public opinion. I am 100% convinced that if Israelis believed that there was a sincere partner for peace in Palestine, public opinion in Israel could rapidly change. The same is true for Palestinian public opinion – if there were leaders in Israel that spoke sincerely about living in peace with the Palestinian people, public opinion in Palestine would change. It is difficult to see that happening with the current leaders in Israel and in Palestine. But our leaders will change – they are not here forever. 

We need great people on both sides with vision and abilities to stand up and enter the political arena. We are suffering badly from the lack of leaders with vision who can reignite hope and who understand that the future of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people is intertwined. I have little hope that the US or Europe will provide the help and support that we need. We must find every point of leverage that we can identify to create the future that we want. We must impress upon Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman not to give away the greatest leverage existing today to move Israeli public opinion towards understanding the urgent need to end the occupation. Saudi normalization with Israel in the absence of iron-clad agreements to move towards ending the occupation will leave us frozen in the unbearable continuation of the great injustice of occupation and the inevitable escalation of violence. 

The anti-normalization movement in Palestine, while understandable makes it difficult for us to build bridges for mutual support and solidarity – but we must do it anyway. It is more difficult today to create possibilities for Israelis and Palestinians to meet and get to know each other. From 1989-2011, I organized and ran, with Palestinian colleagues, more than 2000 working groups of professionals from Israel and Palestine. Today that is very very difficult – but not impossible. It must be done and this kind of serious work must be undertaken by young Israelis and Palestinians and the international community needs to renew its efforts to enable this. 

We must always keep in mind that some of the more important, significant and earth-shattering events in history were not predicted or imagined, such as the Sadat visit to Jerusalem, the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall, the emergence of Nelson Mandela from prison and being elected President of a post-apartheid democratic South Africa. We have no real ability to know what tomorrow will bring, but it is our responsibility to help to create a much better future. We cannot give up hope, the struggle is ongoing and we have not yet lost. 

The writer is a political and social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to peace between Israel and her neighbors. He is a founding member of “Kol Ezraheiha - Kol Muwanteneiha” (All of the Citizens) political party in Israel. He is now directing The Holy Land Bond and is the Middle East Director for ICO - International Communities Organization.

Japan provided three financial grants, to the municipality of Kobar, northwest of Ramallah, and the village councils of Majdal Bani Fadel, southeast of the city of Nablus, and Jalboun, east of Jenin, within the Grant Aid Program for Community and Human Security Projects (GGP).

The agreements were signed by the Ambassador of Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to Palestine, Nakashima Yoichi, with representatives of the local councils separately, at the headquarters of the Japanese representation in the city of Ramallah, today, Thursday, with a total value amounting to $250,009.

Japan provided the municipality of Koper with a grant amounting to $77,940 to expand the town’s water network, deliver water to an additional 50 families, and improve its quality by extending 1,560 meters of underground pipes in several locations in the town that are not currently connected to the water network.

It also provided the Majdal Bani Fadel Village Council with a grant worth $90,810 to expand its electricity network to serve about 120 families by supplying a 400kVA power transformer and constructing 910-meter-long high-voltage lines and 80-meter-long low-voltage lines.

The Jalboun Village Council received a grant worth $81,259 to expand the health center there, by adding new rooms in the center, to serve the people and facilitate the work of the staff working in the center.

Ambassador Yoichi stressed Japan's firm commitment to supporting the Palestinian people, from a human security perspective, and the importance of implementing social and economic development projects necessary for Palestinian communities.

Since 1993, the Government of Japan has provided official development assistance worth approximately $2.3 billion to the Palestinians, and GGP projects have been formulated in cooperation with the National Authority, through the Ministry of Finance and Planning since 2010.

Today, Thursday, a group of Israeli settlers set up tents in the natural reserve area east of Bethlehem.

According to local sources, the settlers set up a number of tents and raised Israeli flags above them in the area.

The sources indicated that this aggression aims to seize the reserve’s lands and achieve settlement goals.

Two people were killed today, Thursday, after they were targeted by an Israeli drone in the town of Beit Jinn, southwest of Damascus.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (“Kan 11”) reported that “an explosion occurred in the town of Beit Jinn, as a result of an Israeli drone shooting at two people, who were riding a motorcycle.”

Kan 11 noted that "as a result of the attack, two people were killed in the town located 11 kilometers from the border with Israel."

The Prisoner’s Club said, “The military court of the occupation in (Salem) sentenced the wounded prisoner, Muhammad Abu Sabra (50 years old) from Nablus, to actual imprisonment for a period of 9 and a half years, a fine of 5,000 shekels, and a suspension of execution for a period of one year to three years, and that ( On charges of attempting to carry out a stabbing attack.

The Prisoner's Club explained that the occupation arrested Abu Sabra on May 17, 2022, after he was shot in front of the Huwwara military checkpoint. At that time, he suffered several injuries in his abdomen and left leg. At the beginning of his arrest, he underwent a series of surgical operations, during which parts of his limbs were removed. His intestines and pancreas, and he suffered several fractures in his pelvis, and today, as he is in Megiddo prison, he still suffers from a difficult and tragic health condition, and faces the crime of medical negligence, and he needs diligent health follow-up.

The Prisoners' Club indicated that Abu Sabra had been detained for a period in the so-called (Ramla Prison Clinic), and at that time he was subjected to solitary confinement, despite his difficult health condition, before he was transferred to (Megiddo) Prison.

It is worth noting that the occupation authorities, over the past year and the current year, have remarkably escalated the shooting of citizens during their arrest operations, and have arrested dozens of wounded people, some of whom are still suffering from difficult health conditions.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli court in Beersheba sentenced the young man, Karam Al-Qadi (20 years old), to five and a half years in prison, from the town of Shaqib Al-Salam in the Negev region in the occupied interior.

The Israeli court issued a ruling against the young man due to his participation in the Gift of Dignity events in 2021.

The young man, Karam Al-Qadi, was arrested on January 13, 2022, during the demonstration that was organized to reject the razing of the lands of the village of Sawa. The court prevented the young man from meeting with the defense lawyer and the family during the first days of his arrest, and he underwent dozens of trial and investigation sessions in the basements of Israeli intelligence.

The Prisoner's Club said, "Administrative detainee Thaer Halahleh (47 years old) from the town of Kharas/Hebron has continued his boycott of the occupation courts since his administrative arrest in June 2022."

The Prisoners' Club explained that Halahla spent a total of (15) years in the occupation prisons, including (11) years in administrative detention, noting that the occupation re-arrested him a year after his release, after he spent (14) months in administrative detention.

Detainee Halahla is today in Nafha Prison, and the current administrative order against him expires next December. He is married and the father of four children, the youngest of whom was a week old when he was arrested, and he was able to see him for the first time after his arrest during the visit.

Detainee Halahla is one of the detainees who went on hunger strikes to reject administrative detention. In 2012, he went on a strike that lasted for (78) days.

It is noteworthy that he holds a bachelor's degree in history and a diploma in the Hebrew language.

A young man was shot by Israeli occupation forces, today, Thursday, after allegedly trying to carry out a run-over attack at the Qalandiya military checkpoint, north of the occupied city of Jerusalem.

According to the Israeli police statement, an Israeli security guard was injured at the checkpoint, and his injury was described as minor.

The Israeli police confirmed that the perpetrator was immediately arrested, indicating that the circumstances of the event are being investigated.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli police arrested an elderly Palestinian man from the Gaza Strip, after allegedly finding two knives in his possession while he was at the central bus station in Tel Aviv.

The police said in a statement, “A short time ago, a 60-year-old suspected resident of Gaza was arrested, and two knives were found in his bag during a search at the entrance to the central station in Tel Aviv.”

It added, "The suspect was arrested and taken to Sharat police station for questioning."

The police also indicated in its statement that “the background of the man is being checked.”

The Ministry of Education denounced the Israeli occupation forces’ storming, today, Thursday, of the Al-Eizariya Girls Basic School in the suburbs of Jerusalem, after blowing up its doors.

The Ministry of Education confirmed in a press statement that these actions are a flagrant violation of human rights and the right of children to obtain a good and safe education, and they reflect the difficult conditions that students and teachers are experiencing in Jerusalem and its suburbs, as a result of the war waged by the occupation forces on everything that is Jerusalem, especially the education system. And education.

The Ministry called on the international community to intervene immediately to stop these violations and protect children’s right to education, stressing the importance of continuing to provide support to schools and students in Jerusalem, to confront these difficult challenges.

Administrative detainee Kayed Al-Fafsous (34 years old) from the city of Dura/Hebron continues his open hunger strike for the 50th day in a row in rejection of the crime of his arbitrary administrative detention, amid escalating risks to his fate in the cells of the Negev Desert Prison, where the prison administration has held him since he began his imprisonment. Strike.

The Prisoners' Club said, "The occupation forces are carrying out systematic abuse and harassment against him, in addition to pressure operations that continue to this day in an attempt to dissuade him from continuing his strike. The prison administration also insists on detaining him in the cells of the Negev, despite the passage of this period since the strike." In previous individual strikes, the prison administration would transfer the striking detainee after a certain period to a civilian hospital.”

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to close the Beit Hanoun “Erez” checkpoint in the northern Gaza Strip, designated for the movement of individuals.

The office of the so-called Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities announced the extension of the closure of the checkpoint for 24 hours, under the pretext of continuing marches on the Gaza Strip borders.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Wednesday that his country had stopped arming Ukraine in order to focus on strengthening its own defense forces, a few hours after Warsaw summoned the Ukrainian ambassador amid a dispute between the two countries over grain exports.

In response to a journalist's question about whether Warsaw would continue to support Kiev militarily despite the dispute over grain exports, Morawiecki said, "We have stopped transferring weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons."

Poland has been at the forefront of countries supporting Ukraine and one of its most prominent arms suppliers since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
Poland also hosts about one million Ukrainian refugees who have benefited from various types of government aid.

But the intensity of the dispute between Warsaw and Kiev has escalated in recent days due to the ban imposed by Poland on Ukrainian grain imports to protect its farmers.

In May, the European Union agreed to restrict grain imports from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to protect farmers in these countries who attributed the decline in prices in local markets to Ukrainian imports.

The measure allowed grain products to continue transiting through the five countries, but stopped their sale in local markets.
On Friday, the European Commission announced that it was ending the import ban, considering that “imbalances in the markets of the five member states of the bloc that border Ukraine have disappeared.”

But Poland, Hungary and Slovakia quickly declared their refusal to comply with this step.

The situation in Poland, which is preparing to hold elections next month, is extremely sensitive, especially since the current right-wing government relies on strong support in agricultural areas.

Ukraine responded to the positions of Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia by threatening to file a complaint against these countries before the World Trade Organization.
Morawiecki warned earlier Wednesday that he would expand the list of Ukrainian products prohibited for import if Kiev escalates the dispute over grains.

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, "Pressuring Poland in multilateral forums or sending complaints to international courts are not appropriate methods for resolving the differences between our two countries."

Kiev responded by calling for “leaving emotions aside” and urging Warsaw to pursue a “constructive” policy in this dispute.