Today, Thursday, Bashar Al-Masry, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PADICO Holding Company, announced the launch of the “Energy of Hope” project to generate electricity with solar energy along Salah El-Din Street in Gaza.

The project will launch “Energy of Hope” with a capacity of 50 megawatts, with an estimated value of $60 million.

Dozens of citizens suffered from suffocation, today, Thursday, during confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces, in the town of Anabta, east of Tulkarm.

According to local sources, confrontations broke out between young men and the occupation forces on the main street of the town of Anabta, during which bullets and toxic tear gas bombs were fired at citizens and shops, causing dozens of them to suffer from suffocation.

The State of Palestine participated in the 18th meeting of foreign ministers of member states of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, which was held in New York on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, entitled: “Sustainable recovery after the pandemic.”

In his speech, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Maliki affirmed the commitment of the State of Palestine to achieving the goals and vision of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, by enhancing dialogue and mutual understanding between Asian countries and nations, based on its belief in the strength of regional cooperation and its importance in confronting serious challenges and seizing opportunities for growth and development.

He reviewed the political and economic challenges that faced the Palestinian government in the stage of containing the epidemic and the stage after it, as it is a country that has been under Israeli military occupation for decades, and how it was able to mobilize all the required efforts to contain it and respond to its effects even though it is still suffering from its effects at all levels, including Development, economy, education, health, etc.

Al-Maliki presented the audience with a picture of the latest political and field developments in Palestine, and what the Palestinian people are facing in terms of a fierce, systematic, and unprecedented campaign targeting their land and the lives of their youth, women, and children, led by the most extreme right-wing government, which eliminates any hope for holding peace negotiations between the two parties.

He stressed that this coercive reality imposed on the State of Palestine will not be an obstacle to its efforts to achieve its rights to freedom, prosperity and self-determination, with the firm and principled support of member states and the support of the entire international community.

He stressed the fundamental and important role of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue in serving the interests and goals of countries and achieving them at the economic and political levels. He reaffirmed the State of Palestine’s commitment to this dialogue and its values, and continued cooperation with all member states to continue achieving the goal of the dialogue based on forming an Asian unity capable of facing future challenges and obstacles. Despite the occupation’s control over all aspects of life, wealth and resources.

Al-Maliki expressed his sincere gratitude to the Kingdom of Bahrain for arranging to hold this meeting and for its appreciated efforts made during its presidency of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, congratulating the Republic of Iran on assuming the presidency of the dialogue.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the “Bahrain Declaration” document was adopted to promote the concept of sustainable recovery in healthcare after the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, exchange experiences and consolidate relations between member states.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a Palestinian Jerusalemite attending set-in  from the occupied city of Jerusalem.

According to local sources, these forces arrested the Jerusalemite women , Nafisa Khwais, while she was in Omar bin Al-Khattab Square in the Old City, days after issuing a decision to deport her from the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months.

At dawn on Thursday, gunmen opened fire on several departments and buildings belonging to the Hebron Municipality, and on the homes and shops of a number of members of the city’s municipal council.

According to local sources, the gunmen opened fire on shops in the Ain Sarah area in the city of Hebron and on the Tahrir Roundabout area in the city. Unidentified persons also opened fire on the Al-Hamouri Clinic in the Health Roundabout area in the city.

The sources indicated that a headquarters belonging to the Hebron municipality in the Wadi al-Hariya area was also subjected to gunfire.

These shooting incidents come hours after shooting at the vehicle of the Deputy Mayor of Hebron, Dr. Asma Al-Sharbati, as it was parked in front of her house in the Al-Mahwar neighborhood in the city of Hebron, causing material damage to the vehicle.

A surveillance camera of Al-Sharbati's house showed the unknown person shooting at the vehicle and then fleeing the scene using a motorcycle.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in China on Thursday in his first official visit in nearly two decades to the allied country, and at a time when he is struggling to obtain support for the reconstruction of his war-ravaged country.

China is the third non-Arab country that Assad has visited during the years of ongoing conflict in his country since 2011, after Russia and Iran, Damascus's most prominent allies, which provide it with economic and military support that has changed the balance of the war in its favor. This visit falls within the framework of Assad's gradual return to the international arena over a year ago after the isolation imposed on him by the West, especially due to his suppression of the protest movement in his country, which developed into a devastating conflict.

The official CCTV television broadcast a live broadcast of Al-Assad's arrival in the city of Hangzhou, where he will participate in the opening of the Asian Games on Saturday with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Thus, Al-Assad became the last head of state, widely considered isolated, to be hosted by China this year after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. It also hosted a number of Russian officials, and invited President Vladimir Putin to visit it next month, according to what the New China News Agency (Xinhua) reported on Thursday.
Al-Assad is accompanied by his wife, Asma, and a political and economic delegation.

The visit includes meetings and events in the cities of Hangzhou and Beijing.

The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan, which is close to the government, reported that Al-Assad will attend the opening of the Asian Games in Hangzhou on the 23rd of this month.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not comment on the content of the visit.

This is the first visit by the Syrian President to China since 2004, while Chinese officials visited Damascus during the period of the bloody conflict.

China supported Damascus in international forums and the UN Security Council, repeatedly abstaining from voting for resolutions condemning it during the conflict, and used its veto alongside Russia to stop these resolutions.

Syrian political analyst Osama Dannoura from Damascus said, "This visit represents a break from an important level of diplomatic isolation and political blockade imposed on Syria, given that China is a major country with weight on the international economic and strategic levels."

He added to Agence France-Presse, "China is breaking the Western taboo that is trying to prevent a number of countries from dealing with what Washington considers isolated countries."

Western countries impose economic sanctions, which Damascus has long considered a fundamental reason for the continued deterioration of its economy.

Dannoura believed that for Damascus, China is a “reliable partner,” especially in the economic and reconstruction fields.

Regarding potential Chinese investments, he said, “China has the ability to complete infrastructure reconstruction in residential and civilian areas at an exceptional speed.”

After 12 years of a devastating conflict that claimed the lives of more than half a million people, left millions displaced and refugees, and destroyed the country's infrastructure, Syria is today seeking the support of allied countries for the reconstruction phase.

In previous statements, the Syrian President expressed his hope that Chinese institutions would invest in Syria.

Researcher Lina Al-Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, believed that Al-Assad is trying, through his visit to China, to convey a message about the beginning of “international legitimization” of his regime and the expected Chinese support in the reconstruction phase.

Al-Assad's visit comes at a time when Beijing is playing a growing role in the Middle East and is trying to promote its "New Silk Roads" plan, officially known as the "Belt and Road Initiative", which is a huge project of investments and loans that aims to establish infrastructure linking China to its traditional markets in Asia, Europe and Africa.

In January 2022, Syria joined the Belt and Road Initiative.

In parallel, China is strengthening its diplomatic activity, and over the past months it has hosted state leaders and officials facing international isolation, including Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko and representatives of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan. She also received the Venezuelan president, whose oil-rich country is facing a stifling economic crisis.

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will also visit China in October, at a time when Moscow faces Western anger over its war in Ukraine.

This year witnessed changes in the Syrian diplomatic arena, represented by Damascus resuming its relationship with several Arab countries, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, regaining its seat in the League of Arab States, and then the Syrian President’s participation in the Arab Summit in Jeddah in May for the first time in more than 12 years.

Diplomatic transformations accelerated on the Arab scene after a surprising Chinese-brokered agreement announced in March, which resulted in the resumption of relations that had been severed between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

At dawn today, Thursday, a group of settlers attacked Palestinian citizens’ homes in the Al-Masoudiyah area of the Burqa lands, northwest of Nablus.

According to local sources, settlers attacked the house of citizen Musa Deis and targeted him with stones, damaging his windows, breaking the windows of two vehicles and damaging their tires.

Settlers also tried to attack him and target him with poison gas while he was returning home.

The sources indicated that the settlers threw pointed iron bars on the main road, which damaged the tires of some vehicles.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced on Wednesday that his country is "close" to normalizing its relations with Israel, warning on the other hand that if Iran possesses nuclear weapons, the Kingdom will do so as well.

The Saudi Crown Prince said in an interview with the American Fox News network in Saudi Arabia, “We are getting closer and closer every day” to normalizing relations with Israel.

This statement came at a time when US President Joe Biden was discussing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York specifically the issue of relations between the Kingdom and the Hebrew state.

But Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, stressed “the importance of the Palestinian issue” for the kingdom.
He said, "For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We have to solve it."

Prince Mohammed bin Salman denied the validity of press reports that spoke of the “suspension” of talks between the Kingdom and Israel.

He said that "these negotiations are going well so far" and "we hope that they will lead to a result that makes life easier for the Palestinians and allows Israel to play a role in the Middle East."

Experts are likely that the United States will provide Saudi Arabia with security guarantees if the oil kingdom concludes an agreement with Israel.

In response to a question about this issue, the Crown Prince said that relations between Riyadh and Washington go back eight decades and that a possible security agreement between the two countries would “strengthen” their military and economic cooperation, without further details.

To date, the Hebrew state has normalized its relations with five Arab countries: Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.

However, what the Saudi prince said did not bring peace or relief to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who warned that any normalization with Israel constitutes a “stab in the back” for the Palestinians.

During a press conference held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings, Raisi was asked about the rapprochement taking place between the Kingdom and the Hebrew state. He began his answer by welcoming the recent rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh, stressing that Iran’s relationship “with Saudi Arabia is developing.”

Last spring, the two competing regional powers, Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran, began normalizing relations between them, in a surprising step that took place under the auspices of China.

In response to a question about the current Saudi-Israeli rapprochement, the Iranian president said, “We have not heard anything like this.”

He added, "Despite that, starting a relationship between the Zionist regime and any country in the region, if its goal is to achieve security for the Zionist regime, will certainly not achieve that."

Raisi continued, "We believe that a relationship between countries in the region and the Zionist entity would be a stab in the back for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance."

In his interview with the American news network, Prince Mohammed bin Salman was asked about the possibility of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
In response to this question, the Saudi Crown Prince warned that if the Islamic Republic acquired atomic weapons, the Kingdom would find itself forced to do the same.

"We are concerned about the possibility of a country obtaining a nuclear weapon. This is bad," he said.

He added that the Iranians "do not need to obtain a nuclear weapon because they cannot use it," stressing that such a thing would mean "igniting a war with the rest of the world."

But the Crown Prince stressed, in return, that “if they get this weapon, we should get it too.”

Iran denies that it is seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon, even though its stock of enriched uranium exceeds the levels permitted under the nuclear agreement it concluded in 2015 during the era of former US President Barack Obama, from which former President Donald Trump withdrew.

During his meeting with Netanyahu, the American President also discussed the relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Addressing Biden, Netanyahu said, “I believe that under your leadership we can conclude a historic peace agreement between Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

In turn, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told ABC that achieving rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel will have a profound impact in the Middle East.

He added that normalizing relations between these two countries will have a "strong impact on the stability of the region, on the integration of the region, and on bringing people together."

Today, Thursday, Israeli occupation forces stormed the Al-Eizariya Girls Basic School in occupied Jerusalem after blowing up its doors.

According to local sources, these forces raided the school, searched it, seized surveillance camera recordings, destroyed part of its contents, and caused major material damage.

The sources indicated that the teachers and students were surprised by the extent of the destruction caused by the occupation during its storming of the school.

The head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Muayyad Shaaban, said today, Thursday, “The Israeli occupation authorities renewed the order to seize 350 dunums of citizens’ lands in the villages of Qatna, Al-Qubayba, and Beit Anan, northwest of Jerusalem, and the town of Beit Liqya, west of Ramallah.”

Shaaban added in a press statement, “The occupation seized this land in 2004, under the pretext of using it for military purposes, while preventing citizens from accessing or using it, within the framework of strengthening apartheid policies and expanding the settlement project.”

He stressed that the occupation's control over citizens' lands violates the most basic rules of international law and international resolutions, which criminalize settlement and control over citizens' lands.

He continued: “Since 2014, the occupying state has issued a total of 85 military orders requiring the seizure of 1,822 dunums of citizens’ land for military purposes, most of which required the establishment or expansion of military points and sites, or for the purpose of constructing roads for the occupying army to follow, while it was issued during the period There are a total of 226 orders requiring the renewal of previous orders, issued a decade or two ago, whose specific expiration had expired according to the military decision, but the occupying state, instead of returning them to their owners, renewed these orders in reference to a clear desire by the occupying state to continue to control the earth".

Shaaban warned of the danger of the occupying state bending the system of laws in effect in the Palestinian territories prior to the Israeli occupation in 1967 to its advantage, and to the benefit of its settlement project supported by the far-right forces ruling the occupying state, calling on citizens to follow up on this type of issues through the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, in order to nullify them. Exposing the true face of the occupation.

Today, Thursday, dozens of settlers stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid heavy protection from the occupation police.

The settlers made provocative tours inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and performed Talmudic rituals.

Groups of settlers storm Al-Aqsa on a daily basis except Friday and Saturday.

Today, Thursday, Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a facility selling building materials in the town of Beita, south of Nablus.

According to local sources, these bulldozers demolished a building materials store belonging to citizen Mahdi Dwikat and his partner Thaer Dwikat, under the pretext that it violates and is close to the new settlement road, which the occupation is working to build in the lands of Beita, Hawara and Odla.

The sources indicated that the total area of the project was estimated at four dunams, which were completely razed without warning, on top of the goods contained therein, without allowing us to move them, and their value was estimated at 3 million shekels.

In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly two days ago, King Abdullah II affirmed that suffering will continue in our region until the world takes action and helps resolve the Palestinian issue and end the conflict. He explained that five million Palestinians live under occupation with no rights, no freedom, and no decision to manage their lives. The Jordanian King added that the two-state solution is the essence of resolving disagreement and conflict and the only path towards comprehensive and lasting peace.

In Riyadh, Saudi officials familiar with the negotiations between the United States of America and Saudi Arabia, including the normalization of Saudi-Israeli relations, confirmed that Saudi Arabia is not interested in conducting negotiations with an extremist Israeli government, and is upset with the Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu, for his lack of seriousness in dealing with these Saudi conditions and commitment regarding the Palestinian issue.

These positions come after leaked news claimed that Saudi Arabia was about to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, and the clear Saudi response was largely positive.

Unfortunately, there is news leaking about normalization processes in various forms between Israel and some Arab countries, and we do not wish to mention names in this context until the positions become clear officially and publicly, and then the talk will be in its time and place.

It should be noted that any normalization with the occupying state means a national denial of our rights and our efforts to establish our state and achieve justice for our people and our future in general, and it supports the occupation that occupies the land and kills young people daily.

Normalization in its various forms has no value or necessity at all, because Israel constitutes a very small part when looking at the Arab world, and any potential of it to provide aid or services to any Arab country is nothing but talk in the air and has no value or truth to it, because the potential, energies and capabilities of our Arab world exceed thousands of times. Everything owned by the Jews in the world or by Israel, which occupies our land.

We hope that these positions, especially from Saudi Arabia, will be final, strong and unchangeable, unless Israel withdraws from the West Bank and Jerusalem and we establish our independent Palestinian state with our holy city as its capital, the land of the Night Journey and the Mi’raj, the first of the two qiblahs and the third of the Two Holy Mosques.

O you who are running after normalization, stop, and you who dream of normalization, drown in your dreams..!!

The monopoly on the role of target and persecutor practiced by Zionist propaganda has effectively turned into a bogeyman that frightens most people, intellectuals and academics, as well as politicians. Thus, Zionist propaganda succeeds twice through the use of this weapon: the first time in preventing criticism or accountability, and the second time in Practicing what it wants against the Palestinian people under a thick veil of smoke of terror and intimidation. Zionist propaganda, supported by enormous forces, known and unknown, was able to turn its statements and claims into historical facts in what is considered a precedent that occurs for the first time in history. The Zionist desire to... The monopoly on the image and narrative of Jewish history - which is disputed and numerous - has reached its peak in the persistent and also successful attempts to Judaize social media by fighting Palestinian content first and by remaining silent about the racism and hatred that oozes from some Zionist content and not banning it or objecting to it or punish him at all.

The meeting between Netanyahu and Elon Musk was an expressive meeting of the successful and ongoing Zionist attempt to use this global platform to monopolize image, content, narrative, and vision as well.

This is consistent with the attempts of international Zionist propaganda to monopolize the historical narrative by Judaizing all of history, that is, making the Jew a central person in making the global event, and this is the trend expressed by hundreds of historians, theorists, and archaeologists who spoke of trees and stones and twisted the neck of the facts to agree. With feverish and sick whims and imaginations, and for this reason we are not surprised by Israel’s denunciation of UNESCO’s position on the Sultan Hill in Jericho, as well as the naïve and laughable attempts to seize some Palestinian foods or clothing, considering that the strong inherit the weak.

The Judaization of history means that some group, other than the groups of people, was the one who started human civilization and was the first to write, worship God, or present an aesthetic proposal to the world. This is a slander against the truth and may have killed him or her as well, and all of this is accompanied and integrated with attempts. The ongoing process that is taking place in front of all the eyes of the world to Judaize the Palestinian spatial space, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, in which attempts to change the reality began from the first day of its occupation until this day, by abusing it, digging under it, building around it, disturbing its stones and walls, and controlling access and Exiting it, arresting those in seclusion, preventing worshipers, pushing settlers into it, and trying to possess it physically and not symbolically through the multiplying biblical practices, from blowing the trumpet to preparing for the sacred cow and ending with preparing teams of priests ready to implement a feverish and sick plan, in addition to spreading settlement in different ways. Geometric, demographic, and tensional, trying to build another awareness of the place and therefore of history itself, and fighting the Palestinian approach and preventing the birth of a nationalist feeling sufficient to build a state and society, and fighting every Palestinian initiative that could stand in the face of this fossilized trend.

The policy of Judaization is a policy of banishment and absence of everything that is non-Jewish. The policy of Judaization is, in some way, a reflection of the mentality of seclusion and isolation at the same time, because Judaization is a process of isolation and monopoly on the one hand, and a process of expulsion and deportation on the other hand, and it is practiced at the level of consciousness from By monopolizing the role of the unique target and persecutor of the prophecy, and also practicing it at the level of spatial space by transforming it into a divine entity that cannot tolerate any other human control, the policy of Judaization is a dangerous process of subjectification in which the world is centralized into only one group that claims to be the most deserving and the most capable.

In my humble opinion, the majority of the Jewish public in Israel is rushing into dangerous areas of destructive awareness. Panic on the one hand, possession of power on the other hand, and speaking in the name of God on the other hand, all of this leads to undesirable consequences.

This week I chair a ministerial meeting of the Donor Group in New York following my trip to Israel and Palestine last week. Although the situation seems dark now, I believe that the two-state solution is still the path to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Time is running out, but we will not give up working for a Palestinian state and a just, peaceful solution. The rapprochement between Middle Eastern countries provides new opportunities for dialogue. Israel wants normalization with many Arab countries, but most of all what will improve Israel's relations with its neighbors and the rest of the world is a political solution with the Palestinians.

Just over ten years ago, in 2011, the World Bank announced that the Palestinian Authority had taken the necessary measures to establish a Palestinian state. This was nearly twenty years after the signing of the Oslo Accords. The agreement, which was negotiated with the help of Norwegian diplomats, was an important historical turning point. However, no agreement has yet been reached on the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, final borders, security and Palestinian refugees. Despite the presence of the necessary Palestinian institutions for statehood, the violence has undermined a great deal of trust between the two parties. Without a negotiated political solution to the final status issues from the Oslo process, and with the occupation continuing, institutions alone were not sufficient to establish a Palestinian state.

Far from the two-state solution
Today, thirty years after the signing of the first Oslo Accord, we are further from a two-state solution than we were in 2011. There have been no peace negotiations for almost a decade. Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are eating up more Palestinian land. The level of violence has increased in the past year. Since the beginning of the new year, 40 Palestinian children and six Israeli children have been killed as a result of the conflict. The situation in Gaza is unsustainable. New generations are growing up without hope for the future. Many have lost confidence in the two-state solution.

One thing is beyond doubt: a viable Palestinian state must consist of continuous territories and have clearly defined borders. The legitimate security needs of both peoples must be met. The Israeli settlements mean that the development of the situation is moving in the direction of what can be called the “one-state reality,” but without equal rights between Israelis and Palestinians.

What does Norway say and do?
In this case, it is first of all important for the Norwegian government to clearly state that it is unacceptable that Israel does not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state nor to grant the Palestinians equal rights in one state. As long as the Palestinians want their own state, I will continue to work for a two-state solution. I also believe that the only acceptable alternative to two states is one state with absolutely equal rights for all.

Secondly, Norway reinforced the message of respect for international law and human rights. We must stand against violations of international law in the Middle East, regardless of who commits them. The International Court of Justice in The Hague is issuing a fatwa on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Norway participates in this process.

Third, the government intensified its criticism of Israeli settlement policy. The Israeli settlements established on the occupied territories are considered the most important obstacle to the two-state solution and a violation of international law. Therefore, the government decided that food produced in Israeli settlements must be labeled.

Fourth: We do not believe that it is right to abandon support for the project of building a Palestinian state, even if its development is limited due to the continued occupation, the decline of legitimacy, and the internal Palestinian division. There is broad agreement internationally, but also among Palestinian factions and many Israelis, on the need to strengthen Palestinian institutions of self-government. Continued support for a separate education system, health care, culture and identity is important to preserve the dignity and self-determination of the Palestinian people. Norway also continues to lead the Palestine Donor Group (AHLC), where the parties and the international community coordinate work to build a sustainable Palestinian economy and government institutions.

But aid and what some call “economic peace” are not enough. A political solution is needed.

Fifth, we must send a clear message to both parties that they must work to create a credible political horizon. Although the parties are far apart today, our message is clear: peace negotiations must resume. It is also important for Palestinians to come together. The division between Gaza and the West Bank, and between Hamas and Fatah, hinders the political ambitions of the Palestinians.

The Palestinians demand legitimate and comprehensive leadership, and it is past time to hold Palestinian elections. But at the same time, we must avoid a repeat of what happened in 2006, when the Palestinian government became internationally isolated due to the international community's objections to the election results. Norway believes that communication is also important with those with whom we disagree. There are no good alternatives to continuing the line of dialogue with the various Palestinian factions.
What is most important now is for the Israelis to make clear political choices toward a two-state solution. It will require a complete shift from now on, as the use of language and actions by the Israeli government has increased the level of tension with the Palestinians. At the same time, I noted statements from the Israeli side during my visit this week regarding the desire to hold further talks with the Palestinians. Both sides must also stop the violence carried out by extremist actors on each side.

Normalization gives hope
Thirty years after the Oslo Accords, time is running out for a two-state solution and the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. At this crossroads, I will highlight the need for renewed and joint efforts to reach a just, peaceful solution. Like my colleagues in the Middle East, as well as in Europe, the United States, China and other countries in many parts of the world, I believe that a Palestinian state alongside Israel, with borders negotiated on the basis of the 1967 line, remains the ideal solution and the best and most sustainable path to peace. This will serve both peoples. The two-state solution will provide unexpected and positive opportunities for increased cooperation, security, stability and integration in the Middle East.

While the situation has deteriorated for the Palestinians, relations have improved between Israel and many Arab countries. It is crucial that the Palestinians are not forgotten in this regional normalization process. And here perhaps lies hope. We have already seen what opportunities the rapprochement between countries in the Middle East has created for Israel. However, what will contribute more than anything else to improving Israel's relations with its neighbors and the rest of the world is reaching a just, peaceful solution with the Palestinians.

After Qatar was late in disbursing the monthly grant to the Gaza Strip, informed Israeli sources revealed that it was disbursed during the Jewish New Year holiday, in light of tension in the relationship between Qatar and Hamas, which prompted the latter to ignite the Gaza Strip front and return demonstrations near the border fence.

For five years, Qatar has been providing a financial grant that is renewed annually with a statement issued by the Qatari Emiri Diwan. It is then transferred to the Qatari committee residing in the Gaza Strip and is divided into three parts: the first for needy and poor families, numbering 100,000 families, the second for the benefit of the electricity station, and the third as a contribution to paying the salaries of employees. The government in the sector, and the value of each part is about 10 million dollars?

What has happened on the ground and what has changed that led to a delay in disbursing the grant, especially to employees who have begun to suffer from difficult and stifling conditions and whose lives have become harsh and difficult, which has affected the budgets of a number of ministries affiliated with the Hamas government...

Salama Maarouf, head of the government media office in Hamas, confirms that the Qatari financial grant was actually affected in terms of its financial value. Sometimes it was disbursed and reached ten million dollars, then it declined until it reached three million dollars in the portion allocated to employees. There is also a state of irregular payment in During the past three months, it was paid only once, amounting to $3 million, and this certainly exacerbates the government’s financial deficit.

Regarding the reasons for the large financial deficit in the Hamas government, he said that in addition to Qatar’s reduction in the financial grant, the deficit is mainly due to the gap between the expenditures incurred by the government institution through the Ministry of Finance, and the limited and sometimes declining revenues, which accumulated a financial deficit that reached its peak last month.

Regarding the real reason behind Qatar’s reduction of its financial grant to the Hamas movement and the irregularity of the payment process - a source close to the movement said that it came because of the actual steps the movement took to rapprochement with the Syrian government after a rift between them that lasted for more than ten years, as Qatar’s position on the Syrian government Clear.

Qatar recently opposed Syria's return to the Arab embrace through the Arab League, and said that the reasons behind its boycott had not yet been overcome.

It seems that the reason is the presence of great Israeli pressure and new Israeli conditions, as politicized money is always subject to conditions and blackmail.

In light of these facts that were not officially revealed, an Israeli television channel appeared on the morning of Tuesday, September 19, and said that the Qatari grant had entered the Gaza Strip and that Hamas had not announced its entry, due to the dispute with Qatar, under the pretext that Hamas was dissatisfied with the passage of the grant money through Israel and despite Hamas’ approval. As Qatar buys fuel from Egypt and sells it in the Gaza Strip, the rise in fuel prices and transportation prices forced a reduction in the grant, the part of which allocated for employee salaries reached less than the required amount. Hamas asked the Qataris to provide the full grant amount, but the Qatari response was refusal.

Whatever the reasons and motives, the Gaza demonstrations at the fence this week prove beyond doubt that there is a crisis and it may develop into a limited military confrontation with the aim of imposing the equation of calm, security and stability in Gaza on the condition that the financial grant continues to flow and that any delay or obstruction to it is accompanied by Israeli blackmail. New conditions may change the facts on the ground and drag the region into a new confrontation...

It is clear that Israel's plan after the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was aimed at making the Israeli political initiative the only game, blocking the way for any other initiatives, and moving towards further steps in the West Bank, which creates strife and division among the Palestinians and negatively affects the Strip, which is still besieged and exposed to aggression in What moment is the largest and longest prison in history?

A reality repeated by experience. The Gaza Strip remains hostage to the Israeli pincer, which appears to be the cause of the recent tension, given that Israel is a constant source of anxiety in the Middle East region. No matter how many reasons there are for the Qatari dispute with Hamas, the part related to Israel’s actions and policies must not be neglected.

Dozens of Jewish rabbis, who reject Zionism in the United States of America, demonstrated against Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York City.

The demonstrators raised the Palestinian flag and banners denouncing the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, and declared their rejection of the Netanyahu-Biden meeting and all the actions taken by the extreme right-wing Netanyahu government against Palestinian citizens.

It is noteworthy that the “Neturei Karta” movement, which means (guardian of the city) in Aramaic, was founded in 1930. Its members number approximately 5,000 people around the world, the majority of whom live in the cities of Jerusalem, New York, Paris, and London.

Today, Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned in the strongest terms the barbaric attack committed by members of the armed terrorist settler militia against a European diplomatic delegation during its tour of the Wadi al-Siq Bedouin community threatened by forced displacement, east of Ramallah.

In a statement, the Ministry considered this a reflection of a racist, fascist colonial mentality that controls the behavior and attacks of these militias without any regard to international law or the immunity enjoyed by diplomats, and a disregard for European positions against settlement.

The Ministry added: "This is an extension of the large-scale ethnic cleansing operations against Palestinian citizens, their land, homes, facilities, and their presence in all of Area C, including those funded by Europe."

The Ministry held the Israeli government fully and directly responsible for this attack, calling for firmer European and international positions to force the occupying state to dismantle those militias and the terrorist bases in which they live richly in the occupied Palestinian territory and to hold accountable everyone who adopts, finances and supports its terrorism.

Today, Thursday, the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, on the sidelines of his participation in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York.

President Abbas briefed the Secretary-General on the latest developments in the situation in the Palestinian Territory, and what the Palestinian people are exposed to, in light of the continued Israeli escalation against their land and Islamic and Christian sanctities.

He reiterated the need for the United Nations to fulfill its duties towards the Palestinian people by providing international protection and implementing international legitimacy resolutions, and the need to oblige Israel to all agreements signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization, and to stop unilateral measures.

In turn, Guterres expressed his hope that the Palestinian issue will be resolved and the Palestinian people will obtain their full legitimate rights, including that the State of Palestine will become a full member of the United Nations before the end of his second term as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

He confirmed that he will visit Palestine at the end of next October and will coordinate the details of the visit with the Palestinian authorities.

He indicated that he would chair a meeting tomorrow to mobilize financial support for UNRWA, and he considered it a priority in his duties as Secretary-General.

In turn, the President welcomed what he heard from the Secretary-General of the United Nations about his keenness for the State of Palestine to obtain its full membership and the full legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

He added that this indicates the Secretary-General's sincere conviction about the Palestinian issue based on international law, welcoming his visit to the State of Palestine.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday accused regional rival Saudi Arabia of betraying the Palestinians by discussing the normalization of relations with Israel.

“The initiation of a relationship between the Zionist regime and any country in the region, if it is with the aim to bring security for the Zionist regime, will certainly not do so,” Raisi told a news conference as he attended the UN General Assembly in New York.

“We believe that a relationship between regional countries and the Zionist regime would be a stab in the back of the Palestinian people and of the resistance of the Palestinians,” he said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday accused regional rival Saudi Arabia of betraying the Palestinians by discussing the normalization of relations with Israel.“The initiation of a relationship between the Zionist regime and any country in the region, if it is with the aim to bring security for the Zionist regime, will certainly not do so,” Raisi told a news conference as he attended the UN General Assembly in New York.“We believe that a relationship between regional countries and the Zionist regime would be a stab in the back of the Palestinian people and of the resistance of the Palestinians,” he said.

Raisi also warned against an Israel-Saudi normalization deal on Monday, saying, “The normalization of relations with the Zionist regime does not create security.”The US has been looking to broker a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a goal long sought by Israel that could have a dramatic impact in the Middle East. Israel has already normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan.

Saudi Arabia and Israel have bonded in part over shared hostility to Iran’s clerical state, although Riyadh has moved to ease tensions with Tehran through talks brokered by China.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Wednesday that “every day we get closer” to Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel, while clarifying that the Palestinian issue is still a “very important” component of the process.

The comments represented rare public remarks in English by bin Salman regarding the normalization effort, offering an additional degree of optimism regarding its chances, hours after US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the issue during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces launched an arrest campaign in various areas in the West Bank.

In Ramallah, the occupation forces arrested the two young men, Ahmed Hashan Alyan and Tariq Muhannad Al-Zubaidi, after they raided their home in the Jalazoun camp.

While Muhammad Khaled Hammad and Alaa Farhana were arrested from the city of Tulkarm.

In Nablus, large forces from the occupation army stormed the eastern region, and deployed in the vicinity of the Maqam Youssef and Balata al-Balad, to secure the settlers’ storming of the shrine.

Meanwhile, the occupation forces arrested the citizen, Omran Hijazi, from Baker Street in the city.

Israeli special forces shot and killed a Palestinian boy during an incursion into Jenin yesterday. Rafat Omar Ahmad Khamayseh, 15, was shot by Israeli special forces while leaving his grandfather’s house in Jenin refugee camp around 7:30 p.m. on September 19, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. As he left the house, Rafat saw Israeli special forces exiting three Palestinian licensed cars and surround the home of the father of a Palestinian man wanted for arrest. 

Rafat fled, yelling, “Special forces! Special forces!” One Israeli soldier chased Rafat and shot him in the abdomen from a distance of 10 meters (33 feet). Rafat fell and a Palestinian resident of Jenin refugee camp approached him to offer aid. Israeli special forces fired another shot toward Rafat, and the Palestinian man threw himself on top of Rafat and rolled him toward his house, less than five meters (16 feet) away. 

The man and his family sheltered Rafat for about an hour and a half as the Israeli military prevented ambulances from accessing Jenin refugee camp. Rafat died before an ambulance transferred him to Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin. 

“Israeli forces routinely use lethal force in situations not justified by international law,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Increasing Israeli military incursions into Palestinian cities and refugee camps combined with systemic impunity results in Israeli forces seemingly resorting to live ammunition and excessive use of force for crowd control purposes with complete disregard for the deadly consequences.”

46 Palestinian children have been killed in 2023, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers have shot and killed at least 38 Palestinian children and killed one Palestinian child with a targeted drone strike in the occupied West Bank. Six Palestinian children in Gaza were killed in the May 2023 Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip, and a 10-year-old Palestinian child in Gaza succumbed to head wounds he sustained during the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip in August 2022.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune yesterday called for a special session of the UN Assembly to vote on granting Palestine full membership to the organization.

In a speech, Tebboune told the 78th session of the UN General Assembly that Algeria renews its demand for holding an extraordinary General Assembly meeting to grant Palestine full membership into the UN.

He added that Algeria supports the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative to end the occupation of Palestinian territories, which is “a key factor in regional instability.”

Tebboune also called on the Security Council to issue a resolution protecting the two-state solution and ending the Israeli occupation.

Presently, Palestine’s status at the UN is that of a “non-member observer state,” which was upgraded from an “observer entity” in 2012.

However, for Palestine to achieve full UN membership, it needs approval from the UN Security Council, followed by a vote in the UN General Assembly.

Palestine applied for full UN membership in 2011 but failed to get the necessary support in the UN Security Council, which is dominated by the US-led occident states, Israel's key backers. 

The president of Algeria renewed the demand for the “establishment of a new world order based on equality,” adding: “Reforms are also needed in the UN Security Council, which has been weak in fulfilling its duty to maintain international peace and security and in preventing the use of force.”

More than 40 ancient Jewish graves were vandalized by unknown assailants in eastern Germany, German police said Wednesday, but no arrests were reported.

Desso-Roslau police said that more than forty Jewish graves were vandalized in Köthen, "particularly by overturning the grave boards."

Police believe that acts of vandalism were committed between Friday and Tuesday in the Jewish part of this cemetery.

Authorities are looking for "anyone who can provide information about potential suspects."

Anti-Semitic crimes have steadily increased in Germany in recent years.

The government on Tuesday banned a group called “Hammerskins Germany,” which promotes a “racist theory based on Nazi doctrine,” during a massive nationwide raid.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said, “Palestine needs strong international support to overcome political and financial challenges, strengthen reform efforts, and advance development plans,” considering that investment in Palestine is an investment in peace and stability in the region.

This came in his speech during the AHLC donors’ meeting, today, Wednesday, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, which was chaired by Norwegian Foreign Minister Annekin Hoitfeldt, in the presence of foreign ministers and representatives of 30 countries and international institutions, and in the presence of Finance Minister Shukri Bishara.

The Prime Minister expressed his thanks to Norway, which hosted this meeting, and the international community that has supported Palestine, since the Oslo Accord, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of its signing.

He also welcomed the joint European-Arab effort to revive the Arab Peace Initiative, as well as the efforts of the United States to bring the parties to the table.

He said: "It is clear to all of us that the Oslo Agreement has evaporated in all aspects: security, political, legal and financial, as Israel violates the agreement every day with its illegal measures."

The Prime Minister called on the international community to protect the two-state solution through effective measures, recognizing the State of Palestine and approving its membership in the United Nations and international institutions, and enforcing international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2334, which explicitly prohibits trade in settlement goods and dealing with Settler institutions, and holding Israel accountable for its human rights violations.

He continued: "The Israeli government is systematically working to undermine the establishment of the Palestinian state and push the National Authority to the brink of collapse through its daily invasions of our villages, cities and camps, as it works to reoccupy the West Bank and accelerate the pace of building and expanding settlements."

He continued: "This Israeli government is inciting the Israelis to take up arms against the Palestinians, and since the beginning of this year, it has killed 241 Palestinians, and in Israeli prisons there are 5,200 Palestinian prisoners. It also keeps the bodies of 142 martyrs in refrigerators, and 256 other martyrs in the cemeteries of numbers."

He continued: "The Israeli government includes ministers accused of terrorist acts, and they cannot be considered partners in peace, neither for us nor for the international community, and the changes it is making to the Israeli judicial system will lead to accelerating the confiscation of lands and facilitating the killing of Palestinians."

He said: “These devastating measures, and many others, ignite open conflict within a contemporary apartheid regime, de jure and de facto.” Pointing out that demographics plays a role in this conflict, as today the number of Palestinians outnumbers Israeli Jews in historic Palestine.

He continued: "The Israeli government has caused a severe financial crisis. It is illegally withholding our money under false pretexts, in addition to uncontrolled deductions related to electricity, water and sewage bills."

He added: “The systematic piracy of Palestinian funds has now exceeded $800 million annually, exceeding our annual deficit by $200 million, which has affected our ability to fulfill our obligations and pay public sector salaries in full. At the same time, international aid has declined significantly, with From 30% of our budget to only 3%.”

The Prime Minister stressed: “Despite the great challenges, our commitment to serving our people remains steadfast. We adhere to our responsibilities towards them wherever they are, whether they are under the Israeli siege in the Gaza Strip, or under Israeli control in Area C and occupied Jerusalem, or in camps.” Refugees in Lebanon and Syria: We bear national and political responsibility towards our people, even when collecting taxes is not possible.”

The Prime Minister briefed the meeting on the significant progress made in implementing the reform agenda, as the Civil Service Law was amended, the electronic services system was implemented, the Penal Code criminalizing torture was issued, amendments were made to the tax system, medical referrals, and health insurance, and a new law for companies was issued in line with standards. International law, ICT law and the establishment of a new independent telecommunications regulatory body. In addition to holding elections for local authorities, chambers of commerce, student councils, trade unions and trade unions.

The Prime Minister called on those gathered to make every effort to put pressure on Israel to enable us to hold elections in all parts of Palestine, including Jerusalem.

He said that the government is about to finalize the development plan for the years 2024-2029, which is based on a set of goals, which are strengthening the steadfastness of our people, gradually breaking away from the relationship of dependency with the occupation by expanding the production base of the Palestinian economy and diversifying the trade relationship, in addition to strengthening and improving services in public institutions. And strengthening the Palestinian narrative.

For his part, Finance Minister Shukri Bishara warned that Israeli economic practices exacerbate the authority’s financial crisis, as stopping monetary deductions will lead to revenue growth of more than $200 million annually.

He said: "If the Israeli authorities agree to transfer customs authority to us and give us approval to establish a network of customs warehouses, the expected increase in customs revenues will not be less than $300 million annually."

He noted that by transferring our share of crossing fees and all previous dues in this area, Palestinian revenues will be enhanced this year by approximately $200 million, and no less than $20 million annually.

He stated that if the Israeli authorities agree to impose Palestinian sovereignty in Area C and exercise our rights to build and operate, the economic benefit that will be generated will transform the Palestinian economy.

Morocco announced on Wednesday that the expected budget for reconstruction after the devastating earthquake that struck the country two weeks ago is estimated at $11.7 billion, and will be allocated to a five-year program targeting more than 4 million people.

The Royal Court stated in a statement that the projected budget for the program for “reconstruction and general rehabilitation of areas affected by the Al Haouz earthquake” is “estimated at 120 billion dirhams (about 11.7 billion dollars) over a period of five years.”

The statement, which was issued following a meeting chaired by the Moroccan king on the subject in Rabat, explained that the program targets 4.2 million people in six provinces, which were struck by the most violent earthquake of its kind in Morocco on the night of September 8, leaving about 3,000 dead.

This program includes, in its broad outlines, “re-housing the affected population, rebuilding housing and rehabilitating infrastructure,” in addition to “breaking isolation” and “accelerating the absorption of the social deficit” in the afflicted areas, most of which are remote villages that were already suffering from development problems, most of which are located In the High Atlas Mountains, amid rugged terrain, south of Marrakesh.

It is expected that this ambitious program will be funded from public finances as well as the special account that was opened for donations following the earthquake, as well as international support and cooperation, according to what the Royal Court statement added.

Last Thursday, Morocco announced that the program to rehome survivors includes, in an initial phase, about 50,000 homes, as well as urgent financial aid to families who lost their homes.

A number of citizens were injured, this Wednesday evening, as a result of Israeli occupation forces attacking participants in a citizen’s funeral, in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.

According to local sources, those forces stationed at the entrance to the town intercepted the funeral and tried to prevent citizens from reaching the town’s cemetery, before launching poison gas bombs, causing dozens to suffocate.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday confronted Russia directly at the UN Security Council, saying that the invasion of his country was “criminal” and demanding that Moscow be stripped of its veto power.

For the first time since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Zelensky sat in his military uniform in the same room with a Russian official.

“Most of the world knows the truth about this war,” Zelensky said, as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations sat in front of him. “It is a criminal and unjustified aggression by Russia against our country aimed at controlling Ukraine’s territory and resources.”

He called on the United Nations to strip Russia of its veto power in the Security Council, saying it was a fundamental reform that would at the same time strengthen the representation of the developing world -- where support for Ukraine has been lukewarm -- at the United Nations.

Zelensky said, “The presence of the veto in the hands of the aggressor is what pushed the United Nations into a dead end. ...

It is impossible to end war because all efforts are blocked by the aggressor or by those who condone the aggressor.”

He reiterated the Ukrainian position that the veto power belonged to the Soviet Union, one of the victors in World War II after which the United Nations was established, and not Russia under President Vladimir Putin.

“Unfortunately, this seat on the Security Council that Russia illegally occupies... has been seized by liars whose mission is to whitewash aggression and genocide,” Zelensky said.

But depriving Russia of the veto would be extremely difficult.

However, there is a precedent. In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly stripped Taiwan of the veto power it enjoyed as China's representative, granting it instead to the communist government on the mainland.

But the tension began even before Zelensky spoke, when the Russian side expressed its dissatisfaction with the decision of Albania, which currently presides over the Security Council and is represented by Prime Minister Edi Rama, to allow the Ukrainian president to take the podium first.

Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia, who has repeatedly requested to speak to Rama, said that allowing Zelensky, a former comedian, to take the stage to speak first risks “undermining the authority of the Security Council” and turning it into a “one-man show.”

Rama responded to the Russian envoy calmly but with clear resentment, saying, “There is a solution. Stop the war, and President Zelensky will not take the stage.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke before Zelensky and strongly criticized Russia.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which clearly violates the United Nations Charter and international law, exacerbates geopolitical tensions and divisions, threatens regional stability, increases the nuclear threat, and causes deep fissures in our increasingly multipolar world," he said.

Albania allowed 63 speakers to attend this session, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and American Anthony Blinken, who used the session to accuse Moscow of committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

He said in his speech, "Russia commits war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine on a daily basis."

Lavrov, a former ambassador to the United Nations and known for his harsh statements, arrived in New York late Tuesday, and Russian state media reported that his plane took a circuitous route to avoid European airspace.

This year, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who rarely goes to the United Nations, did not attend. He has been absent from other high-level diplomatic meetings this year as Western countries seek to isolate him, while he faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against him.

In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Zelensky said that Russia's deportation of Ukrainian children, which led to the issuance of the warrant against Putin, constituted "genocide."

Zelensky pointed out that the war affected the interests of countries around the world, accusing Russia of using food and energy as “weapons,” including by halting arrangements supported by the United Nations that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments to pass safely through the Black Sea.

“For the first time in modern history, we have the opportunity to put an end to aggression based on the conditions of the country that was attacked,” Zelensky said in a speech that was met with applause from Western leaders but prompted others to leave the hall.

But some developing countries criticized the attention given to Ukraine, knowing that it received military aid from the United States alone worth about $43 billion.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said, "It is a grave indictment of the international community that we are spending all this money on war while we cannot support the necessary action to cover the basic needs of billions of people."

On Wednesday evening, the Hamas movement criticized the meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hazem Qassem, spokesman for the Hamas movement, said in a press statement, “It is unfortunate that the head of an Islamic country received the prime minister of the occupation government, Netanyahu, at a time when the occupation was killing in Gaza, Jenin, and Jericho, and storming Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

He added: "Normalization encourages the occupation to escalate its aggression against our people and our sanctities." like he said.

Erdogan met with Netanyahu yesterday in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings.

They discussed strengthening various security, political and economic relations.

On Wednesday evening, the European Union called on the Israeli authorities to take action against “violent” settlers, dismantle illegal settlement outposts, and provide protection for the Palestinian population under occupation.

In a statement, the European Union expressed its concern about the growing problem of settler violence.

The European Union said: “Today, during a diplomatic visit to Palestinian communities in Area C, already displaced or threatened with displacement, European and other diplomatic missions were subjected to violent harassment by Israeli settlers.”