Today, Thursday, a large Palestinian woman buried the body of the martyr Khalil Anis (20 years old), in the city of Nablus, to his final resting place.

The funeral procession started in front of Rafidia Hospital, with the participation of a number of representatives of official and popular events, towards the Martyrs' Roundabout in the city center, before the body of the martyr Anis was transferred to Ain Beit al-Maa camp, where a final farewell look was given to him at his family's home.

The participants performed the funeral prayer for the martyr Anis, then his burial body was buried in the camp cemetery.

The martyr Anis succumbed to his injury by the live bullets of the occupation in the Al-Ras area during its storming of the city of Nablus at dawn today.

The Supreme Fatwa Council in Palestine affirmed the fatwa issued by it regarding the prohibition of participation or candidacy in the elections of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem, justifying this as a clear and explicit violation of Sharia and the national consensus rejecting this participation, as the municipality is the first arm of the occupation authorities in implementing settlement and Judaization projects in the city, and narrowing ways Living and housing for the citizens.

During its session today, Thursday, headed by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, Chairman of the Supreme Fatwa Council, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Council warned against Israeli plans to submit a draft law for the temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to which the Al-Qibli Mosque area will be allocated to Muslims, and the area that starts from the courtyard of the Dome of the Rock to The northernmost of the Al-Aqsa squares for the Jews, and it constitutes about 70% of its area.

He said: The attempts of the occupation authorities to implement this step will cause massive anger, and will drag the entire region into a religious war whose results cannot be expected, calling on everyone who can reach the occupied city of Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to travel to them in order to stand up to the plans of the aggressive Israeli occupation authorities. And its aggressions through which it violates the place of our Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him.

The council added that these projects and incursions are nothing but a continuation of the Judaization series that targets Jerusalem and its blessed mosque, to create a new reality on the ground, stressing the rejection of these planned and planned violations by the occupation authorities and their police, and that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque was, is and will remain Islamic.

The Council warned of the policy of escalating restrictions on Palestinian prisoners, and of the murders that occur within the Palestinian community in the 48 territories.

The official spokesman for the presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said that the occupation government insists on dragging the region into escalation and a cycle of violence through its continuous crimes against our Palestinian people, the latest of which was the storming of the city of Nablus, the martyrdom of a young man, the bombing of a citizen's house, and the injury of dozens.

Abu Rudeineh added, in a press statement to him, that the policy of collective punishment practiced by Israel, whether by demolishing homes, killing citizens, besieging Jenin, Nablus, and other Palestinian cities, or the unacceptable Israeli measures in Jerusalem, are war crimes according to international law, and Israel must be punished for it. And take serious policies to stop it before it's too late.

He stressed that the continuation of these Israeli crimes against our people, our land, and our sanctities, makes the region sink into a spiral of violence, and creates a state of chaos, which requires the international community to act immediately to stop them, provide protection for our people, and hold those responsible accountable and bring them to justice.

The presidential spokesman held the occupation government responsible for the dangerous and accelerating events on the ground that crossed all red lines, calling on the US administration to break its silence and oblige Israel to stop its daily crimes and violations against our people, and to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy and signed agreements.

Abu Rudeineh stressed that the crimes of the occupation and the policy of collective punishment will not undermine the resolve of our people, and that it will remain steadfast on its land and defend it until its hopes for liberation and the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital are fulfilled.

The Hebrew channel Reshet Kan reported, on Thursday morning, that it had been decided to postpone the meeting of the Negev Forum, which was scheduled to be held at the end of this month in Morocco.

According to the channel, the postponement was decided due to Eid al-Adha, which will fall at the end of this month.

She indicated that it was postponed to next month.

This forum is known as the "Negev Forum" because its first summit was held last year for the first time in the Negev, southern occupied Palestine.

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz recently quoted Israeli sources as saying that the foreign ministers of Israel, the United States, and several Arab countries, including Egypt and the UAE, will participate in the meeting hosted by Morocco.

According to the same sources at the time, the meeting was scheduled to take place early in the beginning of the year, but it was postponed due to security tensions in the Palestinian territories.

The meeting was held for the first time in March of last year in Sde Boker, in the Negev, at the initiative of the former Israeli Foreign Minister at the time, Yair Lapid, and it was decided at that time to hold it once a year in a different country.

According to the newspaper, one of the reasons for delaying its contract is the dispute between the United States and Morocco over its venue, after the latter demanded that it be held in Western Sahara, but Washington opposed and demanded that it be held in a politically non-controversial region.

In recent months, Israel, along with the United States, has sought to expand the circle of participants, and to add Muslim-majority African countries that do not currently maintain diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv, at a time when Arab countries participating in the forum demanded that he change his name so that his identity would not be identified so that he would be clearly Israeli.

First, it is necessary to understand that there is no symmetry in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict between Israel and Palestine. Israel is the occupier. Palestine is occupied. Israel is strong and Palestine is weak. Israel acts unilaterally and does whatever it wants in complete disregard of international law. Palestine is unable to do anything against Israel because Israel enjoys almost complete immunity in the international community. In the victim struggle between the two sides, the winner is Palestine. I am writing this column by accepting the adage that we should not blame the victim. I don't blame the victim, but I also don't absolve the victim of their responsibility to change their situation.

Let's start with the easy part. elections. The vast majority of Palestinians want elections for a new leadership. The last elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (Parliament) were held in 2006. The last elections for a Palestinian president were held in 2005. President Abbas can be the best president in the world, but no president should be in office for long. He certainly should not remain in office for a long time without a clear mandate from the people. As most Palestinians explain to me, the path to the reunification of Palestine, between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, passes through elections. There is an understanding, perhaps even a commitment, that whoever wins those elections is the winner. The Palestinians want an end to the internal division and they want new elected leaders. So, take to the streets and let your voices be heard throughout Palestine. Peace and awe inspire the masses who took to the streets with one slogan: elections!

The second call from me is more complicated and difficult. In the decades that have brought thousands of Israelis and Palestinians together for serious and in-depth discussions and negotiations, it is clear that the two sides relay their messages on different waves. Israelis talk about peace and recognition. They also talk about ending the conflict. Palestinians talk about ending the occupation, freedom, justice and independence. In the recent past, many Palestinian youth also spoke about equality. Many Israelis believe that negotiation and reaching agreements is the best way to reach their goal of peace. Many Palestinians simply want Israel out of their lives and end the occupation. The reality on the ground is that the occupation is becoming more entrenched, new settlements are being built, and old settlements are constantly expanding. The road infrastructure in the West Bank is changing dramatically and rapidly in a way that prevents the survival of a Palestinian state. This has always been the goal of the settlement movement. They may have already achieved this goal, and if not, it will happen soon.

Achieving their goals of achieving justice, independence and equality. They depended for many years on the Arab world. This did not happen. Our message is their hope that the international community will force Israel to end the Israeli occupation. Then the Soviet Union disappeared and the non-aligned countries had nothing but strength to pass empty declarations in the UN General Assembly. Then came the peace process, Madrid, the multilateral talks, Oslo, the bilateral negotiations, the agreements signed - but the house of cards collapsed. The Palestinians received huge sums of money from the United States and the European Union, and many countries provided donor aid, but in retrospect, it enabled Israel to continue a more comfortable occupation and gave the international community the sense that it was in fact helping to end the war. occupation and lead Palestine to freedom. But there was no real pressure on Israel to withdraw or even to stop building settlements. In addition, the Palestinian government has become increasingly corrupt - this is what the Palestinians themselves say.

A month after Sadat's historic visit, the vast majority of Israelis were ready to give up every grain of sand from the Sinai for the sake of peace. Many sandstorms have blown across the Sinai since then, and the Israeli-Egyptian peace is a far cry from the vision of peace that existed in the 1980s, but no Israeli even thinks of taking back the Sinai and giving up peace. The most important lesson from that past experience for the Palestinians must be that the address to speak to is in the neighborhood, in Israel, for the Israeli people. The international community will not come to the rescue - neither the United States, nor the European Union, nor Russia, nor China, nor the United Nations, nor the Arab countries. Yes, it is very likely that Israel will face new pressures as a result of its criminal behavior against the Palestinian people. But this pressure may take many years before it leads to a change in politics and public views in Israel. Yes, Israel has become an apartheid-like state, but before the international community develops an effective political current against Israel, it will be a very long time and the suffering of the Palestinians will certainly increase beyond anything that can be tolerated.

I will not tell the Palestinian people and their leaders what to do and what to say. I know what those Israelis who are genuinely interested in peace and an end to the occupation want and what they would like to hear from them. From time to time I have heard some Palestinians say without fear that, yes, we understand that the Jewish people are "bound to this land." I have heard some Palestinians make clear statements without any if, what, or but - the Holocaust was the greatest crime against humanity ever committed, and we understand the suffering of the Jewish people and their need for real security. I even heard some Palestinians criticizing the Palestinian curricula for teaching hatred against Israel and the Jews, and they called for textbooks to be reformed! This does not mean changing the Palestinian narrative, which is largely based on their suffering at the hands of Israel. But, they say, the curricula should also teach the Palestinian people's desire to live in peace as neighbors of Israel. If the vast majority of Palestinians believe and express these things, I think the Israeli response to them will be very strong and meaningful for our common future here.

Perhaps the next generation of Palestinian leaders, those we know and those we don't, can take some dramatic steps that will have a "Sadat effect" on the Israeli psyche and public opinion. Faisal al-Husayni believed that when he visited the Museum of Ghetto Fighters in Kibbutz Lohamai HaGetaut, there would be a moment of the "Sadat effect". It didn't happen. Rabin and Arafat's handshake was very strong for the Israeli public, but the majority of Israelis still had major reservations about Arafat's true intent - many of his messages were covered in double talk. Clarity of intentions and consequent actions is what is required. I know it is very difficult for occupiers to stand up and find the moral courage and fortitude to take such measures, but I am really afraid that without something along these lines our situation will be much worse than it already is.

We should not get tired of repeating that, in the midst of everyone's preoccupation with the current Israeli government's plan to weaken the judiciary, and to dismantle what is known as checks and balances between the three branches of government, leading to near-absolute control of the executive authority over the other two branches, this government took a step described as, Even from an Israeli point of view, it is dramatic and would indicate Israel's current direction with regard to the file of occupation in the 1967 territories and the Palestinian cause in general.

The intent, as the author indicated in previous articles, is the approval of the Knesset General Assembly in late March, in the second and third readings, of an amendment stipulating the abolition of parts of the “Disengagement Law” of 2005, which allows Israeli settlers to be present in areas in the northern West Bank that have been It was evacuated 18 years ago, within the framework of that plan, which, at the time, included the evacuation of Gush Katif settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank.

This abolition was agreed upon through coalition agreements, and the direct aim of it was to basically legalize the status of religious school students in the outpost "Homesh", which was evacuated in 2005. This school was established within the framework of the settlers' determination to brandish a "metaphorical world" in Apparently, this indicates what they consider the futility of dismantling the settlements in the lands of 1967, so this approved legal amendment came to make it a realistic, non-temporary existence.

Over the short period since this amendment, it has more and more strengthened the assessment that the farthest goal is for the current government to drive a final nail into the coffin of what is known as the "two-state solution", by declaring that the dismantling of any settlement in the occupied territories, as it was in accordance with For the disengagement plan, never again.

This was confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview he gave to Fox News a few days ago, when he was asked to comment on a statement by the US State Department that considered the issue of the "Homesh" outpost as a violation of commitments made by Israel in exchange for the administration of former President George Bush. He said: "This is tantamount to endorsing the ethnic cleansing of the Jews in their historical homeland." In 2016, Netanyahu described the possibility of evacuating Jewish settlers from the lands occupied since 1967 as "ethnic cleansing"!

Regarding the course of the disengagement plan, it was noted that, as a result of it, the Israeli right’s tendency towards appropriating the human rights discourse was strengthened in order to achieve several goals, most notably: ending the monopoly of any left-wing party on the issue of human rights in Israel; Improving the image of the occupying state. Right-wing organizations began resorting to claiming that forcibly evicting Jewish settlers from their homes is contrary to the human rights discourse. In recent years, opponents of the two-state solution have used human rights rhetoric against the evacuation of Jewish settlers from a specific area in order to establish a homogeneous Palestinian state on it.

In parallel with listing these facts, which we can consider new in the current period, there is a need to point out that Israel has been using settlements in the West Bank since the 1967 occupation to achieve the goal of curbing the establishment of a Palestinian state. It is a goal that stood behind all the settlement projects that were discussed, and not all of them went beyond the goal of dismembering the public space in the West Bank specifically, to make such a state as separate enclaves, with self-rule with limited powers and main resources, especially land and water.

In a new report by a human rights organization, an accurate description of the role distribution in this regard between the occupying state and the settlers was stated as follows: The state is the one who initiates, plans, and steals Palestinian land and undertakes construction and settlement tasks, and the settlers are taking several steps forward, in what appears to be contrary to the official plan and several laws. . Soon the state forgives and reconciles retroactively, and initiates new plans, and the settlers in turn steal more Palestinian land... And so on and so forth.

The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs revealed the arrest certificates of young men who were subjected to beatings and abuse by the Israeli occupation forces during the arrest and investigation process.

After her visit, the commission's lawyer, Heba Igbaria, met the prisoner Khalil Muhammad Abu Ghazaleh (16 years old) from the town of Al-Tur, in the district of Jerusalem, where he said that he was arrested from his home at around five in the morning, after a number of police and intelligence men arrived and stormed his room while he was sleeping from his bed, and took him out. They left him directly from the house and did not allow him to change his clothes, then they took him to the interrogation rooms and kept him in the corridor for two hours, kneeling on his knees with his face against the wall and forbidden to move, then they brought him in for interrogation. He returned to complete the investigation, and the prisoner stayed in Al-Mascobiyeh for 7 days, and then he was transferred to Al-Damoon Prison, “the Cubs Section,” where he is still there.

Ighbariya also met the prisoner, Ibrahim Sultan Al-Zumar (15 years), from the Askar camp in the district of Nablus governorate, and the prisoner said that the occupation forces arrested him from inside a supermarket at midnight, and a large number of soldiers entered and arrested him, then they beat him upon arrest while he was handcuffed to the back. He was blindfolded in order to get him into the prisoners' truck. Inside the truck, the soldiers continued to assault him and beat him arbitrarily with their hands, feet, and the butts of their rifles. As a result, he suffered many wounds, bruises, and bruises. He also suffered a deep wound in his right foot. He also suffered a broken finger in his hand. They entered him directly for interrogation, and he asked the interrogator to give him first aid and treat him, and clean the wounds and blood, but the interrogator refused and instead of treating him, two soldiers entered him and assaulted and beat him, then tied his feet in addition to his hands and interrogated him for two hours while he was in pain and stained with his blood.

The prisoner continued that from the Hawara detainee he was transferred to the Detention and Interrogation Detention Center in Petah Tikva, and he arrived at dawn hours, then they put him in a solitary cell, and inside the cell he used the existing water bottle to wash the blood that filled his face and feet, and even in Petah Tikva they did not provide him with any treatment or first aid. And he remained in detention for 20 days, during these days he was given a few meals, and there were days when they did not bring him any meal and he remained hungry, but some of the food he got was wrapped in papers, Ibrahim used to take these papers and stick them to the place of his wounds.

The visit that President Mahmoud Abbas is currently making to the People's Republic of China and his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, is considered one of the most important visits that President Abbas made to China, whether in terms of timing or in terms of its outputs and the circumstances the Palestinian issue is going through, and the attempts of the occupying power to resolve the conflict In its favour, it exploits the international circumstances and the protection of America and Western European countries for it, and preventing its punishment, which makes it persist and arrogant in its practices and violations against our people and its attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause.

President Abbas is the first president to be invited to visit China and meet with Chinese President Ping this year, and in the wake of the elections that took place in China and the renewal of the Chinese president for a new presidency due to the achievements he made during his previous terms of progress for China in all fields, especially economic, military and other scientific fields. and technological.

China's invitation to President Abbas and his meeting with the Chinese President at this particular time means making the Palestinian issue a focus not only for talks between the two sides, but also making this issue alive despite all the assassination plots and attempts to end and resolve the conflict that the occupying state is carrying out.

China is a major supporter of the Palestinian cause at all political, diplomatic and economic levels, which our people will never forget, especially in the UN Security Council and the United Nations, where it stands by all special resolutions related to the Palestinian cause.

Not only that, but China affirms the right of our people to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of June 4, 1967 AD, and opposes Israeli practices and violations, especially the settlement crimes and herds of settlers.

More importantly, our people look forward to the People's State of China playing a role in ending the Palestinian division, which caused the decline of the Palestinian cause, and the occupation's exploitation of this division to pass its policies of liquidation and ethnic cleansing, falsifying history and facts, and replacing the real Palestinian narrative with a forged Israeli one that has nothing to do with truth and reality.

Just as China succeeded in restoring relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran to its former state, and dealt a strong blow to America and the occupying state, which tried to delude the Arab countries, especially the Gulf states, that their enemy is Iran and not the Israeli occupation, so that this scheme, which has no basis in truth, except to make the occupying state the dominant one, was exposed. on the area.

China, with its international weight and standing by our people, its cause and all its other issues, is qualified to play a mediating role to end the division, and this is what our people and many national forces hope for, to restore the national and geographical unity that was torn apart by the division and which seems to be on its way to secession, which requires Chinese mediation that It is respected not only by our people, but by all the peoples of the Arab nation, in addition to the Arab and Islamic regimes and parties.

Will China play this hoped-for role that our people will glorify forever and ever?

On Thursday morning, the Israeli oppression forces stormed Section (3) in Nafha Prison.

According to the Captive Club, those forces launched extensive searches amid a state of tension.

He pointed out that 110 of the prisoners are in prison.

For the third day in a row, the Israeli occupation forces continued to blockade the town of Ya`bad in the Jenin district, coinciding with a campaign of raids and arrests in separate areas of the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.

The occupation forces impose strict measures against the residents of the town of Ya`bad, and they also storm the town from time to time, amid an intense deployment of their forces.

The occupation forces also stormed villages and towns in Jenin, including Al-Jadida, Siris, Mithlon, Sanour, Al-Jarba, Markah, and Arraba, amidst clashes in Mithlon and Zababdeh.

Those forces arrested the young man, Khaled Nairat, after raiding his family's home in the town of Mithlon.

In Tulkarm, Rouhi Salama was arrested after his house was raided in the town of Bala'a, east of Tulkarm.

In Qalqilya, the young man, Erbakan Tabsiyeh, was arrested after his house was raided.

The occupation forces stormed Aqabat Jaber camp in Jericho and raided many homes, amid clashes with young men.

Those forces raided many homes in separate neighborhoods of occupied Jerusalem.

The Israeli Arabic-language Makan Radio reported, Thursday morning, that an Israeli delegation will travel today to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to present to officials in the country the conclusions of the military investigation conducted by the Israeli army command into the circumstances of the attack, which was carried out by Egyptian policeman Mohamed Salah.

According to the radio, the delegation will seek clarifications from the Egyptian side regarding the Egyptian policeman, Mohamed Salah, the perpetrator of the attack in which 3 Israeli soldiers were killed.

The radio said that the concerned authorities in Israel are interested in clarifying whether Salah was acting alone or if he carried out the attack on the grounds of religious extremism. as described.

The members of the delegation also want to inquire about the Egyptian policeman's knowledge of the special emergency gap in the security fence that extends along the borders, especially since the Israeli army units deployed in the place were not aware of its existence.

Al-Quds.com published exclusively translated details of the operation that was carried out, and you can view it via the following link, by clicking on the word here .

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported, on Thursday, that senior officials from the right-wing Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, voted yesterday evening, Wednesday, with the Israeli opposition, to choose the representative of the Judges Committee.

According to the newspaper, at least 4 of the party’s senior members voted for Karen Al-Harrar from the There is a Future party led by Yair Lapid, to be the representative of the Judges Committee for the opposition parties, which constituted a political blow to Netanyahu and his government parties after they failed to choose a representative for them and believed that the opposition It will fail because it does not have a majority.

The newspaper considered that this is the most important decision by senior members of the Likud party, and as a clear message from within it of their rejection of the measures taken by Netanyahu, especially with regard to the laws of the so-called "judicial reforms."

According to opposition sources, Knesset members Ze'ev Elkin and Helly Tropper of the National Camp, along with Merav Ben-Ari of Yesh Atid, coordinated with at least five members of the government coalition, namely Likud, to vote in favor of Harrar's appointment.

A source familiar with the decision to support Harrar said: "The farce led by Netanyahu, and the results of the vote should not surprise anyone after today."

In recent days, senior Likud officials have expressed their disgust with the "coup" plan or what is known as "judicial reforms" and the damage it caused to the party's public support. Netanyahu to back off and distance himself from Levin's competition to pursue it."

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported, on Thursday, that it was decided to move a conference on Israeli attacks against Christians that was scheduled to be held tomorrow, Friday, in the hall of the Tower of David Museum in occupied Jerusalem, to another place in the Old City, due to pressure exerted by the city’s municipality affiliated with the Israeli authorities, on the management of the place. .

The Hebrew newspaper quoted several sources as saying that the office of the mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion, threatened to dismiss the executive director of the museum if the conference was held there.

Lyon's office denied the reports and said there had been no threats.

The newspaper indicates that the conference will be held due to the increase in the number of attacks by settlers and Israeli police against Christians in Jerusalem, which included spitting, verbal abuse, physical violence, vandalism of graves and dissemination of hate messages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to prevent his government ministers from going to Washington in order to hold official meetings with any of the American officials.

According to the Hebrew website Ynet, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will have to meet his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, in the Belgian capital, Brussels, today, Thursday.

Netanyahu links the holding of meetings between his ministers and US officials to receiving an invitation from the White House to visit the United States, a long-awaited invitation since he became prime minister several months ago.

According to the Hebrew site, Gallant will discuss with Austin the Iranian threat, but it is not expected that he will focus on Israel's concerns about the nuclear agreement because Israel believes that the decision on this issue has already been taken in Washington, and therefore does not want to waste time during the meeting between the two ministers. On this issue, they are expected to talk about strengthening military cooperation and continuing joint exercises.

Gallant will also provide Austin with information about the growing Iranian interference in the region, including in Gaza and the West Bank, and the need to show American-Israeli power in order to send a message to the Iranians that both sides have a reliable military option, as well as the assertion of maintaining Israeli military superiority.

It is expected that Austin will ask Gallant to calm the situation in the Palestinian territories.

The official spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, confirmed last night that the United States will discuss with the Israeli authorities directly the issue of closing the investigation file regarding the circumstances of the martyrdom of the Palestinian American citizen Omar Asaad (79), who died after being detained by the Israeli occupation authorities in January. the second of 2022.

Miller said, in response to a question from Al-Quds.com correspondent, in his press conference, that Washington is seeking more information from the Israeli government after the Israeli army announced that no criminal charges would be brought against an officer and a soldier because of Asaad.

"What I will say is that, as we have stated previously on this case, we expected a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability," Miller said. "We have been clear that we are deeply concerned about the circumstances surrounding Omar al-Asaad's death and the need for such accountability."

“Israel itself has stated that the incident demonstrated a clear lapse of moral judgment and a failure to protect the sanctity of human life,” Miller added. “Since the tragic death of Mr. Al-Asaad, we have continued to discuss this disturbing incident with the Israeli government. We are aware of the outcome of the investigation and are currently seeking further information.” from the Israeli government on this matter.

Miller confirmed to our correspondent: "As I said, we are aware of this (about closing the investigation file) and we are seeking to obtain more information from the Israeli government, and we will talk to them directly about this matter."

At that time, the United States had expressed its concern about the Israeli army's report on the circumstances of his martyrdom.

Last December, a rights group called on the US State Department to cut funding to the notorious Israeli battalion by implementing the "Leahy Act," named after the Democratic Senator from Vermont, Patrick Leahy.

The call was made by Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN), which released a report on human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army's Netzah Yehuda Brigade, a special unit of ultra-Orthodox Jewish soldiers.

The Leahy Act (or Leahy Amendments) are US human rights statutes that prohibit the State Department and the US Department of Defense from providing military assistance to units of foreign security forces that violate human rights with impunity. It is named after its main sponsor, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont).

In the process of implementing this law, US embassies, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the appropriate regional office of the US State Department screen potential recipients of security assistance, and if a unit is found to be credibly implicated in a serious human rights violation, assistance is denied until action is taken. The government of the host country takes effective steps to bring responsible persons within the unit to justice. While the United States government does not publicly announce which foreign armed forces units have cut off assistance, press reports have indicated that the United States has legally cut off security forces and National Defense Forces units in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, Lebanon, and Saint Lucia of assistance due to Leahy's Law, but excluded Israel.

Nablus – One Palestinian was killed and others were injured by Israeli military gunfire in an overnight raid in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. 

The martyr was identified as Khalil Yahya Al-Anees from Ein Beit al-Ma' refugee camp. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, Al-Anees who was killed sustained a wound to the head. 

Israeli forces had sealed off Al-Muraij Street in order to storm the house of Osama Al-Tawil, a Palestinian prisoner who is one of the leaders of Lions' Den militant group, in preparation for demolition. Israel claims he was connected with the killing of a soldier in the northern West Bank in February. 

Violent confrontations erupted after Israeli troops stormed the city, with some Palestinians firing weapons toward them. 

The occupation forces used live and rubber bullets, as well as gas and stun grenades, to crackdown on Palestinians who resisted the raid. 

Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, said on Wednesday evening that what was published in the media about a truce proposed by Egypt to the Palestinian factions during the recent visit to Cairo, in exchange for projects and facilities, is unfounded news, and it is just rumors behind which hostile parties stand.

And Al-Arouri said in a televised interview on Al-Aqsa TV, which is affiliated with the "Hamas" movement, that the meetings in Egypt came within the framework of continuing consultations on the Palestinian issue and the region.

Al-Arouri added, "The talk about economic projects in Gaza in exchange for the armistice, we heard about it in the media, and perhaps hostile parties stand behind it. Hamas will not get out of the resistance equation in exchange for any economic or political projects, and Gaza will remain in the heart of active resistance."

He pointed out that the visit of the government delegation from Gaza to Cairo aims to discuss detailed government issues, and has nothing to do with rumors of a long truce.

He stated that the meeting with the leadership of the Islamic Jihad movement in Cairo was very important in terms of unifying the vision of the resistance and adjusting its rhythm to serve the interests of our people, stressing that the meeting was successful and achieved its goals, while we are in one trench. like he said.

Regarding the situation in the West Bank, the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau said that the allegations of plans for Hamas to control the West Bank are empty propaganda aimed at raising the pace of internal conflict in the service of the occupation, pointing out that no one can control the Palestinian people except through popular legitimacy. like he said.

He believed that the results of the West Bank university elections are important because of the importance of the active and aware youth category in the Palestinian national equation, which is a clear indication of the general attitudes of our people. like he said.

Al-Arouri called on the "Fatah" movement for a unified national strategy that includes all paths of political, popular and armed resistance.

Al-Arouri pointed out that "Hamas" talked with the "Fatah" movement about a national strategy that includes supporting the political effort with the world in return for supporting and covering the resistance in all its forms.

And he indicated that the "Hamas" movement agrees with the "Fatah" movement in diagnosing the seriousness of the Palestinian situation, and this requires leadership decisions commensurate with the seriousness of the stage, indicating that experience has proven that political action alone did not achieve any results, and an honest review requires building a new national strategy that constitutes the comprehensive resistance.

Al-Arouri emphasized that Hamas agrees with all factions on the comprehensive resistance strategy, including political action and resistance, pointing out that Abu Mazen places his veto on the path of assembling Palestinian institutions in building a unified national strategy.

He said, "Hamas accepts the word of our people in the ballot box, and accepts political partnership with others, and we do not impose our opinion on our people. The movement has great struggle and clear popular legitimacy."

He considered that the international circumstance and the composition of the Israeli government constituted a great opportunity to unify the Palestinian action in accordance with the unified national strategy.

He reaffirmed the readiness of the "Hamas" movement and its readiness to hold student elections in all universities of the Gaza Strip on the basis of the full proportional representation law, explaining that his movement sponsors an atmosphere of complete freedom in Gaza for the work of the Palestinian factions, including the "Fatah" movement. like he said.

Al-Arouri said: "The Fatah movement is practicing its political and organizational work with full freedom in the Gaza Strip."

He emphasized that "Hamas" contributed to building the military wings of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, referring to Hamas providing the Palestinian factions with weapons, sites and everything necessary to strengthen the resistance in the Strip.

Al-Arouri said, "Fatah youth in universities are resistance fighters, and we share with them the national concern in the West Bank."

He described "political arrest as patriotic shameful".

On the issue of prisoners, the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau said that if the administrative prisoners go on a hunger strike, their lives are in danger, and our people will unite in a battle behind them, stressing that the battle to defend the administrative prisoners will be a great national renaissance for our people.

Al-Arouri stressed that the case of the prisoner Walid Daqqa is a model that the occupation does not have an iota of morality and humanity. like he said.

Large Palestinian crowds mourned, this evening, Wednesday, the body of the martyr Ahmed Yaqoub Taha (39 years old) to his final resting place in the town of Bidya, west of Salfit.

The funeral procession of the martyr's body departed from the old emergency center in Salfit with a military funeral, to his house, where the family gave the last farewell look, before it was transferred to the city's great mosque to perform prayers on it, and the burial took place in the town's cemetery.

Taha was shot dead by the Israeli occupation forces on the twenty-seventh of last April near the village of Haris, west of Salfit, and the occupation authorities kept his body in their refrigerators, before handing him over last Sunday.

The Chinese News Agency (Xinhua) denied, on Wednesday, that it had published any information or news related to the health of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is on a visit to the Republic of China.

Imad Drimli, director of the agency's office in Palestine, confirmed in a press statement that the agency did not publish any news related to the health of President Abbas.

In a new political drama in the Israeli Knesset, opposition delegate Karen Elharar was elected this evening, Wednesday, to the Judges Selection Committee, after she received the support of 58 members.

This means that four of the deputies of the government coalition violated the factional discipline and voted in favor of it. As reported by the Arabic-speaking Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

According to the committee, only 15 Knesset members backed Likudian Tali Gottlieb, who did not heed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand and did not withdraw her candidacy.

Another vote is expected in a few weeks to elect the coalition's delegate to the committee.

The coalition called on the opposition to stop issuing ultimatums and creating pretexts to torpedo the negotiations. A statement issued by the heads of the coalition stated that it is very important to reach an immediate consensus on the plan for judicial changes.

Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward a three-point proposal for the settlement of the Palestinian question during his talks with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing on Wednesday.

Xi stressed that the Palestinian question has remained unresolved for over half a century, causing great sufferings to the Palestinian people; justice must be done to Palestine as soon as possible.

First, the fundamental solution lies in the establishment of an independent state of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty on the basis of the 1967 borders and with east Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

Second, Palestine's economic and livelihood needs should be met, and the international community needs to step up development assistance and humanitarian aid to Palestine, he said.

Third, it is important to keep to the right direction of peace talks. The historical status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem should be respected, and excessive and provocative words and actions should be avoided. A large-scale, more authoritative and more influential international peace conference should be convened so as to create conditions for the resumption of peace talks and contribute tangible efforts to help Palestine and Israel live in peace, he said.

"China stands ready to play a positive role to assist Palestine in achieving internal reconciliation and promote peace talks," Xi said. 

Israeli defence exports hit an all-time high of $12.5 billion last year, with Arab countries that recently established ties accounting for nearly a quarter of purchase contracts, officials said Wednesday.

The defence ministry, which oversees and approves the exports of Israel's defence industries, said one quarter of deals were for drone systems, with "missiles, rockets and air defence systems" making up another 19 percent.

Ministry figures show total exports have doubled over the past nine years.

A breakdown of the regions to which the goods are exported showed a leap among Abraham Accords countries from $853 million (nine percent) in 2021 to $2.96 billion (24 percent) in 2022.

The US-brokered Abraham Accords from 2020 saw Israel normalise ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

The defence ministry would not provide further details.

"Global instability increases the demand for Israeli air defence systems, drones, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and missiles, and we continually work to preserve our capabilities and strengthen them," defence ministry director general Eyal Zamir said in a statement.

The German parliament was set to approve a $4.3 billion deal later Wednesday to purchase Israel's Arrow 3 air defence system, as the country moves to bolster its defences following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

China's President Xi Jinping told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing on Wednesday that "China supports Palestine to become a full member state of the United Nations," according to the official Chinese broadcaster CCTV.

He added that "the main way out for the Palestinian cause lies in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."

Abbas is currently in Beijing for his fifth official visit to China, which will last until Friday.

The Chinese president told his Palestinian counterpart at a reception that China "is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the Palestinian side, in the face of a century of global changes and new developments in the situation in the Middle East."

"Today, we will jointly announce the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Palestine, which will mark an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations," Xi added.

Abbas will then hold talks with other senior Chinese leaders, including prime minister Li Qiang.

Beijing has sought to strengthen its foothold in the Middle East, which has caused alarm bells in Washington.

In April, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang informed his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts in separate phone calls of China's readiness to broker a peace agreement between the two sides.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Palestinian delegation and China signed cooperation agreements in Beijing on Wednesday during a meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The delegation accompanying President Abbas signed several agreements with the Chinese side, including a twinning agreement between Ramallah and Wuhan, an agreement to advance the teaching of Chinese language in Palestinian schools, a visa exemption for diplomatic passports, and a project for China to complete the paving of roads in Ramallah. 

There was also an agreement to establish technical delegations for the four projects.

Today, Wednesday afternoon, a special force from the Israeli occupation army kidnapped a liberated prisoner from Jenin camp.

Witnesses told Al-Quds.com that an Israeli special force kidnapped the released prisoner, Mujahid Mahmoud Abu Khalifa, from Al-Anbar Street, which connects Haifa Street and Wadi Burqin.

The occupation claimed that he is an activist in the Hamas movement.

At least 59 people died in a migrant boat capsize overnight Tuesday-Wednesday off the Peloponnese peninsula in southwestern Greece, according to the latest toll from the Coast Guard.

The boat, which was carrying "hundreds" of migrants, capsized 47 nautical miles from the Greek coast in international waters, according to a source in the Greek Ministry of Immigrants.

During the massive rescue operation that began early Wednesday morning, 104 people were rescued, including four who were taken to hospital in Kalamata, a town in the southern Peloponnese.

The Greek coast guard said that when the boat sank, none of the people on board, whose nationality has not been revealed, had a lifejacket.

A statement from Greek port authorities said the boat was first spotted on Tuesday afternoon from a Frontex plane, the European border control agency, but that the migrants on board "refused any help".

In addition to the port police patrol boats, a Greek Navy frigate, an Air Force plane and helicopter, and six boats sailing in the area participated in the rescue operation.

According to preliminary information, the boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy has sailed.

On the European Union's external border in the Mediterranean, Greece is a regular corridor for many seeking to migrate to the EU from neighboring Turkey.

Many drownings occur in the Aegean Sea, while Greece is regularly accused by NGOs and the media of sending back migrants seeking asylum to the European Union.

Besides this route, migrants also try to pass directly to Italy by crossing the Mediterranean Sea south of the Peloponnese peninsula or Crete.

Jenin – Prisoner Falah Shehadeh will be moved back to his original prison, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said on Wednesday, just hours after he launched a hunger strike after on Wednesday in protest of the Israel's treatment.

Shehadeh has been suffering from severe abdominal pain following an endoscopy last month, and was transferred to Ashkelon Prison because of its proximity to hospital. 

Shehadeh, who has been detained since 2004, was never sent for any medical examinations, and wishes to return to Ktzi'ot Prison. 

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs were earlier informed of the hunger strike by Shehadeh's lawyer, Karim Ajwa, that he would undertake a hunger strike in protest.

President Mahmoud Abbas praised the strong relations between Palestine and China in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday.

As part of a three-day state visit, Abbas updated China's president about the situation on ground in Palestine, and the two also discussed broader regional and international developments.

The meeting comes as part of a broader effort by Palestinian leadership to rally international support for Palestine to be upgraded from observer to full member status at the United Nations, as well as to advance the advisory opinion from International Court of Justice on the Israeli practices of occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. 

In his brief to Jinping, Abbas testified to the ongoing crimes of Israeli occupation, the intensification of Israeli army raids and settlement expansion, as well as the violations of Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem. He also pointed to the Israeli government's withholding of tax funds from the Palestinian Authority.

Abbas also expressed support for the principle of One China, recognizing Beijing's sovereignty over Taiwan, and expressed a desire for the State of Palestine to be involved in China's sweeping development project, the Belt and Road Initiative. Abu Mazen also vowed to continue cooperation in all fields, and expressed his hope that China will continue providing political and economic support to the Palestinian people.

Abbas was greeted by an official reception with a guard of honor, followed by the national anthem of both countries. 

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Member of the Executive Committee of the PLO Ziad Abu Amr, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Maliki, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Palestine Investment Fund Muhammad Mustafa, Chief Justice of Palestine, Advisor to the President for Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habash, and Advisor to the President for Diplomatic Affairs Majdi Al-Khalidi, and Palestine's ambassador to China, Fariz Mahdawi.

As part of the trip, which began on Tuesday, the Palestinian delegation will meet with several other high-ranking officials and are expected to sign several agreements. 

Palestinian officials and observers believe that the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to China from June 13 to 16, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, contributes to mobilizing international support for the Palestinian cause, leading to the establishment of an independent state.

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh confirmed at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting in the city of Ramallah on Monday that the Palestinian side is looking with great interest at President Abbas's visit to sisterly China.

He added, "The visit comes on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two friendly countries, and we look forward to its expected outputs in terms of consolidating and strengthening bilateral relations in all fields."

Dalal Salameh, a member of the Central Committee of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), considered that President Abbas's visit to China comes to maintain diplomatic relations and maintain a large international force that supports the rights of the Palestinian people and international legal decisions.

Salama told Xinhua that China has an important position in the UN Security Council and its role is escalating at the international and regional levels, noting that China is one of the first countries to embrace the Palestinian cause.

She pointed out that strengthening the relationship with China and other countries in the world comes within the framework of the Palestinian vision and political and diplomatic action in order to maintain a strong relationship within the framework of mobilizing support for the Palestinian cause.

It is worth noting that President Abbas, who contributed to the founding of the Fatah movement in the fifties of the last century and presided over several rounds of negotiations with Israel in the nineties as the chief negotiator, which paved the way for the signing of the Oslo Accords, and made four state visits to China before the current visit.

The former Palestinian diplomat for Asia and Africa, Mazen Shamieh, said that China is keen to receive the Palestinian leadership historically, adding that China made a very important initiative for peace in 2013 and was renewed in 2017, dealing with the Palestinian file in all its aspects and preserving the interests of the parties concerned with peace, and the Chinese leadership will reaffirm its The necessity of resolving the Palestinian file in a just and comprehensive manner as a main approach to resolving the region's crises.

He said that China has great interests with the world, especially in developing countries, and it is a key partner with all parties in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, and therefore strengthening its relations with the Palestinian side will help and contribute to mobilizing international support for the Palestinian cause in all forums.

The Palestinians are looking forward to a different approach from the international community towards finding a serious and quick solution in dealing with the file of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict after years of marginalization.

Political science professor at Al-Quds University Ahmed Rafiq Awad said that President Abbas's visit to China and talks with the Chinese leadership come at an important time.

Awad stressed the importance of China's firm position and its belief in international resolutions related to the Palestinian issue and its support for the rights of the Palestinian people to establish a state.

He pointed out that China is not satisfied with talking about resolving the Palestinian issue and its firm stances are translated into actions through signing agreements and providing all forms of political support in the UN Security Council and various UN organizations.

Israeli authorities demolished a house in the Negev village of Sa'wa on Wednesday, alleging that it was built without a permit.

Eyewitnesses reported that vehicles belonging to the Israeli authorities demolished a house belonging to the Al-Qassasi family in the village, and prevented the residents from accessing the site.

On Monday, Israeli authorities demolished five homes of the Al-Ghoul family on the outskirts of the village of Ararat al-Naqab, leaving the residents without shelter in the summer months. 

About 300,000 Palestinians live in the desert region, and suffer discrimination in the areas of housing, education, employment, as well as other fields. 

Many of them live in unrecognized Palestinian villages, which are deprived of their most basic rights and live under the constant threat of demolitions. 

The pretext of permits for demolitions extends well beyond the Negev and unrecognized villages, to mixed cities such as Jaffa and Acre, as well as Palestinian cities as Nazareth, Kafr Yasif and Shefa Amr. 

The United Nations announced on Wednesday that there are 110 million people in the world today who have been forced to flee their homes, stressing that the total number of refugees fleeing their countries or displaced within them has never reached such a high level.

The recent conflict in Sudan has exacerbated an already exceptional situation in 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its annual report that the total number of refugees fleeing their country or internally displaced has never reached such a high level.

The UNHCR stated in its annual report that the number of displaced persons or refugees reached 108.4 million at the end of last year, an increase of 19.1 million from the number at the end of 2019, which is an unprecedented increase.

The organization added that fighting between rival factions in Sudan pushed the total number of refugees and displaced persons to about 110 million people in May.

"This is where we are today (...) We have 110 million people who have fled conflict, persecution, discrimination and violence, often with other drivers - in particular the impact of climate change," UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi told a press conference in Geneva.

He added that this constitutes "a condemnation of the state of our world."

The UNHCR said that 35.3 million people are refugees and 62.5 million are displaced out of the total number registered in 2022. It indicated 5.4 million asylum seekers and 5.2 million others who need international protection.

The High Commissioner said that all these people face "an even more hostile environment, in particular refugees, almost everywhere".
"Real leadership is convincing our public opinion that there are people who deserve international protection," he added.

He noted that three-quarters of the refugees fled to low- or middle-income countries.

Grandi welcomed the EU's recent progress on migration policy reform, calling it a good attempt to balance tensions around these issues and "relatively fair".

The reform provides for a system of solidarity between member states in the care of refugees and rapid examination of asylum claims for some migrants at the border. It is supposed to be ratified by the European Parliament before it can be implemented.

The High Commissioner said dealing with the influx of migrants seeking to come to Europe must start very early in their long journey. But at the same time he stressed that in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, "the door must remain open" for asylum seekers.

Grandi stressed that "asylum seekers should not be sent to prison," stressing that "asylum is not a crime." He especially condemns London's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and is concerned about US policy in this field.

Grandi acknowledged that the organization he leads "wasn't in a good financial position this year" like many other humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The global economic situation and inflation are affecting calls for donations.

For Sudan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has only 16 percent of its need for funds.

This percentage drops to 13 percent of refugee assistance needs in receiving countries due to the explosion of violence in Sudan.

Last year, more than 339,000 refugees from 38 countries returned to their homes, while 5.7 million displaced people were able to return to their homes.

The countries hosting the largest number of refugees are Turkey (3.6 million), Iran (3.4 million), Colombia (2.5 million), Germany (2.1 million) and Pakistan (1.7 million).