Written by: Attorney Ziyad Abu Ziyad

Two days ago, the Palestinian people commemorated the death of the martyr leader, Yasser Arafat. And I noticed that most, if not all, of those who preached or wrote used the term “Yasser Arafat’s legacy” in their speeches and writings, meaning Yasser Arafat’s Legacy. Whether or not we have indeed preserved this legacy...

I will not dwell on the legacy of Yasser Arafat, but I will stop at some stations to verify what I am about.

I begin by pointing out that Yasser Arafat began his life as a revolutionary fighter, whether with the Egyptian fedayeen fighting against the British in the Suez Canal area, or as one of the founders of the Fatah movement and the pioneer of the Palestinian resistance who did not give up his gun nor his will to fight until the last day of his life. Thus, we must start by saying that the backbone of Yasser Arafat's legacy is the resistance in its various forms. Are we keeping this legacy? ‏

When Yasser Arafat entered the Oslo track, he was insisting on the unity of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. I remember before he came to the homeland that I was at the Palestinian embassy in Amman, waiting for his arrival. When he arrived and I was in the entrance with the late Tayeb Abd al-Rahim, Abu Ammar grabbed my hand and took me to a side room at the entrance. We were alone and he told me: Gaza, Jericho. The focus should be on the connection between Gaza and Jericho. No talk except about Gaza Jericho. Then we went out...
On several subsequent occasions, Abu Ammar would repeat that he had accepted the start of the operation with a small area in the West Bank, but linked to its twin in the Gaza Strip, to emphasize the unity of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Indeed, when the talk was later about the redeployment in the Gaza Strip, Abu Ammar demanded that the redeployment in the Gaza Strip be linked to a similar redeployment in some villages of Jenin, in order to confirm the organic connection between the West Bank and the Strip. So have we preserved this heritage and adhered to the unity of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or have we failed at the first exam only four years after his departure, in June 2007?
Yasser Arafat was haunted by the dream of a state, and when he entered into negotiations, the Israelis insisted that there be a self-rule council to be elected and composed of twenty-five people, and that it would be the government and the authority authorized to issue legislation that is subject to Israeli oversight and does not contradict with Israeli military orders. Yasser Arafat insisted on rejecting that proposal and demanded the separation of the executive and legislative powers and that there be an elected parliament separate from the government. ‏
And he continued to struggle and argue with Yitzhak Rabin, and on one of the stormy nights in Taba he was able to extract from him an acceptance of the separation of the two powers, then he kept arguing and insisting on increasing the number above twenty-five members until he reached eighty-eight under the pretext that this is the total number of West Bank representatives in parliament Jordanian, in addition to the number of members of the Legislative Council that was present in the Gaza Strip during the era of the Egyptian military rule. Arafat used to tell us about those bitter negotiations to conclude that he did so because he wanted to establish a state and that the state can only be established with three powers: legislative, judicial and executive, while respecting the principle of separation of powers. This was culminated in the election of the first Legislative Council in January 1996, which later proved that he grew up on the ropes and did not abide by the Oslo Accords and did not accept any restrictions on his legislative powers and did not pay any attention to the military orders that the occupation legislated before the establishment of the Authority, but rather canceled many of them De facto. ‏
This is the legacy of Yasser Arafat. Establishment of a state. Establish the presence of three authorities. Applying the principle of separation of powers, respecting the independence of the judiciary. So where are we today? Have we respected and preserved the legacy of Yasser Arafat, or has the legislative authority been abolished and its powers given to the executive authority, opening the door wide for the executive authority to interfere in the affairs of the judiciary, to find the state’s dream losing its basic components and being managed through one authority, not three authorities? Is this the legacy of Arafat?
Arafat was the leader with whom some of those around him might disagree, but they did not disagree with him because he was the common denominator among all and because he was the father of all and the vessel and incubator that contained everyone, and each one found himself within and in its shadow. Is this leadership legacy still governing the relationship between the leaders and cadres of Fatah, and between it and the leaders and cadres of other factions? The answer I leave to the astute reader
These are some examples of Yasser Arafat's legacy, which is one of the elements that made him the leader, the immortal symbol. ‏
I listened with interest to the speech that President Mahmoud Abbas addressed to the masses who gathered in Al-Katiba Square in Gaza to commemorate the late martyr. President Abbas emphasized two things, which are the core of what must be done. The first is the inviolability of division. "Division is forbidden," he said. Then he added that he was ready to pay any price to end the division and restore the geographical, political and administrative unity between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and this is exactly one of the main pillars of Yasser Arafat's legacy.

Preserving the legacy of Yasser Arafat requires working according to this heritage and not enriching it by chanting glamorous slogans devoid of any content.

Let us hope that this occasion will be the starting point towards respecting the legacy of Yasser Arafat by respecting the unity between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and ending the division and returning to the bosom of Palestinian patriotism. Eliminate and stop the absurd situation and the massacre to which it is exposed. ‏

And let Arafat's legacy be respected by returning to the law of love and fraternity of struggle by restoring unity and harmony and achieving reconciliation within the Fatah House similar to achieving reconciliation and restoring harmony and joint action between the various colors of the Palestinian political spectrum, foremost among which is the Hamas movement. ‏

Let us hope, despite the great despair that frustrates us, that there are still those who respect the legacy of Yasser Arafat in deed, not in words, and that we will not be among those whom God described in His saying in Surah Al-Saff, verse 3: Do you do.”

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Cairo - "Al Quds" dot com - (AFP) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has pardoned a journalist who was imprisoned for "spreading false news" and more than 3,000 prisoners, local media and officials reported Wednesday.

Prominent left-wing activist Hossam Moanes was sentenced to four years in prison in November for a charge usually leveled against dissidents in Egypt.

Local media reported the issuance of the amnesty decision for Moanes on Wednesday, while a tweet launched by lawyer Tariq Al-Awadi, a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, stated, "Congratulations for pardoning Hossam Moanes."

Later, the Ministry of Interior announced in a statement that 3,273 prisoners convicted of criminal cases had received a presidential pardon.

Moanes was arrested in 2019, along with a number of opponents, while preparing to run in the 2020 legislative elections within the "Coalition of Hope."

An emergency court sentenced Mo'nis, along with five others, including former MP Ziyad Al-Alimi, a prominent figure in the 2011 revolution who is still in prison, to prison terms ranging from three to five years.

Amnesty International had condemned the judicial rulings, denouncing "a series of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearance, torture and intimidation."

"These politicians and activists should not have been arrested in the first place, and yet they were convicted and sentenced to prison on charges related to their legitimate criticism of the Egyptian authorities," she added.

The amnesty of Moanes came a few days after an order to release 41 persons held in pretrial detention, including Hassan Muhammad Barbari, an activist in the "Coalition of Hope".

Since Sisi assumed the presidency in 2013, human rights organizations have denounced Egypt's "catastrophic" human rights record.

In September, Sisi presented the National Strategy for Human Rights, emphasizing that education, health, and electricity are more important rights than the right to assembly, which is almost completely banned in the country.

Egypt will host the COP27 Climate Conference in November.

International human rights organizations criticized Egypt's decision to host the climate summit on the grounds of human rights violations.

In November, Human Rights Watch said Egypt was hosting the event "in order to whitewash its appalling record of human rights violations."

Johannesburg - (AFP) - A tiger fleeing four days ago from a farm near Johannesburg, South Africa, was killed at dawn on Wednesday, after a new attack targeting a dog inside an inhabited farm.

"We had no choice but to get rid of her," Mandy Grisham, a resident of the area, told AFP, "because it had killed a dog on a farm where six families live" and "has become very dangerous."

Sheba, an 8-year-old female Bengal tiger, attacked a 39-year-old man who managed to survive, killing dogs and a deer. A search was launched for her, which was undertaken by dozens of police officers, environmental advocates and residents of the region, supported by a drone and helicopter.

On Saturday, the female tiger succeeded in getting out of her cage after an unknown person cut the fence of the farm, which is about thirty kilometers from the economic capital of South Africa, in the country's most populous province.
And she was spotted on Monday near the farm, to which she returned in search of meat to eat.

"It is very dangerous and irresponsible to keep these animals in a residential area," the South African Society for the Protection of Animals said.
The breeding of tigers, an endangered animal, has increased in South Africa in recent years.
South Africa lacks an official census on the number of tigers in it. Four Paws, an animal rights NGO, notes that between 2011 and 2020, 10% of the global population (359 tigers) were exported from South Africa.

Spanish club Barcelona revived its hopes of winning the Frenchman Jules Conde , Seville defender, during the current summer transfer period.

And the Catalan newspaper "Sport" revealed that Barcelona officials threw a new card from the team's camp in Las Vegas, making Conde's accession imminent.

She explained that Chelsea offered 65 million euros to buy the French defender in installments, while the Catalan club made an offer of a smaller amount, but it would pay it in one payment.

She pointed out that the Seville administration is more inclined to offer Barcelona, desiring to obtain a large financial payment.

And she continued, “There will be no problem for Conde, because he always gave priority to Barcelona, even though he was informed earlier that he was on his way to Chelsea.”

"Sport" concluded its report that the time difference between the United States of America and Spain (9 hours) disrupts communication between officials of the two clubs, and that the Barcelona administration is waiting for the final response from Seville within hours.

BEIJING (Xinhua) -- A National Agricultural Innovation Alliance on Comprehensive Utilization of Saline Soil has been jointly launched by the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and related units.

China is one of the countries facing the most dangerous level of salinization. In the "Central Document No. 1," the first policy statement issued by China's central authorities this year, China emphasized providing support for the conversion of suitable saline-soil land into farmland in an appropriate and orderly manner.

The alliance aims to accelerate scientific and technological innovation and comprehensive utilization of saline land, and fully develop the potential strength of agricultural production.

Liu Xianwu, vice-president of the academy, said the improvement and promotion utilization of these lands for agricultural purposes was making an outstanding contribution to China's growing wheat crop production.

Currently, the comprehensive utilization and ecological protection of saline land is facing a complicated situation, Liu said, calling on the alliance to lead related technological innovation, and make comprehensive plans for the high-quality development of modern agriculture on saline land.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - 30 administrative detainees in the Israeli occupation prisons continue, for the thirteenth day in a row, to engage in an open hunger strike, in protest against the policy of administrative detention against them.

The detainees, who are cadres, members and supporters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, demand an end to administrative detention.

The Front in Prisons organization indicated that the occupation tried to pounce on this step by communicating with some administrative detainees in order to make an offer to them, but they clung to their position, which calls for ending the administrative detention against them.

According to the organization's statement, more detainees will join their comrades in batches until their demands are met.

Riyadh - (AFP) - Saudi Arabia announced Friday the seizure of nearly 15 million tablets of Captagon , which the authorities have been fighting attempts to smuggle and distribute for years on a large scale in the Kingdom and throughout the region.

The kingdom, which has the largest economy in the Arab world, is one of the largest markets for Captagon in the Middle East.

The government-run Al-Ekhbariya channel quoted the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority as having thwarted "an attempt to smuggle about 15 million Captagon pills in a consignment that came to the Kingdom through the Islamic port of Jeddah" in the west of the country.

The seizures were "technically hidden in a consignment of a machine for making concrete blocks." The authority said that, "in cooperation with the General Directorate for Drug Control, one person has arrested the receiver of narcotics inside the Kingdom."

Captagon is basically the brand name for a drug patented in Germany in the early 1960s, consisting of a type of stimulating amphetamine called phenethylene, intended for the treatment of attention deficit disorder and insomnia, among other conditions.

The use of the drug was later banned, turning it into a drug that is produced and consumed almost exclusively in the Middle East.

The Kingdom regularly announces seizures of Captagon pills, which come mainly from Syria and Lebanon through shipments, especially fruits and vegetables. Customs said it seized 119 million pills last year.

A report prepared by the Washington-based New Lines Research Institute in April stated that the trade in narcotic Captagon pills expanded significantly in the Middle East during the year 2021, exceeding $5 billion.

Figures for 2022 in the region show that smuggling continues to grow.

During the first months of this year, the Jordanian, Saudi and Iraqi authorities announced the seizure of shipments of Captagon.

And last month, Iraqi security forces shot down a glider loaded with a million pills in Basra, in the south of the country.

The Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, have long criticized Lebanon for its lack of commitment to combating this smuggling, accusing Hezbollah of being the main driver behind the smuggling operations.

حديث القدس
ممارسات الاحتلال وجماعات الاستيطان المغرقة بالتطرف تشكل تصرفات في منتهى العنصرية والحقارة، وآخرها وليس اخيرها، قيام مستوطنين بتمزيق وحرق نسخ من القرآن الكريم في الخليل، ومما يؤكد هذه الحالة الاقتحامات المتكررة للمسجد الاقصى المبارك، والدعوات من مجموعات ما تسمى «مجموعات الهيكل» الى القراءة الجماعية للتوراة في الحرم القدسي الشريف.
ولقد قام مئات اليهود المتطرفين والمتدينين في مسيرة استفزازية بالبلدة القديمة من القدس وهم يرددون الشعارات العنصرية والدعوات الى اخراج الفلسطينيين من العاصمة الموعودة وتهويدها بشكل كامل ومتكامل.
كما ان الاحتلال فرض حصارا يكاد يكون شاملا في مدينة القدس وخاصة في احيائها الشمالية مثل شعفاط وبيت حنينا وأقام الحواجز على الطرق ومنع وصول الفلسطينيين الى المدينة والصلاة في المسجد الاقصى، كما فرض عقبات امام وصول المقدسيين اليه، ظنا منه ان هذه الاجراءات سوف تؤدي الى تحقيق اطماعه في تهويد المدينة.
على الاحتلال ان يدرك ان كل هذه الممارسات لن تلغي الوجود الوطني الفلسطيني ابدا، لأن ابناء شعبنا متمسكون بكل القوة بحقوقهم والدفاع عن مقدساتهم، مهما طال الزمان او قصر، ومتمسكون بوجودهم الوطني فوق ارضهم وحماية مقدساتهم.
ولا بد في هذا السياق من الاشارة الى ان المسجد الاقصى المبارك لا يمثل قضية وطنية فلسطينية فقط وانما هو قضية تخص كل العرب والمسلمين في كل انحاء العالم وأعدادهم بالملايين او حتى بالمليارات، وهم وان صمتوا مؤقتا فإنهم لن يصمتوا الى الابد ولن يقفوا صامتين، ازاء تدنيس اولى القبلتين وثالث الحرمين الشريفين وبلد الاسراء والمعراج.
يجب ان يدرك المتطرفون اليهود ان الاساءة الى المقدسات الاسلامية في فلسطين سوف تؤدي الى نزاع ديني وربما الحرب في هذا السياق، ولن يقبل اي عربي او مسلم، بالاساءة الى ما يعتز به ويؤمن انه قضية دينية من الدرجة الاولى.
ونقول لكل هؤلاء المغرقين بالتطرف والعنصرية ايها الراكضون وراء السراب والاوهام، افيقوا وأدركوا ان ممارساتكم هذه ستؤدي الى حرب دينية من الدرجة الاولى سواء أطال الزمان او قصر، وان عليكم ان تتوقفوا عن مثل هذه الممارسات الحمقاء..!!
كما نقول لكل العرب والمسلمين، اين انتم واين هي ردود فعلكم، ولماذا هذا التعامي او التجاهل لما يجري وعما يخططون له ؟!

لوساكا - (شينخوا) ذكرت السلطات الصحية يوم الأحد أن عدد حالات الإصابة بالكوليرا في منطقة فوبوي بشرق زامبيا بلغ 36 حالة.

يأتي ذلك بعد تسجيل 5 حالات جديدة خلال الساعات الـ24 الماضية، بحسب البيانات الصادرة عن وزارة الصحة.

وبحسب الأرقام، فإن عدد الوفيات لا يزال عند شخص واحد، بينما خرج شخصان خلال الـ24 ساعة الماضية من المستشفى، وما زال 8 أشخاص بالمستشفى.

وقالت وزارة الصحة إنها قدمت 15567 جرعة من اللقاح ضد الكوليرا كجزء من جهودها لاحتواء المرض الذي تنقله المياه.

وتفشى مرض الكوليرا في منطقة فوبوي المتاخمة لمالاوي الشهر الماضي، متسببا بحالة من الفوضى.

وفي الأسبوع الماضي، أوقفت السلطات في المنطقة عمليات سوق الهاتف المحمول الشهير الذي يستخدمه كل من السكان المحليين والتجار من ملاوي المجاورة خوفا من أن يكون هذا السوق ناقلا كبيرا للمرض.

Cairo - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Council of the League of Arab States, at the level of permanent delegates, called on the international community to provide protection for the Palestinian people, and to implement resolutions related to the protection of civilians, especially Security Council Resolutions No. 904 (1994) and No. 605 (1987), and Resolution United Nations General Assembly on the Protection of Palestinian Civilians No. 10/20- RES/ES (201).

At the end of the work of the extraordinary session, which was held today, Thursday, at the headquarters of the Arab League in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, the Council condemned the widespread Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in various cities, villages and camps, which are classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to international humanitarian law and international law. human rights, including the brutal Israeli aggression on the city of Nablus yesterday, Wednesday.

He urged the states and institutions of the international community to participate in the protection of Palestinian civilians, and to form a practical and effective mechanism to implement what was stated in the General Assembly resolution and the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which included viable options for the protection of Palestinian civilians.

The Arab League Council called on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security, and to take immediate, effective and effective measures to stop all crimes, violations and practices of Israel, the occupying power, against the Palestinian people, and to end its illegal occupation of the land of the occupied State of Palestine in 1967.

He also called on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to shoulder their responsibilities and ensure respect and enforcement of the Convention in the occupied territory of the State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, by stopping Israeli crimes and violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

The Council urged the International Criminal Court to complete the criminal investigation, hold accountable the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other crimes that Israel committed and is committing against the defenseless Palestinian people, including crimes of aggression, settlement and annexation, field and deliberate executions of civilians, journalists and paramedics, and forced displacement.

The Council also reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause for the entire Arab nation, and support for the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is the right to self-determination and the embodiment of the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital on the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967.

He saluted the struggle of the Palestinian people against the brutal Israeli occupation, affirming full solidarity with the Palestinian people in confronting the policies and practices of the systematic Israeli aggression, which aims to bring the Palestinian people to their knees, and the continuation of the illegal Israeli colonial occupation of the land of the State of Palestine.

The Council affirmed all its decisions related to the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the decisions of the Arab summits and the decisions of the League Council at the ministerial level in its regular and extraordinary sessions.

The Arab League Council expressed solidarity with the families of the martyrs and victims of the brutal Israeli aggression, and saluted the heroic Palestinian people who are steadfast on their land, and supported their legitimate struggle against the brutal Israeli occupation, in defense of their land, sanctities, and inalienable rights, and affirmed their right to exercise all forms of struggle against the occupation. In accordance with the provisions of international law, including peaceful popular resistance, and harnessing possible Arab energies to support it.

The League Council also called on the Secretary-General to follow up the implementation of this decision, and to submit a report on the measures taken in this regard to the next session of the Council.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Housing Bank in Palestine announced the results of the draw on the "semi-annual prizes" for the current 2022 savings account prizes, in which the grand prize is 250,000 shekels for one winner, which was won by Ali Rashid Ahmed Abu Salah from Jenin branch, and weekly prizes of 10,000 shekels each. In the first week, Ibtihaj Ibrahim Muhammed Mereb from Halhul branch won, in the second week Essam Abdel Rahman Muhammed Awad from Ramallah branch, and in the third week Hassan Othman Mustafa Abu Klousa from Khan Yunis branch. In addition to 10 winners of consolation prizes of 5,000 shekels each in various governorates.

The monthly savings account prize campaigns launched by the Housing Bank come in the interest of continuous communication with its customers, who chose it to be their first and preferred bank and put their trust in it due to the comprehensive and distinctive banking services it provides to them.

These awards also express the extent of the bank’s appreciation for its saving customers, despite the difficult financial and health conditions and the economic slowdown globally and locally. Customers to open new savings accounts at any of the bank's branches and give them great chances to win one or more of the many prizes offered by the bank to the holders of these accounts.

On this occasion, it is mentioned that the total cash prizes offered by the Housing Bank in Palestine for savings accounts for the year 2022 amount to 2,320,000 shekels for 56 winners, noting that the campaign is based on providing 100,000 shekels per month to one winner, and the value of the prize increases in the month of June to reach 250,000 Shekels for one winner, and the grand prize at the end of the year is one million shekels for one winner. ‏

During the campaign, the bank also offers weekly prizes of 10,000 shekels per week for one winner, in addition to distributing 50,000 shekels to ten winners in June, at a rate of 5,000 shekels for each winner, and 50,000 shekels to ten winners in December, at a rate of 5,000 shekels for each winner. ‏

During this campaign, which will last until the end of the year, the Housing Bank will announce through various advertising means, its website and social media platforms the winners of its distinguished prizes.

The Housing Bank allows existing and new customers wishing to participate in this campaign to open savings accounts in any of the bank's branches spread across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and allows customers who have existing accounts with the bank to transfer from their other accounts to their own savings account through the housing mobile application. "ISKAN Mobile" or "Iskan Online".

Colombo (dpa) - Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yaba Abeywardena announced on Wednesday the appointment of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president.

In a televised statement, Abeywardena said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country earlier in the day, had delegated to Wickremesinghe the power to act on his behalf.

Rajapaksa fled the country by flying to the Maldives, after weeks of protests and after protesters stormed his office last Saturday.

حقق نادي شباب الخليل، بطل دوري المحترفين بالضفة الغربية، الصفقة الأهم والأبرز في دوري المحترفين هذا الموسم، وذلك بالتعاقد مع الجناح الدولي تامر صيام.

وأقنعت إدارة شباب الخليل، الدولي صيام، بإغلاق ملف الاحتراف الخارجي، والاستمرار مع الفريق للموسم المقبل.

وبعد الاتفاق الكامل مع إدارة النادي، وقع اللاعب على عقود الانتقال إلى صفوفه.

وتعتبر صفقة انضمام صيام للشباب الحدث الأبرز والصفقة الجماهيرية الأقوى، والتي تجاوزت بصداها صفقة انضمام النجمين الدوليين عبد اللطيف البهداري ومحمود أبو وردة.

وتراهن إدارة الشباب كثيرا على قدرات وإمكانيات صيام العالية التي كانت سببا مباشرا في الموسم الماضي، في تحقيق انتصارات مثيرة في أوقات قاتلة، ليساهم مع زملائه في احتفاظ فريقه بلقب الدوري للموسم الثاني تواليا، والمرة الثالثة في تاريخه بعد ان كان ساهم في التتويج الأول عام 2016.

AMMAN - (Xinhua) The work of the Arab Entrepreneurship Summit began on Sunday in the Jordanian capital, under the slogan "Opportunities Crossing Borders".

Arab ministers in the business sector and project development and ambassadors of some participating countries will participate in the first summit of its kind, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in cooperation with the Jordanian Corporation for the Development of Economic Projects.

Also, 600 participants and 50 speakers will participate in the business and project development sectors.

The summit aims to bring together various official and private entities in the Arab countries in a meeting to help Arab small and medium enterprises to access regional and international markets, deal with various financing sources, benefit from regional and international networks, and increase their ability to expand, according to a statement issued by the organizers.

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh, who opened the summit, welcomed the holding of this important summit that brings together decision-makers and entrepreneurs in the Arab world, stressing the government's interest in supporting small and medium enterprises and putting them on the path of growth and prosperity.

In turn, the Jordanian Minister of Industry and Trade, Youssef Al-Shamali, stressed the importance of the summit to discuss the most effective ways to enable small and medium enterprises in the Arab countries to access regional and global markets, and to take advantage of the opportunities provided by international networks and build the institutional capacities of Arab entrepreneurs, to ensure that they are able to obtain Funding and technical support necessary to develop their businesses and enhance their contribution to national economies.

Al-Shamali also stressed the Kingdom's strategic direction for closer economic relations with our Arab surroundings, and taking practical steps with the aim of addressing the challenges facing this type of activities and reaching the desired economic integration with Arab countries.

He said that among the most prominent of these challenges is the difficulty of accessing financing, as the percentage of banking facilities provided to small and medium enterprises is limited to 9 percent of the total banking facilities, in addition to the absence of a legal and regulatory framework for small and medium enterprises.

For her part, Rola Dashti, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCWA, Rola Dashti, said, "In the midst of the challenges facing the region, we meet to be a bridge that brings together the energies searching for financing, training and technology opportunities, and between those who are able to find and grant these opportunities, and between those with ambitions and those who have Wealth to be achieved, and between the latent capabilities and those who have the potential to invest in them.

She added that the summit comes as a bridge between decision and policy makers looking to advance our societies, and the available means to achieve their aspirations.

The three-day summit will address several topics, including internationalization, market access and global value chains, access to finance, green entrepreneurship, emerging technology trends and practical applications.

It includes an exhibition in which about 100 small and medium-sized companies participate.

The summit will continue until next Tuesday evening, and seeks to strengthen partnerships and provide opportunities for small and medium enterprises to expand by encouraging entrepreneurs, providing targeted programs to build the capacities of government agencies, and involving Arab countries in developing improved frameworks for policies related to small and medium enterprises that will promote economic growth. comprehensive and sustainable.

New York - "Jerusalem" dot com - (dpa) - The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, arrived in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, this evening, Wednesday, to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Thursday.

He is scheduled to visit a yet-to-be-disclosed site outside the capital on Thursday.

As happened during Guterres' previous visit to Moscow this week, one of the main topics is likely to be the situation in the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where the Russian army is besieging Ukrainian forces and civilians.

Guterres had visited Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, then traveled by train from Poland to Kiev.

BAGHDAD (Xinhua) - Salih Muhammad al-Iraqi, known as al-Sadr's minister, announced that next Saturday has been set as the date for the million-strong demonstration in the capital, Baghdad, which was called for by Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr , the leader of the Sadrist movement earlier.

Al-Iraqi said in a tweet on "Twitter" today (Sunday), "After a lengthy discussion session with His Eminence Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr, in which he focused on the next demonstration to be peaceful and an unprecedented demonstration in terms of number, it was decided that the date for the demonstration will be next Saturday, provided that The gathering will be in Tahrir Square at five o'clock in the afternoon, then the march towards the celebrations square.

Tahrir Square is located in the center of Baghdad and leads to the Republic Bridge, which connects the square to the heavily fortified Green Zone, which includes government buildings, the Iraqi Parliament, and the embassies of a number of Arab and foreign countries, including the American embassy, as well as many important government departments and security departments, while the Grand Celebrations Square is located Within the green area and close to the parliament building.

Al-Sadr had called yesterday (Saturday) for a peaceful demonstration of millions in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad to support the protesters and support their demands, pointing out that the aim of this demonstration is to send a message that Iraq is with reform.

Al-Sadr said in a tweet transmitted by Saleh Muhammad al-Iraqi, known as Minister al-Sadr, in a tweet on "Twitter" "This is my last call ... and I have absolved myself before my Lord, my father and my people, after the protest was divided into two camps ... It has become necessary for me to investigate which of the two camps is more numerous and wider." Sympathy for the Iraqi people, regardless of their affiliation.

And he added, "Yes, I count on you, and I hope that you will be brave and not let down.. It is (the end of the last chance), and that is through a (peaceful) ((million)) unified demonstration from all of Iraq's provinces, regions, villages, and neighborhoods, and even from all its alleys and homes, to go to the beloved capital, Baghdad." And to Tahrir Square, then to your brothers who are protesting to support reform for the love of Iraq, by marching two million majestic people carrying the flags of Iraq and flags of reform and flags of liberation, and with your loud voices that shake the thrones of the wretched..then return to your homes safe and sound.

He stressed, "Let us send a popular, million-strong message to the whole world that: Iraq is with reform.. and reform is with Iraq, and there is no place for corruption and the corrupt. All of you are shepherds and all of you are responsible for reform.. The decision is the people's decision, either reform, or corruption that does not go away, and dependency that takes root to erase all that remains of your goods and dignity." Come and ask for reform in your country.”

On July 30, thousands of al-Sadr's followers stormed the Iraqi parliament building in the heavily fortified Green Zone, for the second time, and settled there for several days, but al-Sadr ordered them to withdraw from inside and remain in its vicinity.

On August 3, Al-Sadr called for dissolving Parliament, holding early elections, and reforming the political process, calling on the Iraqi people to join the demonstrators, stressing that the protesters will not withdraw until their demands are met.

Parliamentary elections took place on October 10, and the Sadrist bloc won first place, whose leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced his intention to form a government of a national majority and an alliance with the Sunni sovereignty and the Kurdistan Democratic Party and formed the National Salvation Alliance, but failed to achieve a quorum of two-thirds of the members of parliament (220 members) to elect The President of the Republic, as a result of the opposition of the coordination framework of al-Sadr and his insistence on forming a consensual government in which everyone participates, has plunged the country into a political impasse.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Israeli occupation authorities seized 193 dunums of citizens' land in the Al-Auja area in the Jericho governorate.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said, in a statement today, Saturday, that "the land that was seized belongs to the village of Al-Auja in Jericho Governorate, and the occupation authorities used the pretext of "appropriation for the public interest" to seize it.

The head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Moayad Shaaban, said, "The occupation authorities use expropriation decisions as one of the means to seize lands, specifically in Area C, in light of the occupation's control over planning in those areas and preventing Palestinians from their right to prepare master plans for villages and not to approve them if What I presented to them, which represents 61% of the total area of the West Bank.

He added, "The occupation authorities claim, through expropriation orders, that they are confiscating Palestinian lands for the benefit of a public project for the benefit of settlers, and they are preventing Palestinians, through a military order, from using them to build private buildings or establish private projects."

And Shaaban indicated that the occupation authorities, since 2014, have issued 29 orders to expropriate citizens’ lands under the pretext of the public interest or the interest of the public. Or to serve the settlers by facilitating their lives and movement.

القدس – وجه رئيس الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم، الفريق جبريل الرجوب، الخميس، رسائل إلى رئيس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم جياني إنفانتينو، ورئيس الاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم، ألكسندر تشيفرين، ورئيس الاتحاد الآسيوي الشيخ سلمان بن إبراهيم، وذلك حول مكان إقامة المباراة الودّية المقررة بين نادي برشلونة الإسباني ونادي بيتار الإسرائيلي، يوم 4 آب القادم على ملعب تيدي المقام على أنقاض قرية المالحة الفلسطينية المهجرة.

وقال الرجوب في رسالته: “أتمنى أن تصلكم هذه الرسالة وأنتم في أفضل صحة. لا بد أنكم تابعتم الأخبار حول قرار نادي برشلونة الإسباني بلعب مباراة ودّية أمام نادي بيتار القدس، النادي الذي تم معاقبته أكثر من مرة بسبب العنصرية والعنف من قبل مجموعة من مشجعيه المتطرفين، والمعروفين باسم “لا فاميليا”، وسياسة هذا النادي المتمثلة في الحفاظ على نادي (نقي إلى الأبد) من العرب والمسلمين. وعلى الرغم أنه ليس من اختصاصنا، وليس من حقنا إخبار أي نادٍ بكيفية تنظيم مبارياته الودّية، إلا أنه لدينا الحق في الاعتراض على اختيار القدس كمكان لإقامة هذه المباراة المقترحة، فالقدس وفقاً للشرعية الدولية مدينة مقسمة ويُعتبر شطرها الشرقي أرضاً فلسطينية مُحتلة، وهو ما يُعطي للاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم سلطة قضائية على أية أنشطة كروية تقام في هذا الجزء”.

“وعليه، فإن الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم يتقدم إليكم بشكوى حول اختيار مكان إقامة المباراة والفعاليات المرافقة لها، بما في ذلك النشاطات المجدولة في البلدة القديمة (المكان الذي لا يزال فيه الوضع غير مستقر بسبب الأعمال الحق الإسرائيلية الأخيرة)، والتي تُشكل انتهاكاً لحقوقنا، وهذا ما يخول للاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم بمطالبة الفيفا والاتحادين الأوروبي والآسيوي بضمان احترام حقوقنا”.

Written by: Dr. Asad Abdul Rahman

Once again, the Gaza Strip stands alone in the face of the Israeli military destruction machine, despite the passage of 16 years of what resembles “clinical death” economically, socially, structurally, and infrastructurally, while matters in the Strip are becoming more miserable day after day.

In fact, there is no reason for us to merely try to philosophize the issues and the positive reasons that led to the new battle. Quite simply, there is a continuous colonial occupation targeting the Palestinian people that began a century ago, and it did not stop except for short periods, during which the stopping was a cease-fire, in preparation for the next stages.

Indeed, the situation in the Strip is almost catastrophic, reaching the point of collapse in an area that has become devastated. Since the unilateral Israeli disengagement plan and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the wars against the Strip (2008-2009, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2021, and the latest in 2022) aim at not allowing the Palestinian resistance to accumulate its material and armament capabilities and to keep it in a state of permanent restoration.

According to Israeli observers, any attack on the Strip does not add anything qualitative to the Zionist state ("battles between two wars in the Israeli expression). At the end of each confrontation, the two sides, Israel and the resistance, return to the same point they were at. It is clear to these observers that the assassination of leaders and commanders in The Palestinian resistance factions are not able to change the resistance’s ability and plans.The questions inside the Israeli are talking about the price that Israel paid for the assassinations, and will it improve the security situation for the Israelis after the assassinations?The occupation army has previously made it clear that there is no military solution to the issue of Gaza, and even the “Shin Bet” He supported easing the blockade and still does.

The Gaza Strip has also become an Israeli electoral slogan, as everyone always pledges to succeed in the war against the Strip, while the situation of the Strip remains tragic and enveloped in a security threat to serve the Israeli political spectrum, with an emphasis on Israel's responsibility, according to international law, for the Gaza Strip, despite its withdrawal from it, because it has not It still controls its borders, waters and airspace, and flouts the laws of war that prevent harm to civilians. More importantly, the aggressive battles waged by Israel against the "Gaza Strip" undermine hypotheses that prevailed for more than two decades, most notably the efforts of several parties that spoke of a real Israeli desire to achieve a settlement! As for the current outcome of those efforts, it confirms that Israeli governments, regardless of who heads them, seek to liquidate the Palestinian peace camp and, of course, the resistance camp.

The Israeli understanding of dealing with the Gaza Strip fluctuates between progress through mediation, led by Egypt, in the truce negotiations, and a bloody Israeli escalation.

Therefore, it seems that the Israeli government today has adopted a two-fold scenario, recognizing the de facto authority in Gaza and dealing with it according to specific controls and caveats, coinciding with proceeding with a policy of gradual weakening of Hamas's influence and capabilities, ignoring the exit from the furnace of war against the "Strip". It will be through a political project that not only ends the blockade, but also establishes a “settlement” for the entire Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Israeli conflict.

Accordingly, without a political horizon, the countdown to the next military confrontation has begun with the end of the confrontation that has just ended, in light of the reluctance to support the “sector” and its people on the part of the overwhelming majority of Arab, “Islamic” and even international governments!

Tubas - "Jerusalem" dot com - Today, Sunday, two young men were injured, and a number of others were arrested, during the Israeli occupation forces' incursion into the city of Tubas in the northern West Bank.

According to local sources, a special force infiltrated one of the city's neighborhoods, followed by the entry of military forces following the outbreak of armed clashes.

The sources pointed out that the occupation forces opened fire at the young men, wounding two of them with moderate injuries, while about 3 other young men were arrested.

Rabat (AFP) - Moroccan human rights activists announced Wednesday that they have joined a trial targeting the "NSO" company in the United States, based on a complaint by the American Internet giant " Meta ", as "victims" of the Pegasus spy application developed by the Israeli company.

Six Moroccan activists said in a statement that some of them had "already received official messages from the WhatsApp company owned by the Meta Group, alerting them that their mobile phones had been subjected to a criminal hack from the Pegasus application via WhatsApp."

The rest of the members of this group said that they "learned that they were victims of a similar hack through international organizations," and decided to form a coalition of "Moroccan victims of illegal hacking of their phones with the Pegasus app."

And accordingly, "joining collectively the case brought by Meta Corporation against NSO Corporation in the San Francisco Courts" of the United States.

The coalition includes human rights activists Fouad Abdel-Momani, Abdel-Latif Hamamouchi, Hisham Al-Mansouri, and journalist and university professor Omar Broksi.

It also includes Kholoud Mokhtari, the wife of imprisoned journalist Suleiman Raissouni, and Ali Reda Zayan, son of imprisoned lawyer Muhammad Zayan. Raissouni and Zian are imprisoned on criminal charges, which they consider "targeted because of their opinions."

They relied on the US Supreme Court's decision on January 9, which authorized the "Meta" company to prosecute "NSO" company, after the latter requested to drop the prosecution dating back to October 2019 before a federal court in California.

"Pegasus was used to suppress human rights activists, political opponents, journalists and lawyers. These practices must stop immediately... It goes without saying that we must seize the opportunity of this trial in the United States to achieve justice," Fouad Abdel Momani told AFP.

Morocco is among the countries accused by an Amnesty International report in the summer of 2021 of using Pegasus software to hack the phones of Moroccan and foreign journalists, politicians, and human rights activists.

Rabat strongly denied the accusation and filed lawsuits against newspapers that reported it in France and Spain, confirming its lack of evidence.

For its part, the National Committee for Monitoring the Protection of Personal Data (official) announced last week a series of meetings with technical experts "about the unproven technical allegations" of the Amnesty International report.

Its president, Omar al-Sagroshny, commented Wednesday on Twitter, "We are waiting for the prosecutors to justify their accusations scientifically, avoiding media assassination attempts. Why do they want to avoid discussion?"

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Prisoner's Club said that the prisoner, Jamal Ibrahim Amr, is suffering from a deterioration in his health condition, as a result of a tumor in the liver and kidneys, the nature of which has not been determined, since 2018.

The club stated, in a statement, that prisoner Jamal Amr (48 years), from Hebron, recently conducted new tests, which proved that the tumor in the liver had increased in size, pointing out that prisoner Amr suffers from the crime of deliberate medical negligence (slow killing) by the prison administration. Occupation , in addition to having tumors, he suffers from other health problems, most notably in the teeth, where only six of his teeth remain.

And the club indicated that the prisoner Amr was arrested in 2004, and a life sentence was issued against him, and he was subjected, over the years of his detention, to systematic abuse, which led to the continued deterioration of his health condition.

It is reported that the prisoner, Amr, is married and has two daughters and a son.

(AFP) - The New York attorney general announced that the Bahamas authorities arrested, at the request of the US court, the former CEO of the "FTX" cryptocurrency platform, Sam Bankman-Fried, after the sudden collapse of his company.
"Earlier this evening, Samuel Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamas authorities at the request of the US Government and pursuant to a sealed indictment issued by the Southern District of New York," Attorney General Damian Williams said in a tweet.
The Attorney General stated that new details regarding this case will be announced on Tuesday.
For a month, Bankman-Fred has not stopped participating in media interviews from the Bahamas, despite the risk of being prosecuted for financial fraud after his company, whose value at the beginning of the year was $ 32 billion, went bankrupt overnight.
In early December, Bankman-Fried said he refused his lawyer's advice to remain silent now, stressing that "it is my duty to explain what happened."
For his part, Ryan Bender, the Attorney General of the Bahamas, said in a statement posted on Twitter that the United States “filed a complaint” against the 30-year-old and “will likely request that we hand him over.”
Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Bahamas, an archipelago located northeast of Cuba, said that both the United States and his country "have an interest in bringing to justice individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law."
In a statement, he added that his country would conduct its own "criminal investigation into the FTX collapse case."
Recently, Bankman-Fried said he was "shocked" by the many details that were revealed when the cryptocurrency platform collapsed, stressing that the problems resulted from lax oversight and controls in the company and not from any fraudulent intent.
On November 11, FTX filed for bankruptcy while facing a major cash shortage and a flood of withdrawals from panicked customers.
At the time, FTX took about $10 billion in client funds without permission, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Much of the interest focused on the relationship between FTX and its trading subsidiary, Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried acknowledged that it was "embarrassing" that he had not paid sufficient attention to the conflicts of interest between the two companies, but insisted that he was not familiar with the details of Alameda and did not take over the company's management.
According to Coindesk, a cryptocurrency news site, Alameda's balance sheet relied heavily on a cryptocurrency created by FTX that is not tied to any asset of independent value, the FTT.
Just ten days before its bankruptcy, FTX was considered the second largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
According to US media, Bankman-Fred's fortune, which amounted to about $16 billion, evaporated within a few days.

Gaza- “Jerusalem” dot com – Ahmed Al-Masharawi – Khadamat Al-Bureij Club, the most prominent club in the Gaza Strip, achieved a big victory over its rival Khadamat Rafah, with a score of 94-64, at Abu Yusef Al-Najjar Hall, in the sixth round of the Premier League Basketball Championship, sponsored by Jawwal 2021. -2022.

The two teams exchanged attacks in an attempt to advance in the first quarter, and Rafah scored 11 points through Wael Tim 8 points, and 3 points for Ahmed Abdel Rahman, and from Al-Bureij Ahmed Mahdi 5 points, and Nashat Kaskin 6 points, and another 6 for Ibrahim Abu Rahal, to end with Al-Bureij 11-17. In the second quarter, the performance of the Rafah players improved by speeding up the performance, playing on quick counter-attacks, and pressing outside the area. Tim scored 11 points, including a hat-trick, and 4 points for Muhammad Al-Hams, and Al-Bureij Ramy Al-Jammal 5 points, so that Rafah advanced, with a score of 19-17.

In the third quarter, Al-Bureij returned, with Abu Rahal scoring 13 points, Thaer Issa 3 three-pointers, and Ibrahim Musleh 8 points, to end with a wide margin of 38-14. And in the last quarter, Al-Bureij excelled in the wake of Rafah, to end up winning 22-20.

Al-Bureij topped the standings with 14 points, while Rafah remained third with 10 points.

The match referee: Basil Kron, Tamer Qeshta, Musa Ghannam, Mohamed Salahat, scorer, Marawan Hamad, 24-second timekeeper, Ahmed Shehadeh.

In the second meeting, Al-Bureij youth defeated Gaza Al-Riyadi, with a score of 68-64. The first quarter was tied, and ended in a 17-17 draw.

In the second quarter, Al-Bureij advanced 16-12, and Mosleh managed to make the difference and win.

In the third quarter, Al-Riyadi appeared in a distinguished way through Moataz Al-Huwaihi and Fadl Al-Maghrabi, and advanced 19-18. In the last quarter, the balance of Al-Bureij prevailed, and Mosleh excelled in the scoring, to advance 17-16, and in total 68/64. Al-Shabab raised its tally to 10 points in fourth place, while Al-Riyadi remained with 8 points in sixth and final place.

Match referee: Basil Kroun, Ahmed Al-Qadi, Tamer Qishta, Jad Agha, scorer, Samir Al-Shatly, match timer, Moamen Al-Jarba, 24-second timekeeper.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Israeli occupation forces stormed, on Monday evening, the town of Kifl Haris, north of Salfit.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces stormed the town, fired stun grenades, and prevented citizens from moving around the town, in order to secure protection for the settlers who used to desecrate the Islamic shrines in it.

Lima (AFP) - Peru's government has announced a year-long plan to buy all illegal crops of the coca plant, the main ingredient for the cocaine industry, as part of its fight against drug production and trafficking.

The South American country is among the three largest cocaine producing countries in the world along with Colombia and Bolivia, according to United Nations figures.
Peru currently produces about 160,000 tons of coca per year, and 62,000 hectares of agricultural land is allocated to it.

But about 95 percent of these crops are grown illegally and sold to drug dealers, who produce about 400 tons of cocaine annually.

Under Peruvian law, farmers must sell all their coca production to the state coca company, Ainaco, but the national company collects only 2,500 tons annually.

The government has a registry of 95,000 legal coca growers, but is now seeking to create a new registry for the 400,000 illegal growers.

"It is necessary for at least a year to buy the coca crop from existing registered producers and from those for whom a new registry will be created," Peruvian Prime Minister Anibal Torres said Wednesday when announcing the initiative.

The government's plan also includes the demilitarization of Peru's main coca-growing valley, the Fraim.

Peruvian forces have been stationed in the south-central region of the country since 2006 due to the continued presence of the Shining Path armed Maoist movement allied with drug trafficking groups.
Government opponents have criticized the new plan, saying it will increase drug trafficking.
"The government's message is that they are legalizing coca cultivation, and they will buy illegal coca. The message is grow coca, and this is very dangerous because we are talking about a raw material used in the drug industry," former Interior Minister Rubén Vargas told AFP.
Inaco uses the coca you buy to make sweets, drinks, flour and chewing gum, a tradition in the Andes to help fight fatigue.
"By encouraging coca cultivation, farmers will have two markets: the state and drug traffickers," Vargas added.
"This will cause immeasurable damage, not only to the environment but also to the rule of law in the country," he added.
Peru established a registry of coca plant producers in 1978 as part of the country's policy to combat the drug industry and trafficking, which also included the destruction of illegal crops.
Earlier this month, Peruvian authorities carried out a weeks-long operation to burn about 16 tons of drugs seized this year.

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Ministry of National Economy warned today, Thursday, against consuming vegan cheese contaminated by the Israeli company "Tnuva", due to the fact that it contains metal fragments during the manufacturing process of the product, which poses a threat to the health and safety of the consumer.

The Ministry of Economy stated, in a press statement, that its staff took precautionary measures regarding this product, foremost of which is informing the supplier to stop supplying it to the market, and to withdraw it from the shops of this product, which ends between 21-25/2/2023.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Economy withdrew, between the years 2019-2023, a number of contaminated Israeli products that pose a threat to the health and safety of citizens, some of which contain salmonella bacteria and listeria germs, and others that contain part of the body of a snake and were contaminated during the manufacturing process.

Jerusalem - "Al-Quds" dot com - Dozens of settlers stormed today, Wednesday, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque , under the strict protection of the occupation police.

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

Settler groups storm Al-Aqsa on a daily basis, except for Friday and Saturday.

Beirut - (dpa) - The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, affirmed that his country is performing its duties towards Lebanon without discrimination between one sect and another.

According to the "National News Agency" today, Wednesday, Ambassador Bukhari held the signing ceremony of the framework memorandum of understanding (the Saudi-French Fund for the Support of the Lebanese People) yesterday evening, Tuesday, in Beirut, in the presence of the French Ambassador, Anne Griot, and a large number of political, diplomatic, economic, academic, social and media personalities.

In a speech after signing the framework memorandum of understanding, Ambassador Bukhari said, "This partnership aims to support humanitarian and relief work in Lebanon with the highest standard of transparency, as the funding aims to support key sectors, namely food security, health and education, energy and water, and internal security." ".

He added, "We perform our duties towards Lebanon without discrimination between one sect and another, as Saudi Arabia has devoted distinguished efforts full of giving and the human spirit that values the value of the human being."

He pointed out that "Saudi Arabia has implemented many humanitarian projects in Lebanon, and that this support comes as a continuation and continuity of support during the past decades, as the Kingdom, with its partners, was keen to support everything that alleviates the human suffering of those in need."

In her turn, Ambassador Grio called on the Lebanese authorities to "assume responsibility and take the required decisions for the benefit of the Lebanese people," noting that they celebrate the partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in order to provide direct and tangible assistance to the Lebanese people, in the financial, social, economic, living, health and food fields. And humanity.

She added, "This partnership between France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aims to quickly support humanitarian projects for the Lebanese people. This assistance will be clear and bear titles of solidarity and trust between France and the Kingdom, and expresses the depth of the ties between these two countries and Lebanon."

Washington - "Jerusalem" dot com - Saeed Erekat - Al-Monitor published a report on Wednesday under the title "Military Minds Gather in Israel, While the War in Ukraine Redefines Strategies". A magnet for foreign security officials from dozens of countries.

Al-Monitor says in this regard that a high-ranking Israeli military source said on condition of anonymity: "They appear in large numbers from countries in the West that have already eliminated the possibilities of war, as well as from countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations. There is an urgent sense of the need to raise the level of military capabilities as quickly as possible, especially in the field of self-defense."

The source added, "Take Germany for example... After the world wars and trauma, it reached a semi-peaceful stage. Now they are waking up."

Al-Monitor quotes the source as saying, "Many Western countries neglected their military power and made it a marginal role within their set of priorities. Suddenly they realized that the era of peace was an illusion."

As a global power invades its neighbour, deploys massive force, bombs cities and kills civilians in numbers not seen in Europe since the world wars, and the sun continues to shine. It changes the perception and strategy of every sane place on the planet."

The report notes that even as Israel is calculating the unexpected increase in its defense exports (which have already broken records this year), it - like other countries - is currently weighing the strategic implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.