Director of Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza, Bashar Murad, announced today, Monday, the registration of two cases suffering from symptoms of polio in Gaza, and samples were taken for examination.

Last August, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the registration of the first confirmed case of polio in the Gaza Strip in the city of Deir al-Balah, in a 10-month-old infant.

Last night and this morning, Monday, hundreds of tents were flooded in displacement camps in various areas of the Gaza Strip, due to heavy rains.

The displaced, especially in the areas of Deir al-Balah and Mawasi Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, spent a harsh night inside their tents, which were swallowed by rainwater and blown away by winds.

The catastrophic conditions experienced by about 2 million displaced persons since October 7, 2023, have forced them to live in dilapidated tents that lack the minimum requirements for a decent life and do not protect against the cold of winter or the harsh frost waves, after the Israeli occupation forces destroyed their homes.

Yesterday, medical sources announced the death of an infant in the Gaza Strip due to the cold and low temperatures. He is the fifth person to die due to the cold and lack of heating in less than a week.

UNRWA Emergency Officer Louise Waterridge said in press statements that more than two million people are still trapped in horrific conditions in Gaza and are deprived of their basic needs.

UNICEF's chief communications officer in Gaza, Rosalia Paulin, warned of the difficult situation in the Gaza Strip with the onset of winter, noting that children are feeling cold and damp, while many of them are still wearing summer clothes. She added that children are searching through the rubble for pieces of plastic to burn, and that diseases are spreading in the Strip in light of the lack of health services and the continuous attacks on hospitals.

The Israeli occupation continues its aggression on the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, since October 7, 2023, which resulted in the martyrdom of 45,514 citizens, the majority of whom are women and children, and the injury of 108,189 others, in an incomplete toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble and in the streets, and ambulance and rescue crews cannot reach them.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned of "the approach of famine" in the Gaza Strip, whose residents are suffering from food insecurity and a lack of humanitarian aid, in light of the Israeli war that has been ongoing for more than 14 months.

The UN agency said in a series of posts on its X account on Sunday evening that its teams are working to deliver aid to those in need, but stressed that it is "not enough at all."

She pointed out that the people of Gaza are facing "severe food insecurity."

She called for "international cooperation and a ceasefire to provide life-saving aid as famine approaches."

Famine has spread in most areas of the Gaza Strip due to the strict Israeli siege, especially in the northern governorate, following the persistence of genocide and starvation to force citizens to move south.

On October 5, the Israeli occupation army invaded the northern Gaza Strip again, while reports confirm that Israel wants to occupy the area and turn it into a buffer zone after displacing them from it under the pressure of bloody bombing and preventing the entry of food, water and medicine.

With the variety of means of genocide used by Israel against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the pace of the terrifying escalation in the horrific crimes committed by the army is increasing significantly, most notably the cruel and illegal evictions, which are considered a prelude to the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing carried out by the occupying entity.

With the sector divided into blocks to disperse the gathering of families and citizens, the army spokesman appeared yesterday and called on the citizens of the neighborhoods of Saftawi, Al-Karama, Al-Maqousi, the intelligence towers in Al-Sudaniya, the Al-Nasr neighborhood area (western side) and the entire Al-Shati camp to evacuate to the unknown, as Palestinian officials and others from the United Nations say that there is no safe place in the sector, and that the evacuations lead to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, on the third day of the large-scale aggression on Beit Hanoun.

In an article in Haaretz, writer Gideon Levy admits that “there is no longer a war in Gaza, but rather unilateral killing and destruction. When the goal is ethnic cleansing that borders on genocide, the process does not stop, even for a moment, because the goal justifies the means.”

Levy adds that after 14 months of killing and destruction, there is no longer any armed infrastructure in Kamal Adwan Hospital, and that the army’s use of the infrastructure narrative is intended to justify ethnic cleansing that requires total destruction so that no one can return to live in their area. This is clearly demonstrated by a statement from the Israeli army, in which it said that it would not allow Kamal Adwan Hospital to return to work, and that it had completed the isolation of Jabalia from the northern areas of the Strip, in addition to its claim regarding the elimination of the Hamas movement inside the city and its camp.

The successive evictions of the citizens of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalia aim to expel them completely from the area, and in return Israel plans to establish a buffer zone that will prevent them from returning even after the end of the war, which in itself is an intensification of the policy of forced displacement of the entire civilian population, forcing them to choose between starvation or displacement, while the aircraft bombards their remaining homes and streets with bombs and shells relentlessly.

The continued shameful Israeli military actions, including evacuations and targeting of hospitals and the health sector, the latest of which was Kamal Adwan Hospital, constitute a blatant aggression and a flagrant violation of all international norms and covenants. They also aim to make the northern Gaza Strip an uninhabitable area in a dangerous attempt to expel Palestinians and force them to leave their lands.

After more than 14 months of death and destruction, the world is required to stop standing idly by while Israel uses a policy of siege, starvation and horrific crimes to destroy the lives of Palestinians. The aggression must be stopped immediately, international accountability mechanisms must be activated, and the international community, the Security Council and UN bodies must play their full role, and decisive measures must be taken to put an end to these gross and blatant violations of all international charters and laws, which threaten regional and international peace and security.

Gaza today has become a story of pain and suffering, a story that can only be understood by those who live it on a daily basis. The streets, which once embraced dreams and ambitions, have turned into a scene of destruction, where the traces of war and Zionist violence are scattered in every corner of the camps and streets. The lives of the people of Gaza are no longer measured by time, but by the pain that has accumulated over many years, and this torrent of disasters has piled on it, until the collective memory of the people of Gaza has become laden with the wound that does not heal from the horror of the events.

In light of this tragic situation, we are witnessing another scene of suffering that is added to the list: suffering from the stubbornness of leaders in the face of the magnitude of the disaster that is befalling this people. The current situation of the Gazan street avoids talking about politics because politics, in many cases, has not been able to provide solutions or answer the difficult questions facing Gaza and its innocent residents. The situation does not need political speeches, but rather needs realistic visions that touch reality and open a new horizon for the future to stop the war, the price of which is paid by the citizens and those on whose heads thousands of tons of bombs fall that do not differentiate between the old and the young.

In this context, it must be noted that stubbornness and obstinacy in positions may lead to disastrous results. Perhaps history bears witness to this, as there have been many examples that provide valuable lessons in the importance of thinking of the people’s interests before any personal or political interest.

For example, and to do justice to history, when the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan at the end of World War II, Japan was faced with a decisive choice: continue fighting and persevering or surrender to save its people from further destruction. At that moment, the Japanese leadership realized that surrender was inevitable. Surrender was not only to maintain power, but was a decision to protect the people and save lives. The Japanese leadership chose to live and rebuild their country instead of persevering, which would have led to the annihilation of the Japanese people. This was a far-sighted vision, a vision that realized that the country could not rise while its people were being destroyed.

This historical example should be a living lesson for us in Gaza today. If powerful countries like Japan have chosen, at crucial moments, to put the interests of their people above any political or military calculations, what prevents us from adopting the same vision? Today we are facing a bitter reality, and clinging to stubbornness and obstinacy will only lead to more suffering. Hope for victory does not come from continuous useless wars, but rather from wisdom, the ability to negotiate, and putting the interests of the people first.

From here, we must give Hamas sincere advice, advice that is not out of blame or criticism, but out of concern for the interests of the Palestinian people. Hamas must re-evaluate its calculations and realize that it has failed miserably in leading the Palestinian people during this difficult period. After years of suffering and fruitless attempts to achieve victory, it is time to admit the failure of the movement’s calculations and its unpreparedness to be a true popular leadership.

National responsibility requires that we put the people's interest above all else, so Hamas must hand over the reins of power completely to the Palestinian Authority under the banner of the PLO, and withdraw completely from the political scene. We cannot live in a vicious cycle of failure and stubbornness, and there must be a serious step towards change and the search for practical solutions that guarantee the building of a free and unified homeland under one banner, far from partisanship that only serves external interests.

It is time to acknowledge that Hamas, despite its liberationist intentions, was not ready to be the real leadership that the Palestinian people in Gaza needed, and that accepting reality and relinquishing power in Gaza is what will allow us all to focus on building a better future, putting the interests of the Palestinian people above any narrow calculations.

The freedom of the homeland and the struggle are not dependent on the Hamas movement, and it is the only one capable of liberating it. The disappearance of Hamas from the political scene does not mean that we, as a Palestinian people, should give up on regaining our rights or stop our legitimate struggle for freedom. On the contrary, the struggle is a sacred right, and it should not stop. However, we must be aware that the political and strategic solutions adopted at this stage must be carefully studied, and that the leadership must be in the hands of those who have the ability to deal with this conflict in all its complexities.

And those who have a great sense of responsibility towards their people, and who can lead them at this sensitive stage without compromising the lives of innocents.

Because it is Gaza, imitating it in the brilliance of speech is something that arouses awe and astonishment, because it loves details, as it loves its inner peace that has been lost to the genocidal war that continues until today, something that requires you to have other knowledge to shorten the distance between a text that you write and a reality that writes you.

You say to her impulsively: Good morning, and she replies: Are you done with your coffee? And you don't see her scrutinizing what is behind the coffee. You won't find her asking you how many cups you had, nor will you see her counting the tobacco rolls you left in the ashtray. She appears completely normal, without any nervous features, like a woman who decorates the morning with her laughter despite the pain. She will say to you: Did you eat the olive oil sandwich with thyme?

And she will add: Where are you going? And when will you return? And you will not find her caring as she pushes your dirty clothes and throws them to the other side, to offer you a book to read in the hustle and bustle of your calm, or clothes that she claims are appropriate for your position, and she laughs if she finds her laughing in the face of something you said about the idiocy of the position and the hustle and bustle of calm between one shot and the next, then she rises above answering with a wink or a gasp in which she finds all the excuses for your authority.

Good morning Gaza. A morning of patience and dignity.

The colony's forces and apparatuses singled out the Gaza Strip for random killing and comprehensive systematic destruction, followed by the Lebanese Hezbollah and the villages of the south, which became a partner in blood with the Palestinian people, and paid a heavy price, and Syria came to it, surrendering alone after the "revolutionary" change, and now it is singled out Yemen for bombing and destruction.

Neither the statements of the leaders of the Syrian change protected Syria from Israeli expansionist penetration, nor did their silence protect their country from expansion and occupation of Mount Hermon, the completion of the occupation of the Golan Heights, and expansion at the expense of Syrian independence, land, and Arab dignity.

The program of the leaders of the colony and the extreme right-wing political parties, along with the extremist Jewish religious parties, is proceeding as they plan to seize the largest possible area of the Arab world’s geography, gradually, on the path to the colony’s political, military and power dominance, and its arrival towards their program “from the Nile to the Euphrates.”

Some of us mock them, because of their illusory expansionist dreams, while they work to implement these illusory dreams, without hesitation, without tiring, without respect for all laws, decisions, and agreements.

Didn't they assassinate Yitzhak Rabin because he signed the multi-stage Oslo Accords, and was accused of giving up part of the "Land of Israel" to Yasser Arafat and the PLO?

Didn’t Sharon, since late March 2002, reoccupy the Palestinian cities that had previously been liberated, in violation of the Oslo Accords? And when he abandoned the Gaza Strip in order to establish full control over Jerusalem and the West Bank, did he not pay the price with defeat and fall ill, which led the priests of Zionism to say that “God” punished him because he abandoned the promise of “God Judah” to grant “the Land of Israel” to the Jews?

Their illusions and dreams, no matter how illegitimate and unrealistic they may seem, are working to remove all obstacles that stand in the way of their plans. They are helped in this by the leaders of the United States, the Christian Evangelical Zionists, because their electoral base believes in the promises of the Torah and shares with the leaders of the colony their expansionist aspirations at the expense of the Arabs, without any shame or fear of the Arab-Islamic reaction.

The survival and steadfastness of the Palestinian Arab people on their homeland is the powerful weapon of the Arabs in order to protect their land and homeland, and they must pay the price for the survival and steadfastness of the Palestinian people, with financial and political support, and harnessing the capabilities to win friends on the international level, with the aim of exposing and laying bare the colony and its racist expansionist projects, as an extension of the old defeated colonialism.

What happened in the Gaza Strip, and still is, is the declared model of the aggressive, barbaric behavior of the colony, and the assassination of Hezbollah leaders using electronic technological methods is a model of the colony’s superiority. Perhaps Arab awareness and maturity will realize this, understand it, and avoid it, and not underestimate it, and find the means, and read the tools that frustrate their superior behavior, accompanied by barbarism and ferocity, and the transgression of all human and moral standards, and their inferior practices and decadence without controls.

Sawsan Sarour: Netanyahu is not interested in reaching any agreement with Hamas until it is eliminated and an absolute victory emerges

Ali Al-Awar: Netanyahu is suffering from pressures and a constitutional legal crisis and is trying to avoid making decisions that could lead to the disintegration of his government coalition

Ismail Muslimani: Netanyahu fears that completing the exchange deal now will open the prison doors for him and the fall of his government

Suleiman Abu Sitta: The Israeli opposition lacks a leader... and the demonstrations are still unable to exert real pressure on Netanyahu

Ismat Mansour: Netanyahu seeks a deal that does not shake his coalition, endanger his government, or reduce his popularity among the right-wing public

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s denial of the news circulating about a limited prisoner exchange deal is not surprising, and should not surprise anyone. This matter has been repeated time and time again throughout the fourteen months of war, and with the same scenario literally, starting with leaks followed by leaks, without any of the concerned parties, specifically the mediating parties, coming out to deny or confirm what is being rumored. When matters are approaching their desired conclusions for the people of the Strip who have suffered from rocket fire, hunger and displacement, Netanyahu comes out denying that there is any approval on his part for a prisoner exchange deal that would pave the way for stopping the war of extermination.

Netanyahu seems like a skilled circus performer who walks the tightrope of politics, or holds the strings of the game, so that he continues the holocaust in the Gaza Strip, and at the same time convinces international parties, especially the American side, that he is engaged in a political process, and convinces the Israeli street and the families of those detained in Gaza, that he is keen to end the suffering of their children, without losing his popularity and audience among the extreme right, his powerful partner in the ruling coalition.

This is not the first time that Netanyahu has evaded the existence of an imminent prisoner exchange agreement. More than a year ago, US President Joe Biden came out and announced an initiative that Israel agreed to end the war, and it quickly turned into an international initiative. However, Netanyahu quickly denied any knowledge of or approval of the initiative, and the rounds of negotiations continued in Cairo and Doha, and were about to bear fruit, so Netanyahu quickly denied any agreements, because he is not interested in stopping the war, and all he wants is to buy time to carry out his crimes, commit massacres, and wipe out the Strip under the cover of these negotiations.

Writers and analysts who spoke to “Y” saw that Netanyahu is not interested in reaching any agreement with Hamas until it is eliminated and emerges with an image of absolute victory, pointing out that Netanyahu is facing pressures from within and from the United States, and is facing criminal cases, and is trying to avoid making decisions that could lead to the disintegration of his government coalition, especially since the Israeli street has not yet reached a stage where it poses a threat to Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition.

Media and political leaks to create an atmosphere of optimism

“The region has witnessed a dramatic upward shift in the past week, which has had the rapid impact of collapsing the imaginary dominoes that were being engineered in both Qatar and Egypt, as rumors of a prisoner exchange deal were circulating,” said Sawsan Sarour, an observer and critic of the political scene in Israel.

She pointed out that the atmosphere and media and political leaks were aimed at creating an atmosphere of optimism regarding the ceasefire and reaching a prisoner exchange deal.

Surur stressed that the clear Israeli goal was to send a message to the current American administration, which has devoted itself to defending the Israeli government throughout the war, and to the “friend” President-elect Trump, about Israel’s sincere intention to conclude the deal, and that the only one obstructing its implementation is Hamas, and no one else. This is a narrative that the American administration hastened to adopt, as we have seen before, and in a successive manner throughout the past year.

She noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not, and is not, interested in reaching any agreement with Hamas, except after eliminating it completely, and emerging with the image of the alleged absolute victory that he has been panting after since the setback of October 7, 2023, Black Saturday, the day on which the concepts of security, safety, military power, and economic and social immunity, which Israel has always relied on and waved, were overturned.

Netanyahu's explicit statements rejecting a deal with Hamas

"To confirm this position, Netanyahu conducted an interview a few days ago with the American Wall Street Journal in which he stated that he would not agree to a deal that would end the war with Hamas and that he would not stop the war during the negotiations," Surur added.

Surur considered these statements to be not new, but they were shocking in their timing and publicity, until someone came to consolidate and deepen this trend, this time at the height of the recent negotiations, where Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced from the Salah al-Din (Philadelphi) axis that the Israeli army would not leave Gaza and would remain there, which sparked denounced reactions in the Israeli media and among the families of the detainees in particular.

She saw that it was a programmed and agreed-upon series between the two people, which is what Netanyahu had been looking for for more than a year, an agreement between him and the Minister of Defense after he ousted Minister Galant, who often disagreed with him on the issue of stopping the war and releasing the detainees.

She said: "The war trinity announced by the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Herzi Halevi, a few days ago, is in harmony with the readiness to expand the war in the Gaza Strip, and to reinforce the forces with an additional division. All of this is in order to establish the saying: 'What does not come by force, comes by more force', and to distance any deal from being reached."

Sarour confirmed that Netanyahu does not want to end the war in Gaza, nor does he want to leave Gaza, and wants it to be a buffer zone to maintain the security of the surrounding settlements. He is looking for an imaginary victory that will restore his face, and for that reason he makes up excuses every time to prevent the deal from being completed.

She added: Although recent opinion polls indicate that the number of seats obtained by the Likud Party will be reduced from 25 seats to 23, it keeps it ahead of the rest of the opposition parties.

Netanyahu will not yield to Yemen's threats

Regarding the recent Houthi attacks on Israel in the past week and their impact on the negotiations, Sarour explained that Netanyahu is the only one who has the final say in the State of Israel, at least with regard to the recent wars, and the dramatic transformations achieved in the region, which Netanyahu called achievements, whether in Gaza, Lebanon or Syria, have whetted his appetite, and he will not submit to Yemen’s threats.

She continued: "Reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza is what Yemen seeks, as it always announces that it conditions the cessation of its military operations on the cessation of the war on Gaza and the lifting of the siege on it, and Netanyahu will not grant them this victory.

She pointed out that Netanyahu will not stop the war on Gaza, and will not reach any deals, neither partial nor complete, except after more and more killing, brutality, and the taking of innocent lives in search of the image of the alleged and delusional absolute victory.

The opposition in Israel was described as fragile and weak, and the statements of its leader Yair Lapid and the head of the Democrats, Yair Golan, regarding the necessity of concluding a deal in order to save the remaining 100 detainees in Gaza, will remain mere words on the airwaves if the opposition does not return to the streets in force, as it did in the first half of last year. Likewise, the demonstrations of the detainees’ families, which take place daily to demand a swap deal, have not yet had a tangible impact on Netanyahu.

On the other hand, Sarour said that the former head of the Israeli military intelligence service "Aman", Amos Yadlin, calls for stopping the war in favor of a deal, saying that even those who do not have a heart must have a mind - and the mind says that the work of the Israeli army will be more intensive and effective when there are no prisoners. But it seems that Netanyahu's megalomania is distancing the heart and mind of this troubled person.

Surur concluded that there is no mini-deal, no interim deal, and no full deal to end the war in the near future.

Keeping negotiations on a prisoner exchange deal secret

For his part, Ali Al-Awar, a specialist in resolving regional and international conflicts, said: Netanyahu is still suffering from a legal and constitutional crisis, in addition to being exposed to great internal pressures and pressures from the new US administration, specifically from US President Donald Trump. But Netanyahu is trying to avoid making decisions that could lead to the disintegration of the government coalition he leads.

Al-Awar added: “Despite the prisoners’ families’ declaration that Netanyahu is primarily responsible for the lives of the kidnapped prisoners, he insists on keeping the negotiations on the prisoner exchange deal secret, in order to preserve the government coalition with his partners Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. Netanyahu seeks to achieve a partial prisoner exchange deal as a political gift to US President Donald Trump before his inauguration in the White House. At the same time, Netanyahu is trying to portray himself as someone who balances internal pressures with regional and international variables.”

Al-Awar stressed that: “Netanyahu is trying to exploit this deal to ease the internal pressure resulting from the demonstrations led by the families of the kidnapped, which have the support of the Israeli opposition. He is also seeking to maintain the cohesion of the government coalition and avoid its disintegration, especially since any collapse could lead to early elections.”

Regarding Netanyahu's political aspirations, Al-Awar said: "Netanyahu is now focused on achieving full normalization with Saudi Arabia as a major political achievement to his credit. Netanyahu believes that normalization with Saudi Arabia in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the war will be considered a sure victory for him in front of Israeli society. He believes that the military operations have achieved their goals, including eliminating a large part of Hamas's military capabilities, and that now is the right time to seek a diplomatic achievement."

Al-Awar concluded his speech by saying: The group of political and regional developments play a major role in pressuring Netanyahu, but he is focusing on achieving diplomatic gains, most notably normalization with Saudi Arabia, to return to Tel Aviv crowned with an unprecedented political achievement in the history of Israeli prime ministers.

Netanyahu denies reports of limited deal

In turn, Ismail Musalmani, an expert on Israeli affairs, said that Netanyahu’s denial of the limited deal news could have several interpretations, noting that it is possible that there are already ongoing negotiations, but Netanyahu may seek to avoid public or political pressure that may arise from announcing these negotiations at this sensitive time.

"Netanyahu's statement about a small deal raises questions, especially since Netanyahu is looking for an absolute victory to serve his election propaganda, in light of recent opinion polls, which showed that 70% of the public is dissatisfied with the government," Musalmani added.

He continued: "It seems that Netanyahu is currently unwilling to reach any agreement that might show him in a weak position. Instead, he is trying to plant the idea of achieving victory in the consciousness of the Israeli street."

He pointed out that the recent military escalation, including the heavy bombing and burning of Kamal Adwan Hospital, comes within the framework of pressuring Hamas to surrender and raise the white flag.

Netanyahu continues to procrastinate and evade

He explained that Netanyahu fears that completing a prisoner exchange deal at this stage will open the prison doors to him and bring down his government, so he continues to procrastinate and evade and set complex conditions as he did in the past.

Regarding the demonstrations inside Israel, Musalmani sees them as reflecting a state of dissatisfaction and popular pressure on the government to take concrete steps. However, the Israeli opposition remains weak and lacks an alternative program that could pose a real threat to Netanyahu.

"The question that arises is: Will Netanyahu fulfill Trump's promises to end the war? We cannot ignore Trump's previous statements calling on Netanyahu to make progress to achieve victory," Musalmani said.

He explained that this may explain the continued bombing and military escalation to please far-right parties such as Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, while trying to reach a deal before Trump officially takes office. Here the question arises: Is Trump seeking to turn the Middle East into hell? Or is it just a means of pressuring Hamas to accept Israeli conditions?

Netanyahu does not want a comprehensive deal, but rather seeks to continue the war

Writer and political analyst Suleiman Abu Sitta said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to deny the news of the limited deal because of the existence of great opposition within the Israeli entity, especially from the families of the prisoners, who are demanding a comprehensive deal.

He pointed out that this comprehensive deal could lead to ending the war and releasing all prisoners, but Netanyahu rejects this and insists on a limited deal that will last for two months, during which about thirty Israeli prisoners will be released.

Abu Sitta stressed that Netanyahu does not want a comprehensive deal, but rather seeks to continue the war.

He said: In my opinion, he is the one who obstructed reaching a final deal by setting new conditions, including a condition related to the list of names of living and dead prisoners, and another condition related to demands to release 11 female soldiers.

He added that many Israeli politicians confirmed that Netanyahu sets new conditions every time to disrupt the negotiations.

Regarding the limited deal, Abu Sitta said: I do not believe that there are ongoing negotiations in this direction. The resistance was aiming for a deal that would end the war, but the occupation's insistence on continuing the war pushed it to accept a temporary deal.

He added: However, I do not think that the resistance will make more concessions and accept a limited partial deal, because no one in the Gaza Strip wants the release of the Israeli prisoners before the war stops, which is a basic demand of all Palestinian citizens and resistance factions.

He stressed that the compromise that was reached was to go to a phased deal, which the resistance agreed to with the awareness that Netanyahu might not commit to a second phase. Therefore, there is no point in accepting a limited deal in which a small number of prisoners are released in exchange for a short-term cessation of the war, and then resuming it again. He considered that this matter might cause the resistance to lose some of its important negotiating cards without achieving a real price, especially since this deal will not include the essential issues such as the occupation’s withdrawal from the Netzarim and Philadelphi axis, or the return of the displaced to their destroyed homes.

As for the demonstrations in Israel, writer Abu Sitta believes that they are still unable to exert real pressure on Netanyahu.

He said: The Israeli opposition lacks a leader capable of organizing it in a way that guarantees pressure on Netanyahu to end the war.

Abu Sitta concluded by saying: It is difficult to reach a real deal before the end of Biden's term, because the main problem lies with Netanyahu, who sees the continuation of the war as a way to save his government, escape political trials, and bear responsibility for the major failure that occurred on October 7.

Netanyahu is not serious about the deal

For his part, Esmat Mansour, a journalist and analyst specializing in Israeli affairs, said that Netanyahu's denial of the limited deal clearly reflects that he is not serious about the deal.

He added: What Netanyahu fears most in this context is the impact of the deal on his audience, especially the right-wing audience and his government coalition. Therefore, he is always quick to deny any progress, so as not to appear as if there are positive moves that might arouse internal opposition, which would lead to destabilizing the coalition or bringing it into discussions about the required price, which might restrict it.

Mansour explained that Netanyahu seeks a deal that does not shake his coalition, does not endanger his government, and does not reduce his popularity among the right-wing and extremist public. This is the decisive factor in Netanyahu’s approach to any negotiations or deal.

As for the Israeli demonstrations, Mansour pointed out that they move the issue and keep it under discussion, but they do not have the ability to decide as long as they do not constitute actual pressure on the government or a real threat to its stability or the possibility of its overthrow. Unfortunately, this reality makes their influence weak and ineffective in Netanyahu’s decisions.

Regarding the issue of Trump assuming office, Mansour stressed the need to stop at it. He said: Trump, despite his threats to everyone, focuses primarily on mediators and Hamas in his promises.

He added that Netanyahu may see this stage as an opportunity to get closer to Trump's arrival in power or even wait until after he takes office, in the hope that this will give him additional tools.

Mansour said: These tools may include American pressure on Qatar, Egypt and Hamas, in addition to giving Netanyahu a free hand to intensify humanitarian pressure in Gaza and continue military operations.

On the threshold of each new year, institutions and companies around the world have been making a habit of taking stock of the past year, in which they monitor the gains and losses, opportunities and risks, shortcomings and merits, achievements and failures, victories and setbacks, the goals achieved, and the programs and policies that faltered, requiring reviews to maximize gains and minimize risks.

With the rising of the sun today, the raging genocide in Gaza completes its 450th day, and each of these days is considered a thousand days for those who suffer its fire, hunger, thirst, cold, diseases, fear, and terror.

From the middle of the brazier, burning questions flare up, and we try to answer them calmly, away from the noise of slogans, the exchange of accusations, and the imposition of responsibilities.

Q: Did the creator of the flood expect the killing and destruction that befell Gaza?

A: Definitely not.

Q: If the days could go back and the decision-maker were destined to be resurrected again to see the horrors he saw, would he have made the same decision?

A: Also no.

Q: What was going through the mind of the person who made the decision to flood?

A: He was thinking of reproducing the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit in order to negotiate the release of prisoners, especially life sentence prisoners, as he was the most sensitive to their suffering and committed to his promise to them, so he wanted to initiate a limited operation to release them.

Q: What to do now, after all bets have fallen, expectations have been dashed, scenarios have been reversed, and Gaza has become a barren wasteland, where people are dying by the hundreds, morning and evening, from murder, hunger, and cold?

A: It is necessary to strengthen the wall of national unity, conduct reviews of the axes, stakes and policies, and carefully and realistically read the global, Arab and Islamic positions, in order to stop the further bloodshed.

Q: Is it wise to replicate the Gaza experience, with all its errors in calculations and bets, and provide the enemy with pretexts to repeat it in the West Bank?

A: Definitely not.

Q: But the enemy does not need excuses to repeat the massacre in the West Bank, as it did in Gaza?

A: Certainly, but there is a difference between him being given pretexts eager to obtain an international license to kill and annihilate, and not obtaining that license, by not being given the pretext.

Q: Do you mean that the people under occupation should stop resisting?

A: Certainly not. Resistance is a right guaranteed by international laws for peoples under occupation. It is a means, not an end. Peoples have the right to choose the means that are least costly to them and most costly to their enemy and occupier of their land, and not to play on their turf, but to bring them to theirs. We are victims, and we must avoid the tools that the occupation uses to lift the cover from us and eliminate our presence on our land. There are experiences of the peoples of the world, including our unique experience (the Intifada), which has become a global language, and which our people of all classes fought in 1987. It had a unified national leadership that chose its tools, activities, statements, and narratives that besieged the occupiers in their turf and tied their hands from using brutal force, as it has been doing for a year and two months in the Gaza Strip.

Q: What kind of weapon would you like the victim to use today?

A: The weapon of life, it is stronger than any weapon, in the face of an enemy that has reached the peak of madness in killing us, eliminating our existence on our land, destroying our capabilities, executing our children and women, and decimating our crops and offspring, without any deterrent to it, an enemy that is not governed by international laws, nor by morals or human laws, and unfortunately enjoys an international license, and the silence of Arab and Islamic countries to practice genocide.

Stop the genocide now...!

Today, Monday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested two citizens from the town of Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces arrested the citizens: Ahmed Kamal Al-Amur (19 years old) and Muhammad Jamil Issa Al-Amur (23 years old), after raiding their parents’ homes.

In Tulkarm, the occupation forces arrested Fares Taama and Yazan Taama after raiding their homes in the town of Qaffin.

The Israeli occupation forces arrested a number of patients tonight while they were being transferred from the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Medical sources reported that the occupation forces arrested 4 patients out of 10 patients, while they were being transferred from the Indonesian Hospital to Al-Shifa Hospital, noting that one of the patients arrested by the occupation is in a very critical condition.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned, on Sunday, the "systematic and brutal" targeting of hospitals and health infrastructure in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation forces, stressing its categorical rejection of any attempts to displace Palestinians from their lands.

The ministry condemned in a statement the "targeting and evacuation of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip," noting that this hospital is the last major health facility operating in the northern part of the Strip. The statement described the operation as "blatant aggression and a flagrant violation of all international norms and conventions," adding to the series of violations committed by the occupation authorities against the Palestinians.

Egypt warned against the continuation of "shameful acts" aimed at emptying the northern Gaza Strip and making it uninhabitable, stressing that these practices aim to forcibly displace Palestinians from their lands. It stressed that this approach represents a serious violation of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as being a serious threat to regional and international peace and security.

Egypt reiterated its complete and categorical rejection of all plans and steps aimed at displacing the residents of the Gaza Strip in any way, pointing out the importance of ending the war in Gaza immediately and stopping all brutal practices.

advertisement

Call for International Accounting

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called for "activating international accountability mechanisms" and for the international community and the Security Council to take decisive measures to stop these violations. It also stressed the need to put an end to Israeli policies that cause the displacement of civilians and the destruction of their infrastructure.

Egypt concluded its statement by stressing the need to ensure the "sufficient and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid to relieve hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza," warning that the continuation of these violations will further exacerbate the deteriorating humanitarian situation, which requires immediate international intervention to end this crisis.

Since October 7, 2023, the Gaza Strip has been witnessing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, as the occupation forces continue their bombing and destruction operations, which has led to the death and injury of more than 153 thousand people, most of whom are children and women. These violations come amid a stifling siege on the Strip and the prevention of the entry of basic supplies, including food, water and medicine.

The Israeli Army Radio revealed today, Sunday, that 40 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the ongoing military operation in the northern Gaza Strip, last October.

The radio said - via the X platform - "40 soldiers, including officers and soldiers, were killed since the start of the ground military operation in the Jabalia camp, north of the Gaza Strip, last October."

The Israeli army revealed the total death toll as part of its announcement, earlier on Sunday, that one soldier had been killed and another seriously injured during clashes in northern Gaza.

According to army data, the number of its dead since the beginning of the war of extermination in Gaza, on October 7, 2023, has risen to 824 martyrs, including martyrs from Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and inside Israel.

During the same period, 5,541 Israeli soldiers were injured, according to data from the army, which is accused of concealing a higher toll of its losses.

On October 5, the Israeli army invaded the northern Gaza Strip, under the pretext of "preventing Hamas from regaining its strength in the area."

In contrast, the Palestinians say that Israel is working to occupy the area and turn it into a buffer zone and displace them under the pressure of bloody bombing and a tight siege that deprives them of food, water and medicine.

This evening, Sunday, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the village of Deir Abu Mash'al, northwest of Ramallah.

According to local sources, the occupation forces stormed Deir Abu Mash'al and drove their vehicles through its streets, without any arrests or clashes being reported.

In the same context, the occupation forces set up a military checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Ras Karkar, west of Ramallah, while tightening their measures at the military checkpoint set up at the bridge of the town of Atara, north of the governorate, and closed the iron gate set up under the bridge.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed on Sunday the developments in Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime, and the Gaza Strip, which is groaning under the weight of an Israeli war of extermination.

This came during a phone call that Safadi received from Lavrov, according to a statement by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, a copy of which was received by Anadolu Agency.

The statement said that the two ministers discussed "developments in Syria, efforts to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza and end the humanitarian catastrophe that is still worsening as a result of the ongoing aggression."

Safadi stressed that "Jordan stands by the brotherly Syrian people in their efforts to rebuild their homeland through a comprehensive Syrian-Syrian political process led by Syrians that produces a new system that preserves the rights of all Syrians and protects Syria's unity, cohesion, sovereignty, security and stability."

On December 8, Syrian factions took control of the capital, Damascus, ending 61 years of rule by the bloody Baath Party regime and 53 years of rule by the Assad family.

The next day, the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, announced that Mohammed al-Bashir had been assigned to head the government, which had been running Idlib for years, to form a new Syrian government to manage the transitional phase.

The Jordanian minister also warned during his call with Lavrov of "the consequences of the continued Israeli aggression on Gaza."

He stressed "the need to reach an immediate and permanent ceasefire and open all crossings to allow the entry of sufficient and immediate humanitarian aid into all parts of the Strip."

On Sunday, the Israeli occupation army warned Palestinians northwest of Gaza City to evacuate their homes and move to the city center, in preparation for a military attack, in light of the ongoing genocide for more than 14 months.

This came in a post by the Israeli army spokesman for the Arab media, Avichay Adraee, via the "X" platform.

Adraee said: "To the residents of the Gaza Strip who are in areas classified as D1 and D3 and all the blocks, including the areas of Al-Nasr, Al-Awda City and Al-Murabitun neighborhood, for your safety, move immediately to the shelters in the center of Gaza City."

"The organizations are launching rockets again from these areas, and they have been warned several times in the past," he claimed.

Adraee pointed out that "this is a pre-attack anesthesia," he said.

Such warnings usually precede air attacks or ground incursions by the Israeli military.

Thousands of Palestinians live in the areas designated by the army on the map attached to the statement, including displaced persons who took refuge there and set up tents after being displaced from their original areas.

On Sunday, the Israeli army announced in a statement that it had monitored the launch of 5 rockets from the northern Gaza Strip towards settlements adjacent to the Strip in the south of the country.

The army statement did not mention any injuries or damage as a result of the interception of the missiles.

A number of citizens suffered from suffocation, Sunday evening, after the Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Dura, south of Hebron.

According to local sources, the occupation forces stormed the center of Dura town and Bank Street, and fired live ammunition, sound bombs, and toxic gas, which led to the outbreak of clashes during which a number of citizens, including young men, suffered from suffocation.

Channel 12 confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Netanyahu's office announced that he will undergo a prostatectomy on Sunday.

Netanyahu, 75, underwent an examination last Wednesday at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where doctors discovered a urinary tract infection resulting from benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Netanyahu's office said he had been taking antibiotics since the condition was discovered, and they had successfully treated the infection.

Netanyahu's office confirmed that the cabinet meeting scheduled for Sunday will take place as planned.

Former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin called on Sunday for an end to the war on the Gaza Strip in order to conclude a deal to return prisoners in the Strip, saying that it could be resumed later in a more massive and intense manner.

"We have to end the war in order to conclude a swap deal," Yadlin told Israel Army Radio.

Despite the massacres and genocide carried out by the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip for about 15 months, Yadlin - who headed the Israeli military intelligence between 2006 and 2010 - said that "those who do not have a heart must have a mind, and the mind says that the activation of the Israeli army will be more massive and effective when there are no kidnapped people."

The former head of Israeli military intelligence confirmed the possibility of resuming the war on the Gaza Strip after the return of the Israeli prisoners held in the Strip.

These statements reflect Israeli manipulation and a prior intention not to abide by the exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance after it is concluded, once the detainees are returned.

Demands and demonstrations

In a related context, the Israeli Army Radio quoted the head of the Jewish Agency, Major General (res.) Doron Almog, as saying, “We should have returned the kidnapped soldiers a long time ago.”

Doron said that all "terrorists" - referring to Palestinian prisoners - must be released to the Gaza Strip and the war must end.

Criticizing Israeli security systems, Doron said that the October 7, 2023 attack "did not happen because we released terrorists with blood on their hands, but because we failed and were not prepared," he said.

Yesterday, Saturday, thousands of people demonstrated in several Israeli cities against their government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding that it conclude a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.

Haaretz newspaper said that a number of Knesset members participated in the demonstrations, and leaders in the Israeli opposition accused Netanyahu's government of sacrificing detainees and soldiers in Gaza and not wanting to end the war.

The families of the detainees in Gaza also accused Netanyahu and his government, in a conference they organized in front of the Defense Ministry headquarters, of obstructing the completion of the exchange deal for “political considerations.”

Discussions and accusations

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, discussed yesterday, Saturday, with a delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) the latest developments in the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip and ways to push them forward.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the Qatari Prime Minister received in Doha the movement's delegation for the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, headed by Khalil Al-Hayya.

The ministry added that during the meeting, the latest developments in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza were reviewed, and ways to push them forward were discussed to ensure reaching a clear and comprehensive agreement that would put an end to the ongoing war in the Strip.

Channel 12 reported, citing Israeli sources, that Tel Aviv is working on formulating a mini-exchange deal before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Last Wednesday, Hamas accused Israel of setting new issues and conditions related to the withdrawal (from Gaza), the ceasefire, prisoners and the return of the displaced, which postponed reaching an agreement that was available.

Hamas confirmed in a statement at the time that this was happening despite the fact that the negotiations were proceeding seriously in Doha, and despite its showing responsibility and flexibility to make them a success.

The prisoner exchange deal negotiations - mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States - have stumbled more than once due to Netanyahu's insistence on "continuing control over the Philadelphi border axis between Gaza and Egypt and the Rafah crossing in Gaza, and preventing the return of Palestinian faction fighters to northern Gaza by inspecting returnees through the Netzarim axis in the middle of the Strip."

For its part, Hamas insists on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a complete cessation of war in order to accept any agreement.

Tel Aviv is holding more than 10,300 Palestinians in its prisons, while it estimates that there are 100 Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas announced the killing of dozens of detainees in random Israeli raids.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 153,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded - most of them children and women - and more than 11,000 missing, amid massive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.

The far-right Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, considered that promoting agricultural projects in the West Bank represents a strategic goal to erase the Green Line, which symbolizes the 1967 borders.

Smotrich said during his visit to one of the settlement outposts, today, Sunday, that the West Bank farms are considered a "strategic target to preserve the land and prevent its seizure."

The Israeli minister stressed that agricultural projects are a means of "preventing the Palestinians from expanding their illegal control over the lands," he said.

Smotrich considers the West Bank - including East Jerusalem - to be part of Israel and makes no secret of his strong opposition to the two-state solution.

The extremist Israeli minister pledged to take full control of the West Bank by 2025, under the name of the "Imposing Israeli Sovereignty" plan.

On November 12, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to include the issue of annexing the West Bank on his government’s agenda, after US President-elect Donald Trump takes office next January.

In contrast, the International Court of Justice stressed last July that the Palestinians have the right to self-determination, and that Israeli settlements on occupied territory must be evacuated.

Last week, the Israeli organization Peace Now, which opposes settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, revealed that Israeli settlers had established 7 settlement outposts this year in Area B, which is under Palestinian civilian control in the occupied West Bank.

According to Peace Now estimates, more than half a million settlers live in 147 settlements and 224 outposts in the West Bank, while more than 240,000 others live in 15 settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

A settlement is one that is established with the approval of the Israeli government, while outposts are established by settlers without the approval of the government.

The international community demands that Israel withdraw to the borders it occupied on June 4, 1967, to establish a Palestinian state.

In recent months, Israeli government ministers, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, have been speaking openly about Tel Aviv's intention to annex the occupied West Bank.

The fierce settlement attack on the West Bank comes at a time when Israel, with American support, has been waging a war of genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, and is intensifying its attacks on Palestinians and their sources of livelihood in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The Ministry of Health confirmed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the arrest and abuse of Kamal Adwan Hospital Director Hussam Abu Safia by the Israeli occupation forces yesterday, Saturday.

The Ministry of Health said in a statement issued on Sunday that what happened constitutes another violation of human rights and the rights of health sector workers, who represent the first line of defense to protect citizens' health and provide them with the necessary medical care.

She condemned this repeated criminal act, calling for the immediate release of the detained doctor, and for immediate intervention to release the detained health personnel inside the occupation prisons.

It also renewed its urgent appeals to provide full protection to all health workers, and to allow them to perform their professional duties in a safe and secure environment.

It pointed out that before the occupation forces arrested Dr. Abu Safiya, they had taken him and the hospital staff and interrogated them for hours, a scene that was repeated in all the attacks carried out by the occupation forces on the various treatment centers in the southern governorates.

It stressed that assaulting doctors and patients or arresting them for performing their humanitarian duty in serving citizens is a violation of all their human and professional rights. Over the past year, the occupation forces have arrested more than 310 cadres from various specialties, and about 1060 cadres have been martyred, some of whom were martyred during torture in captivity, while hundreds of them were injured, which is a great loss for health cadres and expertise and the health system as a whole.

It stressed that any threat or assault on doctors or health workers is a threat to public safety and to citizens' right to receive medical care in a safe and stable environment.

Seven citizens, including children and women, were killed and others were injured on Sunday evening in a new massacre committed by the occupation in Beit Hanoun, north of the Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, the seven dead were killed in an Israeli bombardment that targeted the home of the Saeed Shabat family in Beit Hanoun.

In the same context, the occupation's Quadcopter drones renewed their shooting at the Mufti's land north of the Nuseirat camp, where our correspondent reported that an injury had arrived at Al-Awda Hospital as a result of the shooting at citizens' homes west of the Nuseirat camp.

In this regard, citizens appealed to medical crews to head west of Nuseirat after the Abu Salmiya family's house was targeted and there were injuries in the house.

In addition, heavy artillery shelling targeted a large number of houses in the middle of Al-Nazla neighborhood in Jabalia town.

Earlier today, eight citizens were killed and others were injured, including some in critical condition, in an Israeli artillery attack that targeted the upper floor of Al-Wafa Hospital in central Gaza City.

The occupation forces continue their aggression by land, sea and air on the Gaza Strip, since October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 45,514 citizens, the majority of whom are women and children, and the injury of 108,189 others, in an incomplete toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble and in the streets, and ambulance and rescue crews cannot reach them.

Dr. Rafat Sayed Ahmed: 2025 will bring major developments and events on the regional and Palestinian levels, as an extension of the crises of the previous year

Dr. Talal Abu Afifa: The occupation will remain in most of the Gaza Strip’s territories, and the war will continue in the West Bank with all means of killing and settlement

Dr. Muhammad Bou Taleb: The “New Middle East” will be imposed by brute force and at the expense of the blood of more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza

Sami Mshasha: 2025 will be a dark and difficult year for UNRWA and the refugees, and the fate of our right of return will be decided in it

Mahmoud Mona: Next year will witness broader challenges, especially after President Trump takes power in the largest and most powerful colonial state

Muhammad Zahdi Shaheen: Things in the region are going from bad to worse, and the new year is an extension of the past disasters and wars

Only two days and the sun of the year 2024 will set with all the pain, disasters and tragedies it has brought due to the war of extermination that the Israeli occupation state has been continuing on the Gaza Strip for fourteen months, and has expanded its scope to include other regions, most notably the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, which has caused tens of thousands of victims and many times more wounded, and horrific and unprecedented destruction in homes, buildings, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, universities, streets, and others.

So what will the new year be like? Will it be an extension of what came before it, or will it bring signs of relief and reconciliation for the peoples of this region, especially the Palestinian people, in light of the disasters that have befallen them as a result of the Israeli war machine supported by the colonial Western countries, led by the United States of America, which awaits the entry of its new president, Donald Trump, into the White House on January 20th.

Writers and analysts who spoke to Al-Quds expressed great pessimism about what the new year will bring, stressing that nothing bodes well for the future, given the ongoing war of extermination, starvation and legislation in the Gaza Strip, and the international community’s continued suspicious silence regarding the Israeli atrocities.

The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip continues

Dr. Rifat Sayed Ahmed, Director of the Jaffa Center for Studies and Research in Cairo, expected that the new year 2025 will bring major developments and events on the regional and Palestinian levels, affected by the extension of the crises witnessed in the previous year.

Ahmed said that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip will continue after US President Trump takes office, expecting that this war will stop later, but only after the occupation has almost completely destroyed the Strip.

He added: "The Palestinians will need to rebuild their national memory, in light of the loss of geography and history due to the Israeli destruction.

Ahmed pointed out that civil wars in Syria will ignite between opposing factions, which seek power and spoils at the expense of the future of the country.

He expected that Syria would turn into several conflicting countries and groups, while Qatari and Turkish ambitions would continue in the country's resources, especially Syrian gas and Aleppo.

Regarding Iran, expect Iranian policy to retreat inward, with the country adopting an approach based on containment and rapprochement with the United States.

Possibility of confrontation between Israel and Iran

He pointed to the possibility of a military confrontation between Israel and Iran, which may include targeting Iranian nuclear reactors, which could lead to a dangerous escalation in the region.

Ahmed stressed that the Arab region will turn inward, as countries will witness deep economic crises and increasing economic disparity within them.

He expected that some Arab countries would witness internal political transformations, while economic and social conditions would continue to deteriorate.

Sayed Ahmed concluded his vision for 2025 by noting that the entire region may face complex situations, where civil wars and conflicts over spoils will dominate the scene, amid a clear absence of major national projects or influential regional movements.

2024 is a year full of disasters and calamities

In turn, Dr. Talal Abu Afifa, a member of the General Secretariat of the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Authors, said that on the occasion of the new year 2025, we are all hopeful that it will be a better year than 2024, which was full of disasters, catastrophes, killing, and genocide of our people in the Gaza Strip, and the destruction of stones, trees, and all pillars of life, in addition to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

He added: Personally, I am not optimistic about this new year. Perhaps the severity of the genocide in the Strip will ease, but the occupation will remain in most of the Strip’s lands and the siege will continue.

Abu Afifa believed that the war will continue against our people in the West Bank with all means of killing and settlement in light of what the Israeli right is planning, especially the extremist duo Ben Gvir and Smotrich, to increase settlement and the number of settlers, and to annex the West Bank to Israel, considering that the West Bank is "Judea and Samaria", or at least annexing the lands of (B, C). This will lead to an increase in the attack and assaults and more harassment, procedures and the commission of crimes.

What happened in Syria does not bode well

He added: As for the Arabs, what happened in Syria does not bode well. The Israeli army has occupied more Syrian land, and sectarian conflict is imminent, with killing and destruction coming inevitably, as happened in Iraq after the fall of Saddam's regime, where no less than a million Iraqis were killed, most of them Sunnis, in addition to Lebanon, which is also likely to be preoccupied with a sectarian war after the weakening of Hezbollah and the killing of its senior leaders during the last war.

He continued: I believe that Iraq will witness more sectarian conflict and siege if it does not recognize Israel, and I do not rule out a war between Syria and Iraq to occupy them with a sectarian war by planning and mobilizing the United States, Israel, and some of the subservient regimes in the Arab world, just as they occupied Iraq and Iran in the eighties of the last century with a bloody war that lasted 8 years, which claimed no less than a million dead from each side.

Abu Afifa concluded by saying: “Unfortunately, the Arab world has been in its worst state for decades, because most of the regimes in it are linked, willingly or unwillingly, to the United States, and do what it is ordered to do, even to the devastation of their countries and peoples.”

2024 is a milestone in the history of massacres and wars of extermination.

For his part, the writer and analyst in political sociology, Dr. Muhammad Najib Bou Taleb from Tunisia, said that the year 2024 will represent a turning point in the history of massacres and wars of extermination, as the world witnessed heinous crimes against humanity, especially in Palestine.

Bou Taleb explained that this year will witness the increasing ugliness of man against man, and the exposure of the falsehood, hypocrisy and contradictions of Western moral systems.

Bou Taleb stressed that the new year will carry repercussions from the past year, as the results of the destruction and expansion of the Israeli occupation will appear.

He expected that the world would witness the implementation of dangerous projects, most notably the “New Middle East” project, which is being imposed by brute force and at the expense of the blood of more than fifty thousand Palestinians in Gaza, in addition to thousands of victims in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

He pointed out that the year 2025 could be a "second catastrophe", in light of the lack of ability to establish new international organizations to condemn crimes, or form fronts for steadfastness and confrontation.

“The current climate is one of political intimidation and military bullying, with the equation being set in favour of ‘whoever pays more’,” Bou Taleb said.

He warned that the Arab world is experiencing a phase of "individual escape" and divisions, pointing to the possibility of the Arab League disintegrating and being replaced by new structures controlled by commercial powers and arms dealers.

Bou Taleb stressed that these transformations are led by Israeli extremism, which is free from any moral or humanitarian controls.

Israel will work to end the Jerusalem and refugee files

UNRWA expert Sami Mshasha said that Israel's undeclared goal with the outbreak of the war of extermination more than a year ago, and the most dangerous from a strategic perspective, is to finish two main axes within what is called the "final solution issues," specifically the Jerusalem and refugee files.

He pointed out that the plans had been ready for years, and the war of extermination gave the entity the justification to roll out the plan to establish the "unity" of Jerusalem by expelling UNRWA from the city, and that the refugee file is being eliminated through displacement, settlement, killing and compensation, and not through implementing the right of return for refugees to their lands, cities and villages, or even a return to the areas of influence of the Palestinian Authority, which are shrinking in area and authority day after day.

Mshasha stressed that after more than a year, the entity has achieved important successes with regard to its strategic goal, as it succeeded in depicting UNRWA as a cursed devil, as a sponsor and supporter of “terrorism,” and that it includes “saboteurs.”

He said: The entity was able to destroy and sabotage UNRWA facilities and centers in the Strip, destroy the infrastructure of all refugee camps, kill more than 260 of its employees, and pin terrorism charges on a number of its employees, and that it has no place in the future, and that it is a stumbling block that must be removed.

He pointed out that the year 2025 will witness dangerous developments in the UNRWA and refugee file, including: the ambiguity of the status and future of the Palestinian refugee in Syria, and will he be targeted as happened with the Palestinian refugee after the fall of Baghdad and Libya, for example? Will the file of the Palestinian presence in Lebanon and the scarecrow of settlement be reopened to serve the goals of Geagea and other Lebanese figures and parties?

Fears of displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan

He added: This is accompanied by an increase in the pace of Israeli statements, perceptions (and plans) to transfer (displace) numbers of West Bank residents to the East Bank, and to open the file of settling Palestinian refugees in Jordan, a complete and actual settlement without any possibility of exercising the right of return (or even family reunification).

Mshasha confirmed that next year will witness the complete transfer of all UNRWA headquarters offices from its headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah to Jordan. The West Bank operations management will be relocated from Jerusalem and divided into three administrative and supervisory headquarters, one in the south, the second in the north of the West Bank and the third in the center.

He pointed out that next year, either the entire presidential headquarters will be seized or access to it and its use for UNRWA purposes will be prevented, and the ban on the entry of the Commissioner-General, senior staff, and the prevention of UNRWA employees in Jerusalem who hold green IDs from entering the city will remain in effect.

He believed that the greatest fear is that UNRWA schools in the Shuafat camp within the borders of Jerusalem will be closed with the migration of large numbers of students to other schools, and the efforts made by the occupation municipality to encourage them to register in its schools.

He explained that the Shuafat camp and the vocational training center with its vast areas near the Qalandia camp will be targeted in the coming months in particular (and the vocational training center enjoys a sensitive location as it is adjacent to the Jerusalem airport where a new settlement is planned to be built).

Expel UNRWA from Jerusalem and dismantle it in the West Bank

He added: Next year, it will be expelled from Jerusalem and its weakening and dismantling will be rolled out in the West Bank, with the progress of Smotrich's plan to tighten control over the West Bank next year, and plant the seed of displacement and settlement of the largest possible number of refugees, and eliminate the description and title of "camp" and "refugee" from our dictionary.

Mshasha stressed that next year there will be no role for UNRWA in the reconstruction process in Gaza, the institution that played the main role in the reconstruction process after previous wars on the Strip.

He added: Next year, work will be done to implement 50 recommendations issued by the independent committee formed by the UN Secretary-General (the Colonna Committee), which will interfere in all the details of UNRWA’s work, increase the conditions and restrictions on its work, its educational curricula, and the neutrality of its employees, and marginalize the status and role of UNRWA workers’ unions.

He said: UNRWA will be forced to have international and local partners to share tasks, undermine UNRWA’s mandate, and weaken its representative role for refugees, so to speak. Next year, neither American support nor even the Swedish donation will be returned to UNRWA, and UNRWA’s financial crisis will worsen, and UNRWA’s services will decline in quantity and quality, which will increase the levels of poverty and extreme poverty among refugees.

At the end of his interview with Al-Quds, Mshasha stressed that the coming year will be a dark and difficult year for UNRWA and the refugees, and a year in which the fate of our right of return will be decided.

Three main axes predict what the year 2025 will bring

Jerusalemite writer and cultural activist Mahmoud Mona said that with the closing of the last pages of this painful year and the beginning of a new chapter in our lives and the history of the region, we must focus on three main axes to try to understand what happened, and perhaps predict what the region might become in the coming year.

He pointed out that the continuation of the war and genocide against the Gaza Strip and its people for the second year, and the continued adoption by Western countries of a position of neutrality at times and support at other times, confirms the continued existence of the scourge of racism and the continuation of viewing the non-European other with an inferior view.

Mona stressed that the shameful acts that occur daily in Gaza are completely inconsistent with the positive laws that the West established after the First and Second World Wars, but their failure to apply in Gaza is clear evidence of the growth of the Orientalist approach to dealing with everything that is not Western, as the well-known Palestinian academic Edward Said wrote and warned about forty-five years ago.

He added: There is no doubt that hostility to Islam has increased in recent years, and Muslims and Islam have been described as violent and terrorist, and therefore from a Western perspective it was possible to exclude the application of international law and humanitarian law in the war on the Gaza Strip. Here too, it is possible to understand why South Africa defended the Palestinian cause in the International Criminal Court - although it used Western courts and laws, Western countries were the first to stand against this advocacy in a revealing historical moment.

Mona believes that the coming year will witness broader challenges in this context, especially after President Trump takes power in the largest and most powerful colonial state. We may hear more hostility and arrogance towards everything that may represent Islam and the East in an attempt to normalize and legitimize this narrative.

He added: Therefore, we must fight this colonial and authoritarian thought, and weave new threads and fruitful alliances with the emerging countries of the South, which were - and some of them still are - victims of exploitation and racism by the West. Our understanding of the world must be expanded to a larger and more comprehensive area than seeing Western countries as the sole representatives of world opinion or the world.

Fears of repeating the Libya model in Syria

As for the Arab and regional axis, Mona pointed out that the new reality in Syria, and perhaps in Lebanon as well, combines a strange feeling of pain and hope together, and perhaps it is a moment to recall our Palestinian writer Emile Habibi in his "optimistic" expression. He said: We hope and pray that what is already divided will not be divided, and that the current events will not lead to more killing and destruction as happened in Libya, or as happened in Egypt.

He added: Perhaps the closest scenario is a repressive regime with a democratic cover, as in Tunisia. But we must remember that in the midst of the major changes that the region is witnessing, some small opportunities may suddenly and unexpectedly arise that can be built upon and exploited for the better.

He explained that the geographical proximity of Syria and Lebanon to historical Palestine makes the current change a concern for us, but we must also adhere to the principles of freedom and justice and support the Syrian and Lebanese peoples at a critical historical moment that may achieve their desired freedom.

Mona stressed that the Palestinian issue cannot be separated from its Arab and Islamic context, and therefore the Arab peoples will remain fully supportive of the Palestinian issue and our rights to freedom and self-determination.

He warned that as the months of the coming year progress, the context of bargaining and trade-off between the freedom of the Palestinian people and the Syrian people must be avoided; necessarily, supporting the rights of one is supporting the other, and the freedom of the former is structurally, politically and socially linked to the freedom of the latter.

Restoring the Palestinian House and Building a Liberation Program

The last axis, according to Mona, and the most important, is the internal Palestinian axis. He said: I will not repeat the importance of restoring the internal house and building a clear political liberation program.

He added: It is necessary to review some of the basic concepts that are organically linked to the Palestinian political movement, and to study them from a purely Palestinian perspective, especially at this stage. He pointed out that the most important of these concepts is the concept of freedom and self-determination, and their connection (or lack thereof) to the concept of the nation-state and citizenship. Also, the concept of the right to liberation and resistance and their forms while maintaining the legitimacy of the struggle with its high moral foundation.

Mona said: The open question remains about the possibility of restructuring and correcting the entity of the Palestine Liberation Organization or working to build an alternative organization, especially at a time when we face the greatest challenge ahead of us in the coming year, which is preserving the collective Palestinian political, cultural and social identity of all Palestinians, regardless of their place of residence or their identification card.

He added: The current war targets not only the Palestinian existence in the physical sense, but also in the metaphorical sense of everything that the Palestinian reflects in terms of humanity, rights of existence, and dreams of a better future. This identity is manifested as a central global issue that witnesses a huge amount of international solidarity and cooperation, which constitutes a lever for the cause and each also has a great humanitarian weight.

Mona concluded by saying: We remember what our great poet Mahmoud Darwish wrote several decades ago about planting and harvesting hope. Let us hope that the coming year will bring a little peace, a scent of freedom, and a lot of love and humanity.

Nothing looks good

For his part, writer and political analyst Muhammad Zahdi Shaheen confirmed that based on the data and the sequence of events, it is expected and likely that nothing new will emerge on the horizon, and that the new year will be nothing but an extension of the past disasters and wars.

He added: When looking at the new American administration, we find that it aligns and intersects greatly with the occupation’s policies, and clearly supports it, in addition to the inability of international institutions, organizations and bodies, the bias of the international community in favor of the Israeli side, and the absence and fragmentation of the Arab position.

Shaheen continued: "If we look at the course of events in the region as a whole, whether on the Palestinian level in general or on the Syrian, Lebanese and Gulf Arab states, we find that things are going from bad to worse. Although our outlook has always been optimistic, we do not see anything that bodes well."

He concluded by saying: However, there remains a glimmer of hope for sudden dramatic shifts that may change the direction of the compass.

Israel's Army Radio reported on Sunday that the political leadership in Tel Aviv accepted the army's recommendation to refuse to supply the Palestinian Authority with weapons to support the Jenin operation in the northern occupied West Bank.

For about 3 weeks, Palestinian security forces have been continuing an operation in Jenin camp, to pursue "outlaws."

According to what the radio reported on Sunday, the American requests include the transfer of Kalashnikov weapons, ammunition and armored vehicles, to complete the process of controlling the Jenin camp and starting similar operations in other camps in the northern West Bank.

The Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Herzi Halevi, recommended not responding to the American request to supply the Palestinian Authority with ammunition.

The Israeli Army Radio reported that the US administration is putting pressure on Israel to provide the Palestinian Authority with more weapons.

Detainee Ashraf Muhammad Fakhri Abd Abu Warda (51 years old) from Gaza died today, Sunday, in the Israeli Soroka Hospital.

The Prisoners' Affairs Authority and the Prisoners' Club explained that they were informed of the martyrdom of the detainee Abu Warda, after he was transferred on 12-27-2024 from the Negev Prison to Soroka Hospital. He has been detained since 11-20-2023, and according to his family, he did not suffer from any health problems.

They explained, in a statement, that with the martyrdom of the prisoner Abu Warda from Gaza, the number of martyrs among the prisoners and detainees in the occupation prisons since the beginning of the war of extermination has risen to 50 dead, and this number is the highest in history, so that this stage is the bloodiest stage in the history of the prisoner movement since 1967.

The Authority and the Club added that the case of the martyrdom of the detainee Abu Warda constitutes a new crime in the record of the Israeli system of brutality, which has reached its peak since the beginning of the ongoing war of extermination until today.

They stressed that what is happening to prisoners and detainees is nothing but another aspect of the war of extermination, and its goal is to carry out more executions and assassinations against prisoners and detainees, stressing that the rate of increasing numbers of dead among prisoners and detainees will take a more dangerous turn with the passage of more time on the detention of thousands of prisoners and detainees in the occupation prisons, and their continued exposure to systematic crimes, most notably torture, starvation, assaults in all their forms, medical crimes, sexual assaults, and the deliberate imposition of conditions that lead to their infection with serious and contagious diseases, in addition to the policies of theft and deprivation - unprecedented in their level.

The Prisoners' Authority, the Prisoners' Club, and all relevant institutions held the occupation fully responsible for the martyrdom of the detainee Abu Warda.

The Commission and the Club renewed their call to the international human rights system to move forward in taking effective decisions to hold the occupation leaders accountable for the war crimes they continue to commit against our people, and to impose sanctions on the occupation that would place it in a state of clear international isolation, and restore to the human rights system its fundamental role for which it was created, and put an end to the terrifying state of helplessness that has befallen it in light of the war of extermination, and end the state of exceptional immunity that the old colonial states have granted to the occupying state of Israel, considering it above accountability, accountability and punishment.

The number of prisoners in the occupation prisons who were recognized by the prison administration until the beginning of December is more than ten thousand and 300, while the crime of enforced disappearance continues to be imposed on hundreds of Gaza detainees in the camps affiliated with the occupation army.

Among the prisoners are (90) female prisoners, no less than (345) children, and (3428) administrative detainees.

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the "urgent need" to deliver "massive humanitarian aid" to the Gaza Strip, which is facing a "catastrophic situation" and "unbearable human losses," the Elysee said on Saturday. Macron also touched on the issues of Lebanon and Syria in a call with the Jordanian king and the Egyptian president.

A statement from the French presidency quoted Macron as saying that "after 15 months of conflict, it has become more urgent than ever to achieve the release of all hostages held by Hamas, to achieve a permanent ceasefire, and to allow large-scale humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza."

The Elysee Palace explained in its statement that Macron made these statements during two phone calls, the first of which he made on Friday with Jordanian King Abdullah II, and the second on Saturday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The statement quoted Macron as stressing France's "readiness" to continue "joint humanitarian work" with Jordan in order to deliver "aid directly to the Gaza Strip."

Paris and Amman have previously carried out several humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip by air.

Macron also expressed his "desire to work with all regional partners the day after (the end of the war in Gaza) and to effectively implement the two-state solution, especially within the framework of the joint summit that will be organized with Saudi Arabia next June."

On the other hand, the French President stressed to the two Arab leaders that "the fall of Bashar al-Assad represents an opportunity for Syria and the entire region," stressing in particular the need to "protect minorities" and "continue the war against terrorism."

Regarding Lebanon, Macron said it was necessary to "complete the electoral process with the aim of electing a president for the republic."

The presidency of the republic has been vacant in Lebanon for more than two years.

The Lebanese Parliament is scheduled to convene on January 9 to elect a president.

Medical sources reported the death of an infant in the Gaza Strip today, Sunday, due to the cold and low temperatures. He is the fifth infant to die from the cold in less than a week.

The same sources announced the death of the one-month-old infant, Jumaa Al-Batran, and the deterioration of the condition of his twin, Ali, due to the cold, in a tent in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

A few days ago, four newborn babies, aged between 4 and 21 days, were killed as a result of low temperatures and severe cold.

According to sources, food insecurity among mothers has caused new cases of illness among children, exacerbating the health situation in light of the difficult conditions the region is experiencing.

For the 450th consecutive day, the occupation forces continue to launch hundreds of raids, artillery shelling, and commit crimes in various parts of the Gaza Strip, committing bloody massacres against civilians, and carrying out horrific crimes in the areas of incursion, amid a catastrophic humanitarian situation as a result of the siege, and the displacement of more than 90% of the population.

Thousands of dead and wounded have not yet been recovered from under the rubble due to the ongoing bombing and the dangerous conditions on the ground, in light of the stifling siege on the Strip and the strict restrictions on the entry of fuel and urgent vital aid to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian conditions.

The decision was issued yesterday as if the war had not begun, as the Chief of Staff of the Occupation Army, Herzi Halevi, asked his army to prepare to expand the war on the Strip, by moving more ground forces and reinforcing them with air operations, as part of the preparation to expand the aggression on the Strip. As a prelude to this, the occupation began a large-scale military operation at dawn yesterday, Saturday, in Beit Hanoun to the north.

Armored and engineering forces have received notices in recent days to prepare to return to Gaza, in light of an Israeli claim by the army leadership and the political level that this step aims to increase pressure on Hamas after the failure of the exchange deal negotiations, and that the resistance has recently been active in the northern Gaza Strip, and that it possesses more medium-range missiles.

It is clear and absolutely unambiguous that with this new decision, Israel has imposed the death penalty on Gaza. At a time when some believed that the war had reached its final stages, it seems that Israel, unable to provide clear answers about what is happening in this war to its local street and public opinion, has decided to continue the aggression for the purpose of taking revenge on our people only, as there are no military objectives that have not been achieved, and the central goal is to kill our people and prolong the war of extermination forever.

Since the beginning of the war, the Gaza Strip has been suffering from huge human losses, mass displacement campaigns, unprecedented displacement, and a complete collapse of infrastructure and basic services, which has put the Strip in the worst disaster in many years, in addition to the ongoing land and air war on Palestinians wherever they are, the imposition of a stifling siege on all aspects of life, the nightmare of living in anxiety for children, mothers and women, the suffering of the displaced due to the cold and rain, and the spread of epidemics, as more than 14,000 citizens need urgent medical interventions, which exacerbates the ongoing humanitarian disaster and opens the door to the risk of epidemics, in addition to the decline in water and sanitation supplies, food insecurity, and the exposure of more than 90 percent of buildings to total or partial destruction, which forces about two million citizens to remain without shelter, and all this and more, and Israel, which is demolishing Gaza, is still building fortifications and isolating neighborhoods by creating new roads and streets, and depriving Gazans of access to aid, and these measures leave devastating economic effects on the Gaza Strip, in addition to the deterioration The agricultural sector and the death of 95 percent of livestock.

Israel has imposed on Gaza to face hunger and thirst, as half a million citizens are living in real famine, and all this comes while the numbers of victims are very shocking, with the occupation committing about 3900 massacres that claimed the lives of more than 45 thousand martyrs and tens of thousands of wounded, injured and disabled, in addition to thousands of martyrs under the rubble, as if these sufferings, disasters and their tragic images were not enough for Israel and its fascist war of revenge, to appear before us yesterday with a new decision to expand the aggression on the Strip.

An extremely criminal decision that cannot be described, taken by Israel, requires international and UN action to prevent its implementation and stop it forever, otherwise the world will be an official partner of Israel and complicit with it in launching more wars of extermination and massacres against our defenceless people.

A difficult year has passed that was unlike any other, as it witnessed many local and regional transformations, as well as the continuation of the war of extermination in Gaza until its final days. While we were pinning our hopes on an agreement and a deal to stop this extermination, Netanyahu’s arrogance has thwarted all negotiations so far, placing obstacles in the way of all proposals, and he insists on continuing the war of extermination and not stopping it, in his desire to achieve the image of victory that he has been searching for for fourteen months, amidst the rubble of demolished homes and the great destruction that has befallen the Strip, and among the remains of young and old, and in scenes of extermination and mass killing, hunger, thirst, and the ongoing siege.

A difficult year that swept the entire region and brought tragedies. Its woes were particularly severe on Gaza, with all its people, trees and stones, as nothing remained in Gaza that indicated that life was possible on its land, and Gaza became bereaved by its fates, oppressed and wronged amidst the ongoing war and comprehensive genocide, as this massacre did not stop for a day, and the bombing operations did not stop for an hour, but rather escalated at a terrifying pace, concentrated in recent months on the north of the Strip, and what accompanied it of collapses on other fronts, especially the collapse of Hezbollah and the rule of Bashar al-Assad and his shameful and sudden escape, and Netanyahu’s encroachment and his intoxication from Mount Hermon and beyond, and the occupation government’s arrogance over all international laws and conventions, and its persistence in this bloody fascist manner, and this terrorist doctrine and its principles based on killing, destruction, ethnic cleansing and bloodshed, and accelerated Judaization and plans for annexation and settlement erosion, and this is a year in which the fates of the people were unknown, between anticipation and death, between hunger and siege, between cold, fear and terror, and the chapters of continuous displacement.

A difficult year that brought with it great challenges that have swept the Palestinian cause and continue to do so, with dangers from all sides, the war of ethnic cleansing, the plans of the occupation government based on settlement expansion, Judaization, and pushing the Palestinians to emigrate and flee, through economic oppression and siege, the continuation of the war of extermination in Gaza, racist laws, military checkpoints, constant attacks, and the difficult and impossible reality that all people in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem live.

A difficult year is coming to an end, which has taken with it the dreams of many, snatched many lives, made people lose their passion for living, and burdened them with the reality of difficult days between the tents of the displaced and the shelters. Until the last day, it continues its cycle with the same difficulty, cruelty, and pain. There is nothing in it that suggests that the coming year will be different. Rather, it seems that it will not be less suffering, and will not bring good tidings of breakthroughs. As long as the form of the occupation government is this racist, and this combination of extremism, its bloody approach cannot change. Therefore, the coming year carries continuous and connected dangers with the dangers of this year, which passed with its calamities, bloodiness, and ugly war.

A year has passed and a year has gone by and Gaza is bleeding, and the massacre is living in all its bloodiness and ugliness. Who will stop this massacre? When will the world move, when will the human conscience awaken, when will the international organizations break their silence, and when will American bias and support stop?

We cannot read the events that took place in Syria, in which the fall of an entire regime did not take more than ten days, outside the context of the geostrategic transformations that the region has witnessed and continues to witness in the Middle East since the fall of Baghdad in 2003, through the fall of the Libyan state, not just Gaddafi, in addition to what is happening in Sudan in terms of the systematic destruction of the state and its social structure, through the Gaza war in which Hamas was drawn in, and the war on Lebanon.

The scene is so clear that it may leave you stunned, given the inability of the collective mind to understand the data of the transformations.

It is true that the password about the zero hour for the expiration of the Bashar al-Assad regime and his family was released a few weeks ago, but the American, Western and Israeli decision has been in the works for years!

The region is facing fundamental changes, not immediate variables related to changing regimes, but rather to drawing a new political geography through a historical review of old maps, agreements and treaties: such as (the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the Balfour Declaration, the Treaty of Versailles, and the Treaty of Lausanne) that shaped the current geography of the region at the beginning of the last century. What is happening represents a disintegration of the regional arrangements that have been in place since the Sykes-Picot Agreements, which drew the borders of the region and brought together different ethnic groups within the borders of each country.

In wars, as is well known, the geography of countries is reshaped, and talk about the future of Syria cannot ignore fundamental questions related to the unity of Syrian territory. These are disturbing questions by nature, but they must be asked: there is no such thing as nothing, as everything has a counterpart. The main goal of overthrowing the tyrant was to overthrow Syria as a state, geography, army, and institutions.

All of this refers us to reading the scene through the document of Oded Yinon (Yonon Plan), a journalist for The Jerusalem Post and former advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, which was published in 1982 in the Hebrew magazine (Kivunim), and was republished a few days ago by the American Center for Globalization Studies (Global Research Home), which is one of the most clear and detailed documents to date regarding the Zionist strategy in the Middle East, including the nightmares it contains, based on the vision of the founder of Zionism (Herzl) and the Jewish rabbi (Fishman) at the beginning of the last century.

Israel is a state inhabited by religious superstitions, believing in the state of Sharia law, the texts of the Torah, and the teachings of the Talmud. It does not see anyone who can determine its ambitions in its major projects, as long as the whole world has given it a license to rampage. Greater Israel from the sea to the river is not a fantasy, but a project that is making its way to success. Its plans are not just threats and passing military operations, but rather a geographical drawing and part of a long-term plan to change the map of the Middle East through its international and regional alliances, as Netanyahu and Smotrich announced in international forums in March 2023. This was literally translated into its tactical military path across the entire geography of the region. It was able to provide a radical change in the equation (cost balance) to achieve all its projects and preserve its security.

Israel's war and ethnic cleansing will not stop at Gaza, Lebanon or Yemen; rather, it will affect the entire region, as long as the playing field within the Middle East is easy and paved for it. Israel now has a dream that it seeks to achieve, which is to reach the Euphrates River through its major project (David's Corridor)! The fall of the Assad regime was a golden opportunity for it to impose a new geographical reality that would achieve all of its major projects.

After the fall of the regime in Syria, Israel could not wait, but immediately launched intensive strikes aimed at stripping the Syrian state, its institutions and its army of their national security capabilities. It invaded Syrian territory and destroyed more than 80% of the Syrian army’s capabilities. It also expanded its occupation of more Syrian territory by taking full control of the slopes of Mount Hermon and the Golan Heights. It began talking about its major expansion project called the “David’s Corridor” that passes through Syrian territory to reach the Iraqi border and the Euphrates River in particular, in fulfillment of the biblical prophecy of the Kingdom of David.

They called their incursion into Syrian territory Operation “Arrow of Bashan,” which, according to their beliefs, symbolizes an ancient Jewish kingdom in the southern region of Syria, a fertile agricultural region with fresh water extending from southern Damascus to the Yarmouk River basin and the Hauran Plain, and from Mount Hermon in the west to Jabal al-Druze in the east.

What is the (David's Corridor) project that Zionist and Western political literature talks about? And what is its relationship to the Kurds? And it seems that the major world powers agree to it.

The corridor connects Israel to the Euphrates, and surrounds the Iraqi border. It starts from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, passing through the Golan, Daraa, Sweida, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Tanf (the location of the current US military bases) until reaching the Euphrates River, which means that a large part of those US military bases are originally located along this corridor.

Certainly, the corridor will be under the supervision of America and its bases in the region, and if it is achieved, it will provide Israel with complete control over vast areas reaching the Iraqi-Syrian border, and will help establish a Druze state in southern Syria, and a Kurdish state in northern Syria (if Turkey agrees), where the Kurdish expansion supported by America will merge with the Israeli expansion to create an axis through which Israel will be able to reach the Euphrates River, and they will meet in the Al-Tanf area.

What comes after Syria? Where is the Zionist compass heading? Will Israel complete its path that includes parts of Jordanian, Egyptian and Saudi territories?

This is what the Israeli writer (Simdar Perry) told the Israeli Channel 10, that if this happens, Jordan and Egypt will give up parts of their lands by mutual consent, through an undeclared settlement.

Changing the features of the region is expected, and the coming days will be very tense and susceptible to development in all directions without warning. What is wanted for the region is very dangerous, and US Secretary of State Blinken was clear when he said: What happened in Syria was done with our knowledge, and in coordination with Turkey and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Above the piles of ruin and destruction in the Arab homeland, there is no time for crying in history. The Zionist dream has come out into the open, and David's Passage will reach the Euphrates River through Syria.