Paris police chief Laurent Nunez announced on Sunday that 4,000 police and gendarmes will be deployed next Thursday to secure a "high-risk" match between France and Israel at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, in the fifth round of Group 2 of the UEFA Nations League.

Nunez told French channel BFMTV that the deployment of this large number of troops comes within the framework of "strict and unconventional security measures" to secure an international match of this type.

He added that 4,000 police and gendarmerie personnel will secure the stadium's perimeter, as well as public transportation in Paris, with some of them deployed inside the stadium.

Nunez added that about 1,600 security personnel will be deployed inside the stadium in France, including an elite unit of the national police, which will secure the Israeli team. He pointed out that the match is considered "high risk", especially in light of the tense geopolitical situation.

The Paris Police Director also explained that the French authorities are working in coordination with the Israeli embassy in Paris and with some elements of the Israeli police, stressing that these elements "will not participate in securing the event on Thursday."

The security measures come a week after violence in Amsterdam between groups of fans, including Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, during a Europa League match, which drew international condemnation.

"Palestinian flag is forbidden"

The Paris police chief also indicated that entry with a Palestinian flag would be prohibited, and only French and Israeli flags would be allowed. He added that "for fans, there will be a security measure around the stadium with two checkpoints, in addition to identity checks if necessary."

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz confirmed in its editorial on Sunday that the Israeli army is carrying out an “ethnic cleansing operation” in the northern Gaza Strip, which includes forcibly displacing the few remaining residents, destroying their homes and infrastructure, and opening wide roads as part of a plan aimed at separating the northern areas of the Strip from Gaza City.

The newspaper relied on a report by its military correspondent Yaniv Kubovich, who accompanied the Israeli forces on a tour of the area, describing the situation there as looking like a "natural disaster," despite the newspaper's emphasis that what is happening is systematic and intentional destruction.

The newspaper added references to a report published by the British newspaper The Guardian, which quoted Brigadier General Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd Division in the Israeli army, denying that residents would be allowed to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, explaining that most of the residents of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, al-Atatra and Jabalia had already been evacuated, and that his forces had received clear orders to carry out this forced evacuation. Cohen indicated that his mission was to "evacuate and cleanse an area," claiming that the evacuation was intended to "protect the residents" and facilitate the movement of Israeli forces.

The newspaper touched on the "generals' plan" drawn up by retired Major General Giora Eiland and some other retired commanders, which calls for displacing the population in the northern Gaza Strip and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid, considering that what Eiland is presenting publicly is part of a strategy implemented by the army under the direction of its military and political leaders, starting with Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Southern Command Commander Yaron Finkelman, and with the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and his successor, Israel Katz.

The newspaper stressed that Netanyahu bears the greatest responsibility for the "war crimes" that also aim to destroy the homes of Palestinians and displace them, as part of the "war of rebirth" that seeks to pave the way for a long-term occupation and the possibility of future Jewish settlement.

Haaretz also touched on the comment of Israeli historian Daniel Beltman, a specialist in Holocaust and genocide studies, who described Eiland as an embodiment of moral collapse and a loss of historical understanding, noting in his article that the “Eiland Plan” falls within the category of “war crimes” ranging from ethnic cleansing to genocide.

In his article titled “Eiland’s Justifications Aim to Cover Up Israeli Crimes in Gaza,” Beltman believes that Eiland is trying to justify the displacement operations through flimsy justifications, considering that Eiland represents the moral collapse of “Israel.”

Beltman pointed out that Eiland has tried to portray the Gaza Strip as an “independent state” since the disengagement in 2005, likening the situation to Germany in the 1930s, but he considered this comparison misleading. Beltman stressed that Gaza is still under the effective control of Israel, which controls the entrances to the Strip, airspace, and territorial waters, which hinders the delivery of basic services such as health and education.

Beltman also denied Eiland's claims about the similarity between the rise of the Nazis and Hamas's seizure of power in Gaza, describing this comparison as illogical, and explained that Hamas seized power in besieged conditions and under Israeli military control, and that it is not a recognized international entity with economic and military capabilities.

Beltman concluded his article by questioning the fate of the Palestinians displaced under the Eiland plan, and pointed out that ignoring the provision of housing, care, and security for the displaced reflects a deliberate intention to oppress the residents of Gaza. He said that the “selective justifications” presented by Eiland aim to evade the fact that “Israel” is committing a war crime in Gaza aimed at ethnic cleansing and changing the demographic composition of the region.

President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian people cannot be eliminated or dissolved, and the Palestinian cause cannot be liquidated.

The President said, on Sunday evening, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the martyrdom of the symbolic leader Yasser Arafat, that our people in the Gaza Strip are being subjected to a second catastrophe and a war of genocide that history has never witnessed, and the occupation has turned the Strip into an uninhabitable area.

The President stressed that the displacement plan will not pass and we will not allow it to pass with the steadfastness of our people and the support and backing of our brothers and friends in the world, stressing that the leadership will not stop making every effort to stop the criminal war of extermination, until the last soldier withdraws from the Gaza Strip, so that the Strip returns to its natural place in the Palestinian state, and we heal the wounds of our people and rebuild it better than it was.

The President pointed out that the Palestinian issue is going through a difficult phase with the presence of the extreme right-wing government in Israel. The Gaza Strip is not the only one being subjected to a war of extermination and a plan for annexation and displacement, as the West Bank is being subjected to the same plan.

The President stressed that the Palestinian people will remain on their land and will not leave it, and this is the will of Yasser Arafat and all the martyrs of our people, foremost among them the martyrs of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement.

The President said: We are committed to the option of peace, and we will continue to work to achieve it, stressing that security and stability cannot be achieved except by eliminating the occupation and achieving sovereignty and independence on the land of the Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 lines, and finding a just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees on the basis of the Arab Initiative and Resolution 194.

The President reiterated his rejection of the occupation's decisions to ban UNRWA from operating in Palestine, stressing that the State of Palestine will confront these decisions in coordination with the countries hosting Palestinian refugees.

The President said: Thanks to the steadfastness of our people and their defiance of the occupation's liquidation plans, we will continue to move towards freedom and independence, and the occupation will be held accountable for its crimes and aggression against our people, our land and our holy sites, in international courts.

The President stressed that we are on the path to achieving our national unity under the banner of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of our Palestinian people, and the owner of the independent national decision.

The President stressed the commitment to the legitimate and internationally recognized national goals and rights, pledging to the masses of our great people to continue on the path of freedom and independence, for which our best sons and daughters sacrificed their lives. He stressed that our people and their leadership will not rest until the prisoners gain their freedom.

The President concluded his speech by saying: “Yasser Arafat’s legacy remains in us and we will not deviate from it. We will remain rooted in this land because we are its owners, and the truth of the Palestinian people cannot be obliterated or ignored.”

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

O masses of our steadfast Palestinian people, who are standing with pride and dignity on the homeland in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and in the diaspora across the world.

Today we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the martyrdom of the symbolic leader Yasser Arafat, who carried the banner of the Palestinian national struggle for decades for freedom and independence. Perhaps the most important lesson from the path of this exceptional leader, and the path of the Palestine Liberation Organization, is that the Palestinian people cannot be eliminated or dissolved, and the Palestinian cause cannot be liquidated, and that our people have an ancient homeland upon which they built their history and civilization, this civilization that presented to humanity the message of love and peace.

This anniversary comes while the Palestinian people are going through harsh and difficult circumstances. There is a second Nakba in the Gaza Strip, as our people are being subjected to a war of genocide that history has never witnessed before, hundreds of thousands of martyrs and wounded, comprehensive destruction, displacement, hunger, diseases and epidemics. The occupying state has turned the Strip into an uninhabitable area, and what is happening today in the northern Gaza Strip is the best evidence of that. The sword of forced displacement is still hanging over the necks of the people of Gaza. We say here with all clarity and firmness that this plan will not pass and we will not allow it to pass with the steadfastness of our people and with the support and backing of our brothers and friends in the world. In the West Bank and Jerusalem, our people are facing continuous attacks on them, our land, and our Islamic and Christian sanctities by the occupation forces and terrorist settlers, who are practicing crimes of ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination.

Allow me on this occasion to address in particular the steadfast and steadfast masses of our people in the Gaza Strip, to tell them that we will not stop making every effort to stop the criminal war of extermination, until the last occupying soldier withdraws from the Gaza Strip so that the Strip can return to its natural place in the Palestinian state. We will also not rest until we heal the wounds of our people in the Gaza Strip, and rebuild it better than it was.

Oh, masses of our great people

The Palestinian cause is going through a difficult phase with the presence of the extreme right-wing government in Israel. The Gaza Strip is not the only one being subjected to a war of extermination and a plan for annexation and displacement. The West Bank is being subjected to the same plan, and the right-wing government believes that the conditions are favorable for implementing its expansionist goals at the expense of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights.

We tell them and others that we have been the sons of this land for thousands of years. We will remain here and will not leave. This is the will of Yasser Arafat and all the martyrs of our people, foremost among them the martyrs of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement. We assure them all that we will remain faithful to the covenant and that the banner will remain raised.

We have always adhered to the option of peace, we have adhered to it in all difficult and complex circumstances, and even when the other party abandoned it. We do not view peace as a passing phase. We seek to establish a just and lasting peace, and we believe that this peace, and that security and stability, can only be achieved by ending the occupation and achieving sovereignty and independence on the land of the Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 lines, and finding a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue on the basis of the Arab Initiative and Resolution 194. In this regard, we affirm the existence and strengthening of the work of UNRWA and reject the decisions of the occupation authorities to ban its work in Palestine, which we reject and will confront in coordination with the countries hosting Palestinian refugees.

Our heroic people

Thanks to your steadfastness and your confrontation of these crimes and liquidation plans, we are moving towards freedom and independence. International recognition of the State of Palestine is continuing, especially in the European arena, and the occupation is being dragged to international courts, and for the first time it will be held accountable for its crimes and aggression against our people, our land and our holy sites. Today, there is an international coalition of more than a hundred countries that was established through the commendable efforts of the Arab Islamic Committee, the European Union and sister and friendly countries in order to embody the State of Palestine and obtain full membership in the United Nations.

Here we must appreciate the positions of the peoples and countries of the world that support us and work with us in international forums. We also assure you that we are on the path to achieving our national unity under the banner of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of our Palestinian people, and the owner of the independent national decision.

On the twentieth anniversary of the martyrdom of the symbolic leader Abu Ammar, we affirm to the masses of our great people our adherence to the legitimate and internationally recognized national goals and rights, and we pledge to them that we will continue with the same determination on the path of freedom and independence, this path for which the best sons and daughters of the Palestinian people sacrificed their lives, and the heroic prisoners sacrificed their freedom in the prime of their youth, and I tell them that your people and your leadership will not rest until you achieve your freedom.

Yasser Arafat's legacy remains in us and we will not deviate from it. We will remain rooted in this land because we are its owners.

The reality of the Palestinian people cannot be obscured or ignored.

Long live Palestine

Long live the Palestinian people, free and proud

Glory to our righteous martyrs, foremost among them the martyr, leader and symbol Abu Ammar.

Healing for our wounded and freedom for our heroic prisoners

May the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.

Today, Sunday, the preparatory meeting of foreign ministers for the extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit began in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with the participation of Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Mohamed Mustafa.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, chaired the preparatory ministerial meeting for the extraordinary Arab and Islamic summit scheduled to be held tomorrow, Monday, in the capital, Riyadh.

This summit is an extension of the joint Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh on November 11, 2023, based on the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and in continuation of the efforts made by Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and in coordination with the leaders of sister Arab and Islamic countries.

The meeting discussed the agenda of the upcoming summit and discussed the most important issues up for discussion.

As anti-Israeli war protests on Gaza disrupted college campuses across the United States, signs and chants demanded “Divest” and “Ceasefire Now!” This fall, the language of protest has become bolder, as if celebrating the October 7, 2023, attack, and echoing the rhetoric of Hamas, declaring, “Glory to the Resistance!” The mass protests and police and security crackdowns that swept college campuses last spring have dissipated, and campuses have become quieter and more peaceful this fall. But on some campuses, student groups have struck a strikingly more aggressive tone.

Israel’s brutal war on the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, 70 percent of them women and children according to the United Nations, is regularly described as genocide, “but until recently few of these slogans seemed pro-Hamas,” according to the newspaper, which says that “for some, including many in the Jewish community, this is a disturbing shift. But for others, the new rhetoric is the natural evolution of a movement responding to a brutal war now in its second year, with no end in sight.”

The newspaper quotes Mitchell Silber, an associate professor at Columbia University who runs a nonprofit that helps provide security for Jewish communities in the New York metropolitan area, saying that groups often escalate their rhetoric when they don’t achieve their goals, with a small group urging stronger action. “We’re at this tipping point. We’re starting to see a radicalization of their message,” he said. Silber, a former director of intelligence analysis for the New York Police Department, sees a more explicit rhetoric: “blatantly pro-Hamas, blatantly pro-Hezbollah, blatantly pro-Houthi.” The tougher messaging could soon clash with the incoming Trump administration.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to crack down on campus protests, and his allies expect the Department of Education to more aggressively investigate college campuses' responses to pro-Palestinian movements.

In May, Trump told donors, “If I’m reelected, we’re going to set this movement back 25 or 30 years.” He also promised to deport foreign students who participate in the protests. “Once they hear that, they’re going to act appropriately.”

The messages sometimes appear on social media including Telegram and Instagram, and sometimes at public events. Colleges have repeatedly said they do not tolerate violence but have also said they respect students’ right to free speech.

The new rules have limited how groups can protest on many campuses, and the large camps that disrupted campus life in the spring are gone. There are also more organized efforts to channel student and faculty concerns about issues in the Middle East into academic discussion, Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, told the newspaper.

Although fewer students have participated in antiwar efforts this year, many of those who remain are more extreme in their messaging, some observers say, according to the paper, which notes that “at the University of California at Berkeley a year ago, students hung a long banner from Sather Tower, a famous 307-foot bell tower on campus. It read: ‘Stop the Fire Now. Free Gaza,’ with an image of the Palestinian flag. This fall, that banner was gone and a new one was hung in its place, reading: ‘Glory to the Resistance,’ with an inverted red triangle, a symbol used by Hamas to mark military targets and that has become associated with the Palestinian resistance movement.”

Some protesters now refer to the October 7 attacks as the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” a name used by Hamas. On the first anniversary of the attacks, a Columbia University protester, walking through the center of campus amid a noisy crowd, held aloft a banner that included drawings of a hang glider, an inverted red triangle, and the message “Long live the Al-Aqsa Flood/Glory to the Resistance.”

Students involved in protest groups say the move toward more hardline rhetoric is a result of frustration with a war that shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

News from the Middle East has been controversial in recent weeks, with the killing of Hamas leaders, Israeli incursions into Lebanon, attacks on Iranian targets and horrific videos of civilians dying.

Students now believe it will take more drastic action to bring about change, and they are no longer willing to practice “respectability politics,” says Matt Kovak, a Berkeley history graduate student who helps run the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. “What we’re seeing is a realistic response to people who have been marching and protesting for a year, and these international institutions and the United States have no interest in a ceasefire, a year into the war,” Kovak says.

The paper says that there is no doubt that the majority of activists for Palestine are engaged in completely peaceful protests: calling for a ceasefire, writing divestment proposals, organizing educational seminars and film screenings, creating art and embroidery together. Some groups have hosted vigils for those killed in the war in Gaza; in Colombia, students read thousands of names aloud.

“We have overwhelmingly seen that the student-led protests are peaceful calls for human rights for those in Palestine; of course, they are becoming more urgent as the situation abroad continues to deteriorate,” said Farah Afifi, research and advocacy coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The newspaper claims that the shift (in the intensity of the discourse) is most evident at Columbia University, the center of last year's protests.

For weeks, Columbia University Apartheid Devest, one of the pro-Palestinian groups on campus, has taken a tougher tone through its communications channels. On Substack, the group has praised the leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Ansar Allah (known as the Houthis), all Iranian-backed groups that the United States has designated as terrorist organizations. One post referred to these groups as the Axis of Resistance and said they “effectively utilized a hierarchy and organized structure led by an anti-imperialist political line to carry out operations effectively.”

The Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona is one of the chapters that has posted positive messages about Sinwar after his killing by Israeli forces. On Instagram, the group posted a photo of him with the words: “The face of the resistance. Martyred while fighting for our liberation. Rest in peace,” followed by a heart emoji.

On this point, the newspaper attributes to Mia Amari, a Palestinian-American and the branch president, that “last year people were more afraid to speak up.” Now, she said, “people are finally fed up and saying what’s on their minds.”

Asked if this could be read as support for terrorism, she said, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Like other pro-Palestinian activists, she argued that the focus on the October 7 attacks was unfair, and that the day should be understood in the context of a long history of oppression.

A member of the leadership team at Mac for Palestine at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, made a similar point. Orianne Saxe Bernstein, a third-year student at Macalester, said that terms like “terrorism” “lose their persuasive power among students,” because they are applied to violence committed by Palestinians but not violence committed by Israel.

She said that students’ experiences on campus with the protest movement, including “intense surveillance, violent police, brutal arrests and threats to their education or even their personal safety,” have changed the way they see the Palestinian struggle. She said students realize that they are suffering “only a small part of the extreme oppression that defines Palestinian existence under occupation” and that “this form of oppression is extreme.”

However, she said the group's posts about Sinwar's life were not intended to support Hamas.

Syrian media sources reported today, Sunday, that an Israeli raid targeted a residential building in the Sayyida Zeinab area in the Damascus countryside, resulting in 5 deaths and 8 injuries.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said that initial information indicates that an Israeli aggression targeted the Sayyida Zeinab area in the Damascus countryside, adding that the raid left a number of dead and wounded.

Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but over the years it has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, targeting government forces and targets it says are Iranian or affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The pace of raids has increased in recent weeks as Israel's war on Lebanon has intensified since September 23.

Israel has been launching raids on Syria for years, and has intensified these attacks since the start of its war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had spoken with US President-elect Donald Trump three times in the past few days with the aim of strengthening the "strong alliance between Israel and the United States."

"These were very good and important talks," Netanyahu said in a statement. "We agree on the Iranian threat in all its components and the danger it poses. We also see the great opportunities for Israel in the area of peace and its expansion and in other areas."

Netanyahu admitted, for the first time, responsibility for the bombing of the pagers in Lebanon. He said that this operation and the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah were launched despite the opposition of senior officials in the security establishment.

"Before the pager operation, they told me that the United States would oppose it, but I didn't listen," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by the state broadcaster. According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Netanyahu meant that he was told this by dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Galant. This is the first time a senior Israeli official has publicly acknowledged the bombing of communications equipment in Lebanon.

Four citizens, including a child, were killed and others were injured today, Sunday, in an Israeli bombing of the Nuseirat camp and Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, northwest of Gaza City.

Local sources reported that the occupation warplanes bombed a house in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, which led to the death of 3 citizens and the injury of others.

The occupation warplanes bombed the Turkmani Tower, west of Nusairat.

She added that an occupation drone of the "Quadcopter" type dropped bombs on citizens in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, northwest of Gaza City, which led to the death of a child (3 years old) and the injury of his parents.

The occupation artillery launched violent shelling on the areas of Beit Lahia Project, Tel al-Zaatar, and Jabalia Camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

In a preliminary toll, the number of dead since the beginning of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023 has risen to about 43,603 dead, and 102,929 wounded, the majority of whom are women and children, while thousands of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, where they cannot be reached.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that the Israeli occupation authorities are committing brutal violations against detainees from the Gaza Strip.

The Commission and the Prisoners Club explained in a joint statement, today, Sunday, that these violations are committed by the occupation forces specifically during the process of arresting them, and in the first period of detention inside the camps.

They pointed out that their teams were able to visit about 30 detainees from the Gaza Strip in the Negev and Ofer prisons under difficult conditions and strict restrictions, including a number of medical teams who were arrested from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, whether they were arrested inside the hospital or through the so-called “safe passages.” The detainees’ testimonies once again reflected the level of brutality practiced by the occupation forces against them.

The statement indicated that the visit took place on the 6th and 7th of November, and confirmed the set of systematic and proven crimes that form the basis for all Gaza testimonies, especially with regard to methods of physical and psychological torture, and systematic humiliation.

He continued: Based on the visits that were made to a group of detainees in the Negev prison, the issue of scabies emerged in their testimonies. Hundreds of detainees from Gaza are infected with the disease, as are hundreds of prisoners from all regions. Today, the Negev detainees are actually facing a real health disaster, in light of the continued spread of the disease among the prisoners. This is met by the prison system continuing to carry out systematic medical crimes, by depriving them of treatment, and its intention to put an end to the reasons that have contributed and continue to contribute to the continued spread of the disease.

The detainees also focused on the first period of detention, as a result of the torture they were subjected to in the army camps. Here we review brief testimonies from a number of them.

The prisoner (D.W.), who has been detained since March 2024, during the aggression on Al-Shifa Hospital, reported that he was detained in the Gaza Envelope area for four months before being transferred to the Negev prison, where he faced difficult and extremely harsh conditions. He was detained throughout that period blindfolded and handcuffed, and was subjected to severe beatings, in addition to insults and intimidation using police dogs. The beatings resulted in rib fractures. Today, although the frequency of beatings has decreased, the suffering has doubled after hundreds of detainees were infected with sciatica, which has become a tool of physical and psychological torture.

He added that he has not changed his clothes for 6 months, and that the prison administration deliberately takes away the mattresses and blankets at dawn and returns them late at night, and the crime of starvation is still ongoing, along with many other systematic crimes.

As for the detainee (L.R), he confirmed that out of (145) detainees held in one of the sections of the (Naqab) prison, (100) of them are infected with (scabies), and suffer from extremely difficult conditions, and systematic medical crimes are being practiced against them. His testimony included the same details that all the detainees mentioned about the first stage of detention, as he was subjected to the most heinous types of torture, insults and beatings, through daily assaults, which caused him fractures in the chest.

All detainees also called for the need to work on bringing them clothes before the onset of winter, as the bitter cold began to prevail in the sections, especially in the Negev prison, during the night hours, as the detainees do not have winter clothes, and each detainee only has a light blanket that does not protect him from the cold. The prison administration also deliberately removes the mattresses and blankets at dawn and returns them late at night. What contributed to the continued spread of scabies is the collection of blankets from all sections and from infected and uninfected rooms, and the blankets became a source of the spread of the disease, in addition to the lack of personal hygiene.

Among the detainees who were visited was a detainee who suffered from hearing loss, diabetes, fractures resulting from torture, and pain all over his body. He sent the lawyer a painful message in which he said, “I cannot sleep, from the cold and hunger. I am dying every moment and I do not know what they want from me. I can no longer bear this torture.”

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Sunday that the United States has decided to freeze a huge shipment of D9 armored bulldozers that the Israeli Ministry of Defense had previously purchased from the American company Caterpillar. The number of bulldozers that had been ordered was 134 bulldozers.

She pointed out that this freeze may be temporary, but its effects began to become clear on the battlefield after the Israeli army was forced to use the available bulldozers, many of which were destroyed as a result of what she described as "heavy consumption" of them during the war on Gaza.

Destruction of homes

The newspaper suggested in a report by its military correspondent, Yoav Zeitoun, that the increasing popular pressure within the United States against supplying these bulldozers resulted in the deal being frozen, due to their use in home demolitions in the Gaza Strip.

He added that this situation poses major challenges to the Israeli army, which relies heavily on this equipment to secure safe paths for its forces on the ground, especially in mined areas.

Soldiers killed

He said that the shortage of bulldozers threatens soldiers in Gaza, pointing to the killing of 21 Israeli soldiers last month in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, quoting military leaders as saying that "most of these soldiers were killed by explosive devices, as a result of the shortage of D9 bulldozers in those operations."

The reporter assumed that the freeze on bulldozer shipments would delay the establishment of new buffer zones in northern and southern Gaza, and even on the northern front on the border with Lebanon, with the Israeli army adopting other alternatives to destroying buildings, including air strikes and explosions.

The report indicated that the Israeli army is facing a shortage of heavy bombs weighing one ton, as the United States froze a shipment containing about 1,300 bombs after half of them arrived, and quoted an Israeli security source as saying that "the delay in these shipments is forcing the army to rent additional equipment from local contractors."

Other weapons influx

However, the report stated that the United States had agreed to complete a huge deal to supply Israel with about a thousand JLTV armored personnel carriers, which would enhance the ability of elite units to move flexibly in different combat zones, especially with the presence of 30 mm machine guns within the equipment of these vehicles.

Zaitoun asserts that the tensions in Israeli-American military relations come in light of the current administration facing internal pressures from human rights organizations, noting that "there are American reservations from the State Department and the Pentagon about meeting all Israeli requests for advanced weapons."

Maariv newspaper downplayed expectations that US President-elect Donald Trump would support Israel on sensitive regional issues, particularly with regard to the Iranian file, the war on the Gaza Strip, and efforts to expand the peace agreements, known as the "Abraham Accords." Possible changes At the beginning of the report, written by the newspaper's political correspondent, Anna Brasky noted that many in the Israeli government prayed for Trump's victory, and considered his presidency to be in Israel's interest.

Brasky says that Trump supported Israel during his first term with decisive decisions, such as moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and signing the Abraham Accords, which strengthened Israel’s relations with a number of Arab countries. But she raises an important question: “Will Trump be as tough on Middle East issues in his second term, or will he take a more cautious approach?”

She answers this question by saying that it is likely that there will be changes in the positions of the new American president, citing as evidence the fluctuations in the policy of the former hardline Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who changed from supporting the settlers to taking the decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and dismantle its settlements in 2005 during his second term.

She points out that one of the most prominent questions that attempts to anticipate Trump’s policies relates to his position on Iran. Despite his statements during his election campaign that he does not oppose Israel attacking Iran, and that he will not tie its hands, this position may not necessarily translate into full American support for this step. Advertisement Brasky confirms that “Israel cannot launch such attacks without effective American support, which means that any neutrality on Trump’s part will not be enough” to enable Tel Aviv to attack Iran.

“For Trump, a businessman who prefers deals, opening new negotiations with Iran may be a more attractive option than getting involved in a new war,” she continues. “So, Trump may be inclined to renegotiate a modified nuclear agreement rather than engage in a direct confrontation, which raises concerns among Israeli officials about the possibility of making concessions to Iran.”

The price of expanding the Abraham Accords

Maariv's correspondent also believes that Trump's return to the White House may witness an attempt to revive and expand the Abraham Accords, especially with the focus on concluding a peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. But the question the newspaper poses is, "What price might Saudi Arabia demand in exchange for normalization?"

She explains that one of the conditions that Riyadh could impose is recognition of a Palestinian state, an issue that could spark widespread controversy within Israel. She points out that Trump’s peace plan, known as the “Deal of the Century,” included the establishment of a Palestinian state on about 70% of the territory as part of the peace agreement, but the ability to actually implement this clause remains questionable.

The writer also draws attention to the fact that “the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu may be an influential factor in American policy towards Israel,” and believes that “despite the close alliance between them in the past, their relationship has gone through difficulties. Benjamin Netanyahu is currently making efforts to re-establish his relationship with Trump, and has risked provoking the Biden administration in the process.” Advertisement She says that “what will happen after Trump is officially inaugurated may reveal whether the relationship between them will return to its best state, especially since Trump may treat Netanyahu either as a true friend or as a former ally.”

The report concludes that Israel is cautious in its expectations regarding Trump’s handling of the Middle East and Israel, especially in light of the lack of clarity about his future plans. “While Israel hopes for comprehensive American support, it realizes that Trump may take more moderate and cautious positions than he has previously, and may prefer to explore new deals that seek to achieve stability in the region without military escalation,” Brasky concludes by saying that “Trump’s return to the White House may not be the same approach that Israel was accustomed to during his first term, and may impose a heavy price on the Israeli government to achieve some of its strategic goals in the region.”

Israeli Democratic Party leader Yair Golan said on Sunday that Benjamin Netanyahu's government is trying to reach a settlement in the north, despite not eliminating Hezbollah, while endangering the lives of prisoners and soldiers in the Gaza Strip by refusing a ceasefire on the grounds that Hamas has not been eliminated.

This came in a post on the X platform by Golan, who previously held several military positions, including Deputy Chief of Staff of the Israeli Occupation Army and Commander of the Northern Region.

"Hezbollah, which is much stronger than Hamas, has not been completely eliminated, but the Israeli government is trying to reach a settlement in the north," said the head of the Democratic Party, an alliance of the left-wing Labor and Meretz parties.

He added: "The government itself refuses to reach an agreement to release prisoners, including a settlement in the south, on the grounds that Hamas has not been completely eliminated."

Golan continued: "This is illogical and unprofessional and puts the lives of prisoners and our soldiers (in the Gaza Strip) at risk in vain."

He concluded by saying: "Every Jewish mother will know that the Israeli government prefers its political survival over the security of its children."

On Sunday, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer headed to Washington to hold talks with senior White House officials regarding reaching a settlement with Hezbollah in the north.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Army Radio said that Dermer secretly visited Russia last week to push for a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

She added in a report: "Dreamer is working with the Americans on settlement negotiations in the north, and Russia is expected to play a major role in the ceasefire."

Netanyahu's government refuses to reach a deal to return prisoners held in the Gaza Strip that includes stopping the war there, amid threats by extremist ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to withdraw from the government if the war in Gaza stops.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol held a meeting with senior officials on Sunday to study the impact of US President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Bloomberg reported that Yoon ordered officials to form an advisory body headed by Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok that would focus on policies related to financial, trade and industrial affairs to prepare for possible shifts in U.S. policy.

If the new US administration takes a flexible approach on fossil fuels, it could have a positive impact on the petrochemical sector, Yun said.

On security, Yoon made clear that there could be "structural changes" without elaborating, and called for comprehensive readiness to maintain an active alliance with the United States.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah called on Sunday for intensifying international efforts to stop the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, which have been witnessing an ongoing Israeli war since October 2023.

This came during talks between the two Gulf leaders, at Bayan Palace in the Kuwaiti capital, as part of an open-ended state visit that the UAE President began to Kuwait on Sunday, according to the official UAE news agency, WAM.

The agency explained that the two sides "discussed fraternal relations and paths for developing cooperation and joint work in various fields, in a way that serves mutual interests."

The two sides stressed their "keenness to continue building on the deep-rooted historical relations that unite the two countries and their peoples."

During the talks session, they reviewed "developments on the regional and international arenas, most notably the situation in the Middle East, especially the developments in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon," according to WAM.

President bin Zayed and Prince Mishaal stressed "the importance of intensifying international efforts to cease fire in the Gaza Strip and the top priority of providing full protection for civilians in accordance with the rules of international humanitarian law, and pushing joint efforts to respond to the humanitarian conditions experienced by the population."

They stressed "the UAE and Kuwait's firm stance towards preserving Lebanon's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and their support for the brotherly Lebanese people in various circumstances."

They called for "urgent international action to stop the fire in Lebanon and provide protection for civilians there," according to the Emirati agency.

The two leaders stressed the "need to intensify efforts to prevent the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East region and spare it the consequences of new crises that threaten its security and stability."

Today, Sunday, the Israeli occupation forces prevented citizens in the Tel Rumeida area in central Hebron from picking olives and entering their lands.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces prevented the Qunaibi family from picking olives from their lands in Tel Rumeida, seized the olives, and forced them to leave.

It is noteworthy that the occupation has continued to prevent citizens since the beginning of the aggression against our people on October 7, 2023, from entering their lands to pick olives, which negatively affected the season, which was severely damaged in various governorates.

Israeli raids on eastern and southern Lebanon and northern Beirut, on Sunday, resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.

Israeli warplanes launched a raid on a house in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, according to what was reported by the official Lebanese National News Agency, without prior evacuation warning.

The agency reported that "enemy aircraft launched a raid on a house in the Al-Laqees neighborhood in the city of Baalbek."

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced the death of 20 people, including children, in an Israeli airstrike on a town in the Jbeil district, north of Beirut. The ministry said in a statement that "the Israeli enemy's raid on Almat in the Jbeil district led, according to an updated toll, to the death of 20 people, including three children, and the injury of six others."

Earlier today, the National News Agency reported that 17 people were killed in an Israeli bombardment that targeted the village of Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain in southern Lebanon.

According to the agency, "Civil defense teams affiliated with the Islamic Message Scouts Association, the Islamic Health Authority, and the Red Cross are still searching for a number of missing persons under the rubble in the building that was destroyed by the Israeli enemy in the town of Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain yesterday evening."

Channel 12 confirmed, quoting informed sources, that the occupation government expects a resolution from the Security Council calling for a halt to the war in Gaza.

The Hebrew newspaper said on Sunday that the government is likely to issue a Security Council resolution soon to stop the fighting in Gaza and restrict the activity of the occupation army.

She pointed out that the government has concerns about the possibility that Washington will refrain from using its veto to protect Tel Aviv's interests in the Security Council.

Aggression on Gaza

The occupation war machine continues its aggression for the first day after four hundred in the Gaza Strip, where the bombing and shelling of residential buildings has been renewed, especially in the northern part of the Strip.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced yesterday, Friday, that the death toll from the aggression had risen to 43,552 martyrs, in addition to 102,765 others injured since October 7, 2023.

The number of occupation soldiers killed is rising

According to the latest tally, the occupation army announced that the number of its dead has risen to 782 officers and soldiers in the aggression on Gaza, since October 7, and 368 have been killed since the start of the ground operation on October 27.

According to the occupation army, 5,299 soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza, including 3,204 minor injuries, 1,319 moderate injuries, and 776 critical injuries.

Joe Biden plans to welcome his successor, Donald Trump, to the White House on Wednesday, after the US president pledged a peaceful and orderly transfer of power to the Republican president-elect he lost to in the presidential election four years ago.

Trump, who has never acknowledged his loss in the 2020 election, scored a historic victory on November 5 that returned him to the White House, capping nearly a decade of political activism marked by his hardline positions.

Biden will join a small club of US presidents who have returned power to a predecessor in the White House.

The Democratic president will meet with Trump at 11:00 a.m. (16:00 GMT), according to a White House statement yesterday (Saturday), as the countdown begins for the former president's return to power in January.

Trump won Arizona in the US presidential election this week, US television networks predicted yesterday (Saturday), completing the Republican sweep of all seven swing states.

After four days of counting votes in this southwestern state with a large Hispanic population, CNN and NBC projected that Trump would win 11 electoral votes.

Trump ruled out yesterday (Saturday) the possibility of asking his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the US Ambassador to the United Nations during his term, Nikki Haley, to be part of the administration that he is scheduled to form after being elected president for a second term.

“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to join the Trump administration being formed,” the president-elect wrote on his social network, Truth Social.

“I have loved and appreciated working with them in the past, and I want to thank them for their service to our country,” the Republican billionaire added, attaching his message with his slogan “Make America Great Again.”

Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told the New York Times on Saturday that “if the president had dropped out sooner, there might have been other candidates” besides Harris, adding that Biden’s immediate endorsement of Harris prevented a primary. However, the former House speaker praised the “enthusiasm” Harris generated during her campaign.

The 78-year-old real estate mogul and former reality TV star won by a wider margin this time, despite a criminal conviction, two impeachment attempts by Congress while in office and being accused of fascism by a former official.

Polls showed that voters' main concern was the economy and inflation, which has risen to high levels under Biden.

Biden, who dropped out of the race in July over concerns about his age, 81, called Trump on Wednesday and congratulated him on his election victory.

Second management

Trump began selecting the people for his second administration, announcing the appointment of his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, as White House chief of staff.

Wiles is the first woman to hold the prominent position, and her position is the Republican president's first appointment in his new administration. Trump described the 67-year-old Florida native as "strong, smart, innovative, loved and respected globally," adding: "Suzy will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again."

Other candidates for positions in a second Trump administration reflect the big changes they are set to make.

“I’m not going to deny vaccines to anybody,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent figure in the anti-vaccine movement whom Trump has pledged to give a “big role” in health care, told NBC News on Wednesday.

Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, Tesla and Platform X, who has enthusiastically backed Trump, may have a role in the Trump administration by taking on the role of scrutinizing government waste and cutting costs.

Trump is expected to reverse many of the policies that have been associated with Biden. He also returns to the White House as a climate change denier, ready to dismantle Biden’s green policies, and give the go-ahead to drill oil wells.

The Al-Qassam Brigades announced targeting an Israeli force of 15 soldiers today, Sunday, confirming that they were eliminated from zero distance.

Al-Qassam Brigades said, via its Telegram account, that the Israeli force was eliminated with light weapons and hand grenades west of the Al-Shimaa area, north of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.

Al-Qassam confirmed that its fighters reported, after returning from the battle lines, that they had targeted two Israeli troop carriers with "Al-Yassin 105" and "Tandem" shells, and that they had targeted a military bulldozer with a "Thunder" explosive device near the Martyr Imad Aql Mosque in the middle of Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Al-Quds Brigades noted that it, in cooperation with the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, bombed with mortar shells an Israeli occupation command and control center inside the civil administration east of Jabalia camp.

Trump's recent victory in the US presidency was a landslide victory against candidate Harris, as he won by a large margin, in addition to the clear control of the Democratic Party over the US Senate and Congress, a historic success, as Trump's policy is radically different from Biden and Harris' policy, whether in domestic or foreign policy. When Trump decides, he implements it quickly and decisively, especially with regard to the US domestic economic situation, as well as with regard to the external economic and security situation, as he always seeks peace.

During Biden's term, compared to Biden's economic policy, what we see today of this inflation did not exist, as the inflation rate in America was about 1.4%, and when compared to the rate during Biden's term, we find that it has reached about 9% today, which constitutes a great burden on the American citizen, and this inflation has also negatively affected the world, as Biden prevented the production of American oil, as they have a reserve that represents the largest reserve in the world, and when Trump takes over, he will allow the production of local American oil, which will affect the reduction of the price of oil globally, and this will of course have a positive impact on the American and global economies.

Trump's main goal is to bring peace and security to the world, and this was clear when he was President of America in 2016. There was no war between Russia and Ukraine and there was no war now raging in the Middle East. I believe that he will seek to end the war in Ukraine. He also has good relations with Russian President Putin, and he promised that he will also seek to stop the war in Gaza and Lebanon, and to calm the conflicts, especially in the Middle East. The Arab East region will be clean and calm from wars during his term.

Americans realize that Trump is the most successful economically, and this was clear since his childhood, as he has a successful career in the field of real estate. He is the American president who knows how to manage economic affairs locally, and his success will certainly have a direct impact on the world economically, especially in the field of the speed of his impact on the global price of oil.

The foreign policies that Trump can play and the very important role that America will play that will inevitably affect the Arab East are: First, I believe that Trump wants to reach an understanding with Putin, i.e. Russia, regarding the Ukrainian war, which has a major impact on natural gas prices and its repercussions on Europe, as well as what is related to the pipeline coming from Russia to Ukraine, Europe and NATO countries, and all these countries that have suffered from the problem of the availability and security of natural gas.

Second: American relations with the Arab East, especially with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has distanced itself from the United States of America, specifically during the Biden administration, and opened its doors and diplomacy to expand relations with Russia and President Putin, as well as the Saudi openness with China and the BRICS countries, which are controlled by a diplomacy that follows the same political line, compared to America, which changes its policy based on the ruling party and the winner of the American presidency (Democratic or Republican), as each party changes its policy with the Gulf states, as well as the American relationship with the countries of the Arab East, such as Syria and Iraq, which are suffering today from Iranian influence and the Iranian militias present in them. For example, Biden's policy was smooth with Iran and returned to them the financial amounts related to the nuclear file, as political flexibility or a tone of flirting is noted in the statements exchanged between them, and flirting with a confrontation on the issue of launching timid missiles between them.

Trump's policy will change with regard to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and he will be harsh and firm in his decisions with it. Trump will rely in his new policy on the strategy of economically strangling Iran, due to its support for its allies in the Arab region, namely Hezbollah and the Houthis, and regarding their presence in Iraq as well. Most importantly, the American endeavor, through the upcoming Trump administration, to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions and reduce its military influence in the Arab East region. This is the policy that Trump has adopted in the past with Iran.

For example, the Trump administration's policy was to assassinate Qassem Soleimani and thus eliminate his growing influence in Iraq. I believe that Trump's relationship will be worse than it was in the past, as he will increase and tighten US sanctions on Iran again. During Trump's election campaign, he stated several times that Iran was behind the assassination attempt that did not succeed, but only injured his ear. He stated: "God saved him in order for him to serve his country." Things will definitely escalate with Iran and must be resolved, even militarily. Trump's policy is based on resolving matters with Iran in particular, and it is linked to ridding the Arab region in the Arab East of Iranian influence completely and decisively, represented by Iran's arms in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, and preventing it from expanding its influence in the Arab countries that Iran always covets to control. With the new US administration now, represented by the incoming President Trump, America has warned the Iraqi state and asked it not to allow Iran to use Iraqi territory to strike Israel. Iraq's sovereignty over its territory is a red line, and it is unacceptable for the new administration to have a state of threat. From Iran to the interests of America's allies in the region, such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and of course to prevent missiles targeting America's strongest ally, Israel.

The important issue is that Trump addressed the Iranian people, not the Iranian state, and promised them that he would do them justice against this tyrannical rule and would liberate them from it. It has become clear that Iran is witnessing massive demonstrations by its people, especially Iranian women, who have demonstrated several times regarding their opposition to the re-imposition of the hijab on them, and demonstrations against the rule represented by the turbaned men who are harsh and oppressive towards the Iranian people, who have begun to suffer greatly.

I expect that there will be an upcoming revolution in Iran, and the Iranian people will continue to revolt against the policy of oppression under which they live, as Trump promised them that they deserve a better life. It is clear that Trump has succeeded in the past in eliminating terrorist organizations in the Arab region, such as ISIS in Syria, especially its presence in the northern Syrian region. I also believe that Trump will continue his efforts to eliminate all types of factions and will seek to end their role in the Arab East, and they will not affect Arab security in the future from today, and in the entire region in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and others. Most importantly, Trump's policy will seek to achieve a vision of a new, safe Middle East, and will impose a new global economic will in it, especially since America constitutes a third of the global economy and is the strongest economy in the world, with a budget of about 33 trillion dollars. This American economic power, from Trump's point of view, instead of being used in costly military wars in the world, especially the Arab East, should be exploited in the American domestic economy, which is suffering from challenges due to the current Biden policy and administration.

Today, for example, Iraq is suffering economically, despite being an oil country. Where do the oil revenues and money go while the people are suffering economically? Unfortunately, some Iraqi banks are smuggling dollars to Iran. In the past, during Trump's previous term, he imposed financial sanctions on these banks that smuggle money to Iran, but it seems that these sanctions were not enough, and I believe that he will work to renew their imposition in order to deter these Iraqi banks. Thus, he will succeed in stopping the smuggling of money to Iran at the expense of the oppressed Iraqi people, who deserve a decent and better life instead of those who live on them and their money.

There is also a complex reality, which is the war in Gaza that has been raging since October 7, 2023, and the battles that followed on October 8, an ongoing war in southern Lebanon, and its subsequent expansion within what is called the unity of arenas in Yemen and Iraq, and its repercussions on the Bab al-Mandab Strait region and its economic effects on the entire region, including the cessation of trade in the Red Sea, which had an economic impact on the prices of goods and commodities in the region, and was also accompanied by a significant rise in oil prices, and we are still living its repercussions now. Likewise, missile strikes continue between Iran and Israel and the countries of the Arab East that are living in the midst of this conflict. Iran strikes Israel, Israel responds, Hezbollah responds, and ground battles in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, and no one knows where all this is going? All of this has clearly affected the American economy, which sends weapons from it, and they are taken from American taxpayer money. In light of the increase in arms shipments when Iran increases its escalation by launching missiles, in addition to Biden’s administration of the war in the Arab East and the Russian-Ukrainian war, the American people and their economy are the ones paying the price. The impact of this was clear when Hurricane Harvey struck the state of Miami and the Biden administration did nothing to provide relief to this stricken region, while all the money went to wars in Biden and Harris’s policy.

Instead of spending on wars and their direct impact on a reality that shows the deterioration and damage of the American and global economy, especially the situation in the Arab East, which is economically deteriorating due to the raging wars, Trump's policy seeks to adopt a policy that relies on striving to extinguish wars, working to develop the economy and promote local development in America, and working to keep oil prices from rising. There is no doubt that all of this will be reflected positively locally and internationally, especially if Trump reaches a solution to the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon. Trump says that he will be fair to all the conflicting and warring parties, and he does not hide his strong relationship with Netanyahu and the interests of Israel, especially since it is America's spoiled son. Despite all of this, Trump will be fair, as he promised the Arab and Islamic community in America in his efforts to stop the war, and I believe that he will achieve this goal until he succeeds in creating and finding a Middle East free of wars and conflicts. After that, the Middle East will enter a new phase that I believe will witness an economic recovery for the Arab peoples, and with it will be the security and peace that Trump is striving hard to achieve.

Medical sources announced today, Sunday, that the death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,603, the majority of whom are children and women, since the start of the Israeli occupation aggression on October 7, 2023.

The same sources added that the number of injuries has risen to 102,929 since the beginning of the aggression, while thousands of victims are still under the rubble.

She pointed out that the occupation forces committed 3 massacres, which resulted in the death of 51 citizens and the injury of 164 others.

Today, Sunday, settlers stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the protection of the occupation police.

According to local sources, a number of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa from the Al-Maghariba Gate, carried out provocative tours in its courtyards, and performed Talmudic rituals.

A number of Palestinians suffered from suffocation during Israeli army raids on Saturday in the south and center of the occupied West Bank, while settlers raided a residential area and a school.

The official Palestinian news agency (WAFA) said that suffocation injuries were recorded during the army's storming of the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.

She added that the occupation forces stormed Al-Khader and set up a military checkpoint where they stopped vehicles, searched them and checked the identities of the passengers. The occupation soldiers also fired sound bombs and toxic gas at a number of shops, which led to a number of citizens suffering from suffocation, and they were treated in the field.

Also in the southern West Bank, the agency reported that the Israeli army stormed the Al-Fawar camp, south of the city of Hebron, and fired live bullets and tear gas canisters at citizens' homes, without reporting any injuries or raids on homes.

South of Hebron, WAFA reported that a group of settlers stormed the small village of Al-Fakhit (east of the town of Yatta) and conducted provocative tours around the homes of citizens.

She added that the settlers raided the school and toured its courtyards and corridors.

To the west of Hebron, eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that an Israeli infantry force stormed the town of Idhna, raided and searched a house.

In the central West Bank, WAFA reported that the Israeli army stormed the town of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem (governorate), and fired a heavy barrage of tear gas canisters at citizens and their homes, causing a number of them to suffocate from inhaling the gas, and they were treated in the field.

Storming Nablus

The Israeli occupation forces stormed, at dawn on Sunday, the new Askar camp east of the city of Nablus, shortly after Israeli forces stormed the city of Qalqilya and towns and villages in Beit Ramallah and Bethlehem.

In parallel with the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army expanded its operations, and the settlers escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in a total of 780 martyrs and about 6,300 wounded since October 7, 2023, according to official Palestinian data.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 146 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

The Russian flag was raised at a new observation point opposite the disengagement zone between the Syrian and Israeli armies in the occupied Golan Heights in southern Syria.

"A Russian military point along the separation zone in the Quneitra region in southern Syria was opened on Saturday as part of agreements to prevent violations of the UN disengagement zone," General Alexander Rodionov, deputy commander of the Russian forces operating in Syria, told Sputnik.

General Rodionov added, "With this new point, we have opened 8 observation points in order to complete the operation and maintain the security and peace of Syrian territory from any violations."

He explained that "the forces tasked with completing this operation are the tank battalion of the Russian military police, based on the orders of the commander of the Russian forces in Syria."

The deputy commander of the Russian forces operating in Syria confirmed that the Russian military crews are present in their designated locations at the observation points along the UN line for disengagement between the Syrian and Israeli armies, and that there is no withdrawal from them as rumored in some reports, adding: "We are still present, and we are carrying out all our tasks along the Bravo Line."

The new Russian observation point is located above the "Tel Ahmar" site, along the "Bravo" line that defines the eastern bank of the separation zone between the Syrian and Israeli armies. This zone was established in accordance with the United Nations resolution issued in 1974 following the end of the October 1973 war.

US officials said the chances of reaching a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon are increasing under the leadership of US envoy Amos Hochstein, and with the encouragement of President-elect Donald Trump.

The Israeli news website Ynet quoted unnamed officials as saying that efforts are underway to reach a limited deal between Israel and Hamas to release a number of prisoners and detainees.

Officials said that Qatar's announcement of suspending mediation efforts in negotiations between Israel and Hamas aims to intensify pressure on the movement and show seriousness, especially with the expectation of Trump's intervention in the matter.

The news website quoted US officials as saying that President Joe Biden's administration will likely not impose an arms embargo on Israel during the remainder of its term.

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned yesterday, Saturday, of the possibility of a famine in the northern Gaza Strip, which has been witnessing an Israeli siege and ethnic cleansing since October 5, while Israel rejected the warning of a famine.

Lazzarini expressed regret that the possibility of famine "is not surprising," noting that Israel has used hunger as a weapon, depriving people in Gaza of basics, including food to survive.

He pointed out that the aid entering the Gaza Strip is not sufficient, and is an average of just over 30 trucks per day, representing only about 6% of the daily needs of the Palestinians.

Lazzarini called for urgent steps, including political will to increase the flow of humanitarian and commercial supplies into Gaza, and political decisions to allow convoys to enter northern Gaza regularly and without interruption, calling for political will to address and eliminate the hunger crisis because "it is not too late."

International warning

And the day before yesterday, Friday, a report by the Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (a team of leading independent international experts in the field of food security and nutrition) warned of a strong possibility of imminent famine in areas in northern Gaza, while the Israeli occupation continues its annihilation of the northern Gaza Strip.

The report stressed that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is extremely dangerous and is deteriorating rapidly, calling for urgent action in the coming days, "not weeks."

The occupation authorities rejected the international report, saying, "Researchers continue to rely on partial and biased data and superficial sources with special interests," according to its description.

American concern

Asked about the Famine Review Board's warning, a State Department spokesman said Washington was concerned about the limited amount of aid reaching civilians in Gaza, and that the report highlighted the seriousness of the situation.

"We have made clear to Israel and will continue to make clear that it must do more to facilitate the entry and delivery of aid into Gaza," he added.

In the past weeks, a real crisis has begun to loom in the central and southern Gaza Strip as well, due to the depletion of flour and basic materials in the markets and homes of Palestinians, forcing them to use spoiled flour to feed their families, and to search for unhealthy alternatives.

The residents of Gaza, and the north in particular, are suffering from hunger due to the scarcity of food, water, medicine and fuel, as a result of the siege imposed by Israel on the two governorates since the start of its ground operation on October 27, 2023, which has caused the death of a number of children and the elderly.

The Palestinians believe that Israel wants to occupy the northern Gaza Strip and turn it into a buffer zone after displacing its residents, under the pressure of continuous bloody bombing and a tight siege that prevents the entry of food, water and medicine.

The days have been difficult, bitter and harsh for the citizens of the Gaza Strip due to the brutal Israeli aggression on Palestinian life, targeting its components and all its details. After 400 days of bombing, killing, destruction, starvation, displacement, arrests and abuse, the world is still without a conscience, despite the fact that things have reached the point of madness, in light of the horrific massacres committed by Israel against the Palestinians. However, this world cannot take a single bold decision to stop what is happening, because the ruler of the world, the United States, has an interest in the continuation of the Israeli war, and this explains the enormous volume of daily attacks carried out by Israel, because there is no deterrent party to stand in the face of the occupation, as everyone is complicit, and this is what gives it the green light to continue the war of extermination.

Every day, Israel commits heinous massacres, in which dozens are killed. The pretext it tries to hide behind, that it is targeting armed cells and activists, no longer convinces anyone. Despite this, it continues its campaigns of revenge against all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip, seeking to eliminate this life, targeting shelters and asylum centers, tents for the displaced, medical and health centers, and volunteers from relief organizations and institutions.

During the 400 days of war, Israel dropped tens of thousands of explosives on the Gaza Strip, which exceeded the Hiroshima atomic bomb by about five times, which led to the martyrdom of more than 43,554 citizens and the injury of more than 102,800, most of whom were women and children, as the numbers and data indicate.

Israel is not satisfied with killing and destruction, but rather seeks to continue its racist policy aimed at uprooting Palestinian civilians from the northern Gaza Strip and not returning them to their homes.

These practices constitute a serious violation of the laws of war, and are even real war crimes, in light of the war on a defenseless people. The idea has become clear, which means not allowing the citizens of northern Gaza to return to their homes and houses at all, within the framework of military decisions to deport them, and it has purely political dimensions, as indicated by statements by official spokesmen that suggest the intention to prevent the return of the Palestinians, and to evacuate and prepare the place for normalizing the idea of returning settlement to Gaza step by step, and this is what Israel has been planning for a long time, after thinking about returning settlements to Gaza became in the minds of officials, including ministers and officials, where it was previously limited to the margins of the settlers.

What is being planned for the next stage is undoubtedly very dangerous in all directions, especially the settlement issue, which must be fought by force, because it truly expresses a very long colonization and occupation. In addition, the continuous Israeli statements regarding the exchange deal are merely partial solutions, through which Israel seeks to obtain the detainees, and then continue and double the aggression, which is the trap that our people and their resistance reject.

Today, Sunday, settlers cut down dozens of trees in the town of Nahalin, west of Bethlehem.

Local sources reported that settlers cut down 40 various trees in the Ein Fares area, west of the town, belonging to citizen Ahmed Shakarna.

It is noteworthy that two days ago, in the same place, the settlers cut down 70 olive, grape and almond trees.

1. Eleven months after his inauguration as President of the United States of America, former US President Donald Trump said on December 6, 2017, that Israel is a sovereign state, and has the right, like any other sovereign state, to determine its capital, and that recognizing this as a reality is a necessary condition for achieving peace.

In his famous announcement, Trump said, “Today we finally recognize the obvious: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. This is nothing more than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do.”

In the same announcement, Trump instructed the US State Department to prepare for the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and indicated that contracting with architects, engineers and planners would begin immediately so that the new embassy - when completed - would be a magnificent tribute to peace.

Israel's hand is free..

This announcement was not surprising from a person like Trump, and the people of Jerusalem did not count on his administration or the previous and subsequent American administrations.

Although the Judaization of Jerusalem and the violation of the status quo in Al-Aqsa Mosque is an old Israeli policy that has been followed since the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, Trump’s declaration has given Israel more freedom to implement its racist plans and policies in the occupied city.

With Trump assuming a new term after winning the presidential elections over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Al Jazeera Net asked academic and expert on Israeli affairs Muhammad Halsa about his expected positions on Jerusalem and the holy sites over the next four years.

Halsa began his speech by saying, “We have a long experience with Trump’s relationship with Israel, specifically with Netanyahu, when he offered him a number of privileges, one of which was the title deed regarding the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and the important privilege related to moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in addition to fabricating the path of the Abraham Accords and dragging Arab regimes into normalizing relations with Israel.”

Halsa stressed that President Trump's ideological positions, his general arrogant behavior, and everything he did during his first term were fundamentally reflected on the Palestinian issue, and will be reflected this time as well due to his positions and considerations regarding everything that is happening on the one hand, and due to his view of the Arab world, which feels liberated from its need for him on the other hand.

More escapism..

Halsa added, "During his new term, we will see more licentiousness towards everything that is Arab and Islamic, and this licentiousness will also be reflected towards Jerusalem in particular and the Israeli desires therein, and the right that rules in Israel will intersect with the licentiousness of the right-wing force that will rule the United States, represented by Trump, the Republican Party, and the Christian right as well."

This will lead, according to academic Halsa, to the continuation of the Israeli expansion in the region, and to the breaking of the Arabs and Muslims in light of the weak, silent and defeated Arab position in the face of the Israeli advance.

“The Arabs have proven over the course of more than a year of genocide in Gaza that they are unable to impose a position on Israel to prevent it from at least stopping the massacres it is committing. If Netanyahu and his right wing decide to implement their agenda in the Holy City and Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular, Trump will not feel threatened by the Arab and Islamic world, as he has evidence of what happened over the past year,” according to Halsa.

The Jerusalemite researcher and academic believes that “within the framework of the exchanges that will take place between Trump and Netanyahu, it is possible that the latter will offer Trump a gift by stopping the war, and in return Trump will promise him privileges related to normalization with other countries, or the annexation of the West Bank, or a qualitative leap in the issue of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Halsa believes that Al-Aqsa will be in the eye of the storm, and that Jerusalem will witness new violations because Trump will go to any lengths to impose the Israeli narrative, and what could push him to retreat - such as if US interests were threatened by Arab pressure and position - is absent and non-existent, and therefore he will not hesitate to say that Jews have the right to pray in a special and independent place in Al-Aqsa Mosque by imposing spatial division at an official level.

"No Arab regime will say no to Trump, and the movement of peoples in the Arab world is now zero. Will Al-Aqsa be more valuable than tens of thousands of lives being lost in front of the cameras? Certainly not, unfortunately," the Israeli affairs expert adds.

Al-Aqsa division..

The same spokesman concluded by saying that during Trump's second term, "we will witness a complete spatial division of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this will not be announced only through the pages of Temple activists, but it may be announced officially, which will be considered a great achievement for the ruling Israeli right, and changes may be implemented on the ground by cutting off an area through placing barriers and barriers, similar to what was imposed in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron."

As for the Jerusalemite writer and political analyst Rasem Obeidat, he told Al Jazeera Net that Trump’s policy is more consistent with Israeli policy, and both parties will continue to violate and contravene international law during the next four years, as they did during the first term, because there is no one to deter them.

Obaidat does not believe that Trump will exert serious pressure on Netanyahu to stop the war, but rather will be more generous than the Biden administration in financial, political and military support, "and this will inevitably be reflected in the issue of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, which witnessed many unprecedented violations during the year of war."

About Al Jazeera

On October 28, 2024, the Israeli Knesset voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution submitted by members of the Likud party, banning the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) within the territories controlled by Israel.

The decision prohibits UNRWA from carrying out any activity or providing any services in the areas controlled by Israel, and will come into effect after 90 days from its date, which threatens to disrupt essential humanitarian assistance to approximately 2.2 million people in Gaza, who are suffering from difficult humanitarian conditions due to the blockade, hunger, lack of medicine, and the ongoing genocidal war for more than a year, in addition to endangering humanitarian assistance in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, and Syria.

The decision has sparked widespread concern among humanitarian organizations, who have warned of disastrous consequences for Palestinian refugees, especially in the absence of an alternative to UNRWA. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stressed that banning UNRWA would have a significant impact on the Palestinians, and that Israel, as an occupying power, was obligated to meet their needs. In response, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said that Israel would continue to provide humanitarian aid, accusing UNRWA of bias in favor of Hamas. The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced its support for the work of other UN agencies in Gaza, while the United Nations denied the existence of any alternative that would match UNRWA’s role.

In conjunction with these developments, Norway announced its intention to submit a request to the UN General Assembly to obtain a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice on Israel’s obligation to facilitate the entry of aid provided to the Palestinians by international organizations, whether from the United Nations or other countries. Despite Norway’s sincere intentions, which recognize the Palestinian state and the rights of the Palestinian people, the ongoing debate about finding an alternative to UNRWA poses a major threat to the Palestinian refugee issue, as the agency’s mission is not limited to providing humanitarian aid only, but is also considered a symbol of the Palestinians’ right of return. On the other hand, talking about an alternative role for UNRWA, especially in the Israeli context, represents a major challenge under the current circumstances, as the Israeli occupation will inevitably exploit the humanitarian aid file as a pressure card on the Palestinians instead of adhering to the principles of international humanitarian law, which it has never respected.

The ban reflects the desire of the extreme right-wing movements in Israel to establish the concept of Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel, free of refugee camps, UNRWA offices, and any evidence of Palestinian identity. There seems to be a clear trend towards promoting the idea of displacement and settlement of Palestinian refugees in neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, which contributes to reducing international support for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

The decision to ban UNRWA comes as part of a broader Israeli-American plan aimed at eliminating the agency’s role and ultimately liquidating the historical rights of Palestinian refugees. The US administration has already begun exploring alternatives to UNRWA, according to statements by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in March 2024 about Washington’s search for alternative agencies to UNRWA to provide aid. It is most likely that these agencies will be of American nationality, as part of a US strategy aimed at consolidating and expanding its influence, in the face of the rise of China and Russia in the region.

This decision constitutes a new link in the chain of Israeli efforts and endeavors to reduce the role of UNRWA and liquidate the rights of Palestinian refugees. As the ban is about to be implemented, it becomes necessary to strengthen Palestinian, Arab and international action to protect UNRWA and support the rights of refugees. The next stage requires concerted efforts to break this decision and emphasize the importance of UNRWA as a fundamental pillar for providing humanitarian aid and defending the rights of refugees in the face of the ongoing escalation of the occupation, away from any pressure or political blackmail.