The American President presented a political declaration proposing a deal for a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire. The American administration moved its intelligence and diplomats to make shuttle visits to the mediators’ capitals, and presented the deal to the Security Council to issue a resolution supporting it. This accelerated interaction comes under the weight of the fire of genocide to which the Gaza Strip is being exposed. Several months ago, the Biden administration began researching ways to complete a prisoner exchange deal that would lead to stopping the genocide, which raises a question about the possibility of stopping genocide and searching for Israeli-imposed concessions and achievements that can be achieved Palestinians.

The American deal contains a set of contradictory ideas that essentially represent the Israeli vision, which includes three interconnected stages that begin with the exchange of prisoners, then the withdrawal of the occupation forces penetrating into the Gaza Strip and the return of the displaced to their homes that were destroyed in all the governorates. As for the third and final stage, the reconstruction process will be discussed after the genocide losses exceeded $50 billion. All this without the United States guaranteeing the implementation of the declaration in its three stages. Not only that, but Biden demanded that Israel and Hamas agree to the political declaration and turn it into a deal.

The deal and the Israeli equation of acceptance and rejection 
Since the beginning of the Israeli-Arab conflict, the Western world has supported Israel’s expansionist policy and its wars with the Arab countries financially, militarily, and legally. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, the Western world has supported Palestinian rights nominally, but has continued to support Israel in practice. This Western approach, led by the United States, is evident through the duality of policies and goals, even though the political solution proposed to end the conflict and establish a Palestinian state is essentially Western and has been legitimized by the resolutions of the General Assembly and the UN Security Council.

Israel employs Western support to achieve its occupation expansionist aspirations, regardless of who leads its government. You can hardly see the differences in the political programs of the Israeli parties after the tyranny of the right in all its forms and colors. This is demonstrated by Benjamin Netanyahu’s contradictory statements since Biden’s announcement, all of which can be summarized with “Laam,” meaning that he agrees, but without abandoning his declared goal, which is to eliminate Hamas and its rule. This vision is shared by the populist religious right in Israel, and to a lesser extent by the existing opposition. In or outside the war government. Israel has become accustomed to using the equation of contradiction (accepting what the Arabs reject, and rejecting what they accept) throughout the years of conflict. The real goal of the war of extermination is to remove 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip from its Palestinian extension, either through killing or displacement.
Israel is not interested in reaching a comprehensive deal, even if it faces a number of challenges, such as pressure to free prisoners through field demonstrations or political opposition. It works to restore the theory of deterrence after it was shattered by the annihilation of what remained in the Gaza Strip, and in the end it works to force the Palestinian factions to accept what they offered and rejected months ago, after the number of human and material losses has doubled many times over. There is no international pressure forcing Israel to pay benefits to stop the genocide. The world cannot be forced to pay the cost of the reconstruction process either.

The deal and the dynamics of factional politics 
The main desired achievement for the Palestinians is the establishment of a state on the borders of June 4, 1967, which is the consensual goal of all Palestinians despite the differences in political programmes, and because historical and political injustice has existed for decades due to the absence of international justice, the Palestinians are struggling to achieve the goal by all available means and means within multiple means of struggle. Despite the legitimacy of all tools, the Palestinian equation must be based on “reducing Palestinian losses and making Israel pay the price for its occupation,” and accumulating achievements, not losses. This requires searching for a break in the occupation equations supported by the West, by reading local and international data, to create new paths and policies. Because the stability of the current factional position means the continuation of the genocide, which means certain loss. Politics is dynamic and knows no stagnation. This leads us to the necessity of expanding the Palestinian negotiating delegation in a way that reflects new Palestinian consensuses, and providing an Arab incubator to be able to convince the world and open new paths to stop the genocide and rebuild.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that nine out of 10 children in the Gaza Strip cannot consume nutrients from sufficient food groups to ensure their healthy growth and development.

UNICEF added in a statement issued today, Thursday: “The war and restrictions imposed on humanitarian aid led to the collapse of the food and health systems, which led to catastrophic consequences for children and their families.”

It pointed out that five sets of data collected between December 2023 and April 2024 found that nine out of 10 children in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to Israeli bombing since last October, suffer from severe food poverty, which means that they are fed on two food groups. Or less per day to survive.

UNICEF noted that this is evidence of the horrific impact of conflict and restrictions on families' ability to meet children's nutritional needs and the rapid rate at which children are at risk of life-threatening malnutrition.

It continued: To meet the minimum level of dietary diversity for healthy development, children must consume foods from at least five of eight food groups determined by the dietary diversity score used by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, which include breastfeeding, eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry and fish, among other groups. .

In a report issued by the Central Bureau of Statistics last April, it stated that the occupation forces kill about 4 children every hour in the Gaza Strip, and about 43,349 children live without their parents or without one of them, and more than 816 thousand children are in need of psychological assistance from the effects of the aggression. .

At dawn and Thursday morning, the Israeli occupation forces launched an arrest campaign in various areas of the West Bank.

In Qalqilya, the occupation forces arrested 9 citizens from the city, 8 others from the town of Kafr Laqif, three from the town of Azzun, two young men from the town of Kafr Thulth, and a young man from Habla, and stormed the town of Seneria, in the governorate.

It stormed the city of Qalqilya from its eastern entrance, stationed in the Kafr Saba and Al-Jaidi neighborhoods, and arrested: Ashraf Jibril, Abdel Nasser Al-Rabi, Mahmoud Khadrah, and the two brothers Ibrahim and Moatasem Talal Shuraim, Donia Daoud, Bahjat Yamin, and Majed Mahmoud Melhem, after raiding their homes and tampering with their contents.

It indicated that the occupation forces stormed the towns of Seneria, Kafr Thulth, Azzun, and Habla, raided several homes there, and arrested the two young men, Ayman al-Zahir and Adham al-Rafiq, from Kafr Thulth.

The occupation forces also arrested three citizens from the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya: Hamad Al-Tabib, Wahbi Al-Khouli, and Alaa Musab Dharar.

The same sources pointed out that the occupation forces arrested the young man, Saada Al-Jadaa, after raiding his house in the town of Habla.

The sources reported that the occupation forces arrested eight citizens from the town of Kafr Laqif, namely: Rami Ahmed Assaf, Ahmed Jamal Assaf, Zaher Amjad Assaf, Moamen Muhammad Assaf and his brother Saleh, Ahmed Samir Assaf, and Youssef Muhammad Wajih Assaf and his brother Adnan.

In Nablus, the occupation forces stormed the town of Madama, raided several homes, and arrested: Bassam Wajih Qat and his brother Youssef, Moin Yaqoub Nassar, and Awad Nassar.

While: Ahmed Katana from the popular housing area east of the city, Badr Hashash from Askar Camp, and Jawdat Omran from Faisal Street were arrested.

In Ramallah, the occupation forces arrested Amal Shujaia, a student at Birzeit University, after raiding and searching her family’s home and tampering with its contents.

On Thursday morning, the occupation army committed a massacre in a school affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in which hundreds of displaced people were located, in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, leading to the death and injury of dozens.

Medical teams and civil defense recovered 32 dead and dozens of injuries from the Nuseirat Preparatory Boys School, which houses displaced persons in Camp 2 in Nuseirat.

An Israeli warplane targeted the upper floors of the school at approximately 2:15 in the morning while those inside were sleeping. The missile penetrated several school classrooms, leading to the death and injury of a large number.

Also in Nuseirat camp, 6 citizens were killed and others were injured as a result of the bombing by occupation warplanes on a house belonging to the Al-Madani family in the camp.

The occupation artillery launched a violent bombardment on the eastern area of the Bureij camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli Quadcopter warplane also opened fire in the vicinity of the Nakheel Hall in the camp.

The occupation artillery bombardment renewed on the east of the Bureij and Al-Maghazi camps in the central Gaza Strip, while the occupation artillery stationed in the “Netzarim” axis targeted with several shells the homes of citizens in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood, southwest of Gaza City, and the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of the city.

The Israeli warplanes also launched raids on the neighborhoods of the eastern and central city of Rafah, coinciding with artillery shelling, while the occupation vehicles fired intense fire towards the homes of citizens east of the city of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. The occupation artillery fired shells at the homes of citizens, east of the town of Al-Qarara, northeast of the city of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. .

The Israeli occupation forces have continued their aggression against the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, since the 7th of last October, which resulted in the death of 36,586 citizens, the majority of whom were women and children, and the injury of 83,074 others, in an infinite toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble. .

Action Against Hunger said that the Gaza Strip is vulnerable to an unprecedented outbreak of disease this summer, due to piles of waste that are rotting due to high temperatures, which increases the tragedy of a population already suffering from food shortages.

Vienna Diamanti, project coordinator for emergencies at the non-governmental organization, told Reuters that waste management is one of the organization's main concerns, because it cannot be removed from the Strip, and its residents cannot access waste dumps.

She told Reuters, "This amount of solid waste throughout the Strip causes many problems related to hygiene and sanitation."

She added, "We fear the emergence of diseases that have not appeared before in the Gaza Strip, and that they will affect the entire population, especially in the summer with high temperatures."

Israel destroyed most of the Gaza Strip during its ongoing aggression, and the Gaza Ministry of Health says that more than 36,500 Palestinians have been martyred in the Israeli aggression on the Strip since then.

The Copernicus climate monitoring service, supported by the European Commission, said yesterday, Tuesday, that last month was the warmest May ever witnessed in the world, making it the 12th month in a row in which average temperatures recorded record levels.

Temperatures rose to 38 degrees Celsius in a heat wave that swept Gaza last summer, causing power outages for 12 hours a day.

Action Against Hunger also helps distribute drinking water to charitable kitchens and individuals, and distributes nutritional supplements to children and those in vulnerable situations in the sector.

Diamanti said that the malnutrition rate in Gaza was only 0.8% before the war, but the situation has changed radically. She added that although there are no resources to collect the data necessary to determine whether there is a famine, people are already dying from diseases related to malnutrition.

She added, "We were forced to intervene to prevent and treat malnutrition, focusing primarily on children under the age of five and pregnant and breastfeeding women."

Today (Wednesday), the United States warned of an “escalation” in Lebanon after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to carry out a military operation in this country, as the outbreak of a conflict would only harm Israel’s security, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters: “We do not want to see an escalation of the conflict. It would only lead to more loss of life for both the Israeli and Lebanese residents, and would cause enormous damage to Israel’s security and stability in the region.”

The Hebrew Broadcasting Corporation said that the War Council decided not to leave the negotiating delegation to Doha until the Hamas movement responded to the proposal for a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The American newspaper Axios quoted officials as saying that Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Egypt's Intelligence Director Abbas Kamel met today in Doha with Hamas officials to discuss a possible deal for a truce in Gaza.

Meanwhile, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed in an interview with NBC that the occupation government is continuing its offer.

He said: "The Israeli government assured us once again today that it stands behind its proposal regarding the prisoner deal and the ceasefire in Gaza. This offer is still valid and Hamas must respond to it and the whole world must pressure Hamas to accept it."

The American media reported that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, arrived in Doha yesterday to discuss reaching an agreement on the war in the Gaza Strip.

Biden's chief advisor for Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk, will also arrive in Cairo tomorrow, noting that Burns and McGurk's trip is part of a comprehensive pressure campaign to reach a breakthrough on the deal in Gaza.

The extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, claimed on Wednesday that Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and what he called “absolute victory” belong to the Jews, in continuation of his extremist and provocative statements during the recent period.

This came in statements made by Ben Gvir, during his participation in the “Flags March” that he permitted in Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem, the contents of which he later published on his account on the “X” platform.

Ben Gvir claimed: “On this happy and complicated day at the same time, we send a message to Hamas from here: Jerusalem is ours, Damascus Gate is ours, the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque) is ours, and absolute victory is ours.”

He called on "Prime Minister (Netanyahu) to be strong."

He added: "We will not surrender or retreat, we will not stop, and we will prevail."

There was no immediate comment from the Hamas movement regarding Ben Gvir’s post until 17:30 (GMT), but the head of the movement’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said earlier Wednesday, in response to the “flags march”: “The settlers’ orgy in Jerusalem confirms Jerusalem is the focus of the conflict, and our people will not rest until the occupation is gone and an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.”

Under heavy police guard, the participants in the march who belonged to the extreme right, from West Jerusalem and from other parts of the country, flocked to Damascus Gate Square, one of the most famous gates of the Old City of East Jerusalem, according to Anadolu’s correspondent.

The Israeli police announced the deployment of 3,000 of its members to provide protection for the march in which ministers, including Ben Gvir, are participating.

The Palestinians cling to East Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state based on international legitimacy resolutions that do not recognize Israel’s occupation of the city or its annexation in 1981.

This year, the march coincided with a devastating war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, which left more than 119,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.

Israel continues this war despite a decision by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting immediately, and orders from the International Court of Justice to end the invasion of Rafah (south), and to take measures to prevent acts of “genocide” from occurring, and to improve the miserable humanitarian situation in the Strip.

A US State Department spokeswoman said on Wednesday that Israel had confirmed to Washington its readiness to implement the deal proposed by US President Joe Biden regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, calling on the Hamas movement to accept the deal as well.

US State Department regional spokeswoman Elizabeth Stickney told the Arab World News Agency, saying: “We are convinced that Israel is ready to implement this deal, as it is an Israeli proposal, and they have assured us that they are ready to implement it.”

However, she indicated that there are still a number of details that must be negotiated to move from the first phase to the second phase of the deal, adding that “if the negotiations take more than 6 weeks for the first phase, the ceasefire will continue as long as the negotiations last.”

In response to a question about the UN Security Council’s support for Biden’s proposal, Stickney stressed the importance of the Security Council calling for the implementation of this deal without delay and without other conditions, noting that the United States had submitted a new draft resolution to the Council to support the proposal and called on all its members to support the resolution.

Regarding Washington’s expectations of Hamas’ position on the proposed proposal and its signing, the US State Department spokeswoman confirmed that this proposal “is almost identical to what Hamas said it would accept a few weeks ago.”

She added: “Israel is ready to implement it, and Hamas must accept this deal.”

Regarding the possibility of guarantees for all parties’ commitment to the deal, Stickney explained that “Egypt and Qatar will work to ensure that Hamas implements its obligations, and the United States will work to ensure that Israel implements its obligations.”

She continued: “The proposal includes three stages: In the first stage, there will be a ceasefire for a period of 6 weeks, the release of a number of hostages, and an increase in humanitarian aid. The second phase includes a permanent cessation of hostilities, the return of all hostages, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase will witness the start of the reconstruction of Gaza.

The regional spokeswoman for the US State Department declined to comment on the possibility of having observers on the ground to ensure the implementation of the deal. She said: “We have engaged in a wide-ranging conversation with countries around the world about what the security situation could look like at the end of the conflict, but I do not want to comment on this idea.” at present".

Last Friday, US President Joe Biden announced a three-stage plan to end the war in Gaza, and said that the first stage is supposed to last 6 weeks, and includes a “complete and comprehensive” ceasefire, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of the Strip. And the release of a number of detainees, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

According to the US President, at this stage, the Palestinians will return to their homes throughout Gaza, and humanitarian aid will increase to 600 trucks per day. The first phase also includes talks between Israel and Hamas to reach the next phase, which is supposed to include the release of all hostages and Israel's complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said that the movement is waiting for a clear position from Israel to prepare for a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and that no agreement will be reached without that, indicating that Hamas has informed the mediators of its position.

On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed, in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, that the proposed agreement to release detainees in the Gaza Strip enables Israel to achieve all the goals of the war, including eliminating the Hamas movement.

The American New York Times newspaper revealed that Israel organized an influence campaign, at the end of 2023, through which it targeted American lawmakers and the American public with pro-Israel messages, with the aim of supporting its actions in the ongoing war on Gaza, according to what was announced by officials who participated in the report and documents related to the operation.

Four Israeli officials stated that the secret campaign was commissioned by the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, the governmental body that connects Jews from all over the world to the State of Israel. The Ministry allocated about two million dollars to the operation, and hired Stoic, a political marketing company located Headquartered in Tel Aviv, for implementation.

According to the sources and documents published by the American newspaper, the campaign began in October 2023, that is, shortly after the attacks launched by the “Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)” on Israel, and the start of the Israeli army’s attack on the Gaza Strip. She is also still active around the clock on the “X” social media platform.

The report added, citing documents and officials, that the campaign used hundreds of fake accounts that pretended to be real Americans on X, Facebook, and Instagram to publish pro-Israel comments.

The fake accounts focused on American legislators, especially black and Democratic lawmakers, such as Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader in the US House of Representatives from New York, and Senator Raphael Warnock from Georgia, and the posts directed at them focused on continuing to fund the Israeli army.

According to the New York Times report, the artificial intelligence program (Chat GPT) was used to create many posts, tweets, and messages. The campaign also created 3 fake news sites in English that publish pro-Israel articles under the names “Noon Agenda” and “Infold.” Magazine, rewrote articles published on CNN and the Wall Street Journal.

In connection with the matter, Meta, the company that owns the Facebook and Instagram platforms, announced that it had identified the operation and stopped it on its social media platforms. The Israeli government's relationship with the operation, which was verified by the New York Times, with four current and former members of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, has not been previously reported. Vic Reporter, a disinformation watchdog, identified the campaign activity last March, and last week Meta and OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT, announced they had noticed The process also disrupted it.

The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs denied its involvement in the campaign and said it had nothing to do with it. On the other hand, Stoic did not respond to requests for comment. Vic Reporter said that the fake accounts had gathered more than 40,000 followers on the X, Facebook, and Instagram platforms. But Meta said that many of these followers may have been bots, not a real audience.

The American newspaper reviewed messages via e-mail and the “WhatsApp” application for conversations and communication sent to dozens of companies working in the field of Israeli technology with the aim of inviting them to join “digital soldiers meetings” to support Israel during the war on Gaza.

The secret campaign indicates the lengths to which Israel was willing to go to mislead American public opinion about the war in Gaza.

The New York Times said in the report published today (Wednesday) that the United States of America is one of Israel’s strongest allies in the world. During the past few days, US President Joe Biden signed a package of military aid worth $15 billion to support the Israeli army, which was rejected by many Americans who called on the outgoing president to withdraw his support for Israel in light of the war that has been ongoing for 8 months.

The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed on Wednesday that his movement and the Palestinian factions “will deal seriously and positively” with any agreement based on stopping the war, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and exchanging prisoners.

Haniyeh said in a statement: “The movement and the resistance factions will deal seriously and positively with any agreement based on a comprehensive cessation of aggression, complete withdrawal, and exchange of prisoners.”

He added: "Hamas is conducting the negotiations armed with this position, which represents the will of our people and their valiant resistance."

After US President Joe Biden spoke on Friday about a three-stage Israeli proposal that includes a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of detainees, and the reconstruction of the Strip, the next day, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States called on both Hamas and Israel to conclude an agreement that embodies the principles announced by Biden.

Israel did not announce a final position on what Biden announced, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described what the American president presented as “inaccurate,” and said, in press statements on Monday, that he did not agree to end the war in the second phase of the proposal, but only “discussed.” This step is according to Tel Aviv's conditions.

The Palestinian factions accuse the United States and Israel of not wanting to end the war, and of seeking to buy time through negotiations, hoping that Netanyahu will achieve his goals through fighting.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said on Wednesday that any negotiations with Hamas will only take place under fire.

This came in a statement following a reconnaissance tour on board a fighter jet in the skies of the Gaza Strip and other areas in Israel, according to the official Hebrew Broadcasting Corporation.

Galant stated that he conducted a reconnaissance tour this morning on board an F-15 fighter, and saw all the combat sectors of the Israeli army, whether in the east or south, or in the Gaza Strip, or on the border with Lebanon.

He added, boasting about the extent of the destruction caused by the Israeli bombing: “You can clearly see the performance of the Air Force... The attacks and columns of smoke in the places where the Israeli army’s attacks appear are clearly visible, whether in the Gaza Strip or in the north (inside Lebanon).”

He added: "We are in a process through which we continue to crush the enemy, and any negotiations with Hamas will only take place under fire."

On Tuesday, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said, during a press conference held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, that the movement informed the mediators that it would not conclude any agreement with Israel regarding the exchange of prisoners unless there was a clear position from Tel Aviv to prepare for a permanent cessation of the war and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden previously revealed that Israel had presented a three-stage proposal that includes a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of detainees, and the reconstruction of the Strip.

Israel did not announce a final position on Biden’s statements, but Netanyahu described what the US President offered as “inaccurate,” and said in press statements on Monday that he did not agree to end the war in the second phase of the proposal, but only “discussed” that step according to the terms of the proposal. Aviv.

Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza with absolute American support, leaving more than 119,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.

Israel continues this war, ignoring a Security Council resolution demanding that it stop the fighting immediately, and orders from the Court of Justice to stop its attack on Rafah, and take immediate measures to prevent acts of “genocide” and “improve the humanitarian situation” in Gaza.

Source: Anatolia

Today, Wednesday, the Israeli army and Lebanese Hezbollah exchanged fire, as Israeli artillery bombed the outskirts of several towns in southern Lebanon, and also targeted sites with bombing carried out by warplanes, while Hezbollah targeted Israeli sites and forces in the border area.

During the night and dawn hours, the Israeli army attacked Hezbollah targets in five different areas in Lebanon, according to what the Israeli army spokesman said in a statement.

Hezbollah carried out various attacks with marches and missile barrages against Israeli army forces and their military sites, in response to the Israeli attacks that targeted villages and civilian homes in southern Lebanon.

Tensions have been increasing on the Lebanese border for weeks, while threats from both sides continue to expand the circle of clashes, with exchanges of fire and bombing between Hezbollah and Palestinian factions in Lebanon and the Israeli army.

Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that those he described as enemies tried in the past to erase "Israel" from the map, and that Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran are seeking to achieve that goal today.

Netanyahu also stressed that Jerusalem will forever remain the eternal capital of Israel, and its status will never change.

He announced the government's intention to work towards the prosperity of Jerusalem by passing many decisions related to the development of the city.

Netanyahu stressed that Jerusalem will remain the unified capital of Israel and will remain under Israeli sovereignty.

A provocative event in Jerusalem

Since Wednesday morning, hundreds of settlers have gathered in Bab al-Amud in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, in preparation for the provocative flag march.

The Palestinian News Agency reported that hundreds of settlers entered the Old City from Bab al-Sahira, carrying Israeli flags, and held noisy parties with dances to celebrate the anniversary of the occupation of Jerusalem.

The Israeli occupation army forces closed the streets of the Old City and the surrounding roads to vehicle traffic, in preparation for the settlers’ march scheduled for six o’clock in the evening.

Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli occupation army placed iron barricades on some streets and entrances, which hindered the movement of citizens, while allowing only the people of the Old City to enter.

Since yesterday, the occupation authorities have turned the city of Jerusalem and its old town into a military barracks, under the pretext of securing the flag march called for by the settlement associations.

The Jerusalem Governorate stated that "the march of flags in the streets of Jerusalem is an assault on the status quo in the occupied city, and a continuation of the occupation's measures aimed at Judaizing it."

It added, "Israel is exploiting the aggression against our people in Gaza to move forward with the Judaization of the Holy City."

On Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset approved, in preliminary reading, a draft law prohibiting the opening of diplomatic missions in Jerusalem to provide services to non-residents of Israel (Palestinians). To avoid "the possibility of the emergence of a de facto status for Jerusalem as a shared city."

This project was submitted by Zeev Elkin, a member of the Knesset from the Likud Party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it still must be voted on with three additional readings to become an effective law.

The Knesset said, in a statement: “18 members supported the draft law and 7 opposed it, and it will be submitted to the Constitution Committee for discussion, in preparation for submitting it for a vote.”

The draft stipulates that “Israel will not allow a foreign political entity to open or operate a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem to serve non-residents of Israel,” according to the statement.

It added, "In Israel, no government has allowed the opening of any representation of a foreign entity that was not intended to serve its population, and the reason for not granting this permission is the possibility of the emergence of a de facto status for Jerusalem as a shared city."

The Palestinians adhere to East Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state, based on international legitimacy resolutions, which do not recognize Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 nor its annexation in 1981.

The Knesset pointed out that “today there are 8 representations (consulates) in Israel that provide services to Israelis and Palestinians, but these representations were open before the establishment of the state (1948),” referring to the general consulates in East Jerusalem.

These consulates are: Turkish, British, French, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Belgian and Greek, according to Anadolu’s correspondent.

The Knesset added, "Since the establishment of the state, no foreign representation of this kind has been established in Jerusalem, and countries that wanted to provide service to the Palestinians have established diplomatic missions in the city of Ramallah (in the West Bank) or Arab countries, including Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, and Jordan."

The Knesset's initial approval of the draft law coincides with Israel's commemoration of the 57th anniversary of the occupation of East Jerusalem.

A few days ago, Slovenia, Spain, Ireland, and Norway officially recognized the State of Palestine, raising the number of countries recognizing it to 148 out of 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly.

In a punitive response, Israel decided on May 27 to prevent the Spanish consulate in East Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Dozens of settlers attacked a Palestinian photojournalist, today, Wednesday, in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

Pictures showed the moment when dozens of settlers - most of them boys - attacked Palestinian photojournalist Saif Al-Qawasmi, as he suffered injuries throughout his body and head.

This came during the flag march held by settlers in occupied Jerusalem since Wednesday morning, as hundreds gathered in Bab al-Amud in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, in preparation for the provocative march.

Hundreds of settlers entered the Old City from Bab al-Sahira, carrying flags of the Israeli occupation entity, and held noisy parties with dances to celebrate the anniversary of the occupation of Jerusalem.

The Israeli occupation forces closed the streets of the Old City and the surrounding roads to vehicle traffic, in preparation for the settlers’ march scheduled for six o’clock in the evening.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Wednesday that the Israeli war on Gaza caused “catastrophic” environmental damage in the Strip.

The agency explained on the “X” platform that “the war in Gaza has turned the lives of millions of Palestinians upside down.”

The UN agency’s publication coincides with World Environment Day, corresponding to June 5 of each year.

She stressed that the war "caused catastrophic damage to the natural environment on which Palestinians depend for water, clean air, food and livelihoods."

UNRWA indicated that "restoring environmental services (in Gaza) will take decades, and cannot begin before a ceasefire" in the Strip.

Earlier today, a joint statement by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Environmental Quality Authority stated that the total water available in the Gaza Strip is estimated at about 10-20 percent of the total water available before the war, and that this quantity is “not fixed and subject to the availability of fuel.”

It indicated that the war destroyed 350 km out of 700 km of water networks, or about 50 percent, and 9 water tanks out of 10.

The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said, “1,601 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque hours ago Wednesday morning, in a major and barbaric aggression, including members of the Knesset and Israeli officials.”

These settlers performed provocative Talmudic dances in the courtyards of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem Street, coinciding with attacks carried out by the occupation police against Jerusalemite citizens and worshippers.

Video clips broadcast by activists from inside the closed city of Jerusalem, which only residents of the Old City are allowed to enter, showed the arrest of a number of citizens by the occupation police, after they were severely beaten.

Settlers and female settlements also attacked Palestinians living on Al-Wad Road and in the various neighborhoods of Jerusalem, coinciding with the city’s transformation into a military barracks.

The "provocative media march" began at two o'clock in the afternoon from Jaffa Street, towards occupied Jerusalem, through several paths passing from Bab al-Amud and Hebron, all the way to Al-Aqsa Mosque, while settlers living in settlement outposts in Silwan and al-Tur organized provocative marches, towards the Buraq Wall.

These successive marches continue until late at night, including a central march of thousands starting from west Jerusalem, towards the Buraq Wall, at six in the evening.

Jerusalemites reported that the settlers who stormed Jerusalem were violently dealing with the Jerusalemites and assaulting them since the morning hours, as many quarrels and attacks by the colonists on citizens were recorded.

“Jerusalem Institutions” warn of escalation of attacks against “Al-Aqsa”

Jerusalem Institutions warned of the escalation of attacks by the Israeli occupation authorities and settlers in occupied Jerusalem.

The Council of Endowments, Islamic Affairs and Sanctities, the Supreme Islamic Authority, the Palestinian Fatwa House, the Chief Justice’s Department, and the Islamic Endowments Department in Al-Quds Al-Sharif warned in a statement of the unprecedented desecration of the mosque by extremist Jewish groups this morning, as part of the celebrations of the so-called “unification of Jerusalem.” Through a continuous series of disgusting attacks and intrusions, which were accompanied by a number of blatant violations, including performing public Talmudic rituals, dancing, screaming, raising flags, and lying down inside the courtyards of the mosque under the protection of the occupation police, ignoring all the calls of the Islamic world, especially Jordan and Palestine, and ignoring our previous warnings to put an end to the policy of the occupation dealing with one of the most important... The sacred things of Muslims are attacked with arrogance and insult, which may push the entire world into a religious war with dire consequences.

The Jerusalem and religious institutions denounced the partisan and official institutions of the occupying state’s support and empowerment of extremist Jewish groups and their systematic practices against everything related to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and their permissibility of religious, political and legal taboos and their crossing of all red lines, which indicates that the occupying state denies its legal and international obligations to protect the holy places and its duty to Avoid spreading hatred and violence against Muslims and their sanctities.

These institutions denounced the gathering of groups of Jewish extremists at the gates of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, their attacks on the mosque’s neighbors and their homes, as well as their dancing and running over the graves of Muslims in the Bab al-Rahma cemetery under the protection of the occupation police, in a hysterical scene, which confirms the occupation and its authorities’ fomentation of violence and crises, and the persistence of the policy of disregard for feelings. Muslims and preventing them from protecting their sanctities, as the occupation authorities impose a tight security cordon preventing thousands of Muslim worshipers from reaching the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

It denounced the occupation's destabilization of the historical, legal and religious situation existing in the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the change in its Islamic identity, which requires sounding the alarm bells and mobilizing the resolve of Muslims to carry out their duty towards their first qibla and ascension of their honorable Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace).

Senator Bernie Sanders displayed photos of starving Palestinian children in Gaza on the floor of the US Senate on Monday to explain his decision to boycott an upcoming speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was formally invited by Democratic and Republican leaders to address a joint meeting of Congress amid Israel's disastrous assault on Gaza.

In his speech on Monday, Sanders (independent from Vermont) stressed that the Israeli war that has been going on for months has had horrific effects on Palestinian children, criticizing US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican from Louisiana) for eating “luxury steaks” in his meals. Fundraising dinner with his “party” while the Israeli army prevents vital food aid from entering Gaza, causing children to starve to death, according to Common Dreams.

“This is a photo of a child in Gaza taken by Getty,” the Vermont senator said as an aide showed a photo of an emaciated Palestinian child.

This photo was one of several that Sanders showed during his speech, stressing that there are thousands of children in Gaza suffering from acute malnutrition “as a direct result of the policies of Netanyahu, the man invited by Speaker Johnson to address Congress.”

“No, I will not be present for this speech,” Sanders said.

Sanders is one of several progressive US lawmakers expected to boycott Netanyahu's speech to Congress, the timing of which remains unclear after the Israeli Prime Minister's Office denied reports by Punchbull and other media that the date had been set for June 13, with Biden scheduled to attend. Out of the country that day.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the roughly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, told Axios on Monday that she expects the boycott of Netanyahu's speech to be "significant," noting that there are "a lot of people who have expressed that they are very upset because... Come here.”

According to Axios, “Jayapal said she spoke to several lawmakers who attended Netanyahu’s 2015 speech (to Congress) but said they would not attend this time.”

Speaking to reporters at the US Capitol on Tuesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) indicated she would join the boycott of Congress, saying the Israeli prime minister “should not be here.”

“I don’t think it helps to call him a Republican or a Democrat,” she added.

Netanyahu faces charges from the International Criminal Court of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including “starving civilians as a method of war” and “deliberately causing great suffering.” Last month, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court formally submitted a request to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

Whatever the date of his speech before the US Congress, protests are expected to greet Netanyahu upon his arrival in Washington, DC

Recent survey data showed that the majority of Americans oppose the Israeli war on Gaza and want the Biden administration to cut off American arms sales to the country.

James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, said of Netanyahu late Monday: “He is an accused criminal in Israel and indicted as a war criminal at the International Criminal Court and they invited him to speak here!” Shame".

Earlier, Sanders said that inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US Congress to deliver a speech is considered a “sad day for the country.”

In a post on the X website, Sanders stressed that Netanyahu is a “war criminal,” adding that he will definitely not attend the session in which he will speak.

Today, Wednesday, in his office in Ramallah, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Mustafa discussed with the United Nations Chief Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction in Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, the importance of coordinating efforts among all relief parties among themselves, and with the government, in a manner that intersects with the government’s relief plans, which it supervises. Ministry of State for Relief Affairs.

Mustafa gave an explanation of the government’s plans for relief in the short, medium and long term, as well as reconstruction the day after stopping the war of extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip, while emphasizing the necessity of providing financial support and enabling the government to work.

He reiterated that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the Palestinian state, and the Palestinian Authority, since its establishment, has been responsible for providing services to our people in the Strip, especially health, education, infrastructure and other services, expressing the government’s readiness to reopen the Rafah crossing to serve our people in accordance with the 2005 agreement, on the condition of the withdrawal of forces. The Israeli occupation of it.

For her part, KAG stressed the exertion of all efforts and pressures to increase the entry of relief aid into the Gaza Strip from all crossings, with a focus on the quality of aid, emergency needs, and its distribution to all areas of the Strip.

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) expects that more than one million people in the Gaza Strip will face famine and death by mid-July.

This came in a statement regarding its early warning report for the period between June and October 2024 regarding places where the hunger crisis is taking place and where acute food insecurity is expected to worsen.

The FAO report indicated that acute food insecurity will worsen further in 18 places experiencing hunger crises.

It stressed the need to provide urgent aid to prevent hunger, especially in Gaza and Sudan.

It pointed out that the situation in Mali, Palestine, South Sudan and Sudan continues to raise concerns at the highest level.

Data reported in the report showed that 100 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population of 2.2 million people are in the third level or above, which is known as “crisis” in the United Nations Integrated Interim Classification of Food Security.

In the statement related to the report, the organization said, “The ongoing conflict in Palestine is expected to exacerbate acute hunger, which is currently at a catastrophic level, with famine and deaths, as well as the displacement of the entire population of the Gaza Strip.”

The statement added, "More than one million people (nearly half of Gaza's population) may face starvation and death by mid-July."

The statement quoted the organization's Director-General, Zhou Dongyu, as saying, "The frightening predictions that the report focuses on should serve as a warning to all of us. Acting before crises can save lives."

On Wednesday, the Israeli government approved the call-up of 50,000 additional reserve soldiers, bringing the number of reserve soldiers to 350,000.

"Israel Today" newspaper said: "The Israeli army says that increasing the reserve quota from 300,000 to 350,000 has nothing to do with preparations for the north, but rather due to the prolongation of the operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip."

As Israeli Broadcasting Corporation military correspondent Itai Blumenthal said in a post on the X platform: “The Israeli army says that the increase in the reserve quota that will be submitted for government approval is not related to the north (with Lebanon) and that the decision to increase the quota by 50 thousand is because the activity in Rafah is consuming More people than previously planned.

Earlier, Israeli Army Radio said: “The government allowed the army forces to increase the number of reserve conscripts from 300,000 to 350,000 in preparation for fighting in the north,” referring to the Lebanon front.

The Hebrew Broadcasting Authority also said earlier that the Israeli army requested an increase in the number of reserve soldiers “against the possibility of carrying out a large-scale operation in the north.”

On Tuesday, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy, from the northern front, said: “We are approaching the point where a decision will have to be made, and the army is ready and very prepared for this decision.”

Halevy added, according to a statement: “We have been attacking Hezbollah for 8 months, and it is paying a very, very high price.”

He continued: "Hezbollah has increased the pace in recent days, and we are ready after a very good process that included training and even an exercise at the staff command level about moving to the attack in the north. A strong defensive situation and preparation for the attack. We are approaching the decision-making point."

Since last October 8, the Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed, on a daily basis, mutual and intermittent bombardment between the Israeli army on the one hand, Hezbollah, and Palestinian factions in Lebanon on the other hand, which left dead and wounded on both sides of the border.

The Israeli occupation army admitted that 10 soldiers were injured in the battles of the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, bringing the number of its wounded to 3,730 officers and soldiers since the beginning of the war on the 7th of last October, 1,889 of whom were during the ground operation that began on the 27th of the same month.

The army reported that 254 officers and soldiers were still being treated after being injured in the Gaza battles, 31 of whom were seriously injured.

While the number of Israeli army deaths reached 644 officers and soldiers since the beginning of the war.

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is the only hospital providing health services to approximately one million people currently in the Strip, and that there is no room to receive new wounded due to the significant shortage of medical supplies and personnel, amid continuing bombing in the areas surrounding the hospital.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital spokesman, Khalil Al-Dakran, explained in a press conference that the continuous bombing of the Bureij and Al-Maghazi camps in the middle of the Gaza Strip led to the hospital being filled with wounded people who arrived during the past hours.

Al-Dakran warned that the hospital is unable to provide treatment for more injured people as the bombing continues, noting that the number of wounded exceeds the clinical capacity by more than three times, while patients sleep on the hospital floor and in outdoor tents.

He added that a number of injured people died due to the inability of medical teams to provide the necessary treatment as a result of operating rooms being crowded with extremely difficult injuries.

Last May, the Ministry of Health announced that more than 80% of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip had been out of service as a result of Israeli attacks since the beginning of the war on October 7.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday from the Kiryat Shmona settlement adjacent to the Lebanese border, “The land has been burned here, and we are prepared for a very intensive operation in Lebanon.”

Netanyahu said during his visit to Kiryat Shmona in the morning: “Yesterday the earth burned here and I am happy that you put out the fire, but the earth burned in Lebanon as well.”

He added: "We are ready for a very strong operation in the north."

During the visit, Netanyahu received an overview of the operational situation, recent events in the region, the progress of the defensive battle and the measures being taken to defend the local communities and residents of the north, according to the Ynet website.

Today, Wednesday, settlers bulldozed and burned citizens’ lands in Salfit and Hebron.

According to local sources, a number of settlers began this morning to bulldoze areas of Wadi Qana lands, northwest of Salfit, along the main street in the “Al-Bassa” area, which is considered the center of the valley and a place frequently visited by visitors.

The sources indicated that the aim of the bulldozing work is to place a fence along the road to isolate the southern area, the Ain al-Bassa spring and the resource from the surroundings of the valley, to be a buffer zone for the benefit of the Yakir and Novim colonists.

In Hebron, a group of settlers burned between 200-300 dunums of citizens’ lands planted with olive trees and fruitful almonds, in “Khallet al-Bir” in the Taibe area adjacent to the two settlements, which is owned by a number of the town’s families.

Settlers also carried out sweeping operations of citizens’ lands in “Marhan Bir al-Majd” in the “Al-Hardash” area threatened by settlement, on which, after the seventh of last October, they installed a number of “caravans” and established a colonial outpost on them.

In the town of Beit Ula, northwest of Hebron, the occupation forces bulldozed approximately 2.5 dunums of land belonging to Wael Farasha, uprooted all the olive trees and others, and destroyed the agricultural facilities on it, claiming that it was located in areas classified as “C” and that its owner had been notified previously.

Human Rights Watch announced today, Wednesday, that the Israeli occupation army has used white phosphorus munitions against at least 17 towns in southern Lebanon since last October, endangering the lives of civilians and contributing to their displacement.

The organization said that Israel's widespread use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon exposes civilians to grave danger and contributes to the displacement of civilians.

She continued: Human Rights Watch has verified the use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in at least 17 towns in southern Lebanon since October 2023, five of which were illegally used aerial explosive munitions over populated residential areas.

It quoted the mayor of Al-Bustan as saying that two people from the town were taken to a hospital due to suffocation due to inhaling white phosphorus smoke following an attack last October 15. They were civilians who were in their homes. One is a municipality member and the other is a farmer.

The organization's researcher, Ramzi Qais, stressed that Israel's use of air-explosive white phosphorus shells in populated areas indiscriminately harms civilians and prompts many to leave their homes.

The organization stressed that "Israel's widespread use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon highlights the need for stronger international law on incendiary weapons."

She pointed out that Protocol III to the Convention on Conventional Weapons is the only legally binding instrument specifically dedicated to incendiary weapons.

It is noteworthy that white phosphorus is a chemical substance used in artillery shells, bombs, and missiles. It ignites when exposed to oxygen, and its incendiary effects cause death or severe injuries that lead to lifelong suffering. It can set fire to homes, agricultural areas, and other areas. It is an internationally prohibited substance in the regions. populated.

After three days of continuous searching, the Palestinian Ahmed Irfan was able with difficulty to find a place in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, to set up a tent after fleeing the city of Rafah following the Israeli attack on the southern city.

On May 7, the Israeli army entered the city of Rafah despite international warnings that any attack on the city, which was crowded with more than 1.4 million displaced people, would worsen the humanitarian conditions.

Irfan told Xinhua News Agency, with fatigue evident on his face, "I spent more than three days trying to look for a place to put a tent for me, my wife, and my children to live in after we fled Rafah due to the violent Israeli bombing."

Irfan (43 years old), a father of four children, adds that he was eventually forced to place his tent near a garbage dump in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, in light of the lack of sufficient places in the area due to the overcrowding of displaced people.

Yesterday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced in a statement that forced displacement forced more than a million people to flee the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a sad tone, Irfan says, "They (the Israeli army) told us to go to the Al-Mawasi area. It is an area that has humanitarian services, but there is nothing humanitarian here. There is no potable water, and we live near a garbage dump that will expose us to epidemics and dangerous diseases."

He added, "Imagine living under these conditions. You have to walk a kilometer to get clean water. This is a tragedy in every sense of the word. There is no institution here that provides us with basic services, neither UNRWA nor any community institution."

Tens of thousands of displaced people gathered in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi on the coast of the Gaza Strip after the Israeli attack on the city of Rafah.

Al-Mawasi is the humanitarian zone, which the Israeli army usually asks residents of the Gaza Strip to go to because it is safe, and it extends from west of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip to the outskirts of Nuseirat in the center of it.

Munira al-Sayyid, who lost her husband in an Israeli bombing on the city of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, was forced to sleep in her relatives’ tent in Deir al-Balah due to her inability to find any place to put a tent for herself and her two children.

Munira Al-Sayed, 27 years old, said, “This is the third time I have been displaced with my children after my husband was killed in an Israeli raid in the city of Nuseirat during our first displacement from Gaza.”

With tears in her eyes, she added, "I had to put my children in a tent belonging to one of their aunts, and I had to live with a family of my relatives in their tent in the city of Deir al-Balah due to my inability to establish a tent for myself and my children."

She continued on her way to check on her children, "Every day I have to walk a distance of 500 meters to meet my children, spend a few hours with them, and then say goodbye to them in order to return to the tent in which I currently live."

According to Munira Al-Sayed, she did not have the funds necessary to establish a tent due to its high costs, and she did not receive any tent or financial assistance from any international or local institution.

Hassan Ismail narrates his suffering after he fled from Rafah to Mawasi Khan Yunis. After several days, he was able to set up his tent at the port of Khan Yunis, near the seashore, to obtain the basic necessities of life.

Ismail says, "For about 15 days, we have not received any assistance from UNRWA, unlike the situation in the city of Rafah."

He added as he carried a gallon of water and walked with difficulty between the tents, "Look at this crowding. We are forced to bring everything ourselves, and no one asks about us. Even UNRWA was unable to provide its services in Al-Mawasi due to the large number of people."

Ismail, a father of three children, including an 11-month-old child, complains of the scarcity of infant formula in the markets.

He says, "My young son is an infant and has been suffering from malnutrition for several months. He needs baby formula constantly, and there is a scarcity in the markets."

UNRWA said in a statement that it continues to provide basic services despite the increasing challenges and unspeakable circumstances.
UNRWA estimates that the Khan Yunis region and the central Gaza Strip are a haven for about 1.7 million people, stressing that its humanitarian work “continues to shrink.”

UNRWA explained in a post on the (X) platform that Palestinian families are living in “inhumane conditions with scarcity of water, food and supplies,” calling for the necessity of ending the siege immediately.

1. US President Joe Biden said that it is not certain whether Israel has committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip, revealing his biggest disagreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an interview with the American "Time" magazine yesterday, Tuesday.
2. 
   
3. Biden said he was "not sure" whether Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza, noting that "many innocents were killed" and that Israel was investigating war crimes accusations itself.
4. 
   
5. Biden also questioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war intentions, saying there was "every reason for people" to conclude that Netanyahu is prolonging the war for his own political purposes.
6. 
   
7. But later on Tuesday, Biden appeared to walk back those comments after a reporter asked him if Netanyahu was “playing a political game” in the war. “I don’t think so,” the president replied. “Rather, he is trying to solve the serious problem he has.”
8. 
   
9. According to experts, these statements, despite their conflicting nature, were the latest event to strain relations between Biden and Netanyahu. Biden presented what he described as an Israeli ceasefire proposal in Gaza on Friday, but Netanyahu has since publicly distanced himself from the deal, which his right-wing coalition partners said would push them to topple the government.
10. 
    
11. But the flow indicates that there has been no tangible change in Biden's policy of absolute support for Israel in its fierce war that it has been waging against the besieged Gaza Strip for eight months.
12. 
    
13. Israel signed an agreement on Tuesday with the United States to add a third squadron of F-35 fighter jets to the Israeli Air Force. Handover will begin in 2028, but the timing of the agreement was notable as Biden seeks to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza.
14. 
    
15. Josh Ball, a former State Department official who worked on arms transfers and humanitarian aid, said signing the agreement amid the current situation in Gaza “shows how serious the Biden administration is not about putting real pressure on Israel to end its operations in Gaza.” Who resigned in protest against Biden's policy towards Gaza last year.
16. 
    
17. Inside Israel, according to what was reported by multiple American media, including the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN, the announcement on Monday evening of the killing of four hostages in the Gaza Strip led to increased pressure on the Netanyahu government to adopt a ceasefire agreement. With Hamas and the return of those still in captivity alive.
18. 
    
19. According to the Washington Post, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hajari said in a press conference that the four hostages were killed several months ago in the Khan Yunis area of Gaza “during our operation there against Hamas,” while Netanyahu said he was working “in countless ways” to return the hostages.
20. 
    
21. The fallout from the hostage deaths dominated the front pages of Israeli newspapers on Tuesday, with prominent columnists saying more should have been done to rescue the four men.
22. 
    
23. Monday's announcement meant that more than a third of the hostages still being held in Gaza – 43 out of 124 – have now been confirmed dead, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office's own tally (this number includes four hostages from 2014, two of whom were confirmed dead).
24. 
    
25. In turn, the official spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, reiterated that the Gaza ceasefire proposal announced by President Joe Biden last Friday is essentially an “Israeli” proposal, and that it hopes that the ceasefire agreement will be fully implemented if Hamas accepts it.
26. 
    
27. Miller touched on the Israeli government's criticism that the three-stage ceasefire proposal "does not completely match Israel's proposal," indicating that these assessments are incorrect.
28. 
    
29. He added: “This proposal is the draft developed by (Israel) as a result of consultations with the United States, Qatar and Egypt, but in the end it is an Israeli proposal,” stressing that Biden announced the ceasefire proposal very clearly to world public opinion.
30. 
    
31. The spokesman pointed out that "there are no gaps in the announced ceasefire draft, and that Biden, of course, did not reveal all the details of the ceasefire proposal, but he clearly shared the basic information."
32. 
    
33. Miller stated in his speech that if Hamas accepts the proposed proposal, they expect the ceasefire plan to be fully implemented, and that they are in constant contact with the Israeli side regarding this issue.
34. 
    
35. He claimed that "the only thing standing in the way of an immediate ceasefire today is Hamas," adding that Washington hopes that Hamas will accept the agreement proposal, and that Qatar and Egypt are helping in this regard.
36. 
    
37. Israel continues its war without a decisive response to Biden’s proposal, ignoring a Security Council resolution demanding that it stop the fighting immediately, and orders from the Court of Justice to stop its attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and take immediate measures to prevent acts of “genocide” and “improve the humanitarian situation” in the Strip. .
38. 
    
39. In turn, Majid Al-Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, the mediator in the ceasefire talks, said in a statement to the Washington Post on Tuesday, “We are awaiting a clear Israeli position representing the entire government in response to the proposal” announced by Biden on Friday. .
40. 
    
41. Al-Ansari said that Qatar “delivered the proposal alongside Hamas,” and that “the paper is now much closer in terms of the positions of both sides.” We are now doing our best to reach a final agreement,” while Hamas official Suhail Hindi said (also to the Washington Post) that the plan that Biden presented publicly last week is still being discussed by the movement.
42. 
    
43. This news came amid a wave of confused messages regarding the ceasefire proposal between Hamas and Israel. On Monday, Netanyahu told a parliamentary committee that any “allegations that we agreed to a ceasefire without meeting our conditions are incorrect.”
44. 
    
45. The stalemate in the discussions sparked anger and opposition within Netanyahu's government. The far-right members of his coalition threatened to resign and topple the government if the deal presented by Biden was accepted. Meanwhile, the Shas party in the Israeli Knesset said it had decided to “fully support the Israeli proposal.” The religious faction, part of Netanyahu's ruling coalition, said it wanted to "complete the deal."
46. 
    
47. The main remaining point of contention is how and when the war will officially end. Israel insists that it will not accept any option that guarantees the survival of Hamas. Hamas said it required a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

This Wednesday morning, hundreds of settlers stormed the courtyards of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, ahead of the start of the Israeli flag march on the fifty-seventh anniversary of the occupation of what remains of the city of Jerusalem, coinciding with the Israeli occupation forces transforming the city and its old town into military barracks. Local sources confirmed that more than 500 settlers stormed the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, within about an hour, and performed Talmudic rituals and carried out provocative tours.

The storming comes amid settlers' preparations to carry out the settlement media march, this Wednesday evening, while the occupation forces transformed the Holy City into a military barracks, and deployed thousands of their members in preparation for that march. On the other hand, Palestinian calls escalated to travel to Al-Aqsa Mosque, to confront that march and the settlers’ attacks on what the settlers called “Jerusalem Unification Day.” The Temple organizations had called for a Judaization march, today, Wednesday, starting from the Hebron Gate, passing through the Neighborhood of Honor and the Buraq Wall, all the way to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, in an interview with the Israeli occupation army radio, threatened to storm the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the provocative settlement “flag march” in the occupied city of Jerusalem, on the occasion of what the Israelis call “Jerusalem Day,” which is the day on which Israel celebrates... Israel with the fall of the eastern part of the occupied city following the setback of 1967.

Regarding the march that will pass through Damascus Gate and perhaps in the Islamic Quarter inside the Old City, Ben Gvir said, “They must be struck in the most important place for them. In all the years they have said this is not appropriate, and this is not the time for that. It is quite the opposite. When you retreat in front of them, you will get October 7th (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood). We will walk through Damascus Gate and ascend to the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque), against their will and despite their anger. We must strike them in the place that is most important to them, and we must come and say that the Temple Mount is ours and Jerusalem is ours “If we see ourselves as owners of the place, our enemies will appreciate us.”

The provocative march usually witnesses a charged atmosphere between the settlers and the Palestinians who are trying to confront them and their provocations and attacks. In 2021, Hamas launched rockets towards occupied Jerusalem in conjunction with the march, which led to its dispersal. In 2022, former US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides went to the then Minister of Internal Security, Omer Barlev, during the period of the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government, and asked him to change the route of the march for fear of igniting the situation, but Barlev rejected his approach and kept the route as it was. The march also passed through Damascus Gate last year, and no exceptional events were recorded.