US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, arrived on Sunday in Ramallah to meet with President Mahmoud Abbas, in the midst of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

Al-Hurra TV said, “Blinken began his meeting with Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank,” without further details being available.

This is the US Secretary of State's second tour in the Middle East since October 7, and the trip also includes a visit to Turkey.

On Saturday, Blinken met in the Jordanian capital, Amman, with Arab foreign ministers, who urged Washington to "persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire."

But Blinken rejected the idea, saying that this “would only allow Hamas to regroup and repeat the attack on Israel,” similar to what happened on October 7th.

Washington proposed a truce to allow humanitarian aid to enter and leave the densely populated Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected this when he met with Blinken on Friday in Tel Aviv.

A Palestinian official revealed to Al-Sharq TV that the Palestinian Authority refused to receive customs transfers after the Israeli government cut the Gaza Strip’s share.

The Palestinian Authority in Gaza pays about $120 million a month in salaries for its employees and retirees, health and education expenses, and others.

In its last meeting, the Israeli government decided to deduct everything the Palestinian Authority pays in Gaza, in addition to deducting the value of what it pays to the families of martyrs and prisoners.

The customs transfers that Israel collects on Palestinian imports constitute more than 70% of the Palestinian government’s budget.

The official said that cutting government allocations to the Gaza Strip entails a great political risk of completely separating the Strip from the West Bank, which we will never accept.

He said that President Mahmoud Abbas will raise the issue of financial cuts and Israeli measures towards the Gaza Strip in his discussions with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken today, Sunday, in Ramallah.

Blinken will arrive in Ramallah on Sunday morning, after his visit to the Jordanian capital, Amman, during which he met with representatives of six Arab countries that asked him to stop the war in Gaza: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Emirates, Qatar and Palestine.

The Palestinian official said that President Abbas will demand serious American intervention to stop the massacres of civilians in Gaza and stop Israeli measures aimed at separating the Gaza Strip from the West Bank.

Israel had announced that it would completely separate Gaza from the country after the war, close all crossings with it, and surround it with an advanced security system.

The Israeli financial cuts led to the government's inability to pay the salaries of its employees in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The American Wall Street Journal said that the Hamas movement has become more sophisticated and its fighters more powerful than the last time Israel invaded the Gaza Strip nearly a decade ago where “Israel crushed an unparalleled Hamas fighting force, destroyed tunnel systems and closed smuggling routes, costing the Islamist group Hamas two-thirds of its missiles by the time Israel withdrew.”

And now, according to the newspaper, “as Israel intensifies its new invasion, it faces a more powerful enemy that has rebuilt its arsenal with the help of Iran. Since the start of the operation on October 27, Hamas has attacked the Israeli army with drones loaded with explosives, anti-tank missiles and high-impact rockets, which are types of weapons that transformed the battlefield in Ukraine."

The newspaper notes that, “With 26 people killed in a week of the operation, Israelis are dying at a rate more than double the rate in 2014, when 67 people lost their lives during a seven-week campaign.”

The newspaper claims that at the heart of Hamas' ability to respond to the invasion lies the group's long-standing relationship with Iran, which has continued to support Palestinian resistance fighters with money and technical expertise, "as in the months preceding the October 7 attack, hundreds of Hamas members went to Iran for military training."

The newspaper attributed to Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, that while he expects Israel to eventually win, the advanced arsenal means that Israel will have to prepare for a long-term conflict. Melamed said: “Hamas is a major military force thanks to Iran. They are well armed.”

Hamas used the experience to develop local skills in weapons manufacturing and collect weapons from materials available in the Gaza Strip, despite the Israeli and Egyptian siege of the Strip, which are the weapons it now uses to fight the Israeli army.

Some analysts say that even if Israel manages to deplete Hamas's military capabilities, the destruction wrought to achieve that goal could lead to a long-term insurgency once the campaign ends.

The United States has fought several wars against armed groups, including Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, but has faced long and stubborn insurgencies. Analysts say that eliminating Hamas may be more difficult.

The Wall Street Journal attributed Dan Byman, a senior fellow and expert on counterterrorism at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to say: “Hamas has very deep roots, and this is different from Al-Qaeda, which was smaller.”

“Even if the defeat of Hamas deters Palestinians from joining the group, the Israeli attack will fuel anger among Palestinians, who may join other armed groups. Israel has given no indication of what comes after the military operation. It is likely that it will not maintain a presence of ground forces permanently stationed in the Strip, and no settler communities seemed willing to live there,” Byman said. “The most important thing is that even the United States had tangible support from the population who were willing to work with the United States; “A lot of Iraqis and Afghans work with them, but there are no Palestinians eager to work with the Israelis in Gaza.”

The newspaper quotes Marwan Abdel-Al, a senior official in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular armed group based in Syria with operations in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, as saying in an interview in Lebanon, “Hamas and its allies are better equipped to respond to an Israeli ground invasion than any other time before".

“Today, it's very different from 2014,” he said, pointing to drones, as well as the type of advanced guerrilla tactics developed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Russia's Wagner Group.

The Front said it participated in the October 7 attacks, and that it continues to fire rockets at Israel from Gaza.

Abdel-Al warned that Israel would get trapped in quagmire, as Germany did in Russia during World War II or the United States in Vietnam. “The guys are there, on the ground, ready,” he said.

Hamas has been manufacturing rockets for more than two decades. The first generation of Qassam rockets, cheap sugar-powered rockets that Hamas began producing during the Palestinian uprising known as the Second Intifada, around 2001, had a range of 2 to 3 miles. The third generation, the Qassam 3 missiles, has a range of about 10 miles. Now, Hamas has offered missiles with a range of up to 150 miles, covering essentially all of Israel.

The newspaper claims, “In the past, Iran produced missiles in Sudan and smuggled them into Gaza through tunnels from Sinai with the help of Egyptian Bedouins. This has largely stopped now, since Egypt flooded the tunnels and Sudan began rapprochement with Israel and distance itself from Iran. Instead, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have moved to local production and are manufacturing explosives and weapons from raw materials, according to analysts.

Back in 2014, Hamas relied mostly on Soviet-era projectiles without a guidance system, most dating back to 1969.

Drones were rare in Hamas' hands about a decade ago, and those they did have were rudimentary models with limited offensive capabilities.

But in the new war, Hamas published videos targeting Israeli forces with munitions dropped by drones, damaging tanks and military vehicles.

Israeli forces also faced attackers equipped with North Korean-made F-7 high-explosive missiles. the Kornet mobile anti-tank guided missile, a model developed in Russia but often copied by Iran; and locally made "Al-Yassin" anti-tank missiles.

Hamas has developed a strong domestic weapons manufacturing capacity that relies in part on the transfer of Iranian technology.

It manufactured a drone called Ababil, which was developed based on an Iranian design.

Hamas also has a locally produced drone called “Al-Zouari,” named after Tunisian engineer Mohammed Al-Zouari, who helped develop the weapons and was assassinated in Tunisia in 2016, a killing that Hamas blamed on Israeli intelligence.

Perhaps Hamas's strongest defense is a vast network of tunnels extending like an underground city, where fighters, fuel and weapons are located, and "where Hamas has been holding hostages since October 7," according to the newspaper.

The Chadian Foreign Ministry announced that the Chargé d'Affaires in Israel was summoned yesterday, Saturday, for consultations due to "the killing of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip."

The ministry said in a statement, according to local and Israeli media, “Chad condemns the loss of innocent civilian lives and calls for a ceasefire that leads to a permanent solution to the Palestinian issue. As a result, it was decided to summon the Chargé d’Affaires in Israel for consultations.”

Earlier, several countries recalled their ambassadors from Israel, such as Turkey, Chile, Bahrain and others, and Bolivia suspended its diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv.

Foreign news rarely gets much attention in India. However, current events in Israel and Gaza have dominated Indian television channels over the past month, and news coverage has mostly carried the Israeli point of view. Indian news anchors appeared wearing bulletproof vests, providing dramatic reports on the “atrocities” allegedly committed by Hamas in the October 7, 2023, attack.

Despite the passage of weeks since the war, and the death of more than 10,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, news coverage in India remains intense in favor of Israel, as a report by the British newspaper The Economist says, and thousands of Indian accounts participate significantly and extensively in support of the Israeli narrative on social media platforms and denying the Palestinian narrative.

Narendra Modi shifts India's support from the Palestinians to Israel

The Indian media's fascination with Israel's position and its revenge on the Palestinians coincided with a noticeable shift in the Indian government's position on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. India has moved from supporting the Palestinians to largely unconditional support for Israel.

The ultra-nationalist Indian government led by Narendra Modi believes that this change is based on a “realistic review of its interests in the Middle East.” This policy has also received popular support among Prime Minister Narendra Modi's anti-Muslim extremist Hindu supporters in India. Hence, this endorsement is in line with the interest of the incoming Modi government over the state elections this month and the general elections next year.

India...from supporting Palestine to supporting Israel

In the past, India, like most countries in the Global South, shied away from supporting Israel, sympathized with the Palestinians and their plight, and even boycotted Israel and refused its aircraft to fly over it for decades.

But this policy has changed. Hours after the October 7 attack, Modi quickly announced on the X website his condemnation of what he described as “terrorist attacks” and declared his government’s solidarity with Israel. It then took five days for the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm, in response to journalists' questions, that India still supports a "two-state solution" to end the conflict.

On October 27, India departed from its usual voting behavior at the United Nations and abstained from voting in support of the resolution adopted by the General Assembly in which it called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. India objected to the fact that the text of the resolution did not condemn the Hamas attack.

Growing economic and military relations between India and Israel

This shift in Indian position is due to India's growing military and trade relations with Israel. Cooperation between the two countries has grown stronger since Israel provided military assistance to India in the "Kargil War" against Pakistan in 1999.

This came long before the United States was seriously interested in military cooperation with India. Over the past decade, India has purchased missiles, drones, and border security equipment (and perhaps spyware, though it does not admit it) from Israel, making it the largest foreign customer of Israeli military industries.

The close relationship between Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, deepened the ties between the two parties. Moreover, they were interested in the issue of "combatting Islamic terrorism." In his explanation for the abstention from voting in the ceasefire draft discussed by the United Nations, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Indian Foreign Minister, said in a statement delivered on October 29, that India had taken a strong position in the face of terrorism “because we are major victims of terrorism,” he said. 

Gulf normalization encouraged India to shift its position towards Israel

On the other hand, India is working to expand its relations with the Arab Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are also getting closer to Israel. It depends on their supplies for a large share of its oil, and needs friendly relations with them to protect the approximately 9 million Indian workers who work there.

The desire of the two Gulf countries in recent years to improve their relations with Israel allowed Modi to quickly implement his shift towards Israel. The Saudis and Emiratis are also reluctant to let events in Gaza weaken their long-standing rapprochement with Israel, says The Economist.

Internally, things are turbulent, as the opposition - led by the Indian National Congress Party - condemned the government's position, and Indian Muslim leaders strongly criticized the Israeli military response. However, the Indian middle class that supports Modi is mostly hostile to everything it sees as linked to Islam, and therefore they support Modi in his condemnation of Palestinian resistance and his rapprochement with Israel.

Fueling hatred against Islam in India

However, the Indian government's over-the-top support for Israel carries some risk. As the number of civilian casualties in Gaza increases, India's Arab partners may turn against Israel and its supporters in a more hostile manner. Modi recently hedged against this possibility, communicating with leaders of the Palestinian Authority, which rejects armed resistance against Israel, offering Indian condolences and offering humanitarian aid. In contrast, his Hindu nationalist followers spare no effort in using the conflict to inflame the Islamophobia that led to the rise of their party.

The bottom line is that the shift that Modi oversaw from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may face complex calculations abroad, but at home this shift and the resulting support among his Hindu and anti-Islam supporters will likely help him garner more votes and win the upcoming elections.

source: Arabic Post

The statements of the Israeli Minister of Heritage, Amichai Eliyahu, in support of dropping a “nuclear bomb” on Gaza, sparked a wave of anger within the occupying state, on Sunday, November 5, 2023, amid calls for his dismissal, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to suspend the Minister of Heritage until further notice.

Amichai Eliyahu said in press statements, earlier on Sunday, that “throwing a nuclear bomb on Gaza is a possible solution,” and regarding the Israeli prisoners in the Strip, the Israeli minister commented, saying: “War has costs.”

In his first comment on the statements of the Israeli Minister of Heritage, Benjamin Netanyahu said that his words were “detached from reality,” and the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Netanyahu decided to suspend the Minister of Heritage from participating in government meetings until further notice.

For his part, the leader of the Israeli opposition, Yair Lapid, launched a sharp attack on Eliyahu, saying that his statement was “shocking and crazy, and was issued by an irresponsible minister.” He continued: "The presence of extremists in the government exposes us to danger, and Netanyahu must dismiss the Minister of Heritage."

In turn, the leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Merav Michaeli, criticized the statements of the Israeli Minister of Heritage, according to what was reported by the Occupation Army Radio: “These are disconnected from reality, and he must be dismissed.”

For his part, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that the statements of the Minister of Heritage in the occupation government that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza is an option “reflect the unprecedented terrorism practiced by this government and its symbols against our Palestinian people, and constitute a danger to the entire region and the world.”

He also added that these Nazi statements by one of the ministers of the occupation government stem from the full support of some countries, especially the United States, for the Zionist aggression against the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli minister's statements were reported by the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, during which he answered a question about whether a nuclear bomb should be dropped on the entire Gaza. He replied: "This is one of the options." He continued, saying: "We will not provide humanitarian aid to the Nazis. There is no such thing as non-interference in Gaza."

Eliyahu also referred to more than 240 Israeli prisoners held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and said: “I pray and hope for their return, but there are also costs to war.” He said: “The Gaza Strip must not remain on the face of the earth, and we must re-establish settlements there.” As he put it.

Also, the Israeli Minister of Heritage was not the first Israeli official to call for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza, as former Knesset member, Moshe Feiglin, called on his account on the “X” platform to strike the Gaza Strip with a nuclear weapon.

Also last October 11, Knesset member Tali Gottliff called on the Israeli army to “use nuclear weapons” in Gaza, in response to the Hamas attack.

Huge crowds of demonstrators gathered in the American capital, Washington, yesterday, Saturday, exceeding, according to some estimates, one hundred thousand demonstrators, to demand a ceasefire in the American capital, Washington, as well as in other capitals around the world, while the Israeli occupation continues its aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip for about a month.

Americans from different cities participated in the demonstration on hundreds of buses organized by local community groups and progressive organizations. Crowds filled Freedom Square, located one kilometer from the White House, and headed to the White House, where demonstrators carried (thousands of) Palestinian flags.

Thousands of demonstrators wore the Palestinian keffiyeh, carrying Palestinian flags, chanting slogans such as “Stop the massacre,” “Long live Gaza,” and “Ceasefire,” and demanding that the American president, whom the demonstrators accused of involvement in the massacre of the Palestinians, stop the war immediately.

Many organizers addressed President Joe Biden directly, chanting slogans such as "Biden, Biden, you can't hide, we're accusing you of genocide."

In addition to an immediate ceasefire, the demonstrators called for an end to US military aid to the Israeli occupation and an end to the siege imposed on Gaza.

More than 450 organizations supported this march. The World People's Assembly, which helped organize the protest, said: "The march is the largest in favor of Palestine in the history of the United States."

Palestinian activist and writer Muhammad al-Kurd addressed the crowd, calling on them to consider “the lives of our martyrs, their injustices, their hobbies, and most of all, I want you to think about the fear – the fear they felt when the warplanes flew Over their heads," while the famous rapper McLemore said, "I don't know much, but I know that what we are seeing is genocide of the Palestinians."

He added: "We have learned to only be complicit, to protect our careers and protect our interests." “I won't do that anymore, I'm not afraid to tell the truth.”

According to CNN, Yara Shoufani, one of the organizers of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said: “This wave of protests that we are leading in the United States and around the world is among the largest protests that we have witnessed in solidarity with Palestine and reflects the fact that the American people stand with Justice for the Palestinian cause,” stressing that “for 75 years, the Palestinian people have faced colonialism and military occupation, and in the case of Gaza, it was an open prison due to the Israeli siege.”

Chaufani said the protest represents an opportunity to express growing anti-war sentiment among a large segment of the American population, especially as the president and other senior officials continue to state support for Israel.

“We are making clear to the US administration that we reject this horrific act and we reject Biden’s refusal to call for a ceasefire even though 66% of Americans support a ceasefire,” she told CNN, referring to the $14.3 billion military aid package for Israel that was passed by Congress this week. “We aim to send a message to the American public to join us in this mass movement, which is growing by the minute, defending freedom and justice.”

“Finally, we aim to send a message to our people in Gaza that they are not alone: that we will not stand idly by, while our government funds the genocide they are committing,” she added.

In turn, the Director of Advocacy at the American Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Iman Abed Thompson, said that these protests are “a testament to the extent of the growing support for the Palestinian solidarity movement, and that people really want to see change coming,” in an interview with the CNN network. 

Demonstrations also took place in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis and dozens of other cities in the United States.

Today, Sunday, settlers, protected by the Israeli occupation army, attacked farmers in the villages of Salem and Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus, and forced them to leave their lands, without being able to harvest olives.

According to local sources, dozens of settlers from the “Elon Moreh” settlement, built on citizens’ lands, attacked the olive pickers in the areas adjacent to the bypass road leading to the settlement, and forced the farmers to leave their lands, despite having obtained prior coordination for two days to pick the olives.

The Prisoners and Ex-Detainees Affairs Authority reported that sick detainees in the Ramla prison clinic face difficult and dangerous conditions imposed on them by the Israeli occupation prison administration, since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on the seventh of last October.

The Commission explained, in its report on Sunday, that the procedures of the occupation prison administration aim to double the psychological and physical conditions of detainees, despite their urgent need for special medical care, as most of them suffer from chronic diseases.

It pointed out that the occupation’s measures included preventing prisoners from making phone calls to their families, prohibiting visits, and restricting visits from lawyers, as the occupation prison administration prevents lawyers from visiting sick detainees and learning about their conditions, and also withdrew all electrical appliances, including the television and the stove used for cooking, water heating kettle, radios and all electrical and electronic tools without exception.

It added that the occupation prevents sick detainees from purchasing from the cantina, and also withdraws the food supplies they have, leaving them with nothing left of food or drink.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called on the international community and many countries to be bold and hold Israel fully and directly responsible for its crimes against children and women, and for its grave and shocking violations of international law and international humanitarian law.

The Ministry stressed in a statement, issued today, Sunday, that there is no justification for countries to evade announcing such a position, and to emphasize that Israel does not abide by international law and even rebels against it, which must be accompanied by international legal mechanisms, in order to hold it accountable for its crimes. .

It believes that the occupying state is employing the support of a number of countries under the pretext of self-defense, and is going beyond this concept and even leaving it far behind in order to resolve the future of the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank from a political strategic standpoint, as recognized by the pillars of government in the occupying state through a large number of declared positions and statements. Which threatens to annihilate the Gaza Strip and wipe it off the map.

It reiterated that it is no longer acceptable, in light of this daily criminal scene, for international acquiescence to prolong the war, as promoted by the pillars of the Israeli government, or to simply direct appeals, demands, diagnose the situation, and valid calls in the face of the unprecedented crimes committed by the occupation forces against Palestinian civilians and against humanity. 

In its statement, it condemned the open war of occupation against our people in general and the Gaza Strip in particular, including the ongoing bloody escalation against everything in the Gaza Strip, which aims to turn the Strip into an area uninhabitable, and the series of bloody raids, violations and murders that have occurred. It is committed by the occupation forces and armed colonial gangs in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in light of the continued dismemberment of the West Bank and its transformation into a large prison that includes smaller prisons that have no connection between them due to the orgies of settler militias and their terrorist attacks.

The Israeli occupation's attempts to obscure the Palestinian narrative and obscure the horrific massacres and war of extermination that it has been waging in the Gaza Strip since October 7 have not stopped.

The government media office confirmed that Palestinian news websites were suspended after being subjected to electronic attacks originating from the occupation, as part of attempts to cover up massacres in the Gaza Strip.

The office said in a statement on Sunday: The occupation’s aggression enters its thirtieth day and has targeted everything in Gaza, in continuation of the occupation’s policy of silencing the Palestinian voice and distorting the narrative by all means and means.

It pointed out that this comes by directly targeting journalists by killing them, or bombing their homes, or destroying press offices, and preventing foreign press from entering Gaza, or by jamming frequencies, cutting off broadcasts, and cutting off fuel to media outlets and broadcast vehicles.

It stated that most recently, some Palestinian websites were subjected to an electronic attack originating from the occupation, which led to them stopping work and being unable to publish on their websites.

Among these sites are: “The Palestinian Al-Rai Agency website, Al-Resala Net website, the Palestinian Press Agency website “Safa,” and the Palestine Today Agency website.”

It stressed that the electronic attack on these websites is a blatant assault on freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed by all international conventions, and it is a miserable attempt that reflects Zionist disappointment in stopping the Palestinian media and silencing the Palestinian voice.

Since the beginning of the aggression, the occupation has repeatedly attempted to disrupt the official websites of the Hamas movement, and to disrupt the Al-Aqsa satellite channel, as well as the Al-Jazeera satellite network, which covers the events.

The occupation also repeated several times the cutting off of communications and the Internet from the entire sector as part of an attempt to impose complete isolation and cover up its massacres.

Since the start of the aggression, 46 male and female journalists have been martyred, while a large number of their families and families of other journalists have also been martyred as part of attempts to intimidate and silence journalists, in addition to the bombing and destruction of the headquarters of dozens of media outlets, including international media agencies, the last of which was the French Press Agency.

The government media office warned that silencing the Palestinian voice indicates that the occupation is preparing to commit more crimes against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and seeks to eliminate witnesses to the truth by various means.

It called on international and regional human rights and journalistic institutions to provide protection for press crews, condemn this attack and other attacks that killed and injured dozens of journalists, and hold the occupation accountable for them.

The world who claims to have guaranteed freedom of opinion and expression called for condemning the occupation's denial of freedom of opinion and expression. This attack is the best evidence of its denial of all international and humanitarian conventions, and demanded that the occupation be removed from all forums concerned with human rights and freedom of opinion and expression.

Today, Sunday, the Israeli occupation forces tightly closed the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem.

According to local sources, the occupation forces closed the only eastern entrance in the "Al-Sharafa" area near Al-Mateena with cement cubes, in addition to the closure of the western entrance since the seventh of last month with the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip, indicating that citizens are unable to leave with their vehicles.

Sabateen added that the village is subjected to violations by the occupation around the clock, by seizing the rooftops of houses and turning them into military observation points, which poses a threat to the lives of citizens, in addition to preventing citizens from reaching the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the Al-Muteena area. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Gaza should be part of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state following the end of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The semi-official Anatolia news agency quoted Erdogan upon his return from Kazakhstan as saying, “After everything that happens is over, we want to see Gaza as a peaceful region and part of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, enjoying the unity and integrity of its lands, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He also added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot in any way be considered a counterpart to Turkey, after the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.

However, Erdogan said that there could not be a complete severing of ties, especially in international diplomacy, noting that Turkish ministers and the head of Turkish intelligence were engaging in talks with their Israeli counterparts.

The Turkish President stressed that Turkey's main goal is to bring final peace to the Palestinian-Israeli issue, noting that his country has made and will continue to make efforts in this regard.

Bishara: “As long as the American-Israeli agreement continues on the goal of the war, and as long as there are no real steps from the Arab countries, the war of annihilation against the Gaza Strip will continue.”

“Arab TV” broadcast a special interview with the Arab thinker and the Director General of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Dr. Azmi Bishara, to talk about the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since last October 7.

Bishara pointed out during the meeting that the three conditions for Israel to stop its aggression are that the Israeli consensus on the war be violated, that the American-Israeli agreement on the goal of the aggression, i.e. eliminating the Hamas movement, be disturbed, and that the major Arab countries take real steps of the type of serious threat to sever relations with Israel. He believed that it is in the interest of everyone at the level of countries and powers in the region that Israel does not achieve its goals in the war on Gaza.

Regarding Hezbollah, Bishara said that any entry into the war would not change the situation in Gaza, but rather would increase the price paid by Israel.

Bishara pointed out that as long as there is an Israeli consensus on restoring balance, prestige and revenge through war, and as long as the American-Israeli agreement continues on the goal of the war, and as long as there are no real steps from the Arab countries, the war of annihilation against the Gaza Strip will continue. .

He stressed that “in light of the current balance of power, the decision is exclusively on the ground, because imposing a ceasefire is impossible to achieve except with a change in the level of the Israeli consensus on the war, and with a disruption in the American-Israeli agreement on the central goal of the war, i.e. eliminating Hamas, and with the Arab countries taking positions.” A real process of severing its relations with Israel or a real threat to sever them.” In conclusion, “now is not the time for political initiatives, but rather for resistance, fighting, and steadfastness,” in Bishara’s opinion.

Bishara warned that if Israel completes its plan in agreement with America, American and Israeli arrogance will double with all the countries and forces of the region, wondering, “How will these countries be dealt with, with respect when they were not even able to bring in aid and evacuate the wounded?”

He considered that Israel's failure to achieve its goal in the war was in the interest of all countries and forces in the region. In his opinion, there is a factor that may change the course of the war, which is for the Arab countries to take steps related to normalization with Israel and severing relations with it, instead of simply summoning ambassadors, for example, and this is something that would change the American calculations that are strongly concerned with an Arab-Israeli rapprochement that would reassure it to continue giving priority to its projects in the Far east, “there is no alternative to the Arabs for Washington in the region,” as Bishara put it.

In this context, Bishara described the refusal of Arab officials to discuss “the day after” the war and who will rule Gaza after “Hamas” with US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, in Amman on Saturday, and their insistence that the only issue worth discussing currently is the ceasefire, as a good thing.  Bishara also concluded that the words of Arab officials about the necessity of establishing international courts to try Israeli officials have little real value, “because the one who is tried is always the one who is defeated historically.” Instead, Bishara pointed out that “the weakest belief is that Egypt will open the Rafah crossing without coordination with Israel regarding at least aid and the wounded.”

In response to a question about the course of the aggression and its goals for Israel, Bishara reiterated his opinion that the war has one goal for Israel, not two: eliminating the Hamas movement. As for the goal of liberating Israeli prisoners, “it is subordinate to the first and is not what is important.” Indeed, the Tel Aviv rulers’ statement that the release of detained Israelis is one of the goals of the war “is talk that contradicts itself, because the bombing may kill some of these prisoners and may weaken Hamas’ desire to release them. Moreover, the Israeli leadership today rejects a truce for more than 24 hours to release civilians. This does not express any interest It has in the lives of Israeli prisoners,” according to Dr. Bishara.

Bishara recalled that the Hamas movement announced its agreement to release all Israeli prisoners in exchange for all Palestinian prisoners, these words were echoed by Israeli officials before Hamas, but this is impossible to happen because it will be portrayed as an achievement for the resistance and Israeli decision-makers will not agree to it. Bishara revealed. The problem currently does not lie in the number of people being released, but rather in two things for Israeli officials: first, they are negotiating humanitarian truces that they refuse to exceed 24 hours in exchange for the release of Israelis detained in the Gaza Strip, and second, the issue of fuel, as we are facing a country in which the situation has reached to the point that it offers to allow the entry of some fuel in exchange for the return of the hostages in the Gaza Strip, while a truce is necessary to collect the hostages if negotiations for their release progress, Bishara says.

In response to a question about the possibility of a change in the American position in absolute support of the aggression, Bishara replied that this is possible “if there is a major change in American public opinion, and this is possible if the resistance endures.” He noted that a change has already begun to appear in American and even European public opinion, despite the fact that most Western media outlets are “complicit in the war,” according to Bishara, who pointed out that there is a general feeling that people in the West are starting to get tired and see the amount of lies.

As for the recent speech by the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, he explained that Nasrallah was not expected to declare war in a speech, nor was he required to declare war, and he recalled that the majority of the Lebanese reject Lebanon’s involvement in a comprehensive war, and “Hezbollah,” after becoming more and more involved in Lebanese affairs, acted pragmatically in not blowing up a comprehensive confrontation. He said on this issue that Hezbollah is currently causing Israel to pay a price, “but the nature of the war on Gaza does not change what happens on the border with Lebanon, meaning that Hezbollah’s involvement in a comprehensive war does not change the course of what is happening in Gaza.” He stopped at the fact that what is happening on the Lebanese-Israeli border “is a change in the rules of engagement,” meaning that the losses that either party must pay before reaching a comprehensive war have become much greater than they were previously, as evidenced by the death toll on both sides in the clashes. What happened since October 8, although large, did not lead to a comprehensive war, while a much smaller toll recorded in 2006 led to a war of the size we saw that year. Bishara expressed his conviction that "there is no decision for war for Israel and Hezbollah, but things may turn towards that, and this matter may also be regional." The director of the "Arab Center" warned that "the Israeli voices calling for an attack on Hezbollah after Gaza are very numerous," and concluded that the theory of the balance of deterrence has ended for Israel because this balance can only be with countries and not with organizations and factions. Therefore, if it does not shift, Hezbollah will become a more organic part of the Lebanese political fabric, that is, if it does not become the Lebanese state, the Israeli desire to eliminate it will increase.

In a related matter, Bishara expressed his confidence that Iran has no intention of participating in the war, and described its positions in Yemen, Iraq and Syria as related to Iranian regional interests that involve calculations that have nothing to do with Israel and the Palestinian issue. He said that the targeting of American bases in Iraq, for example, is an Iranian response to the American message related to sending American aircraft carriers and military battleships to the region. Regarding the solidarity of the Syrian people, after all their suffering, with the Palestinian cause, Bishara said that it is a solidarity that is not adequately appreciated. As for the absence of the Syrian regime stance regarding the war on Gaza, Bishara expressed his belief that this is one of the results of “the end of Syria as a state” after all the war that the regime committed against its people and the mismanagement of the crisis in its country 12 years ago to the point that “Syria has returned to an arena without State,” as he put it.

On the other hand, in response to a question about the possibility of implementing the scenario of displacing the residents of Gaza to Sinai, Bishara recalled that displacement has been a systematic policy since the founding of the State of Israel, and this has been happening in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza for decades as a result of the restrictions on the lives of the residents of those areas. In his opinion, the dream of getting rid of the people of the Gaza Strip at once, although it exists in the desires of many Israeli officials, is impossible to achieve as long as the countries concerned with the issue refuse to do so, especially Egypt. Therefore, it is difficult for Israel to get rid of the Palestinians of Gaza except through extermination.

Regarding the level of Israeli popular pressure currently being exerted on Netanyahu, Bishara pointed out that there is constant doubt about his ability to lead the battle and there is no trust between him and the army leadership, so he was forced to bring former generals into the “war cabinet.” Likewise, with regard to the pressure on him against the backdrop of the Israeli prisoners, this pressure currently exists, but it has not yet reached the point of explosion, and this, according to Bishara’s assessment, is something that the Hamas movement must rely on because Netanyahu’s policy of this barbaric bombing contradicts the goal of releasing these people through some mediation.

Regarding the positions of the Palestinian Authority and its performance since the start of the aggression on Gaza and the implicit Israeli war on the West Bank, Bishara noted an absence of authority from many political aspects of the event, internally and with the Arab countries. Regarding this issue, Bishara recalled that the Authority did not sign the Oslo Accords with the settlers, wondering, “Why do its security services not confront them in the areas of the West Bank, since these people are even outside Israeli law?” Regarding the political shortcomings of the authority, Bishara touched on its failure to clearly and accurately define its demands from Arab countries such as Egypt regarding opening the Rafah crossing, for example.

The global anti-war movement had a large role in the “Arab TV” interview with Dr. Azmi Bishara, who described that massive movement in the West in particular as “the main asset of the universal moral, humanitarian dimension of the Palestine issue,” far from any ideology. Regarding the participation of many Jews in the West in the massive demonstrations against the Israeli war, he considered it the clearest evidence that the problem is not with the Jews, but with Zionism, with Israel’s policies, and with colonialism and occupation. “Therefore, it is important that we address the world with universal moral and human values,” according to his words.

Regarding the human cost of this aggression, which is almost entering its second month, Bishara stressed the necessity of not getting used to these massacres and “normalizing” them. He explained this huge number of martyrs by saying that the war was given an immoral basis from the beginning, expressed in the terms of Israeli officials such as President Isaac Herzog, who asserted that there were no innocents in Gaza, “otherwise they would revolt against the Hamas movement,” or Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant described the residents of the Gaza Strip as "Human animals" without any Western official condemning them. Bishara noted how, in the beginning, Israeli officials were trying to justify their crimes, such as what happened in the Baptist Hospital massacre, but today they no longer even have to justify it, since the bombing of hospitals and schools did not find any condemnation from world leaders.

At dawn on Sunday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested 46 citizens from the West Bank, including workers from the Gaza Strip.

As Washington seeks to persuade Israel to accept a humanitarian truce in Gaza, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told Israeli officials that the truce may give Israel more time regarding its ground operation, according to what was reported by the Axios website.

The website quoted an American official and three Israeli officials with direct knowledge of the talks that Blinken told his Israeli counterparts, on Friday, that agreeing to a humanitarian truce would help the United States ward off the increasing pressure it faces regarding its support for the Israeli operation in Gaza, and help Israel get more time for its operation. Wild.

The website notes that the administration of US President Joe Biden says it supports Israel's goal of dismantling Hamas' military capabilities, but it is under increasing pressure from some Democrats in Congress and its allies and partners in the Arab countries to press for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli officials told Axios that Blinken told his Israeli counterparts that the Biden administration is under a lot of criticism domestically and internationally, because it gives Israel its full support.

According to what an American official and two Israeli officials told the site, Blinken's message was: “We do not want to stop you, but help us to help you get more time.”

The website reported that Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of the Israeli War Council that he understands that Israel's operation against Hamas will last longer than a few days, but because of the pressure the United States is facing, a humanitarian truce will help Israel buy more time for its ground operation. , as American and Israeli officials said.

The officials said Blinken and his aides believe Israeli leaders have not closed the door on the idea of a temporary ceasefire and that they can persuade them to agree to a truce as they did when Israel agreed to allow aid trucks into Gaza.

Israeli officials say that the issue of a humanitarian truce will continue to be discussed with the United States, but they do not believe that anything will change in the next few days, according to the site.

Axios reveals that Blinken, in his talks with Israeli leaders, stressed that the increasing number of civilian casualties in Gaza and photos like those taken from the Jabalia refugee camp earlier this week do not help the Biden administration ward off the pressure the United States faces at home. And abroad.

A young man was injured and 9 citizens were arrested, at dawn on Sunday, after the Israeli occupation forces stormed the city of Jenin.

The official news agency (Wafa) reported that a young man was shot in the leg during confrontations with the occupation forces in the eastern neighborhood of the city. They also arrested the freed prisoner, Muhammad Shehab Al-Sanori, from his home, and the young man, Majd Nasser Al-Jazra, from Jabal Abu Dhayr.

They also arrested citizen Walid Jalamna and his two sons, Suhaib and Qutaiba, and destroyed the contents of his house in the Kharouba neighborhood, and citizen Abu Uday Al-Sheikh, and beat up his son Muhammad, and arrested Ahmed Ayman Jumaa, Ahmed Walid Jalboni, and Qusay Al-Husays.

The occupation forces raided the neighborhoods of Jabal Abu Dhahir, Kharouba, Al-Marah, and Wadi Izz Al-Din in the city, and deployed snipers on the roofs of a number of houses, and special units were deployed in the neighborhoods.

The occupation bulldozers also demolished a roundabout in the city, bulldozed roads and infrastructure on the outskirts of Jenin camp, and sent in new reinforcements.

Jenin Education Department decided to delay work until nine in the morning due to the occupation forces storming the city.

The Director of Jenin Education, Salam Al-Taher, said: It was decided that the school hours in the city of Jenin and its camp, or any town surrounding the city where the occupation army is present, will be at nine o’clock in order to preserve the safety of the students and the educational staff.

At dawn on Sunday, Israeli occupation forces stormed the Shweika suburb, north of Tulkarm.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces stormed the suburb, patrolled its neighborhoods, and were stationed along its main street.

In Nablus, 3 Palestinians were injured by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets in confrontations east of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Activists said that clashes broke out between Palestinian resistance fighters and the occupation forces during their incursion into Nablus.

Obama acknowledged the views of both sides in the conflict

Former US President Barack Obama said that "everyone is complicit to some extent" in the bloodshed in the war between Israel and Hamas, calling on Americans to "understand the full truth" related to the conflict, according to what the American newspaper "New York Times" reported.

The newspaper reported that Obama said in front of thousands of former aides: “I look at this and think back...what could I have done during my presidency.”

Obama arrived at the White House convinced that he could be the president who would resolve the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but he left office after years of friction and mistrust with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was frustrated with the nuclear agreement with Iran, and Obama’s demands that it suspend... Israel new settlements.

In his remarks Friday, delivered at a gathering of his former staff in Chicago, Obama acknowledged the “strong emotions aroused by the war” and blamed social media for “magnifying divisions and reducing a thorny international conflict to slogans.”

He urged his former aides to "accept the whole truth," saying: "What Hamas did was horrific, and there is no justification for that," adding at the same time that "the occupation and what is happening to the Palestinians is unbearable."

He continued: "What is also true is that there is a history of the Jewish people that you may reject unless your grandparents, uncle, or aunt tell you stories about the madness of anti-Semitism. What is true is that there are people dying now, and they have nothing to do with what Hamas did."

The war sparked divisions even within the administration of US President Joe Biden. Axios reported that the Democratic National Committee, which the US President relies on in his re-election campaign, is “in a state of turmoil and division” due to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Some aides believe that the White House is “inciting an immoral attack on the Palestinians,” while others believe that Biden is showing “moral clarity in protecting Israel from terrorists,” according to what the site reports in a report.

Thousands of people participated, on Saturday evening, in Tel Aviv, in a demonstration by families and supporters of those kidnapped by Hamas, demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu “make more efforts to release them,” according to Agence France-Presse.

International pressure is mounting on the Israeli government, with the aim of pushing it to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

On Saturday, Biden announced “progress” in securing a humanitarian truce in the war between Israel and Hamas, at a time when his Secretary of State is working on the same issue in the Middle East.

Effects of the Israeli bombing of Gaza

When asked if any progress had been made on the issue, Biden answered “yes” as he left a church in Delaware, and gave a thumbs up before getting into his car. He did not give any other details.

So far, 9,488 people have been killed as a result of the Israeli bombing of Gaza, most of them civilians, including 3,900 children, according to a toll announced by the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

An Israeli soldier stands next to a military vehicle near the Israeli border with Gaza

At least 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since October 7, most of them civilians and including women and children. Hamas kidnapped 241 hostages, according to the army.

Israeli forces continue their military operations in the Gaza Strip, where they confront Hamas militants who move through tunnels and emerge to carry out attacks against soldiers and military equipment, in different areas of the Strip.

At a time when Israeli army soldiers were killed during the ground incursion into Gaza, according to an analysis of the British newspaper The Guardian, there are “questions in Israel about the direction the war is heading towards, and whether there is likely to be a clear and decisive end.”

The newspaper explained that "the Israeli army's ground incursion into Gaza has been continuing for a week, and Israeli tanks are facing ambushes and troop positions in destroyed buildings are being subjected to missile attacks."

The Israeli army continuously announces the killing of leaders from the Hamas movement, which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and other countries, in addition to revealing the killing of 24 soldiers since the ground attack.

The army also published videos of transporting wounded during ground operations in Gaza. In a video clip published on Saturday, it was stated that “Unit 669 carried out 150 transfers for about 260 wounded army personnel.”

The Guardian analysis indicated that there are “questions that represent pressure on Israel,” in light of the continuation of operations in Gaza, including “What will the end be like?”, which is a widespread question in the Israeli media, and among officials in closed meetings, and foreign analysts and diplomats. .

The newspaper pointed out that "despite Israel's continuous announcement of the success of the operation, two basic goals have not been achieved: liberating the hostages (numbering 241 people) and stopping the launching of rockets from Gaza towards Israeli cities."

On Saturday, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy visited the forces in Gaza. According to an army statement, he was “assessing the situation with the fighters inside the Gaza Strip,” where he told them, “I am proud of you.”

During the military operation, Israel continuously announced the destruction of tunnels and the killing of leaders and members of the Hamas movement in Gaza.

However, according to “The Guardian,” there are “doubts” expressed in Israeli media, including the newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth,” where writer Nadav Eyal noted that “Benjamin Netanyahu’s government may be heading toward a position usual during previous incursions into Gaza.” “It is a campaign against Hamas, but it remains in a way incomplete.”

Eyal continued: “The government speaks from two points of view. The first promises to crush Hamas by completely destroying its military capabilities, and that it will not control the Gaza Strip again. Behind closed doors, government officials spoke more vaguely... that overthrowing Hamas has become an abstract goal that will need to be achieved.” years to achieve it.

While the newspaper "Jerusalem Post" indicated that there were "doubts that have emerged about the extent of actual progress achieved through the operation in Gaza, and whether Israel is moving with sufficient speed and skill to eliminate the Hamas threat."

In a darker assessment, Nathan Brown, in his analysis for the Carnegie Middle East Center, asked, “What is the meaning of victory (over Hamas)? Whatever the specific goals, what will Israel actually achieve?”

He continued his speech by saying, "These questions reveal why it is wrong to talk about scenarios (the day after) for the end of the war and the elimination of Hamas."

He considered that "this scenario is being dealt with as if it were a conventional war, after which room will be made for clear imposed or agreed-upon post-war arrangements," indicating that it is "not a conventional war."

According to the Guardian's analysis, "In light of these questions that remain unanswered so far, the series of deaths on both sides will continue, affecting many civilians."

On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, launching thousands of rockets and infiltrating towns and areas surrounding the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, including women and children.

Israel responded to the attack with intense bombing of Gaza and a ground incursion, causing the death of more than 9,488 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians, including women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Source: Alhurra+Agencies

From time to time I talk to some Israelis I know through my work in politics and writing. Those I am talking to are academics, thinkers and community activists, and they are from the camp that opposes the occupation and settlement and that supports the political solution based on the two-state solution, a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, with a minimum land exchange agreed upon by both parties and an acceptable solution to the refugee issue. All of this is in accordance with the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. The picture I have from my conversations with them is very dark and disturbing.

Many of them do not hesitate to express their sense of loss of security after the 7/10 attack, and many of them believe the stereotype that was and is still being drawn for the Hamas movement as an ISIS movement that kills civilians, beheads children, and rapes women. Some of them see the elimination of the Hamas movement as a vital matter in order to restore the Israelis’ sense of security, while there are others who believe that it is impossible to eliminate Hamas because it is not a person, but an idea, and the idea is transmitted from one person to another, and therefore it will not be possible to eliminate it.

Those who believe that it is not possible to eliminate Hamas because it is an idea are divided into two groups. The first believes that the current war must result in a military defeat for Hamas that leads directly to a political process that leads to a permanent political solution to the conflict on the basis of the two-state solution. The second is confused and waiting for the results of the ongoing war and does not rule out the idea of immigration or temporary residency outside Israel if this war does not produce decisive results.

To understand the truth of these changes, even in the camp that was against the occupation and settlement and supported the two-state solution, a camp that has diminished greatly in the past two decades, but remains present and influential among the elite of academics and intellectuals, we must know what happened on October 7 and how it was transmitted to Israeli citizen.

The truth is that we do not know what happened because we did not listen to or read any documented reports about it, and everything that reached public opinion in Israel and abroad was the work of the Israeli official body, whose story cannot in any way be accepted or trusted because it lacks any evidence to support it. The quality of credibility.

However, the matter from which we can start the analysis is the fact that the attack of October 7 inflicted a military and moral defeat on the invincible army and even an insult that the official side could not swallow, and all that it is doing now is an attempt to restore respect, restore self-confidence and raise morale. The southern colonies were invaded, hundreds were killed, hundreds were kidnapped, and some were controlled for hours, and some for days, before Israeli military control was restored over them.

This defeat and the violent shock that resulted from it prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, from day one, and his famous call with US President Joe Biden, to promote the narrative that Hamas fighters brutally beheaded children and raped women, and that what they did had no parallel since the Holocaust!

The matter did not stop at these allegations, but a campaign began to promote videos of atrocities committed during the attack. Some of these videos that have been and are still being circulated on social media relate to actions carried out by ISIS gangs in the past and are not related to the attack. There are videos that must be examined and verified for authenticity, and this cannot be done except after the end of the war and by neutral parties.

Promoting horrific stories and videos about what allegedly took place during the October 7 attack is the reason behind the change that struck the small camp that was affiliated with those who support the political solution and the two-state solution, putting it in a state of anxiety and hesitation, and it is also the reason for inciting Israeli public opinion against the Palestinians and aroused feelings of hatred against the Arabs and the desire to take revenge on them in the most horrific ways.

There is no doubt that as the war continues and deaths continue to fall among the ranks of the Israelis, this feeling of hatred and resentment will become more ferocious and the gap between them will become deeper, especially between the Jews and the Arab citizens of Israel, as we live today in a unique state of distance between the two sides, such that the Arabs do not dare to go to the Jewish areas or Jews dare to go to Arab regions. It happened two days ago that an Arab woman, eight months pregnant, and her daughter were subjected to severe beating in the town of Netanya, which led to her miscarriage, just because someone heard her speaking in Arabic.

By the way, the settlers in the West Bank have found in the atmosphere of this war an opportunity to attack the Arabs, and there is no place without settlers attacking the Arabs and their property. It has happened in more than one place that the settlers have opened fire and killed unarmed Palestinian citizens, especially villagers who are heading to their fields to pick olives, which have been harvested since the middle of last month, without these settlers being held accountable for their crimes. There are still hundreds of dunams planted with olive trees whose owners have not been able to reach them, either because of settler attacks or because the army has dismembered the West Bank, closing the entrances and exits of the villages, and isolating them from each other and from the fields around them.

The picture in general is that the Israeli mouthpieces are still promoting news and tapes about what they claim was committed by Hamas on October 7, and they are also inciting national and fascist sentiments among the Jews, the latest of which is the frenzied campaign that began yesterday by calling on the Israelis to raise Israeli flags On their homes, shops, and cars, which will lead to creating a state of polarization and separation between Arabs and Jews, citizens of Israel, and make Arabs an easy target for Jewish attacks inside Israel. This serves a plan to spread terror and displacement among Arabs, even among those who are citizens of Israel.

I lived through the wars of June 1967, 1973, and 1982, and the first and second intifadas, and I do not recall that the hatred between Arabs and Jews, whether inside Israel or in the occupied territories, reached the very disturbing level it has reached these days, which warns that it will become more ferocious with the continuation of the war on Gaza and the continuation of the war of extermination being practiced against our people In Gaza. The horrific videos and pictures circulated by the media about the brutal crimes committed against our people there are in full view of the hypocritical world that has proven its complicity with this war, whether by remaining silent about it or justifying it.
We are living in a very complex phase of this conflict and in the relationship between Arabs and Jews, and the main criterion that can restrain or unleash it remains whether this war will continue for a longer period or will it stop. There is no doubt that everyone who is concerned about the future of the relationship between Jews and Arabs in this part of the world must realize that the seeds of hatred that are being sown in great numbers these days through the current war of extermination will bear fruit in the not-too-distant future, and that the one who sows these seeds is the one who will be definitely a victim.

Everyone is in dire need of an immediate halt to the fighting and destruction and to stop matters from getting worse so that they do not reach the point of no return.
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Axios revealed that the Democratic National Committee, which US President Joe Biden relies on in his re-election campaign, is in a state of turmoil and division due to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Some aides believe that the White House is “inciting an immoral attack on the Palestinians,” while others believe that Biden is showing “moral clarity in protecting Israel from terrorists,” according to what the site reports in a report.

The report says divisions within the Democratic National Committee are mainly between older, pro-Israel Democrats and younger progressives who are more sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians.

“The president has focused his 2020 campaign on a battle for the soul of the nation, but it appears as if the administration is currently in a battle for its own soul,” a senior Democratic National Committee official who requested anonymity told Axios.

"I don't know how you can not see support for the widespread killing of Palestinian civilians as something immoral," the official added.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison told Axios in a statement that Biden "continues to demonstrate unparalleled leadership and moral clarity," adding that "Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorism and the continuing threat posed by Hamas."

Harrison noted that Biden, who called for a “humanitarian truce” in the fighting in Gaza, but not a ceasefire, was “a strong advocate for humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza as well as the protection of civilian lives.”

Axios reports that some committee employees were shaken by emails and phone calls from Democratic donors angry at the administration's policy, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Democratic National Committee declined to comment to Axios on any discontent among staff, supporters and donors.

On Friday, 51 of the committee’s employees, or about 17 percent of its approximately 300 employees, signed a letter to their leaders saying, “We feel it is the committee’s moral duty to urge President Biden to publicly call for a ceasefire.”

The staff also wrote that they were "shocked and saddened by the unfathomable loss of life in the brutal attack on Israeli civilians" and that they mourned "the thousands of Palestinian civilians who lost their lives during the Israeli government's military response."

Several House Democrats revealed that they expect more of their colleagues to begin speaking out about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and one pro-Israel lawmaker told the site, “It will be very difficult for Democrats, given what we see on the news, to turn a blind eye to what is happening.” in Gaza".

On October 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack in the history of Israel, causing the death of nearly 1,400 people, most of whom were civilians who died on the first day of the attack, according to the Israeli authorities.

Since then, Israel has responded with devastating bombing of the Gaza Strip, where 9,488 people were killed, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

The US Central Command announced, on Sunday, the arrival of the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier fleet to the Middle East as part of strengthening its regional positioning.

The command said in a tweet on Twitter that Dwight Eisenhower's group arrived in the Middle East and the US Central Command area of responsibility as part of further strengthening its regional position.

The group consists of the aircraft carrier and guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), the guided-missile destroyers USS Mason (DDG 87) and the destroyer squadron (DDG 107), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 with its nine squadrons, and the Information Warfare Commander.

The aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower, along with its accompanying group of ships, will join the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, which Washington deployed in the region following the attacks launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7.

The dispatch of the aircraft carrier, according to what US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced last month, comes within the framework of “deterring hostile actions against Israel or any efforts to expand the war in the wake of the attack launched by Hamas” on Israel.

On October 7, Hamas launched the most violent attack on Israel, and at least 1,400 people were killed in Israel, the majority of whom were civilians who died in the first days of the attacks, according to the authorities. Hamas is holding 241 hostages, according to the army.

So far, 9,488 people have been killed as a result of the Israeli bombing of Gaza, most of them civilians, including 3,900 children, according to a toll announced by the Hamas government on Saturday.

The Israeli occupation concealed the death of two Gazan workers who were arrested after their permits were canceled following Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” and did not open an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths, noting that the workers were arrested in two military facilities in the occupied West Bank under inhumane conditions.

Two workers from the besieged Gaza Strip were dead in detention camps established by the occupation in military sites belonging to the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank, following the Al-Qassam attack on October 7, to arrest thousands of Gazan workers who were working in Israel under work permits before the operation. "Al-Aqsa Flood."

This came according to what the newspaper "Haaretz" reported on Saturday evening, while the newspaper did not mention the identity of the two martyrs or the circumstances and reasons that led to their death, noting that Palestinian sources indicate that the number of Gazan workers arrested by the occupation authorities reached thousands and they were subjected to torture, humiliation, and collective punishment that It violates legal and international norms.

"Haaretz" reported that one of the workers died while being detained in the occupation camp in Antout, while the other died while being detained in the "Ofer" camp, and indicated that the occupation army did not announce the martyrdom of the workers even though they were detained under its direct responsibility, and that “A file was not opened to investigate the circumstances of their deaths.”

The occupation authorities had canceled the work permits of about 18,000 Gazans working in Israel after the outbreak of the war, leaving thousands of them stranded outside the Gaza Strip, while sources in the Palestinian Authority indicated that about 5,850 workers were expelled or arrived in the West Bank after last October 7 while the occupation forces arrested more than 3,200 workers.

Throughout the period of detention, the occupation forces prevented the detainees from meeting with lawyers, and they also refused to cooperate with human rights organizations that demanded a list of the names of the detainees and the whereabouts of all the people they are detaining, as well as the legal reasons for their arrest.

"Haaretz" said that the occupation army "did not publish a statement about their deaths, as is customary in the case of the death of detainees or prisoners in Israel, despite the fact that about three weeks had passed since the death of one of them who was detained in the Antoat camp," and it reported that the worker had complained about being ill and confirmed that he needed health care and demanded that he be seen by a doctor.

Haaretz stressed that, exceptionally, “the military police did not open an investigation (into the two deaths),” and the newspaper quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying, “The circumstances of the death are being investigated, and the army is still holding the bodies” of the two martyrs in the besieged Gaza Strip.

"Haaretz" said that the Israeli army returned most of the Gazan workers to the besieged Strip, yesterday, Friday, while "Yedioth Ahronoth" newspaper indicated that the occupation released 3,200 workers and deported them to the Gaza Strip, while "Kan 11" said that 3,000 workers were released. This is in the wake of the decision issued by the Ministerial Council for Security and Political Affairs (Extended Cabinet).

Participants in the demonstration called by the Indonesian People's Alliance to Support Palestine raised slogans demanding the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip, the entry of humanitarian aid and an end to the war.

The Indonesian capital, Jakarta, witnessed massive demonstrations denouncing the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and demanding a ceasefire. The American capital, Washington, also witnessed the largest demonstration in its history to demand an end to the Israeli war on Gaza.

Government ministers, party leaders, parliamentarians and leaders of Indonesian Islamic organizations participated in the demonstration.

The organizers estimated the number of participants in the demonstration at more than one million people, noting that Indonesia had witnessed many demonstrations in support of Gaza and denouncing the Israeli war on it during the past weeks.

Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said that his country's government is ready to send its medical ship to the waters near Gaza to provide medical treatment to victims of Israeli attacks, the Indonesian news agency "Antara" reported.

Subianto revealed that the Indonesian government plans to coordinate with countries neighboring the Gaza Strip, including Egypt, to obtain approval to send the medical ship.

He said during his visit to the Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Base in Jakarta, yesterday, Saturday, "The Indonesian Defense Forces are ready to send a medical ship, and will be ready there to provide more assistance."

The popular movement in support of Gaza is escalating around the world, as thousands participated in a massive demonstration in the American capital, Washington, to demand an end to the Israeli war on Gaza, denouncing the policies supporting Israel and the role of President Joe Biden, whom demonstrators described as “an accomplice in genocide.”

The demonstrators marched through the streets of Washington, waving Palestinian flags, and chanting slogans including: “Biden, Biden, you cannot hide. You participated in genocide.” Then they gathered at Freedom Square, steps away from the White House.

According to what was reported by Agence France-Presse, this demonstration is the largest demonstration in the American capital since the start of the war on Gaza. Many supporters spent long hours arriving in Washington to participate.

Armed confrontations and clashes broke out in more than one area in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, at dawn on Sunday, coinciding with the occupation forces storming a number of cities, villages and camps, which witnessed violent confrontations in response to the invading forces.

4 young Palestinians were killed this Sunday morning, by Israeli army. The young man, Ahmed Habis Dababsa, was martyred by occupation bullets in the town of Nuba, Hebron district, while in the town of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, 3 young men were killed  by Israeli army. They are: Nabil Halabiya, Muhannad Afaneh, and Musa Zaarour. 

This Sunday morning, three citizens, one of whom was killed, and six others were injured, three of them in critical condition, by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets in the towns of Abu Dis and Al-Eizariya, east of occupied Jerusalem.

Eyewitnesses said that large forces from the occupation army stormed the town of Abu Dis, surrounded a house, and violent confrontations broke out in the place.

They added that the occupation forces brought a military bulldozer and demolished parts of the besieged house, before firing an “Energa” shell at it, which led to the death of the young man trapped inside the house, Nabil Abdel Raouf Halabiya (20 years old).

A video clip showed the occupation forces carrying the body of the martyr Halabiya, who was killed inside the besieged house, using a bulldozer.

Later, the Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of the two young men, Musa Diya Musa Zaarour (22 years old) and Muhannad Ahmed Afana (20 years old), as a result of their wounds sustained during confrontations with the occupation forces in the town, while six others were injured, including three with critical injuries. Two were transferred to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital.

The child Rami Ezz Musa Odeh (17 years old) also died from his wounds shot by the Israeli occupation, in the town of Al-Eizariya a few days ago.

The Abu Dis girls’ schools and the Arab Institute announced the suspension of face-to-face work in the town and its conversion to remote work, in order to ensure the safety of the students and to mourn the souls of the two martyrs.

In Hebron, a young man died as a result of his wounds, and his brother was injured by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets during their storming of the town of Nuba, northwest of Hebron.

Local sources reported that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Nuba, and as a result, confrontations broke out, during which live bullets and poison gas bombs were fired at the citizens, which led to the injury of the young man, Ahmed Habes Dababsa (22 years old), with a bullet in the abdomen, and his brother Mahmoud, and they were taken to the hospital. Ahmed's martyrdom was later announced.

Not an escape of talking about the Gaza crisis and its dangerous war, its beginnings and developments, but there is an aspect in which there is ambiguity: how will it end, who will surrender, and in exchange for what? The ongoing Israeli military attack, which did not exclude civilians and services, is in fact greater than a reaction to Hamas attacks. Its size confirms that it is a project to change the political reality.

At the beginning of the attack, Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, had previously said: The region after October 7 will not be the same as before? Its echo was echoed in Western capitals, which clearly supported it and declared that the goal was to remove Hamas from Gaza.

We are facing a terrible humanitarian crisis, the middle of a military battle, and the beginning of a different political project. The Israelis may succeed in achieving their goal, which will mean the end of the armed organization as we know it, but the departure of Hamas from the equation will not eliminate the Palestinian cause and its rights, nor will it stop the danger to Israel, as evidenced by the October attacks themselves, which were larger than all previous operations, despite the fact that Israel besieged Gaza and has monitored Hamas' activities for years.

The irony is that the two enemies, Hamas and Netanyahu, are the two groups most closely allied against the peace project, and they worked to obstruct it. The second paradox is that Hamas and Netanyahu are the losers in the war. Hamas may lose Gaza, and Netanyahu, due to the defeat of the October attack, will lose the presidency of the government, and may end up in prison on pre-war corruption charges. The third paradox is that it is the deadly war that will breathe life into the train of peace, and not the other way around.

We remember how the expulsion of Yasser Arafat and his fighters from Lebanon at that time actually ended Fatah as a military organization, but Arafat positioned himself politically and succeeded in returning to Palestine as an authority, through the Oslo Accords. History may repeat itself, even in light of this humanitarian catastrophe, the worst in the history of the Israeli conflict in half a century.

The war will stop after a few weeks, and everyone will be forced to activate political action. Ismail Haniyeh surprised everyone. At the height of the fighting, he expressed Hamas' readiness to accept peace based on a two-state solution, because he was aware of the possibilities following war. Hamas is not strong enough to repel US-backed Israel, especially since it has been left to fight alone by its allies. Haniyeh wants the movement to have a political face, not just a military one, and a role in reaping the fruits of the October 7 attacks. The problem facing Haniyeh and Meshaal is that Hamas inside does not recognize any role for its leaders abroad, and it was leaked that their men were removed from leadership positions in 2017. The movement has been managed since then by its military leaders, specifically Yahya Sinwar. Because of the movement's besieged situation and what will follow, its leaders abroad may have a seat at the table for possible peace negotiations later, which they launched their attacks to crush.

Among the challenges is that the Americans have previously classified Hamas as a terrorist organization, and they will be forced to back down at the next moment if they adopt the peace project. They banned Arafat from entering the United States, prevented US officials from meeting him, and sought to invent alternative leaders for him, Abdel Shafi and Ashrawi, to negotiate at the Madrid Conference. Then the Americans later agreed to sit with Arafat because it was not possible to negotiate and make peace without him. The extremist Hamas is not Fatah. However, it remains a difficult number that cannot be ignored. If it agrees, it will strengthen the position of the Palestinian Authority in potential negotiations.

Until then, there is a road map full of traps. Hamas has a force of 35 thousand, and Israel considers getting rid of them a goal, and this is an almost impossible task militarily without massive losses on both sides and horrific civilians losses. Will Hamas accept the exit in order to reduce losses among civilians and its members? If it agrees to give up its weapons, the second challenge is that no Arab country is ready to host them for fear of the accompanying dangers. In this impasse, the warring parties may be convinced of a compromise solution. Here comes the role of the Palestinian Authority in managing Gaza. Here we see a light in Gaza's dark tunnels.

The talk continues on options of peace and weapons.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat

Kuwaiti National Assembly (Parliament) adopted a recommendation to refer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country’s military and political leaders as “war criminals” in international forums, the International Criminal Court and in the world’s parliaments, and to assign the Parliamentary Division to lead legal, political and media efforts in this regard.

The Council also called on Arab and Muslim governments and parliaments “to take steps to break the siege and reject normalization,” and called on chambers of commerce and businessmen to activate the boycott of Israel.

The National Assembly approved a set of recommendations, most notably the prosecution of Israel’s leaders as “war criminals” in international forums, and the establishment of “Kuwait Humanitarian City” in Gaza. The recommendations called on the Kuwaiti government, the private sector, and development funds to establish a "Gaza Reconstruction Fund and to support  its steadfastness."

It called for 13 recommendations; To close Kuwaiti airspace and its lands to any use in any operation against the Palestinians, and to pursue any cases of communication with the occupation.

The recommendations also called on the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health to arrange the reception of infected people, especially children and women to treat them in Kuwait.

Parliamentary condemnation

During the session devoted to discussing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip, representatives of the Kuwaiti National Assembly affirmed their condemnation of the Israeli practices in the Gaza Strip for weeks, which resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries, most of them civilian children and women.

While they affirmed their rejection of normalization with Israel, the representatives noted Kuwait’s official position “in support of the Palestinian cause, which expresses the popular position towards the genocide and massacres practiced by the occupation against the Palestinian people, calling on government agencies to continue humanitarian support for Gaza.”

The representatives denounced “the international silence that revealed the contradictions of Western countries and their reversal of human rights principles and the failure of the United Nations agreements that claimed to implement justice and support the oppressed.”

The representatives stressed “the importance of initiative and coordination to launch international campaigns to implement the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to cease fire and allow the entry of humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip.”

On Saturday, on the sidelines of the Arab-American meeting in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Foreign Minister, discussed with his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, ways to support efforts aimed at stopping the escalation of military operations in Gaza and its environs, in addition to the efforts made towards introducing humanitarian and relief aid. And medical, in order to prevent the worsening of the humanitarian crisis.

During the meeting, Prince Faisal bin Farhan stressed the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of the forced displacement of Gaza’s residents, stressing the Kingdom’s condemnation of targeting civilians in any way, or disrupting infrastructure and vital interests that affect their daily lives.

The Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) said that an Israeli bombing of the Maghazi camp in central Gaza City had claimed the lives of 51 people, after a new announcement of the arrival of nearly 20 more bodies.

The agency reported that the bombing targeted the home of the Semaan family in the camp, and that the majority of those killed were women and children. And added that Israeli air strikes and ground and sea shelling targeted various areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, according to what the Arab World News Agency reported.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Saturday evening that the death toll from Israeli attacks on the Strip had risen to 9,488, including 3,900 children, since October 7.

Spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra added that 70 percent of the victims of the Israeli bombing are children, women and the elderly, and that there were more than a thousand massacres committed against Palestinian families.

In turn, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday that it had received 30 trucks loaded with aid through the Rafah crossing, raising the number of aid that had arrived in the Gaza Strip since October 21 to 451 trucks.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement that the International Committee of the Red Cross received three trucks sent to it, while 19 trucks went to the UN agency UNRWA, in addition to eight trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The statement said that the new batch of aid contains four trucks containing medical supplies and medicines, while the rest of the trucks carried food, water, and relief aid.