PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 4:47 pm - Jerusalem Time

Jordan's FM accused international community of following "double standards" towards Palestinians

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Sunday accused the international community of showing "double standards" towards Palestinians, as Israeli bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip continues relentlessly.


"Why is blocking access to food and medicine for civilians considered a war crime in Ukraine but not in Gaza?" Safadi asked in an interview with the BBC, according to a statement by the country's Foreign Ministry.


"The international community should condemn the killing of Palestinian civilians just as it does for Israeli civilians."

Safadi said the humanitarian and legal criteria should be "consistent" without discrimination.


He warned of a risk of the current conflict spreading to other regions, and highlighted its devastating impact on women, children, the elderly, and innocent civilians.


The foreign minister said a "just peace" based on a two-state solution is the key to ensuring the security of Palestine, Israel, and the entire region.


Last weekend, Israeli forces launched a sustained military push against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by Hamas in Israeli territories.


The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel – a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.


Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.


The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering more than 1 million Gazans in the northern strip to evacuate to the southern strip.


PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 4:40 pm - Jerusalem Time

China on Mideast conflict: Military option is not a way out in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Responding to violence with violence in Palestinian-Israeli conflict will only create vicious cycle, Chinese foreign minister tells his US counterpart.


The escalating tension in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in danger of spiraling out of control, and neither side can ensure its own security by harming innocent civilians, but the military option is no way out, China’s foreign minister told his US counterpart over the phone on Sunday.


Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China condemns violations of international law and opposes harming civilians, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.


“The military option is not a way out in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, (as) responding to violence with violence will only create a ‘vicious cycle’,” he told Blinken.

Establishing a cease-fire between the parties and preventing a humanitarian disaster by reducing tensions is the most important priority, he added.


Stressing that channels for humanitarian aid should be opened, a compromise within a UN framework should be supported, and the Security Council should fulfill its role, Wang said the main way to solve the problem is implementation of the two-state solution, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine.


“There will be no peace in the Middle East without reconciliation between Israel and Arab countries,” he said.

The top Chinese diplomat reiterated his country's call for an international peace conference for comprehensive reconciliation.


Saying that major countries should follow a fair and objective attitude in international and regional crises, act with calmness and restraint, and lead in adherence to international law, Wang added: "China will continue to encourage peace talks. The US should also play a constructive role and bring a political solution back on track as soon as possible."


Blinken also stated that his country supports a two-state solution to the problem and a UN role in reducing tensions and providing humanitarian aid, adding that the US is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China, said the ministry statement.


The conversation followed an announcement by Beijing that it is sending an envoy to the Mideast region this week to seek a path to peace.


Source: Anadolu Agency website

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 3:56 pm - Jerusalem Time

UN estimates 1 million Palestinians displaced in a week of Israeli bombing on Gaza

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced on Sunday that about one million citizens were displaced in the Gaza Strip during the first week of the Israeli occupation’s aggression against our people.


The agency's communications director, Juliette Touma, told Agence France-Presse, "An estimated one million people were displaced in the first seven days" of the escalation in Gaza.


According to UNRWA, this number is likely to increase as residents continue to leave their homes for fear of the ongoing Israeli bombing since October 7th.


In a not final outcome, the Ministry of Health announced today that the number of martyrs among our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has risen to 2,384, and the number of wounded has risen to about 10,250, since the beginning of the aggression on the seventh of this October.


The Ministry of Health explained in a press statement that the number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip rose to 2,329, the majority of whom were children and women, while the number of wounded reached 9,042.


In the West Bank, the number of martyrs rose to 55, after the announcement yesterday of the death of the child Muhammad Rifaat Adwan (16 years old) in Tulkarm Governorate, while the number of wounded rose to more than 1,200.

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 2:38 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israel threatens to bomb Kuwait Hospital in Rafah

Today, Sunday, the Israeli occupation threatened to bomb the Kuwaiti Hospital in the center of Rafah, demanding its evacuation.


According to local sources, hospital administrations refuse to evacuate, because inside the hospital there are large numbers of wounded and injured, some of whom are in critical and dangerous conditions, and on artificial respiration. If the hospital is evacuated, these cases become at risk of death, so the Kuwaiti hospital administration chose to remain among the sick, wounded and injured. To let him go.


It is noteworthy that the Israeli war machine has been threatening for two days to evacuate a number of hospital directors in the Gaza Strip, via letters and direct communications, while hospital directors refuse to deal with these communications and messages.


These threats come in light of the catastrophic health and humanitarian conditions that the Gaza Strip is experiencing, as the entire health system is on the verge of collapse due to power outages, and the occupation’s failure to allow electricity, water and fuel to be delivered to the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression nine days ago, while thousands of wounded are piled up in the corridors of hospitals and health centers that have no capacity. It stops for a moment to receive the wounded of the aggression.

ARAB AND WORLD

Sun 15 Oct 2023 2:20 pm - Jerusalem Time

Egypt calls for international summit over Palestinian crisis

On Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi chaired a meeting of the National Security Council, where developments in the regional situation were reviewed, especially with regard to developments in the military escalation in the Gaza Strip.


The meeting reviewed developments in the regional situation, and the need to continue contacting international relief organizations in order to deliver the required assistance.


The following is what was issued by the Egyptian National Security meeting:


-Continuing contacts with international and regional partners in order to reduce the escalation and stop targeting civilians.


-Intensifying contacts with international relief and regional organizations in order to deliver the required aid.


Emphasizing that there is no solution to the Palestinian issue except the two-state solution, while rejecting and denouncing the policy of displacement or attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue at the expense of neighboring countries.


-Highlighting Egypt's readiness to make any effort to calm the situation and launch and resume a real peace process.


- Confirming that Egypt’s national security is a red line and that there will be no complacency in protecting it.

Egypt extends an invitation to host an international regional summit in order to address developments and the future of the Palestinian issue.


Egyptian mediation


A few days ago, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stressed that Egypt's pursuit of peace, and considering it its strategic choice, requires it not to leave the Palestinians without security to obtain their legitimate rights.


Al-Sisi addressed the Egyptian people in a speech during the graduation ceremony of students from the academy and military colleges, on Thursday, saying: “I call on all parties to uphold the language of reason and wisdom, and to adhere to the utmost levels of self-restraint, and to remove civilians, children, and women from the cycle of brutal revenge, and to return immediately to the negotiating path.” To avoid fires that will break out.”


Al-Sisi stressed that Egypt will harness all its capabilities and efforts for mediation, in coordination with all international and regional actors, without restriction or condition.


Al-Sisi stressed that Egypt’s pursuit of peace, and considering it its strategic choice, requires it “not to abandon the brothers in precious Palestine, and to preserve the capabilities of the brotherly Palestinian people, and to ensure that they obtain their legitimate rights. This is our firm and firm position, and it is not a decision we take, but rather a doctrine latent in our souls and consciences, hoping.” May the voices of peace be louder.


Source: Sky News Arabia

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 2:13 pm - Jerusalem Time

Gaza Interior Ministry: Dozens of deaths under the rubble, and exhuming their bodies is beyond our capabilities


The Ministry of Interior in Gaza said that dozens of deaths bodies are under the rubble and that exhuming their bodies is beyond its capabilities, after the occupation army launched heavy raids targeting areas northwest of the Strip.


The Ministry stated that there are neighborhoods under the rubble that cannot be reached, and that they need urgent external assistance.


Newspaper sources said earlier that heavy Israeli raids targeted areas northwest of the Gaza Strip, and that an inhabited house in the middle of Al-Jalaa Street was bombed. Intense Israeli raids also took place on the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza.


The sources also reported that one of the departments of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza was severely damaged as a result of an Israeli bombing, after Israeli warnings of the need to evacuate it immediately.


9 people were killed and more than 20 injured after the bombing of the Dardouna family home in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip.


Source: Al Jazeera Channel


PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 2:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

Foreign Ministry: Israel commits a humanitarian catastrophe against Palestinian people

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the occupation's devastating aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip, which included all aspects of citizens' lives through bombing and destruction, killing and displacement, and the destruction of infrastructure and institutions of all kinds, most notably hospitals.


The Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement today, Sunday, that this Israeli aggression has plunged the Palestinian citizens of the Gaza Strip into a real and unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe that has affected the minimum necessities of human life, including depriving citizens of their basic needs, as stipulated in the Geneva Conventions and humanitarian law. International and international human rights law.


The Foreign Ministry said in its statement: The occupation authorities continue their procedures and practices in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and kidnapping it completely, by imposing a stifling military cordon on it, dismembering it, and intensifying military barriers and closures, whether with iron gates, earth mounds, or cement cubes, in a way that perpetuates the system of apartheid. ), paralyzing the movement of defenseless citizens with military orders to completely stop and freeze their lives.


 The Foreign Ministry pointed to the support provided by the occupation authorities to the settlers to commit more violations, crimes, and provocative orgies against Palestinian citizens, which leads to depriving them of movement between cities and governorates to meet their most basic humanitarian needs, most importantly their need for security, work, education, and freedom of movement to reach their sources of livelihood, olives, hospitals, and health centers.


The Foreign Ministry called for urgent international intervention to stop the occupation’s devastating aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip, secure access to basic humanitarian needs for citizens, stop the accelerating repercussions of this unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, and force the occupying state to stop all of its illegal unilateral measures that are unfair to the negotiated final solution issues.


The Foreign Ministry affirmed that our people are a victim of the continued occupation, a victim of international double standards, and a victim of the international failure to achieve peace and implement the principle of the two-state solution.



PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 2:07 pm - Jerusalem Time

Three options for Israel in Gaza

The American newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" pointed out that Israel is preparing to invade the Gaza Strip with the clear aim of destroying the ability of the "Hamas" movement to rule, but it has not developed any clear strategy regarding the stage after the ground invasion.


Israel spoke of an imminent massive attack, and sent tanks, snipers, artillery units, and tens of thousands of troops to the borders of the Gaza Strip, demanding that civilians living in the northern part of the Strip, an area with a population of 1.1 million people, leave for their safety.


Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said on Friday, after his meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Tel Aviv: “We will destroy Hamas’ rule, eliminate its military capabilities, and get rid of this threat on our borders.”


But Israeli leaders still have to answer another important question: What's next for Hamas?


Jacob Nagel, who served as National Security Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is in contact with government officials, said: “The most important thing is to act and put an end to the problem. After that we decide what to do,” noting that what happened over the weekend changed all the rules of the game. .


One American official pointed out that there have been no significant discussions so far with Israeli officials regarding the aftermath of the invasion. This is the dilemma that faced US leaders after the September 11 attack in 2001, when the attack launched by Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan paved the way for Washington to invade Iraq. The official said that Israel must think about the consequences and not rush into war without an exit strategy, adding: “Israel has no plan... If Hamas is destroyed, who will replace it?”


In fact, Israel has fought four wars in the Gaza Strip with Hamas since the movement took control of the Strip in 2007, but this time will be different. Israel responded to the attacks with military campaigns aimed at deterring Hamas and weakening its ability to carry out future strikes. Israeli officials referred to this strategy as “mowing the lawn,” a way of reducing the problem without addressing the underlying issues. Israeli leaders from all political viewpoints adopted this approach, due to the absence of alternatives.


But the sudden movement process led to changing this model. Today, Israel is preparing for its largest-ever military campaign in Gaza, a campaign aimed at decisively ending Hamas' rule.


If Israel is able to overthrow Hamas, the first option may be to send its forces to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, as it did until 2005, but it does not wish to send military forces again to impose military rule on the Gaza Strip. Nagel said: “We do not want to rule Gaza, that is for sure.”


The second option, which is gaining popularity, is to try to crush the movement, then exit Gaza, and let the Palestinians and their supporters know what will happen next. This option poses a set of challenges, which may pave the way for more extremist forces to fill the power vacuum.


The third option is for Israel to pave the way for the return of the US-backed Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank.

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 1:48 pm - Jerusalem Time

World Trade Organization Warns Of Expanding Scope Of Gaza War

World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said she hoped the conflict between Israel and Hamas could be ended quickly, warning that it would have a “really significant impact” on already weak global trade flows if it spreads across the region.


She added on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Morocco that violence in the Middle East could increase the factors that stifle trade growth, including high interest rates, the crisis Chinese real estate market, and the Russian war in Ukraine.

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 1:43 pm - Jerusalem Time

Young Palestinian dies of gunshot wounds by Israeli army south of Nablus

Today, Sunday, the young man Karam Ayman Dweikat (17 years old) died as a result of his wounds shot by the Israeli occupation forces, during confrontations in the town of Beita, south of Nablus.


The Ministry of Health announced that the young man Dweikat was seriously injured in the abdomen by live occupation bullets, and his death was later announced during confrontations in Jabal Al-Arma in the town of Beita.


Confrontations broke out after dozens of settlers stormed the summit of Mount Al-Arma in Beita, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces.

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 1:27 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli soldier to Netanyahu: Liar, zero

Israeli media reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to cancel a scheduled speech before reserve soldiers at the last minute, after he received insults from one of them.

 

According to the Israeli Channel 12, “Netanyahu arrived several days ago to visit reserve soldiers in the Paratroopers and Magellan Brigades, and before he delivered a speech from the podium, one of the soldiers present shouted, ‘You are a liar,’ whistled, and uttered other insults.”

 

As a result, Netanyahu decided to leave the place quickly.

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 1:09 pm - Jerusalem Time

Amnesty International: Israel uses white phosphorus in Gaza

Amnesty International confirmed that Israel used white phosphorus bombs in its bombing of the Gaza Strip, which was crowded with civilians.


The organization said, in a statement today, Sunday, that our Crisis Evidence Laboratory collected evidence documenting the use of white phosphorus shells by Israeli military units in their bombing of the Gaza Strip.


It added that verified videos and photos show M825 and M825A1 artillery shells, which are designated D528, which is the US Department of Defense Identification Code (DODIC) for white phosphorus-based shells.


For the ninth day in a row, the Israeli occupation army continues to target the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged since 2006, with intense air strikes that destroyed entire neighborhoods and left thousands of martyrs and wounded among Palestinian civilians.


PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 12:55 pm - Jerusalem Time

Saudi Crown Prince and Blinken discuss the military escalation in Gaza

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met, early Sunday morning, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of his tour in the region that he began from Israel on Thursday, after Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” and the Israeli aggression on Gaza.


In response to a question from journalists about his meeting with the Crown Prince, Blinken merely said that it was “very productive.”


In addition, the Saudi News Agency “SPA” reported that the Crown Prince discussed with Blinken the current military escalation in Gaza and its surroundings, stressing the necessity of working to discuss ways to stop the military operations that claimed the lives of innocent people.


During the meeting, the Crown Prince affirmed the Kingdom’s endeavor to intensify communication, work on calm, stop the ongoing escalation, respect international humanitarian law, including lifting the siege on Gaza, and work to create conditions for the return of stability and restore the path of peace in a way that ensures the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights. And achieving just and lasting peace.


The Crown Prince stressed the Kingdom's refusal to target civilians in any way, or disrupt infrastructure and vital interests that affect their daily lives.


The meeting comes on the fourth day of Blinken's largest tour to date in the region since he assumed the position of Foreign Minister. Blinken is working with his country's allies in the region to prevent the expansion of the scope of the war launched by Israel after Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and its transformation into a larger conflict in the region, and to help secure the release of those detained by Hamas.


Blinken began this tour on Thursday from Israel, expressing Washington's full support for its closest allies in the region in its war. He also visited Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and met in those countries with senior leaders and officials. He is expected to go to Egypt today, Sunday.


OPINIONS

Sun 15 Oct 2023 11:44 am - Jerusalem Time

Propaganda of Israel and America: “Goebbelism” in the service of destroying Gaza

Translation for “Al-Quds” dot com

Translation for “Al-Quds” dot com

Opinion Writer

By Anis Muhsen 

One of the most famous sayings of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is: “Lie and lie until you believe it.” Today, Israel applies this statement to its fullest in Gaza, and the United States and the colonial powers that ruled the Arab countries after World War I agree with it, especially France and Britain.


In their campaign against Gaza, Israel and its allies are also inspired by the principle of “the end justifies the means,” which was adopted by Niccolò Machiavelli, the sixteenth-century Italian thinker, philosopher, and politician.


This propaganda and this principle are not new to the Zionist mentality. For example, but not limited to, and to justify the establishment of Israel on the ruins of Palestine, the saying “a land without a people for a people without a land” became widespread and was marketed in Europe, which had long been searching for a solution to the Jewish question in it. The Nazi Holocaust against the Jews and other peoples of Europe contributed to convincing those who were not convinced to immigrate to Palestine, in addition to the allegations that the Jews in Palestine were defending themselves against the Arabs who wanted to kill them, and that the Palestinians abandoned their villages by choice and not out of fear of frequent news of massacres committed by gangs. Zionism. In this regard, Ilan Pappe exposes many Zionist deceptions and propaganda in his book “Ten Myths about Israel.”


As for Zionism’s use of Machiavelli’s principle, Lenni Brenner reveals in his book “Fifty-One Documents: Zionist Collaboration with the Nazis” what was done by Rudolf Kaststner, head of the Zionist Rescue Committee, in Budapest, which negotiated with the Nazis during the period 1944-1945 regarding the fate of the Hungarian Jews, which Brenner considers to be merely a cover for collusion with the Nazis to displace the rich Jews, those holding degrees, and professionals to Palestine, and to leave the poor Jews to their fate by deporting them to Auschwitz.


In the same vein comes the propaganda that is currently being practiced in the Gaza Strip, and accordingly; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ministers of the war government come out, along with the media, Zionist “intellectuals” and journalists, and Western media coordinate with them, to declare “Hamas” a new “ISIS”, so what is required is to establish an international coalition to eliminate it. The funny thing about this matter is that the colonial powers that founded Israel (the United States, Britain, France, and other Western countries) adopted the Israeli lie by committing heinous acts in the colonies surrounding the Gaza Strip during the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation. From the cutting off of heads, the cutting of stomachs, and the burning of children and women, for the whole world to see US President Joe Biden shedding tears as he watched the Israeli victims who were slaughtered, raped, and burned, before the White House retracted this story and confirmed that the photos and videos referred to had not been verified, but after That day, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken adopted this Israeli propaganda, indicating that he had come to visit Israel, not only as US Secretary of State, but also as a Jew whose family had suffered as a result of Nazi persecution. Many Western media outlets have also adopted the story.


In conjunction with this propaganda, the pictures and videos of which were not published, because it would be easy to verify technically that it was not true, the Israeli machine of ethnic cleansing and military genocide was unloading all the hatred of its operators on Gazan women, children and the elderly who, despite direct transmission on Arab channels, did not receive coverage. In the Zionist-biased media, nor in the statements of Western officials.


Indeed, Israeli officials and many Zionist analysts did not hesitate to declare that what was required of the people of Gaza was their migration to Egypt within the most extreme right-wing Zionist concept of “transfer,” which is what US administration officials have called for, including National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications in the White House John Kirby. He declared the need for Egypt to open a crossing from Gaza to its territory to receive refugees from it, but without even talking about the possibility of their return.


Under the same pretext (fighting Hamas), and the same crying and wailing over the alleged massacres of the Gaza Strip, entire neighborhoods are destroyed in the cities of the Gaza Strip, and those from the north of the Strip are asked to migrate towards the south, where the border is with Egypt, in a scandalous scenario for the subsequent displacement of all Gazans from their land to Egypt. In a repetition of the ongoing Nakba.


If this scenario is achieved - and it will not be achieved as long as the resistance continues to resist and the people cling to their land - it will also mean the displacement of the Palestinians of the West Bank and Jerusalem, and perhaps the Palestinians of the territories occupied since 1948, out of their land, especially to Jordan, which sensed this imminent danger with Egypt, and is submitting with it. There is significant American and Western pressure, but this time, it does not seem that the Arab encirclement countries, nor the people of Palestine, are ready to yield to the threat and fear factor. Jordan and Egypt are adhering to their sovereignty, and the Palestinians are adhering to remaining in their land, and Zionist propaganda must be revealed for what it is through the steadfastness and resistance of the Palestinians, and the inability to stop the flow of correct information through social media, no matter how much these communication platforms try to prevent it, and the beginning of a change has recently been noticed. In some major Western media regarding the Israeli allegations.


Source: Institute of Palestinian Studies


PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 11:31 am - Jerusalem Time

Prisoner Club: 470 arrests in the West Bank within eight days

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that the Israeli occupation continues to carry out arrest campaigns in the West Bank, which are the highest in years compared to the level of arrests and the period during which the arrest campaigns were carried out.


The club explained in a statement issued today, Sunday, that the number of arrests since the start of the comprehensive Israeli occupation aggression against our people on the seventh of October this year amounted to about 470 arrests from the West Bank, including all categories, in addition to detained workers inside the West Bank. The 1948 territories and Gaza, whose exact numbers are not known until today.


The club indicated that arrests were concentrated in Hebron Governorate, where the highest rate was recorded.


The Prisoners' Club added that the occupation forces launched a massive arrest campaign last night and Sunday dawn, targeting at least 65 citizens, and the arrests were distributed in most of the governorates of the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.


The Prisoner's Club stated that the testimonies we receive from the families of detainees reflect the level of brutality used by the occupation forces during arrest operations against detainees and their families, in addition to threats that amounted to death threats, in addition to the severe beatings that affected the majority of detainees, and the widespread acts of sabotage and destruction. For homes.


The club  stressed that the current escalation in arrest operations is accompanied by great complications and difficulties in following up on detainees in investigation and detention centers, as a result of a series of measures imposed by the occupation on the work of legal teams, and specifically procrastination in giving answers about the fate of detainees and their places of detention, specifically after the occupation activated the military order that includes: Increasing the first extension period, as well as depriving detainees of meeting with a lawyer for a minimum period of two days.


The Prisoner's Club directed all families of detainees in the West Bank to communicate with the institutions specialized in prisoners' affairs, in an attempt to monitor and follow up on the crimes and violations carried out against detainees and their families, and to follow up on them later, in light of the great challenges facing the institutions.


It is noteworthy that since the beginning of this year, arrests have reached approximately (6,000) cases.

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 11:04 am - Jerusalem Time

Israeli extremist settlers attack a Palestinian and storm Jabal Al-Urma in Nablus

Today, Sunday, settlers attacked a Palestinian citizen and his vehicle, and others stormed Mount Al-Arma in the city of Nablus.


According to local sources, settlers attacked a citizen's vehicle while he was passing his vehicle on the main road linking the village of Burqa and Deir Sharaf, northwest of the city, which led to damage to the vehicle's windshield.


According to other sources, dozens of settlers stormed the top of Mount Al-Arma in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces.



PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 11:01 am - Jerusalem Time

Israeli army bombards towns in southern Lebanon

On Sunday morning, the Israeli occupation army bombed several villages in southern Lebanon, including Rmeish, Ramia, and Aita al-Shaab.


Israeli warplanes also fly over the Lebanese-Palestinian border.


Yesterday, two Lebanese citizens were killed in the southern town of Shebaa as a result of Israeli bombing.

ARAB AND WORLD

Sun 15 Oct 2023 11:00 am - Jerusalem Time

Lebanese Front: An Arab worker was killed by an anti-tank missile from Lebanon

An Arab worker was killed on Sunday morning after sustaining critical injuries as a result of an anti-armor shell being fired from southern Lebanon towards the town of Shtoula in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border.


Three other people were injured and taken to Nahariya Hospital, two in moderate condition and one in minor condition.


Hebrew media confirmed that a number of anti-tank missiles and missiles hit a number of workers in the town, killing one person and wounding 4 of them.


It confirmed that the injured were transferred to Israeli hospitals.


The Israeli media indicated that the occupation artillery fired a number of shells and missiles at Lebanon in response to the shooting.


Hezbollah said in a brief statement, "Our fighters targeted an Israeli army center in Shtoula with guided missiles, resulting in deaths and injuries."


PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 10:53 am - Jerusalem Time

UNRWA: Two million Palestinians in Gaza face death due to running out of water

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned that more than two million citizens in the Gaza Strip face the risk of running out of water, which has become life-threatening.


UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said: Water has become a matter of life and death. It is essential that fuel is delivered to Gaza to provide water for two million people.


The UN agency indicated in a press statement that humanitarian supplies have not been allowed to enter Gaza for a week. She said that the Strip is running out of clean water after the water station and public water networks stopped working.


According to UNRWA, in just the past 12 hours, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. The wave of displacement continues as people move to the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The number of displaced people reached nearly one million people within a week.


UNRWA called on the Israeli occupation authorities to protect all civilians sheltering in its facilities throughout the Gaza Strip, including those in the northern Strip and Gaza City.


The agency explained that despite the order to evacuate more than a million people from northern Gaza and Gaza City to the southern Strip, many will not be able to leave the area. They have no choice and must be protected at all times.


UNRWA stated that civilians, hospitals, schools, clinics, and United Nations facilities cannot be targeted, indicating that its shelters in Gaza and the northern Gaza Strip are no longer safe, which is considered unprecedented.

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 10:43 am - Jerusalem Time

American sources: Israel postpones ground invasion into Gaza for several days

The American New York Times reported that the Israeli army decided to postpone its expected invasion into the Gaza Strip for several days “due to bad weather conditions.”


The newspaper quoted three senior officers in the Israeli army, whose identities were not revealed, that the ground attack was supposed to begin this weekend, but it was partially postponed due to cloudy skies that will make it difficult for Israeli pilots and drone operators to provide air cover for ground forces.


For his part, an Israeli army spokesman told CNN that they would begin a major military operation in Gaza “when civilians leave the area,” he claimed.


The spokesman added that the Israeli army had given the residents of Gaza sufficient warnings and that it was time for them to leave the south, accusing Hamas of thwarting the exit of foreigners from the Strip, because it did not allow them to leave, as he put it.


OPINIONS

Sun 15 Oct 2023 10:38 am - Jerusalem Time

Israeli Genocidal war requires national unity

op-ed Al Quds dot com

op-ed Al Quds dot com

Opinion Writer

The war of genocide against our people in the steadfast Gaza Strip has shown once again the extent of the complicity of the colonial West, including the United States of America, which claims that all of these countries have democracy and human rights, but it is far from that. Indeed, its past and present history confirms its support for non-democratic countries that It rules its people with iron and fire.


The most prominent example of this is the support of these countries, led by America, for the war of extermination carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip under the guise of eliminating Hamas and the resistance factions, while those who are targeting, and even destroying and burning, are our people there, and this is exposed by the pictures coming out of the Gaza Strip, which confirm that... The most prominent targets in the Gaza Strip are children, women, and the elderly, in addition to young men. Indeed, entire families and households have been martyred as a result of the offensive occupation bombing, which comes with the clear complicity of these countries.


In addition to military, political and diplomatic support, the United States and its Western colonial allies threaten and intimidate anyone who tries to stand by our people or intervene against the occupying state in an attempt to mitigate the massacres carried out by this state in the Gaza Strip.


What is unfortunate is that the Palestinian Authority and other factions within the framework of the PLO are content with issuing statements of denunciation and demanding that the world stop this destructive war, while knowing that most of these countries cannot do anything as long as America and the colonial West dominate the world and are subjected to double standards. Rather, by several measures, they support the Israeli colonial regime openly, and this aggressive war has shown these countries their true colors to those who were and are still betting on them to find solutions, while these countries were and are still seeking and supporting the policy of the occupying state in liquidating the Palestinian issue.


Instead of the Palestinian leadership playing its role in providing protection for civilians as it is responsible for the occupied Palestinian territories, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, by working to restore national unity, coming up with a unified political discourse, and agreeing on an action program to confront Israeli crime, we see it standing still and not progressing. What steps can be taken to end the division and unify the national ranks so that the confrontation of the occupation is comprehensive and integrated?


Despite what Gaza has been facing for days, there is still time for the leadership and the factions supporting it to take steps to prove to the world, especially the colonial alliance supporting the occupying state, that our people are one and that the time of division has ended and is irreversible, and that everyone is in one row in defense of our people, and not to submit to American and Western dictates. 


This matter is dictated by national, religious, and moral duty. One practical step is better than a dozen positions that do not satisfy or relieve hunger.

OPINIONS

Sun 15 Oct 2023 10:22 am - Jerusalem Time

Arrogance of power blinds Israel

Ibrahim Daibes

Ibrahim Daibes

Opinion Writer

Israel was angry when a Hamas cell succeeded in entering southern Israel and taking control of several sites and cities, and it launched a strong response that led to Hamas withdrawing along with dozens of Israeli prisoners. It called this action “Al-Aqsa Flood.”


Israeli public opinion saw this Hamas operation as a strong blow in that it surprised the army and all Israeli intelligence capabilities, first, and because it captured a number of Israelis, including military personnel, second.


Their Prime Minister, Netanyahu, began preparing for what they described as a final blow to the Hamas movement by storming the entire Gaza Strip. Israel closed all routes into Gaza and did not even allow the entry of any medical or humanitarian aid, food, etc.
Today, Gaza and Israel stand before the moment of decisiveness, and the whole world has begun to move, whether America, which leads the countries that support Israel, or the other countries that call for non-escalation and finding political solutions.


Currently, everyone is in a state of anticipation for the next stage, when Israel will begin its aggression against Gaza, and what the results will be. Also, many of the people of the Gaza Strip began to leave the area adjacent to Israel and head to the farther southern regions. Egypt began to fear the entry of thousands of these people into its territory and took measures to prevent this, and also publicly and officially demanded that they not enter its territory.


As observers expect, the attack on Hamas may begin at any moment, and the results will be different from what is being talked about. However, what is certain is that the Gaza Strip will witness human massacres, sabotage of institutions, and demolition of buildings, and the occupation forces will pay a heavy price despite their excellent aircraft. Advanced weapons and many security plans.


Whatever the results, Israel will be the loser because our Palestinian people stand united and on one front, and if they see that their problem is in Gaza only, the West Bank tells them that we and Gaza are one body, and any attack on Gaza will spark a volcano of anger in the West Bank, the features of which have begun to appear in many areas. Locations and cities through what we see and hear of movements, statements, and resistance to the occupying army.


What Israel must understand is that its occupation of the West Bank, the establishment of settlements, the confiscation of land, the displacement of citizens, and the complete disregard for all national rights is a volcano capable of exploding, and any war against Gaza may be the spark of this explosion and ignition, and some of its features have begun to appear on the ground.


As for the truth that Israel ignores or is blinded by the arrogance of power from seeing it, we are one people in the West Bank, Gaza and all places of asylum and immigration, and any attack on a part of it will certainly lead to the movement of the rest of the parts. What it also ignores and is clear to everyone is that the occupation’s withdrawal from the entire West Bank is the key to peace and stability in the region. Otherwise, it will pay a heavy price, no matter how long it takes.

OPINIONS

Sun 15 Oct 2023 10:19 am - Jerusalem Time

Our responsibilities are to prevent a second catastrophe that threatens us all

Nihad Abu Ghosh

Nihad Abu Ghosh

Opinion Writer

After a long year of conflicts, tensions, and deep internal rifts, the Israelis put their sharp differences aside, and all decided to line up behind the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and support its decision to launch a war of extermination and displacement against the Palestinian people. 


This happened even without any reservation by the opposition forces regarding the decisions of Netanyahu and his army to use an arsenal of killing, lethality and destruction to take revenge on the Palestinians, and to violate all the laws of war and international law, including committing described war crimes, such as the crime of preventing access to water, food, electricity, fuel, communications and medical supplies. 


About the people who have been under siege for more than fifteen years, and the crime of mass displacement, whether due to the terrible bombing, or because of the occupation army’s calls for the population to leave the north of the Gaza Strip and head to the south of the Gaza Valley and to demand that the citizens of the Gaza Strip in general go to Egypt, in addition to the crime of targeting civilians by bombing residential buildings. And the towers and demolished them on the heads of their residents without any distinction between fighters and civilians.

There is no surprise in the position of the Israeli forces, which culminated in Benny Gantz and his party joining the emergency government and the war council. Indeed, the other forces that did not join the government did not hesitate to express their support for the war and retaliatory efforts. 

It also postponed its calculations with Netanyahu until after the war, even though there is a consensus in the street and among the political forces to hold the Prime Minister and his partners fully responsible for the blow that Israel received on October 7, thus dragging the reputation of its army into the mud and dissipating the aura that surrounds this army Described as invincible. It also dealt a severe blow to the reputation of the Israeli military industries, which in the past decade have turned into a source of political, diplomatic and economic power for Israel and have become, through their integration with modern technology industries, the locomotive that drives economic growth. 

In the past year alone, Israel sold weapons, military equipment and spyware for more than Sixteen billion dollars, the share of the Arab countries participating in the Abrahamic Accords alone was about three billion dollars.

The blow that Israel received in the Al-Aqsa flood affected its regional status, prestige, and image before itself and before the world, but it does not affect its existence, while the war of extermination, destruction, and displacement that Israel is waging against the Gaza Strip heralds a new catastrophe no less disastrous and painful than the great catastrophe that befell our people in the year 1948. 

Talking about a new Nakba is not an invention by Palestinian analysts, nor is it merely constructive talk. Rather, it is a continuous threat issued by Israeli leaders, officials and analysts in response to every Palestinian act of struggle, and they had previously launched it during the Great Intifada, the Al-Aqsa Intifada, during the Battle of Saif al-Quds, and up to the events. witnessed in the West Bank over the past two years.

For all of this, it is better for our people, their forces, their factions, their civil organizations, and all their political and social components to put aside all their differences (including the excessive discussion about the justifications for Operation Al-Aqsa Flood) and agree on ways to confront the imminent dangers, the danger of genocide and displacement in the Gaza Strip, and the danger can easily spread to the West Bank. Especially after settler leaders announced that their militias would be in charge of controlling law and order in the West Bank under the pretext of the army being busy in Gaza.

We saw the immediate translation of this trend through declaring the West Bank a military zone, and closing most areas, including governorates, cities, and villages, with iron gates, military barriers, and cement blocks, and then in the series of attacks launched by settlers on some villages and external roads, including the bloody attack on the village of Qasra, and the assassination of the martyr Randa Ajaj from Deir Jarir.

The highest priority now is to protect our people in Gaza from the dangers of the war of extermination and displacement, which is a brutal war in which America and the colonial West in general side with Israel. Not only do they take political sides, but they also take part in the operations rooms, sending air bridges and aircraft carriers to supply Israel with death bombs and ammunition.

In this battle, our people need every Palestinian, Arab and humanitarian voice to support and defend them, unified political positions, and advocacy activities everywhere. Our people's forces and our friends around the world can deliver clear messages that our people in Gaza are not alone, and that the aggressors and their supporters will pay the price.

The priority associated with protecting Gaza and our people there is to unify the political and field position in the West Bank, and if it is difficult to resolve the differences and discrepancies that have divided us over the past years, it is easy to agree on a temporary and field work program to protect villages and towns threatened by settler militias, organize advocacy activities for Gaza, and deliver a clear message to the occupiers and to the entire world that we are one people, and we will never accept attempts to monopolize Gaza or any of the struggling political forces.

When the Israeli propaganda and lying machine shamelessly intends to fabricate all these slanders to demonize our factions and criminalize our entire people, this does not come in the context of a verbal debate and presentation of positions, but rather to justify the brutal attack that does not take into account any international controls or laws, and makes it permissible to commit war crimes without any reason or motive. 


A deterrent, total approval and practical alignment by the American administration, which over the past year had avoided meeting with Netanyahu and the pillars of his government after describing it as the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, but it was open to him to the extent of participating in his decisions after the Al-Aqsa flood, because of the blow that Israel received. On the 7th of October, it is a blow to its influence, its regional status, and its functional roles, as well as a blow to the heads of the Western colonial alliance.

We are not alone in the field of confrontation and defense of the values of justice, truth, and freedom, but mobilizing the forces supporting our people and their cause requires, first and foremost, a unified and effective Palestinian performance that is based on the heroism of our people in the field and invests in the justice of our cause and its standing in the conscience of the peoples and the liberation movements.

OPINIONS

Sun 15 Oct 2023 10:10 am - Jerusalem Time

American debate over anti-Semitism

James Zogby

James Zogby

Opinion Writer

A coalition of Arab Americans, progressive American Jews, and civil liberties advocates in Atlanta recently mobilized to block the Georgia legislature from passing a bill that would change the definition of anti-Semitism to include legitimate criticism of Israel.


Similar bills have been passed in other states, as part of a national strategy by a few pro-Israel groups and right-wing think tanks.


Supported by successful legislation or executive orders in more than 30 states to punish entities or individuals who support boycotts or sanctions of Israel, these groups are expanding their campaign to silence criticism of Israel by pressuring state governments to adopt a controversial definition of anti-Semitism, saying, Efforts to demonize Israel or judge it as having “double standards” are anti-Semitic.


Although the Georgia bill failed, it will return next year. The bills and efforts to conflate legitimate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism are just one part of a broader campaign to stamp out growing pro-Palestinian sentiment in the United States. By penalizing pro-Palestinian speech on campuses and defeating politicians who criticize Israeli behavior, this campaign attempts to re-silence pro-Palestinian voices and critics of Israel, which have been prevalent for decades. During the 1970s and 1980s, members of Congress who dared to stand up for Palestinian rights were defeated. Professors lost their positions, speakers were cancelled, and groups and individuals were discredited.


As public opinion shifted during the intifada and the eventual inclusion of the PLO in the peace process, the power of this intimidation lost momentum and an open debate began. The (mostly recent) ups and downs of the peace process have led to renewed debate on Israeli/Palestinian issues. But the increasing behavior of the Israeli government's policies and increased scrutiny of its policies led to a radical shift in American public opinion. Today, majorities in both parties support linking US aid to Israel to the level of commitment to human rights.


By a large margin, the Democrats are now more understanding of the Palestinians' problems. Candidates who defended Palestinian human rights and criticized Israel ran for Congress and won. Outspoken students — including Arab Americans, Black and Asian Americans, and progressive Jewish youth — are engaging in pro-Palestinian actions on college campuses. This shift created a crisis for the extremist pro-Israel groups, which settled on a two-track attack.


First, the new pro-Israel political action committees (AIPAC) shifted from raising money for candidates who support Israel to raising money to defeat pro-Palestinian candidates. Their ads never focus on supporting Israel — an issue that won't win them — and instead focus on personal attacks against the candidates they oppose. Recently, AIPAC and its allies announced their intention to spend tens of millions in 2024 to defeat congressional candidates deemed insufficiently supportive of Israel.


The second path is the legislative path. As Lara Friedman recently noted: “Essentially, the pro-Israel community is seen as saying that it cannot win the debate on the merits of the issue, but instead should try to silence the other side.” They have launched smear campaigns against individuals and groups perceived to be critical of Israeli policies – including progressive Jewish groups – calling them anti-Semites.


This harms Arab American empowerment and civic participation. This effort stifles debate on an important foreign policy concern, crushes freedom of expression, and silences support for the Palestinians. By conflating anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel, attention is diverted from true anti-Semitism, which is holding, expressing, or acting on intolerant attitudes toward Jews, as individuals or a group, and attributing inherent characteristics of them, as Jews, to the Jewish people. This, like all forms of hatred, must be completely combated and prevented.


Because the people targeted in this pro-Israel campaign are mostly progressive critics of Israeli policies, a free pass has been given to right-wing pro-Israel anti-Semites. Criticizing Israel for seizing land, demolishing homes, or denying refugees the right to return is acceptable. Silencing critics of these behaviors is in itself intolerance. Pro-Israel groups often accuse Israel's critics of "unfairly targeting Israel out of criticism."


*President of the Arab American Institute - Washington

OPINIONS

Sun 15 Oct 2023 9:58 am - Jerusalem Time

Proposal of a way out of the bloody impasse

Lawyer Ziad Abu Ziad

Lawyer Ziad Abu Ziad

Opinion Writer

Air strikes and bombing are still continuing on the Gaza Strip, and every passing minute brings with it new victims and new destruction. At the same time, rockets are still being launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli towns and cities, reaching everywhere from north to south, causing new victims and new destruction, even though the injuries and destruction expected in Israel are almost insignificant when compared to the amount of killing and human casualties that Israel inflicts on the population of the crowded Gaza Strip. So populated that shells sow death and destruction wherever they fall, even if they are not directed against a specific target.


The declared Israeli goal of the counterattack launched by Israeli forces is to uproot the Hamas movement from the Gaza Strip and put an end to the threat it poses to Israel, according to its leaders, which is embodied in successive rounds every few years during which Hamas bombs Israel with missiles and Israel responds by sometimes invading the Gaza Strip or bombing it. At other times, the fighting stops waiting for the next round, which makes the Israeli government face increasing pressure from its public opinion demanding an end to these rounds and the provision of security to its southern settlements adjacent to the border with the Gaza Strip.


There is no doubt that the current round differs from previous rounds, and it appears that it will be the last of them because, in addition to internal political considerations and partisan bidding in Israel, other elements were available to the Israelis that give the impression that the current war government that was formed after Saturday’s attack will move forward more than any previous government. 

These elements are represented by the current government’s ability to turn international public opinion against Hamas because it succeeded in portraying Hamas as ISIS and presenting the results of the attack on Saturday 10/7 as a new Holocaust against the Jews, as well as the United States joining the battle, for American internal political reasons and international considerations affected by the nuclear file. 

Iran and the Russian war in Ukraine, not as a superpower trying to maintain international security and stability through United Nations institutions, most notably the UN Security Council, but as a direct party to the conflict by moving aircraft carriers and putting commando units on standby to enter the war, in addition to mobilizing an international coalition. Supporting its move, and by dealing with Israel as the Ukraine of the Middle East, providing it with weapons, equipment, and political and economic support!


This mobilization placed the region on the brink of a volcano that could erupt more violently if Israel carried out a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which may have begun while this article was going to press.


The question remains: Will Israel succeed in uprooting Hamas and putting an end to the threat facing its southern regions, or will it fail and that the attack it is carrying out will deepen the conflict, complicate the problem, and enter the region into a closed bloody circle from which there is no escape?
If Israel enters the Gaza Strip, it will not go on a picnic, and its forces’ path will be paved with death, blood, and fire in every inch of it, which will make matters more miserable because its forces will also sow death and destruction in everything they reach.


When will Israel and America understand that the problem does not lie with Hamas, but rather lies in the self-evident fact that the Palestinian people have a right, and that the crime that was committed against them by trying to uproot them from their homeland in 1948 and is still continuing to uproot them from what remains of that homeland will not pass, and that the Palestinian people will not perish? They will not surrender and will continue to fight until they obtain their established national rights, taking into account that they has expressed on more than one occasion  agreement to deal with the fait accompli facts.

And coexistence side by side with Israel in an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and in the spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative, which was adopted by the Arab countries in Beirut in 2002 and adopted by Islamic countries at a later time, which gives Israel the opportunity to normalize relations with all Arab and Islamic countries in exchange for ending the occupation and providing the opportunity for the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital. Arab Jerusalem and a just solution to the refugee problem.


Today we are living in difficult days, not only for the Palestinians but also for the Israelis. No matter how much the Israelis are able to practice killing and destruction against the Palestinians, they will not enjoy security and stability unless this is achieved for the Palestinians.


Today, what is required of America and the international community is to comply with truth, justice, and the logic of history, which confirms that a people who stood on their feet and demanded their right to freedom and independence cannot be oppressed.


Today, we are required to stop this bloody madness and get out of this cycle through a political initiative based on the Palestine Liberation Organization assuming responsibility for managing the Gaza Strip and strengthening this role Palestinianly with the participation of all national and Islamic factions, Arab and international, through a transitional phase that places the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under international protection that guarantees the transition. The peaceful transition from the stage of violence to the stage of security and stability, and addressing all the phenomena that generate violence and destabilize security and stability in the region, the summit of which is the Israeli settlement and occupation.


There is no doubt that the entrance to that stage must be through an immediate ceasefire and the immediate release of Israeli civilian hostages in exchange for the simultaneous release of Palestinian female prisoners and Palestinian children, ensuring the safety of the prisoners on both sides, entering into intense and serious negotiations to exchange prisoners, closing this file, and entering into a covenant. A new era of coexistence, and dedication to healing the wounds of the past and building a new era of peace and prosperity for the benefit of the two peoples, because war is not the solution, peoples are invincible, and truth and justice are what prevail in the end.


This may seem like a dream that does not relate to reality, but all great works begin with a dream that finds someone working to turn it into reality.
[email protected]

OPINIONS

Sun 15 Oct 2023 9:54 am - Jerusalem Time

There is no security or peace in the world without the full realization of Palestinian national rights

Faisal Abu Khadra

Faisal Abu Khadra

Opinion Writer

The ink of the pen has melted and the voice has “sharpened” and the Palestinian people are demanding the implementation of international resolutions related to the Palestinian issue, but unfortunately the major state that falsely claims to be the leader of democracy, human rights, and against racial discrimination, is becoming clear every day that it is against democracy when it comes to the Palestinian people.


It is true to say that the large number of Palestinian factions and their failure to agree on a single decision weakens our cause, but the Palestinian people have one word, meaning to seize independence and freedom like the rest of the peoples of the world.


We have been suffering for seventy-five years under the last uprooted and racist colonialism in the world. Neither America nor Europe is fair to us.


The crying joke is when the colonialist, the representative of the rogue state in the Security Council, speaks and claims with pictures that the Palestinian fighter, the owner of the land, is treated by his Ashkenazi enemy, who took away his homeland, Palestine, where his fathers and grandfathers lived for more than five thousand years, and he forgets what the colonizer did of burning Palestinian children while they were sleeping in their homes.


Every day, the occupation army executes our children and youth, and the Western world, led by America, does nothing to deter this army, which is ready to be armed by our enemy, America.


What's worse is that the Zionist Blinken says that Saudi Arabia would have agreed with the racist and occupying state if it were not for Hamas.


We are a peaceful people. The Liberation Organization ceded 78% of historic Palestine, and America and the occupier agreed, but unfortunately nothing happened. On the contrary, the colonizer increased the theft of lands, the demolition of homes, and the expulsion of residents and their children.


He was not satisfied with this, but we see daily his attacks on our sanctities, especially the storming of the colonists in the thousands, led by him and their ministers, on the first two qiblahs and the third of the Holy Mosque.


The Al-Aqsa flood was the result of the settlers’ practices, with the occupation army protecting it through daily raids on Al-Aqsa and holding Talmudic prayers in its courtyards, while the world did not move.


America and the Western world must do justice to the Palestinian Arab people and implement all international resolutions, the first of which is returning all refugees to their lands and homes, because there is no peace, security or stability in the region without the Palestinian people restoring their full inalienable national rights.


The racist, extremist, and murderous occupier, with the help of America, is impossible to defeat the owner of the land, who is fighting to regain his land and the land of his ancestors, and this is the fundamental difference between the one who fights to regain his land and the one who fights to occupy someone else’s land.


Now, not tomorrow, Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit (i.e., the Arab League) must provide all the Gaza Strip’s needs, including electricity, medical supplies, and food, because our people there are defending the honor of all Arabs and Muslims. Because proud Gaza is considered a disaster-stricken and besieged land.


The "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation is on behalf of the Arab and Islamic nation.


It is time to take away our national rights. History will not have mercy on anyone who neglects this duty. Praise be to God, there are no traitors in the issue of Palestine, and God is the One who seeks help.

*Member of the National Council

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 9:43 am - Jerusalem Time

Dozens of Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque

Today, Sunday, settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, under heavy protection from the Israeli occupation police.


According to local sources, dozens of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa from the direction of the Mughariba Gate, and carried out provocative rounds in its courtyards.


Settlers carry out provocative daily raids on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, except on Fridays and Saturdays, in an attempt to control it and impose temporal and spatial division.


In a related context, the occupation forces tightened their military measures at all doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevented citizens from entering it. They returned many of them and prevented them from performing prayers in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque as well, in conjunction with allowing settlers to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque.

PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 9:37 am - Jerusalem Time

After the fascination with Hamas and the collapse in Israel... Who holds the initiative and who fears slipping?

Israel is unlikely to emerge victorious in the war in Gaza, and Hamas is equally unlikely to surpass the psychological victory it achieved on October 7. The US may manage to navigate a way out of the crisis without becoming directly involved, perhaps through a new plan to address the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that involves Arab and European participation, and implicit understandings with Iran.


People (mainly in the US and Europe) who are uncritically supportive of Israel will not understand those (mainly in the Arab and Islamic worlds, but also in the West) who contextualize Hamas's shock attack within the history of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and siege of the Gaza Strip. Both sides denounce each other without trying to understand or listen to the opposing viewpoint. But it is important also to note the astonishment felt by everyone about what Hamas has done by carrying out such a complex and daring operation. Indeed, most of the world did not anticipate such a failure in Israel's intelligence capabilities and performance.


The Israeli response, led by the devastating bombardment of Gaza and the forced displacement of civilians, has eroded some of the initial sympathy felt in the West. Now, the world is divided between those who support Israel's bid to crush Hamas at any cost and those warning against the folly of this and the political and military costs, not just the exorbitant human cost.


Any resolution will ultimately depend on Iran's final decision regarding Hamas's call to Tehran and its allies to activate all "resistance fronts", starting with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. But at the time of writing, Iran has moved cautiously in the diplomatic arena to avoid slipping off the tightrope. Six days on from Hamas's operation, it remained off the battlefield and advised Hezbollah to exercise prudence.


Iran's priority is its nuclear program. Tehran may not want to jump into the fire with Israel when it is reported to be six months away from getting that program to a level where it can deliver a bomb. It will also have read the message sent by the US in the form of the deployment of the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier to the region: that Washington would be prepared to resort to force, potentially targeting nuclear facilities, if Tehran miscalculated. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has openly denied involvement in Hamas's operations, indicating American deterrence is still working.


Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden’s administration has, it seems, also worked to address the other side of this challenge by trying to convince Israel to scale back its plans for a ground invasion of Gaza, work with Egypt to secure a safe passage for civilians from Gaza, pressure Hamas through Qatar's leverage and engage with Arab and European leaders to formulate an alternative peace plan. The latter would likely start with freezing this crisis in its tracks and moving towards new negotiations under US sponsorship.


Washington’s anxiety over getting dragged into participating in a military conflict because of decisions made by Israel or Iran is evident. Then there is the unavoidable humanitarian catastrophe resulting from an Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Indeed, the US has a heavy burden on its shoulders. It may succeed in leveraging its military, political, and diplomatic weight in Israel, a country it has committed itself time and again to defending.


Washington’s anxiety over getting dragged into a military conflict because of decisions made by Israel or Iran is evident

The Biden administration, moreover, was working for a qualitative shift in Arab-Israeli relations. But what it missed and is paying the price for today is that this qualitative shift is impossible if it ignores the Palestinians and their rights. Hamas's achievement is that it has awakened everyone involved and managed to undermine the assumption that the Palestinian issue had been settled among Arab governments, in the Arab and Muslim streets and on the international stage.


A forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza would be in line with a broader policy held by the most extremist camp in Israel of advocating for the expulsion of all Palestinians – even those in the West Bank and Israel proper. This camp believes Palestinians, even those with Israeli citizenship, pose a permanent demographic challenge. From this perspective, the epic proportions of Hamas's attack may ultimately serve extremist Israeli goals more than Palestinian aspirations, by providing the pretext needed for forced displacement.


That displacement would also put Egypt in a predicament. Cairo will be aware that some in Israel advocate for the resettlement of Gazan refugees in Sinai. Yet closing the border to Palestinian civilians to thwart the Israeli strategy is not an easy option, as its humanitarian cost is high and would unfold under the world's watchful eyes. Egypt is caught between a rock and a hard place, and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, like Mr Biden, has a presidential election to worry about.


If the Biden administration wishes to seize the diplomatic and political initiatives, it must have the courage to compel its ally, Israel, to adopt a new approach towards the Palestinians.

And the Palestinians themselves, particularly the Palestinian Authority (PA), are now under more scrutiny than ever. If the PA continues in its stagnation and obsolete methods, it will miss a historic opportunity inadvertently provided by Hamas. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas must rejuvenate himself and surround himself with younger advisers instead of dwelling on the past and the methods of rejection and boycotting negotiations with Israel. This is an opportunity for him to tell the youth of Hamas, not just the youth of his own party Fatah, that now is the opportune time to engage together in a new peace process with Israel, with Arab participation and perhaps later with Iranian blessing.


The Israelis, for their part, must find a way to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and open an opportunity for a realistic and honest review of the miseries brought about by religious and political extremism on them and others. It is time for the Israeli people to hold themselves and their leaders accountable and to seize this bitter moment to create a pathway to justice for the Palestinians, freeing themselves from the siege mentality and living in peace with their neighbors – if they change their ways.


Source: Annahar Al Arabi


By Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute


PALESTINE

Sun 15 Oct 2023 9:32 am - Jerusalem Time

Al-Qassam: 3 fighters killed in an operation in northern occupied Palestine

Three Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades fighters were killed in Lebanon during the implementation of the “Northern Occupied Palestine” operation yesterday, Saturday, according to a statement by the brigades.


The Al-Qassam Brigades revealed, in a statement, that a group of its fighters were able to blow up the border fence and target a control point and then reach an area near the “Margaliot” settlement and clash with the occupation army and inflict losses on its ranks.


The Al-Qassam Brigades added, in its statement, that during the clash, “enemy aircraft targeted our mujahideen so that they would rise as martyrs to their Lord, coming without retreating.”


It was reported that the martyrs were Ahmed Osama Othman from Ain al-Hilweh camp, Yahya Nayef Abdel Razek from Ain al-Hilweh camp, and Suhaib Omar Kayed from Wadi al-Zeina.


This is the first time during Israel's wars on Gaza that the Palestinian resistance carried out operations from outside the border, as several factions from southern Lebanon bombed northern Israel, and several fighters infiltrated and clashed with the occupation forces.


The Al-Qassam Brigades had previously announced the launch of a concentrated missile salvo from southern Lebanon towards Western Galilee, and the border area in southern Lebanon has witnessed an exchange of bombardments since last Sunday, following the start of the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle.

ARAB AND WORLD

Sun 15 Oct 2023 9:08 am - Jerusalem Time

After a struggle with illness, Lebanese journalist Giselle Khoury passed away

Fellow journalist Giselle Khoury, wife of the martyr Samir Kassir, died at dawn today at the American University Hospital - Beirut after a struggle with cancer.

 

After the assassination of her husband, journalist and historian Samir Kassir, on June 2, 2005, the late woman launched a foundation bearing his name on February 1, 2006, transforming it into one of the most prominent regional institutions specialized in monitoring violations against media and cultural freedoms in the Arab Levant, and supporting independent media voices. In Lebanon and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

 

She took the issue of press freedom to global forums, urging the European Union to launch the Samir Kassir Prize for Press Freedom in 2006. She was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the World Forum for Media Development between 2016 and 2020, and a member of the jury of the Guillermo Cano Prize for Press Freedom awarded by UNESCO. She received the French Order of Arts and Letters, rank of officer, in 2012, and the French Legion of Honor, rank of Knight, in 2019.

 

Khoury’s professional career began in 1986 at the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, and she hosted the most prominent Arab and international political and cultural figures on her program “The Dialogue of a Lifetime” between 1992 and 2001, before joining the MBC group in 2002 and contributing to the launch of the “Al Arabiya” channel. She presented the “Bel Arabi” program between 2003 and 2013.

 

The deceased moved to the BBC Arabic channel in 2013, where she interviewed senior leaders and thinkers about pivotal moments in contemporary history within the “Al-Mashhad” program, and then to the “Sky News Arabia” channel, in 2020, with the “With Giselle” program, which It represented a turning point in the form, rhythm, and diversity of talk shows. She wrote and produced documentaries about prominent Arab political figures, and founded the “Rawi” documentary production company alongside journalist and ambassador Sahar Baasiri.