The General Authority for Civil Affairs announced today, Friday, that the occupation authorities will hand over the body of the martyr Bilal Ibrahim Hosni Qadah (33 years old) from the town of Shuqba in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate today, Friday evening, by the Authority’s crews and the martyr’s family.

Civil Affairs added in its statement that the martyr Bilal Qadah was martyred by occupation bullets on10/7/2023.

Last night, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a young man from the village of Taanak, west of Jenin, and attacked farmers in the town of Ya`bad, west of Jenin, and stormed several villages and towns in the governorate.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces arrested the young man, Qassam Fahd Hussein, from Taanak, while he was passing through a military checkpoint at the intersection of the town of Arraba.

Yesterday evening, the occupation forces beat citizens Fathi Omar Hajjar and Jihad Tayseer Al-Barq, detained a bulldozer and its driver, and prevented them from reclaiming land in the town of Ya’bad.

In the same context, the occupation forces stormed the villages and towns of: Kafirat, Al-Arqa, Kafr Qud, Rummana, Zabuba, Faqoua, and Jalboun, in Jenin Governorate.

This Friday morning, Israeli settlers uprooted dozens of olive seedlings from the lands of the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus.

Local sources reported that Israeli settlers uprooted dozens of olive seedlings and destroyed agricultural equipment on land located in the eastern plain area of the village, owned by citizen Muhammad Saeed Musa.

In the Jordan Valley, on Friday, settlers fenced off areas of pastoral land in the northern Jordan Valley, in preparation for seizing it.

Local sources said that Israeli settlers began fencing off lands south of the Ain al-Hilweh community in the Jordan Valley, along a length of 3 kilometers, since the morning hours.

It is noteworthy that the settlers have worked to fence pastoral areas in many areas of the Jordan Valley since the beginning of this year, thus seizing thousands of grazing acres.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit the Palestine in October

.

Guterres informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of his upcoming visit during a meeting on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

It will be Guterres' first visit to Palestine since 2017 when he traveled to both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

During their meeting, Abbas discussed with Guterres "the necessity of binding Israel to all agreements signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization and stopping its unilateral measures," .

For his part, Guterres expressed hope that the Palestinians will obtain their rights and the State of Palestine will become a full member of the United Nations.

In 2012, the UNGA granted Palestine non-member observer state status. Palestinians aspire to full UN membership, which would give international recognition to their future state based on the 1967 borders.

On Friday, the Israeli army decided to impose a comprehensive closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, under the pretext of Jewish holidays.

The closure will begin at midnight on Saturday - Sunday, and will be lifted at midnight on Monday - next Tuesday, based on an assessment of the situation.

It will be decided later on the possibility of imposing a closure on the remaining days of the Jewish holidays. According to its statement.

The Jerusalem Legal Aid Center received the Rev. George Rigas Award for Courage in Peacebuilding, as a result of its legal interventions in protecting the “right to housing” in the occupied territories. This award reflects deep appreciation for the long-standing efforts made by the Center over the years to prevent the demolition of buildings and property in the occupied territories.

The award was officially presented during a special ceremony held in Pasadena, California. Attorney Bahar Mirhosseini, a friend of the Center and a human rights activist, received this award on behalf of the Center.

It is worth noting that this award is given annually to institutions and individuals working in the field of human rights, as a recognition of their dedication to achieving peace and justice, and in honor of the memory of Reverend George Rigas, who was a strong opponent of the American wars in Vietnam and Iraq.

While the Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights considered this award as an international recognition from a country that maintains its support for the Palestinian cause, such as the United States of America, this helps the Center shed light on the crime of forced displacement and helps facilitate the spread of the Center’s message and gain new supporters to support the basic rights of the people.

Today, Friday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a Palestinian from the town of Al-Eizariya, east of occupied Jerusalem.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces stormed the town and arrested a Palestinian Samer Al-Mukhal after raiding his house in the Al-Iskan neighborhood, in addition to raiding several homes, assaulting their residents, and seizing camera recordings from them.

The speech that the President delivered before the United Nations General Assembly was, without a doubt, a comprehensive speech in which he informed the countries of the world of the suffering of our people from the occupation and its crimes that continue daily against our people, our land, and our sanctities. He pointed out that the conditions in the Palestinian territories have become unbearable due to the crimes of the occupation, represented by forces. Occupation and herds of settlers. The comprehensive and integrated speech placed the international community before its responsibilities to achieve justice and peace in the region, and also held the United Nations responsible for not implementing its decisions related to the Palestinian issue.

He warned against transforming the conflict in the region into a religious conflict, and held the occupying state responsible for that, especially since Netanyahu’s extremist government, steeped in racism and hostility toward the Palestinians, seeks through its practices to transform the political conflict into a religious conflict, which, if transformed, will burn everything green and dry, and its consequences will be disastrous not only for The region but also the whole world.

In light of the occupation crimes practiced and carried out by the occupation forces and herds of settlers, whether in terms of attacking holy sites, most notably Al-Aqsa Mosque, or in terms of settlement, Judaization, Israelization, turning the West Bank into ghettos, and increasing the numbers of settlers, the President called in his speech for the necessity of holding an international peace conference to protect the two-state solution. Even though the two-state solution became news, it was a result of the violations and crimes committed by the occupation in full view of the whole world, which did not take any action, but rather deals with double standards when it comes to Israel.

In exchange for attempts to make the international community forget the Nakba that befell our people in 1948, and to prevent the occupying state from commemorating its annual anniversary, the President called for the criminalization of denial of the Palestinian Nakba and the adoption of May 15 of each year as an international day to commemorate it and the memory of the victims of our people who were killed in massacres carried out by gangs. Zionism.
He sent a message to the Israelis, saying that the occupation does not last and that our people will obtain their rights, and that whoever thinks that peace can be achieved without our people obtaining their full national rights is delusional. Thus, the president responds to the leaders of the occupying state, led by Netanyahu, who believes that achieving normalization with the Arab countries Peace cannot be achieved without realizing the inalienable national rights of our people to return, self-determination, and establishing an independent state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
This speech, which did not leave any detail or thing that he did not mention, even though the international community has not achieved our people’s rights, and does not implement its decisions regarding our people’s issue, is not responsible. However, reminding him of that and of our people’s insistence on continuing their national path is a must. Likewise, it In the face of this bitter international reality, national unity must be restored because it is the only way to confront the occupation and thwart its liquidation plans.

With Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to several destinations and sites in the United States, and the electoral campaigns of the Republican and Democratic parties competing for the US presidential elections scheduled for November 2024, the American-Israeli differences are “growing,” which is expected to have a number of repercussions on the American interior, which may Leads to partisan division over support for Israel. Recently, the results of a Gallup poll revealed that there is “an increase in Democrats’ support for the Palestinians, while their support rates for the Israelis decreased, which reached 49% compared to 38%, respectively, while Republican support rates for Israel remain high, reaching 78%.” In exchange for 11% support for the Palestinians.”

One of the repercussions caused by the differences, which are based on American concerns about the Netanyahu government, is the growth in strength of the movement calling for stopping American military aid to Israel, as a trend emerged within Washington calling for stopping military aid and not remaining a “blank check.” In this context, both Former US ambassadors to Israel (Dan Kurtzer) and (Martin Indyk) are at the head of this movement that sees the Netanyahu government as working openly against the interests of the United States of America, “by eliminating any hope for a two-state solution and his determination to turn Israel into a corrupt dictatorship.” Racism will lead to the collapse of society, in the words of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

On the other hand, politicians, members of Congress, writers, and analysts said that the continuation of aid destroys America’s credibility as Israel uses it to finance its aggression against the Palestinians and violate their rights. And financing the violence practiced by the colonists/settlers against them. Recently, the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” published a report monitoring how the discussion of ending US military aid to Israel has become increasingly popular, which has represented A radical transformation that astonished some Israeli officials.

This “taboo” issue in the American media in the past is no longer so. According to the New York Times writer (Nicholas Kristof): “It is time to think about phasing out this aid in the future, because it does not make sense for the United States to provide a huge sum of $3.8 billion annually to another rich country that wastes scarce resources and creates An unhealthy relationship is harmful to both sides.” For his part, the well-known writer (Thomas Friedman) sent a frank message to President Biden, which was published by the New York Times, in which he said: “Mr. President, Netanyahu is moving forward with his plan regarding judicial amendments despite your insistence on him not to do so...”, warning against “The Knesset’s passage of these amendments could cause the explosion of American-Israeli relations,” adding, “If this relationship disintegrates, it will not return forever.”

Also, in a “statement” they issued, hundreds of Israeli and American public figures called on American Jewish groups to speak out against the “ultimate purpose” of judicial reform of “more land annexation and ethnic cleansing of all territories under Israeli rule for their Palestinian residents.” What is striking about this statement on the international level is that prominent Israeli figures signed its explicit declaration that “the Palestinians live under an apartheid regime.” The statement also included his call on American Jewish groups to “demand elected leaders in the United States to help end the occupation, restrict the use of American military aid in the occupied Palestinian territories, and end Israeli impunity in the United Nations and other international organizations!” Despite the old saying: “Be optimistic… You find it. Is it possible to be optimistic - let alone confident - regarding the relationship with the “Great Political Satan” (the American administration), which has always been hostile to us Arabs, and has sided with the Zionist invader against our rights and interests?!

The continuation of the political and diplomatic efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the brothers in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Arab Republic of Egypt with the League of Arab States in partnership with the European Union to revive the peace process to emphasize the importance of commitment to the two-state solution and the embodiment of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders.

These efforts, which contributed to the development of an association working paper, on which more than sixty countries met, gathered on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings, only restored interest in the two-state solution, the embodiment of the Palestinian state, and the emphasis on the necessity of ending the Israeli occupation and ending the suffering of our Palestinian people, as a prelude to that. Step.

In the face of the blockage of the political horizon and the official Israeli rejection of the principle of a two-state solution and negotiations to reach a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, and in the face of the occupation state continuing to commit more crimes against our defenseless Palestinian people, and in violating international law through its unilateral measures of seizing lands, settlement construction, demolishing homes, killing citizens, and displacing them. And other such measures that have escalated in an unprecedented manner recently. This initiative, appreciated by our brothers and friends, confirms the importance of the Palestinian issue and its centrality in order to maintain security and stability in the region.

The continuation of daily killings against the Palestinian people, the most recent of which was in Jenin and the Gaza Strip, which led to the death of four citizens and the injury of dozens, is the responsibility of the occupation authorities, which are pushing matters towards a comprehensive confrontation, the consequences of which no one will be able to bear.

What the Palestinian people are facing in the occupied Palestinian territory is not something natural, but rather terrorism in its ugliest forms, and it is the most dangerous terrorism and ethnic cleansing that the Palestinian people can experience in years, and what the terrorist occupation army committed in Jenin is the greatest evidence of condemnation for the international community, which stands by watching the Israeli military machine. It kills safe civilians without anyone doing anything or taking a stance to deter the occupying state and the practices of the Israeli extremist government.

The international community and major powers, including the United States of America, must be well aware that the region is on the verge of explosion as a result of Israel’s persistence in killing, destruction, and theft of land, and the American administration must intervene immediately to stop this Israeli madness before things reach the stage of explosion for which everyone will pay the price.

There is no doubt that the policy pursued by the far-right government in Israel will not bring security and stability to anyone, and those who believe that they can impose their dictates and policies on the right and just Palestinian people are delusional and will not allow their sanctities and principles to be violated, no matter the cost.

In the face of the escalating occupation practices and the danger of the continued absence of a political horizon and its repercussions on security and stability in the entire region, action must be taken to put an end to the comprehensive Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories, the necessity of stopping all unilateral and illegal Israeli measures, and the importance of urging the international community to provide protection for the Palestinian people and to come together. Efforts to find a political horizon that relaunchs serious and effective negotiations to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution.

It is necessary to support these efforts and cooperate with brothers and friends in order to make the current movement a success and to end the occupation and put an end to the suffering of our Palestinian people, to reach a comprehensive peace agreement that embodies the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen expected that a general framework for an agreement on the normalization of diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would be reached by 2024.

Cohen said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio about normalization efforts with Saudi Arabia, “There is progress (in the discussions), but there are gaps that will take some time to fill,” without clarifying the nature of these gaps.

Cohen added, "I believe that by the first quarter of 2024, we will be able to reach a general framework for the agreement with Saudi Arabia."

Israel has been seeking to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia since announcing agreements to normalize its diplomatic relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco in 2020.

Defense for Children International-Palestine won the Rafto Human Rights Award for its efforts to defend the rights of Palestinians. The Rafto Foundation said, “For more than thirty years, Defense for Children International has investigated, documented and pursued gross human rights violations against children, and held the Israeli authorities accountable.” and the Palestinian territories in accordance with the principles of universal human rights.”

The statement stressed that "since 1967, the long-term Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, has deprived Palestinian children of their childhood and basic human rights."

The organization pointed out the arbitrary arrests and the existence of two separate legal systems applied by Israel in the same region. Israeli settlers are subject to the legal and criminal system, while the Palestinians live under military law.

Defense for Children International-Palestine asserts on its website that “every year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12, are detained and tried in the Israeli military justice system” on charges that are often stone-throwing.

In October 2021, Israel classified Defense for Children International - Palestine and five other Palestinian NGOs in the occupied West Bank as “terrorist,” considering that they constitute a cover to promote and finance the activities of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In the Palestinian territories, the organization works against early marriage, corporal punishment and domestic violence.

The award, which bears the name of Norwegian historian and human rights activist Thorolf Rafto, was previously awarded to four figures who later won the Nobel Peace Prize, which is also awarded in Norway: Jose Ramos-Horta, Kim Dae-jung, and Shirin Ebadi.

The famous Tunisian cartoonist, Tawfiq Omran, was pre-trially arrested on Thursday on suspicion of “insulting others” on social media after publishing two cartoons criticizing Prime Minister Ahmed Al-Hashani, according to what his lawyer told Agence France-Presse.

Lawyer Ayachi Hammami stated that the painter was arrested at around 17:00 local time at his home in Mqrin in the southern suburb of Tunis.

The 64-year-old painter was taken to the police station in Maqrin, where he underwent three hours of interrogation regarding two cartoons published in early August on his “Omran Cartoons” page criticizing Al-Hashani’s choice for the position of prime minister, according to Al-Hamami.

He added that the Public Prosecution decided to detain him as a precautionary measure following interrogation.

Al-Hamami, who opposes the policy of President Kais Saied, said that what happened was another violation of freedom of expression, this time affecting a major cartoonist.

Omran has been famous since the 1980s for his drawings of a political nature.

His arrest was met with strong criticism on social media, expressed by a number of civil society figures who denounced an “attack on freedoms.”

The head of the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate, Mehdi Al-Jalasi, called for the “immediate release” of the painter.

The Journalists Syndicate and local and international non-governmental organizations regularly denounce the decline in freedoms in Tunisia since Saied assumed full power in the country on July 25, 2021.
These organizations also denounce the "intimidation" of journalists through "purely political" prosecutions and arrests.

In his speech at UN General Assembly the Palestine President he specified the part of it to the Palestine catastrophe "Nakba" : 

This painful anniversary continues to be ignored and denied by Israel, which is the party that is primarily responsible for this Nakba.  

I call upon you today to criminalize its denial, and to designate the 15th of May of each year as an international day to commemorate its anniversary, to commemorate the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were killed in massacres committed by Zionist gangs and whose villages were demolished and who were forcibly displaced from their homes, with their number reaching 950,000 people, which constituted more than half of the Palestinian population at the time. 

This is the least that the United Nations should do in honor of these victims and in condemnation of this human tragedy.

For several years, we have presented our Palestinian narrative, and the story of our people, which has been deliberately distorted by the Zionist and Israeli propaganda.  We are relieved that the peoples of the world and many of its countries have begun to believe our narrative and sympathize with it, after having been misled for decades. We thank all those who contribute to sharing this narrative and all who support and sympathize with it. We also thank people of conscience everywhere in this world who today are standing up for Palestinian rights and support our people’s struggle for freedom and independence.

My message today to the Israelis is that this hideous occupation against us will not last regardless of their ambitions and delusions, because the Palestinian people are remaining on their land, which they have inhabited for thousands of years, generation after generation, as again confirmed by a recent UNESCO resolution regarding the city of Jericho. They cannot leave their land, and if anyone must leave it must be the occupiers and usurpers.  

My message to the international community is that it should assume its responsibilities with full courage and implement its resolutions related to realizing Palestinian rights.

The Ministry of Health announced, at dawn today, Friday, that a citizen died as a result of his injuries sustained during the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of the village of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin.

The Ministry explained that the martyr was Abdullah Imad Abu Al-Hassan from the town of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, and he was hit by a bullet in the stomach.

The martyr's brother said in an interview with Al-Quds.com's correspondent in Jenin, "Imad was among the resistance fighters who confronted the occupation. He went from Al-Yamoun to the town of Kfardan and participated in confronting the invasion of the occupation forces. He was injured by a bullet, and he belonged to the Jenin Brigade."

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, discussed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a number of international and regional issues of common interest, most notably the Palestinian issue and its developments.

The spokesman for the Secretary-General, Jamal Rushdi, said that the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, dealt with informing the Russian minister of the conclusions of the ministerial meeting held on the sidelines of the General Assembly to promote the Arab Peace Initiative, under joint Arab-European sponsorship, where The Secretary-General pointed out the importance of Russia's participation in this effort aimed at preserving the two-state solution and keeping the Arab Peace Initiative on the international agenda.

Rushdi added that Aboul Gheit discussed with Lavrov ways to strengthen Arab-Russian relations, within the framework of existing cooperation between the two sides, which is embodied by the Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum, whose next session is scheduled to be held before the end of the year.

The British government officially ratified on Thursday an agreement allowing the exchange of information data between the United Kingdom and the United States, which will enter into force on October 12 after the agreement concluded between Brussels and Washington.

This agreement stipulates the establishment of a “data bridge” with the United States “through a British extension” of the agreement between the European Union and the United States, according to a document published Thursday on the British government’s website.

The government stressed that the new system “will not undermine the level of data protection for data subjects in the United Kingdom.”

The United Kingdom and the United States announced in June in a statement that they had reached an initial commitment to this agreement, which will allow “licensed American companies (...) to receive British personal data.”

The EU-US data transfer agreement (“Data Privacy Framework”) adopted in July is a critical tool for the digital economy after European Court decisions invalidated previous frameworks.

The Privacy Shield agreement was canceled in 2020 before the UK effectively left the European Union in January 2021.

The "Privacy Shield" and the previous system were the subject of challenges filed by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems in response to concerns about the protection of European Union data transferred to the United States, where it could be subject to surveillance by US intelligence services.

The activist had previously announced his desire to challenge the third agreement before the European Court of Justice, a procedure that will take several months.

President Mahmoud Abbas addressed world leaders participating in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, saying: “Whoever thinks that peace can be achieved in the Middle East without the Palestinian people obtaining their full legitimate national rights is delusional.”

The President sent a message to the Israelis that the occupation will not last, regardless of their ambitions and illusions, because our people will remain on their land, which they have inhabited for thousands of years, generation after generation, and if anyone has to leave, they are the occupiers.

President Abbas called on the international community to implement its decisions related to realizing Palestinian rights and ending the occupation, which defies the international community’s more than a thousand resolutions, violates the principles of international law and international legitimacy, and is racing against time to change the historical, geographical and demographic reality on the ground, in order to perpetuate it and perpetuate apartheid. (Apartheid).

The President also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to preserve the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its sanctities, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, warning against turning the political conflict into a religious one.

In his speech, President Abbas raised several questions and demanded answers to them: Why remain silent about all the flagrant violations of international law committed by Israel, the occupying state? Why is it not subject to serious accountability and accountability, and sanctions not imposed on it for ignoring and violating international legitimacy resolutions, as is the case with other countries? Why practice double standards when it comes to Israel? Why accept that a state be above the law?

The President said: Despite the painful reality, and thirty years after the Oslo Accords from which Israel dissolved, we still have hope that the United Nations will be able to implement its resolutions that require ending the occupation and embodying the independence of the fully sovereign State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders. Resolving the refugee issue in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, especially Resolution 194, and implementing the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, which confirm the illegality of occupation and settlement, especially Resolution 2334, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative.

President Abbas stressed that, in light of the difficulty facing the peace process due to Israeli policies, all that remains is to ask the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to make arrangements for holding an international peace conference, in which all concerned countries will participate, which may be the last opportunity to keep the two-state solution possible, and to prevent The situation deteriorated more seriously.

The President called on the United Nations to provide protection for the Palestinian people from the continuing aggression of the occupation army and settlers, and to support Palestine’s approach to the courts and international bodies with jurisdiction, as the current situation is no longer tolerable.

He said that the State of Palestine will file complaints with the relevant international bodies against Israel because of its continued occupation of our land, and the crimes that have been committed and are still being committed against us, and against both Britain and America for their role in the ill-fated Balfour Declaration, and against everyone who had a role in the catastrophe and tragedy of our people, to demand recognition. An apology, reparation, and compensation in accordance with international law.

President Abbas called for the criminalization of denial of the Palestinian Nakba, and the adoption of May 15 of each year as an international day to commemorate it and the memory of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were killed in massacres committed by Zionist gangs, and those whose villages were demolished or who were displaced from their homes, who numbered 950,000. More than half of the Palestinian population at the time.

The President called on the member states of the United Nations to take practical steps based on the relevant international legitimacy resolutions and international law, and for the states that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to announce this recognition, and for the State of Palestine to gain full membership in the United Nations.

The President stressed the need for the United Nations to take deterrent measures against Israel, which has not adhered to the conditions for its accession to the United Nations, namely the implementation of Resolutions (181 and 194), until it fulfills its obligations that were presented in a written declaration by its Foreign Minister at the time, Moshe Sharett.

President Abbas stressed that our people will continue to defend their homeland and their legitimate rights, through peaceful popular resistance as a strategic option for self-defense, and to liberate the land from a settler occupation that does not believe in peace, and does not value the principles of truth, justice, and human values.

The President expressed his satisfaction that the peoples of the world and many of its countries began to be convinced of our Palestinian narrative and sympathize with it, after it had been misled for decades by the Zionist and Israeli propaganda machine. He thanked everyone who contributed to spreading this narrative, supporting it, and sympathizing with it.

Regarding holding general elections, His Excellency said that the Israeli government is obstructing their holding, as it did in 1996, 2005, and 2006, through its decision to prevent elections from being held in East Jerusalem, despite the significant interference from many countries and regional and international organizations, to enable our people in Jerusalem to vote. And run in these elections.

President Abbas reiterated his rejection of any position that holds us responsible for not holding these elections, which represent a Palestinian necessity. He said: We will continue to go to international bodies to raise cases against the Israeli government and force them to allow us to hold these long-awaited elections.

Regarding financial support from the international community, His Excellency said, “As long as we continue to suffer under the hateful Israeli occupation, we will continue to need international financial aid, as well as providing financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

He added: Israel bears full responsibility for the restrictions it imposes on us, which prevent us from accessing our natural resources, unlawfully detains our money, continues its siege on our people in the Gaza Strip, and controls all crossing points and dividing lines between the West Bank and its surroundings.

President Abbas extended appreciation and gratitude to all of our people in Palestine, in the refugee camps and in the diaspora, and everywhere in the world, for their steadfastness and insistence on upholding rights.

The President saluted the souls of our honorable martyrs, our brave prisoners, and our heroic wounded, and said: “No right is lost without demands, and victory is ours, and we will celebrate the independence of our state in Jerusalem, our eternal capital.”

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

“Whoever thinks that peace can be achieved in the Middle East without the Palestinian people obtaining their full legitimate national rights is delusional.”

Once again, I come to you carrying the cause of my people struggling for freedom and independence, to remind you of the tragedy caused by the Nakba seventy-five years ago, the effects of which are still exacerbated by the Israeli occupation of our land, this occupation that challenges your resolutions, which exceed a thousand, and violates the principles of international law and international legitimacy. While he is racing against time to change the historical, geographical and demographic reality on the ground, in order to perpetuate the occupation and perpetuate racial segregation (apartheid).

Despite this painful reality, and thirty years after the Oslo Accords from which Israel dissolved, we still have hope that your esteemed organization will be able to implement its decisions requiring an end to the Israeli occupation of our land, and the embodiment of the independence of the fully sovereign State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the borders of the Fourth of May. June 1967, and the issue of Palestinian refugees was resolved in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, especially General Assembly Resolution No. 194, and the General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, all of which confirm the illegitimacy of the Israeli occupation and settlement, especially Resolution 2334, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative.

Ladies and gentlemen

While I stand before you here, the Israeli racist right-wing government continues its attacks on our people, and through its army and its racist terrorist settlers, continues to intimidate and kill our people, destroy homes and property, steal our money and resources, and withhold the bodies of the martyrs, in full view of the world, and without any deterrence, punishment or punishment. Accountability. Indeed, the leaders of this government and its ministers have become proud of the policy of apartheid that they practice on our people under occupation.

The occupation government also violates the city of Jerusalem and its people, attacks our Islamic and Christian sanctities there, and violates the historical and legal status of the holy places, especially in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which international legitimacy has recognized as an exclusive right for Muslims alone, including the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall and the Buraq Wall, according to the report. League of Nations in 1930.

The occupying state is also diligently digging tunnels under and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, which threatens to collapse it, or parts of it, which will lead to an explosion with undesirable consequences. We have repeatedly warned against transforming the political conflict into a religious conflict, for which Israel will bear full responsibility, and here I call on society. The international community assumes its responsibilities in preserving the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its sanctities, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.

I wonder here: Why remain silent about all the flagrant violations of international law committed by Israel, the occupying state? Why is it not subject to serious accountability and accountability, and sanctions not imposed on it for ignoring and violating international legitimacy resolutions, as is the case with other countries? Why practice double standards when it comes to Israel? Why accept that Israel is a state above the law? Isn't it time to answer these questions?

For our part, we will file complaints with the relevant international bodies against Israel because of the continued Israeli occupation of our land, and the crimes that have been committed and are still being committed against us, and against both Britain and America for their role in the ill-fated Balfour Declaration, and against everyone who had a role in the catastrophe and tragedy of our people, demanding recognition. An apology, reparation, and compensation in accordance with international law.

Ladies and Gentlemen

In light of the difficulty facing the peace process due to Israeli policies, we have nothing left but to ask you to hold an international peace conference, in which all countries concerned with achieving peace in the Middle East in general will participate. Therefore, I ask your esteemed organization, and the Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, to put Arrangements and calls for this conference, which may be the last opportunity to keep the two-state solution possible, and to prevent the situation from deteriorating more seriously, which threatens the security and stability of our region and the entire world.

I also call on your organization and the Secretary-General to implement the decisions to provide protection for the Palestinian people from the continuing aggression of the occupation army and the terrorist Israeli settlers, and to support our approach to the courts and international bodies with jurisdiction, because the current situation is no longer tolerable.

In light of everything that Israel is doing, ladies and gentlemen, in terms of its systematic destruction of the two-state solution, it has become necessary, in order to protect this solution, for me to call on the member states of your esteemed organization; Each country, in its national capacity, must take practical steps based on relevant international legitimacy resolutions and international law. I also call on countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to announce this recognition, and for the State of Palestine to gain full membership in the United Nations.

I cannot understand nor accept that some countries, including America and European countries, are reluctant to recognize the State of Palestine, which the United Nations has accepted as an observer member. These countries confirm every day their support for the two-state solution, but they recognize only one of them, which is Israel. Why? What is the danger posed by the State of Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations?

Israel, which enjoys this international recognition, has not adhered to the conditions for its accession to the United Nations, which are the implementation of Resolutions (181 and 194). Therefore, we call on your esteemed organization to take deterrent measures against Israel, until it fulfills its obligations that were presented in a written declaration by its Minister of Foreign Affairs in At that time, Moshe Sharett.

Our request is for the sake of peace and justice, and out of respect for international law, international legitimacy, and your esteemed organization.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Our people defend their homeland and their legitimate rights, through peaceful popular resistance as a strategic option for self-defense, and to liberate the land from a settler occupation that does not believe in peace, and does not give weight to the principles of truth, justice, and human values. We will continue our resistance to this brutal occupation until it is defeated from our land.

Ladies and Gentlemen

We manage our affairs under extremely difficult and complex circumstances as a result of the restrictions imposed on us by the occupying state, which prevents us from accessing our natural resources, unlawfully detains our money, and continues its siege on our people in the Gaza Strip, with the consequent increase in the suffering of our people.

Likewise, Israel bears full responsibility, through its control over all crossing points and dividing lines between the occupied West Bank and its surroundings, for the deliberate spread of weapons, drugs, and criminal killings taking place in Arab cities inside Israel, part of which extends to our regions, which has become a A great threat to the societal security of Palestinians everywhere in our land.

Allow me to tell you: As long as we continue to suffer under the hateful Israeli occupation, we will continue to need financial aid from the international community, as well as providing financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). We are thankful to the international community for the support it has given us to build our state and our economy. We look forward to continuing this support until the occupation leaves and we are able to rely on ourselves.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Our state institutions are engaged in a comprehensive reform and development process, and in this context, they cooperate with international institutions and with our partners in the region and the world.

We have recently held local elections, elections for institutions, federations, syndicates, and others. There is a specialized committee to develop the justice sector in Palestine. Civil society is also playing its role in adding vitality to our political system. All that remains for us is to hold democratic general elections, as took place in the years 1996 and 2005. 2006, but the Israeli government is obstructing this, through its decision to prevent elections from being held in East Jerusalem, despite the significant intervention of many countries and regional and international organizations, to enable our Palestinian people in Jerusalem to vote and run in these elections, and today we renew our rejection of any position that holds us responsible. Not holding these elections, which are a Palestinian necessity that we want today before tomorrow.

In the face of this stubborn position of the Israeli government, we will continue to approach the relevant international bodies to file cases against the Israeli government and force it to allow us to hold these long-awaited elections.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Last May, I participated in commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, as approved by your esteemed organization, after this painful anniversary was ignored by Israel, the party primarily responsible for this Nakba, and I call on you today to criminalize its denial, and to adopt the fifteenth. May of each year is an international day to commemorate her memory, and the memory of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were killed in massacres committed by Zionist gangs, and whose villages were demolished or displaced from their homes, who numbered 950,000 and constituted more than half of the Palestinian population at the time, and this is the least possible. That the United Nations should do this, in honor of these victims, and in denunciation of this human tragedy.

Ladies and gentlemen

For several years, we have continued to present our Palestinian narrative, and the story of our people, which has been deliberately distorted by the Zionist and Israeli propaganda machine. It is a source of relief for us that the peoples of the world and many of its countries have begun to be convinced of our narrative and sympathize with it, after it was misled for decades. We thank all those who Contribute to spreading this narrative, supporting it, and sympathizing with it. We also thank people of conscience everywhere in this world who are standing up for the Palestinian right today and supporting the struggle of our people to achieve freedom and achieve independence.

Ladies and Gentlemen

My message today to the Israelis is that this hateful occupation that they are practicing against us will not last, regardless of their ambitions and illusions, because the Palestinian people are remaining on their land, which they have inhabited for thousands of years, generation after generation. This was confirmed by the recent UNESCO resolution regarding the city of Jericho, and this people cannot He leaves his land, and if anyone has to leave it, they are the occupiers and the usurpers.

My message to the international community is that it bear its responsibilities with all courage, and implement its decisions related to realizing Palestinian rights.

Finally, I address all of our people in Palestine, in the refugee camps and in the diaspora, and in every place in this vast world, with the highest expressions of appreciation and gratitude, for their steadfastness and insistence on upholding rights, and I address a greeting of reverence and honor to our honorable martyrs, our brave prisoners, and our heroic wounded, and I say to everyone what has been lost. A right with demands behind it, and victory is ours, and we will celebrate the independence of our state in Jerusalem, our eternal capital, the crown jewel and the flower of cities.

Israeli occupation forces shot a young man, Thursday evening, at the light rail station in the French Hill neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem.

According to local sources, the occupation forces shot a young man, whose identity is not yet known, and deployed in the area after it was closed, while the movement of the light train stopped completely.

Workers in Gaza fear they will no longer have jobs in Israel and the occupied West Bank once the crossing opens again

Palestinian workers from Gaza say they fear for their livelihoods amid the Israeli closure of the Erez crossing in Gaza.

The closure, now in its sixth day and expected to last for an additional six days, has left workers employed in the occupied West Bank and Israel at risk of being laid off over their absences. 

Israeli forces closed crossing points with Gaza earlier this week, leaving thousands of Palestinians unable to go to work, as they carry out a “security assessment".

The decision to close the border came after Palestinian protests demanding the "right of return", the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

However, workers who spoke to Middle East Eye said that the decision constitutes a form of “collective punishment,” and will have a significant impact on Gaza’s economy, as well as their own livelihoods.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a teenager  from the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

The Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority said that the occupation forces arrested the teen, Muhammad Qaws (13 years old).

On the other hand, the occupation authorities sentenced the young Jerusalemite Hamza Shuqirat to 15 months in prison, and extended the administrative detention of the young Jerusalemite Muhammad Ali for the third time in a row for a month.

It also extended the detention of the young Jerusalemite, Saleh Fakhouri, until next Sunday, and the detention of the two young Jerusalemites, Muhammad Shatara and Adam Ghazawi, until next Tuesday. It also extended the detention of the young Jerusalemite, Ramadan Dabash, until next October 26, and the Jerusalemite child, Basil Obaidiya, until next October 9, and the young man. Al-Maqdisi Mahmoud Zahayka until next Wednesday.

The occupation authorities released the Jerusalemite child, Amir Najeeb, on condition of house arrest, a fine of 1,000 shekels, and a ban on communication and use of the Internet.

The Jordanian King, King Abdullah II, warned of the consequences of the Palestinians’ succumbing to any potential normalization agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel, in an interview conducted with him by the head of the Al-Monitor Media Foundation, Andrew Paraceletti, in New York, on Wednesday, during the Middle East Global Summit, which was organized by the Foundation. “Al-Monitor.”

The dialogue, which was also attended by Jordanian Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II, discussed developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and other issues such as Jordan’s efforts to work towards peace and regional integration, in addition to the increasing pressures resulting from the Syrian refugee crisis.

In his response to a question about the possibility of moving forward with the peace process, King Abdullah II pointed out the need to focus on the issue of “the transition to a new Palestinian generation of leaders, where the Palestinians are heading, and where Israel is heading,” wondering how we can reach an understanding about the political horizon. "?.

In response to a question about US efforts to achieve normalization between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel, the king indicated that any such agreement might lead to a new horizon, but at the same time he warned against overstepping the Palestinians, stressing that “the challenge lies in the Israeli government and the belief among some that You can bypass Palestine and deal with the Arabs, and then turn to the Palestinians, and this is not possible, as there will be no real peace without a solution to the Palestinian issue.”

The Jordanian king pointed out that there are requirements for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States, but “what the Palestinians will gain and what the region will gain from this matter must also be taken into account.”

The Jordanian King pointed to the decline in international interest in the Syrian refugee issue and the significant decline in international support, warning that the refugee issue may return to “troubling us all” as a result of the instability in southern Syria.

This Thursday evening, settlers closed “Road 90” in the center of the town of Al-Auja, north of Jericho.

According to local sources, dozens of settlers, protected by the occupation police and soldiers, were present on the main street known as “Street 90” in the center of the town, closed it, and raised Israeli flags.

Informed Palestinian and Syrian sources revealed, this evening, Thursday, the details of the assassination carried out by an Israeli reconnaissance plane in the village of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside.

The sources told Al-Quds.com that the two people who were assassinated were Ali Okasha, known as “Abu Al-Jarrah,” and Zaher Al-Saadi, “Abu Al-Ala.”

In an interview with Al-Quds.com, the sources indicated that they are of Syrian origin, and not, as some various media outlets previously indicated, that they are Palestinians belonging to the Islamic Jihad movement.

A leading source in Islamic Jihad in Beirut confirmed to Al-Quds.com that they do not belong to the movement.

Syrian sources told Al-Quds.com that Okasha and Al-Saadi both belong to the Islamic Group, which is a Syrian opposition party, active in some areas of the Damascus countryside and other areas of Syria, and is also known in some of them as the “Islamic Front.”

The sources revealed to Al-Quds.com that the assassination was carried out because they were behind rocket launches (between 2 and 4) against Israeli targets near the border between the years 2016-2019.

The sources indicated that Okasha and Al-Saadi were buried in their hometown in the town of Beit Jinn.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli army announced that it had fired shells at two temporary Syrian buildings that the Syrian army had established in the security zone, which constituted a violation of the ceasefire.

The Israeli army considered that the Syrian regime was responsible for everything that happened on its territory.

A number of citizens suffered from suffocation, Thursday evening, during the Israeli occupation forces’ suppression of peaceful marches in the eastern Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, the occupation soldiers stationed inside their positions and military vehicles deployed along the separation fence opened fire and fired a barrage of toxic tear gas bombs at dozens of boys and young men demonstrating in several areas near the separation fence east of Gaza City and east of Khan Yunis and Rafah. In the south of the Gaza Strip and Jabalia in its north, a number of them suffered gas suffocation.

Peaceful marches continue for the sixth day in a row near the separation fence in several areas east of the Gaza Strip, in protest against the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the continuing crimes of the occupation against our people in all governorates of the country and against our sanctities and our prisoners.

More than 43,000 people were displaced, according to the United Nations, as a result of the massive floods that swept eastern Libya, especially the city of Derna, where communications were restored on Thursday after a 24-hour interruption.

While search operations continue for thousands of missing people who are believed to have died as a result of the floods, the International Organization for Migration on Thursday published new estimates indicating an increase in the number of displaced people after the passage of Storm Daniel on the night of September 10-11.

The International Organization for Migration said that the tragedy caused the displacement of 43,059 people.
She added that "the lack of water supplies may have prompted many" of the displaced inside Derna to leave it to go to other cities in the east and west of the country.

The International Organization for Migration noted that the urgent needs of the displaced include “food, fresh water, mental health, and psychosocial support.”

The floods led to the death of 3,351 people, according to the latest official provisional toll announced by the Minister of Health in the Libyan East, Othman Abdel Jalil, on Tuesday evening.

However, humanitarian organizations and Libyan authorities fear that the number of victims is much higher due to the number of missing persons estimated in the thousands.

The communications networks and the Internet witnessed a blackout on Tuesday evening, and journalists were asked to leave the stricken city the day after a demonstration by Derna residents to demand that the authorities in the east of the country be held accountable, considering them responsible for the disaster.

The authorities spoke of a “cut in optical fiber,” but according to analysts and Internet users, the cut was deliberate and aimed at imposing a “blackout” after the extensive media coverage of the demonstration the day before.

The Libyan Supreme Committee for Emergency and Rapid Response, which was formed by the eastern authorities to supervise relief efforts, announced “the return of communications and Internet services throughout the city of Derna.”

The head of the Libyan government recognized by the United Nations, Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, announced on his account on the “X” website (formerly Twitter) that “the efforts of the field crisis team for the communications sector were crowned with success in restoring communications and Internet services to the city of Derna and the eastern region, after re-implementing new paths for fiber cables.” Optical communications infrastructure.

A strong storm struck eastern Libya on the night of Sunday, Monday, September 11, and the rain falling in huge quantities led to the collapse of two dams in the city of Derna. Water flowed forcefully and several meters high into a riverbed that is usually dry, sweeping away parts of the city along with its buildings and infrastructure.

The United Nations announced earlier this week that its agencies, especially the World Health Organization, are working to "prevent the spread of diseases and avoid a second devastating crisis in the region," warning of risks linked to "water and the lack of sanitary supplies."

On Thursday, rescue crews continued their efforts to find the bodies of the missing, especially at sea, after the floods swept away entire neighborhoods.

Libya has been mired in chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, and two governments are competing for power. The first is based in Tripoli in the west and is headed by Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba and is recognized by the United Nations, and the other is in the east of the country, which was struck by the storm, headed by Osama Hammad and is appointed by the House of Representatives. It is supported by the strongman in the East, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

In 2018, Haftar's forces took control of Derna, which was a stronghold of extremist Islamists and the only city outside their control in eastern Libya. But the eastern authorities consider Derna an opposition stronghold since the Gaddafi era.

After opening an investigation into the circumstances of the disaster, Libyan Attorney General Al-Siddiq Al-Sur confirmed that the two dams that collapsed had developed cracks since 1998 and had not been repaired.

The friend in charge of investigating the disaster, Al-Sour, promised in a television interview on Wednesday evening that the results would appear “soon.”
He stressed that the Derna investigations "will affect officials."

Like many of my readers, and unlike my wife and children, I am an Israeli by choice. I immigrated to Israel nearly 46 years ago. My wife and children were born in Israel. Nearly six years ago,one of my children left Israel with her husband and daughter.   They decided they didn’t want to raise their young child in Israel. They did not want to live in a country which was becoming increasingly religious, right-wing, racist, lacking tolerance of diversity, and apartheid-like. My two grown-up sons have so far remained in Jerusalem. They participate in the anti-government protests, but not regularly, and unlike my wife and I, they don’t always participate in the “Gush neged haKibush” – the bloc against the occupation part of the protests. I don’t know if my two sons and their partners will stay in Israel, they are here with us for the time being. We are seeing some of our friends leave Israel and some others seriously thinking about leaving. I don’t think about leaving, for me the struggle has not yet been lost and I am not willing to give up fighting for a just and democratic Israel in which all citizens live with equality and an Israel that no longer occupies the Palestinian people. For me Israel has always been home in thedeepest sense of the word and it is not easy to leave home. 

Part of my struggle is that I no longer define myself as a Zionist. It took me a long time to come out and say this publicly. My difficulty was mainly because I became an Israeli based on the Zionist Law of Return. Had I been born in Israel; I would have declared that I am no longer a Zionist a long time ago. I came out in support of the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israeli in 1975. For me, in those days it was the Zionist solution which would enable Israel to be the democratic nation-state of the Jewish people and all of its citizens. I thought that if there was a national home for the Palestinians on part of historic Palestine, then not only would Israel end its occupation of the Palestinian people, but also the Palestinian citizens of Israel could be treated equally as full Israeli citizens, as they would no longer be suspect of identifying with the enemies of their state. As long as there was a viable peace process with the Palestinians, I thought that was a chance that true equality could exist within the State of Israel and that the occupation could end. That has not happened. The occupation has become harsher than ever. Discrimination against Israel’s Palestinian citizens has deepened with increasing racism and hatred between the Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel and growing alienation of the Palestinian citizens towards the State of Israel. As Israel has become more right-wing and much more religious and the agenda of genuine equality is not within the platform or any of the religious right-wing political parties and civil society organizations it seems impossible to imagine the reality that I dream of and work for. 

What is done in the name of Zionism now and for many years are actions that are diametrically opposed to everything that I value. Zionist responses are actions of building more settlements on Palestinian land, erasing Palestinian villages, pogroms against innocent Palestinians, passing the Nation-State law, and a lot of other legislative initiatives on the way as well as daily encroaching annexation. I do no longer believe in the idea of a Jewish democratic state, it is no longer possible – perhaps it never really was. Jewish supremacy in the State of Israel has taken on proportions that make it impossible to imagine Israel as a state where all of its citizens can be genuinely equal. With no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the horizon and the daily encroachment of annexation of the West Bank without granting millions of Palestinians even the most basic human rights, Israel has truly become a new form of apartheid. The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid defines “the crime of apartheid” as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them”. The term racial group is a broad term, as we use it in Israel, not limited to skin color or other race-based definitions, but rather related to ethnicity, religion, national identification, etc. Israel is not apartheid South Africa, there are many differences, but Israel does fit the international definition of apartheid. 

My struggle for what I want my home- Israel to be, comes from two sentences in Israel’s Declaration of Independence (and not from the whole Declaration). “it(the State of Israel)will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its citizens irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

And of course: “We extend our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.” 

Israel has not lived up to those declarations of intent -particularly with regard to Israel’s closest neighbors – the Palestinian people. Israel is further away from them than ever before. The current Israeli government will do nothing to bring us even one millimeter closer to ending the occupation. In fact, it will continue to implement the plans of the most right-wing elements of this government – building more settlements and doing everything possible to encourage Palestinians to leave. The present and the future look quite gloomy and it is easy to sink into despair. I understand people who are relocating or seeking to relocate. If my children were small perhaps, I too would consider it. But for me, with grown up children, and no other place in the world which feels like home to me, I am here to fight for what I believe in. Here I need to draw on the ability to imagine a better tomorrow and use strategic thinking to develop the road map to reach that better place. 

When reality is so bleak it is very difficult to draw on imagination which is not naïve fantasy. We must remain connected to reality and seek to define the ways in which it would be possible to change public opinion. I am 100% convinced that if Israelis believed that there was a sincere partner for peace in Palestine, public opinion in Israel could rapidly change. The same is true for Palestinian public opinion – if there were leaders in Israel that spoke sincerely about living in peace with the Palestinian people, public opinion in Palestine would change. It is difficult to see that happening with the current leaders in Israel and in Palestine. But our leaders will change – they are not here forever. 

We need great people on both sides with vision and abilities to stand up and enter the political arena. We are suffering badly from the lack of leaders with vision who can reignite hope and who understand that the future of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people is intertwined. I have little hope that the US or Europe will provide the help and support that we need. We must find every point of leverage that we can identify to create the future that we want. We must impress upon Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman not to give away the greatest leverage existing today to move Israeli public opinion towards understanding the urgent need to end the occupation. Saudi normalization with Israel in the absence of iron-clad agreements to move towards ending the occupation will leave us frozen in the unbearable continuation of the great injustice of occupation and the inevitable escalation of violence. 

The anti-normalization movement in Palestine, while understandable makes it difficult for us to build bridges for mutual support and solidarity – but we must do it anyway. It is more difficult today to create possibilities for Israelis and Palestinians to meet and get to know each other. From 1989-2011, I organized and ran, with Palestinian colleagues, more than 2000 working groups of professionals from Israel and Palestine. Today that is very very difficult – but not impossible. It must be done and this kind of serious work must be undertaken by young Israelis and Palestinians and the international community needs to renew its efforts to enable this. 

We must always keep in mind that some of the more important, significant and earth-shattering events in history were not predicted or imagined, such as the Sadat visit to Jerusalem, the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall, the emergence of Nelson Mandela from prison and being elected President of a post-apartheid democratic South Africa. We have no real ability to know what tomorrow will bring, but it is our responsibility to help to create a much better future. We cannot give up hope, the struggle is ongoing and we have not yet lost. 

The writer is a political and social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to peace between Israel and her neighbors. He is a founding member of “Kol Ezraheiha - Kol Muwanteneiha” (All of the Citizens) political party in Israel. He is now directing The Holy Land Bond and is the Middle East Director for ICO - International Communities Organization.

Japan provided three financial grants, to the municipality of Kobar, northwest of Ramallah, and the village councils of Majdal Bani Fadel, southeast of the city of Nablus, and Jalboun, east of Jenin, within the Grant Aid Program for Community and Human Security Projects (GGP).

The agreements were signed by the Ambassador of Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to Palestine, Nakashima Yoichi, with representatives of the local councils separately, at the headquarters of the Japanese representation in the city of Ramallah, today, Thursday, with a total value amounting to $250,009.

Japan provided the municipality of Koper with a grant amounting to $77,940 to expand the town’s water network, deliver water to an additional 50 families, and improve its quality by extending 1,560 meters of underground pipes in several locations in the town that are not currently connected to the water network.

It also provided the Majdal Bani Fadel Village Council with a grant worth $90,810 to expand its electricity network to serve about 120 families by supplying a 400kVA power transformer and constructing 910-meter-long high-voltage lines and 80-meter-long low-voltage lines.

The Jalboun Village Council received a grant worth $81,259 to expand the health center there, by adding new rooms in the center, to serve the people and facilitate the work of the staff working in the center.

Ambassador Yoichi stressed Japan's firm commitment to supporting the Palestinian people, from a human security perspective, and the importance of implementing social and economic development projects necessary for Palestinian communities.

Since 1993, the Government of Japan has provided official development assistance worth approximately $2.3 billion to the Palestinians, and GGP projects have been formulated in cooperation with the National Authority, through the Ministry of Finance and Planning since 2010.

Today, Thursday, a group of Israeli settlers set up tents in the natural reserve area east of Bethlehem.

According to local sources, the settlers set up a number of tents and raised Israeli flags above them in the area.

The sources indicated that this aggression aims to seize the reserve’s lands and achieve settlement goals.