Last night, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken welcomed the recent efforts made to prevent escalation and an increase in tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

Blinken affirmed, in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen , the United States' continued commitment to the two-state solution, as stated in a statement, published on the Hebrew Walla website, at dawn on Friday.

Blinken and Cohen discussed common challenges, including the issue of Iran, as well as efforts to advance common interests.

At dawn on Friday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested the boy, Naim Fatatfa, from the town of Silwan , south of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem .

According to local sources, those forces stormed the house of the boy's family, Fatafta, and arrested him and transferred him for interrogation.

A grand jury in the Manhattan borough of New York City has voted to convict former US President Donald Trump , making him the first person in US history to serve as US president and then be charged with a crime, as he paves the way for his rival in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

According to The New York Times, the indictment has been sealed, meaning that the specific charge or charges are not known to the public, but the grand jury was hearing evidence about money paid to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, allegedly because Trump and his presidential campaign prevented her from saying She had a sexual encounter with Trump years ago in exchange for money.

Trump's advisers were discussing a possible surrender on Tuesday and a court appearance, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

For his part, former US President Donald Trump rejected the accusation against him in the case of "buying silence" porn star Daniels, with whom she alleged he had an affair, and poured out his anger on the public prosecutor and his political opponents. Republican leaders condemned the decision.

"This is a political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement, adding, "I think this persecution will backfire on (President) Joe Biden."

"Even before I was sworn in as President of the United States, the radical left-wing Democrats, the enemies of the toiling men and women of this country, engaged in a witch hunt against me," he added.

In a five-paragraph statement, released within minutes of news of the indictment breaking, Trump vowed revenge as he plans to return to the White House in the 2024 election.

"The Democrats lied, cheated, and stole in their obsession with trying to bait Trump, but now they have done the unthinkable, indicting someone who is completely innocent, in scandalous election interference," Trump said.

He added, "It is the use of our judicial system as a weapon in order to punish a political opponent, who happens to be the president of the United States (formerly) and the most prominent Republican candidate for president (in the upcoming elections), and this has never happened before." He continued, "I think this prosecution will rebound." Massively counterproductive to Joe Biden."

Trump's lawyers, Joseph Takopina and Susan Nickellis, said they would "fight vigorously" the charges, while another attorney, Alina Haba, expected him to be acquitted.

Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, considered that the decision had caused "irreparable damage" to the United States, at a time when allies of the former president launched a fierce attack on Democrats and judicial officials.

McCarthy said Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg "has irreparably damaged our country by trying to interfere with our presidential election."

He added, "The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg accountable for his unprecedented abuse of power."

The 76-year-old Trump became the first former or sitting president to be charged with a felony, on the cusp of the presidential election that Trump seeks to run in 2024.

In turn, Ron DeSantis, Trump's main competitor for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, criticized the accusation of the former president, describing it as "contrary to American values."

DeSantis, the governor of Florida, Trump's residence, said he "would not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances" of the indictment, which he described as part of a "political agenda".

It is noteworthy that the investigation in Manhattan is one of several legal challenges facing Trump, and the charges may harm his efforts to return to the presidency. About 44 percent of Republicans think he should drop out of the race if indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.

The porn star's attorney, Stormy Daniels, said Thursday that the indictment of Trump shows that "no one is above the law".

The charges rely heavily on testimony from Michael Cohen, a former Trump aide who said he paid $130,000, on Trump's orders, to "keep Stormy Daniels quiet."

Cohen said, according to The New York Times, that Trump ordered him to buy Ms. Daniels' silence, and that Trump and his family business, the Trump Organization, helped cover it up.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announced, at dawn on Friday, the death of Bahaa Muhammad Abu al-Haija, one of its members, after he was hit by a live bullet by mistake during his shift at one of its positions at the entrance to Jenin camp .

In a brief statement, the Brigades pledged to move forward on the path of the martyrs until the liberation of Palestine.

On Friday, thousands of citizens performed the Fajr prayer in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque , despite the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation forces.

The occupation police officers searched some young men at some of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and tried to block the entry of hundreds of people from Hatta Gate, before opening it completely to the movement of worshipers coming from several areas, including from the West Bank and the occupied interior.

The Israeli occupation forces will deploy thousands of its members in the morning hours in the Old City of Jerusalem, and in the city and the surrounding checkpoints, especially with the West Bank, under the pretext of trying to maintain calm.

It is expected that tens of thousands of citizens in the West Bank and the occupied interior will arrive at Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the second Friday prayers of the blessed month of Ramadan .

At dawn on Friday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested 3 young men while they were passing through the town of Hawara, south of Nablus .

According to local sources, the three detainees are from the village of Yatma, south of Nablus, and were arrested by the occupation forces while they were passing through the town of Hawara.

It indicated that the detainees are Raouf Sanobar, Muhammad Hatem, and Muhammad Al-Ramahi.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested two young men at the entrance to the town of Ya`bad , southwest of Jenin .

Eyewitnesses told Al-Quds.com that the occupation forces set up a flying checkpoint at the main entrance to the town, seized a vehicle and, after checking the cards of its passengers, arrested two young men.

The witnesses indicated that the two detainees were Muhammad Akram Turkman and Muhammad Ali Turkman, from Ya`bad, and they were transferred to an unknown destination.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli army launched raids on targets in the vicinity of the Syrian capital, Damascus .

According to the official Syrian news agency, SANA, the Syrian air defenses intercepted the Israeli missiles launched from the Golan Heights.

According to regular sources, the shelling was concentrated in the vicinity of southern Damascus, and the vicinity of the Al-Kiswah area in the western countryside.

It indicated that it targeted targets of the Iranian forces, as well as the first division of the Syrian army.

The Israeli army attacked targets before mid-Wednesday, in Damascus, wounding two Syrian soldiers.

Dozens of citizens were suffocated, Thursday evening, as the Israeli occupation forces fired a barrage of toxic tear gas canisters at Martyr Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium in Al-Ram town , north of occupied Jerusalem .

According to local sources, the occupation forces attacked the stadium during the Martyr Yasser Arafat Football Cup final match between "Balata Center" and "Jabal Mukaber", which led to the suffocation of a number of players and fans in the stands, including children.

Medical staff intervened to provide field treatment to those suffering from suffocation.

The Central Bank of Egypt decided today (Thursday) to raise interest rates by 2% on deposits and lending to curb inflation , during a meeting of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee.

The bank said in a statement on its official website that the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt decided, in its meeting today, to raise the rates of the one-night deposit and lending return and the price of the main operation of the Central Bank by 200 basis points, to reach 18.25%, 19.25% and 18.75%, respectively. .

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt also decided to raise the credit and discount rate by 200 basis points, to reach 18.75%.

The Central Bank of Egypt statement pointed to a slight slowdown in the growth rate of real economic activity, to record 3.9% during the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to a growth rate of 4.4% during the third quarter of 2022, and the first half of the fiscal year 2022/2023 recorded a growth rate of 4.2%. .

With regard to the labor market, the unemployment rate recorded 7.2% during the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to a rate of 7.4% during the third quarter of 2022.

The annual rate of urban general inflation continued to rise, to record 25.8% and 31.9% in January and February 2023, respectively, indicating that these increases reflect many factors, which include imbalances in supply chains locally and fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound, in addition to pressures from the side. Demand, which is evident in the developments of real economic activity compared to its maximum production capacity and the rise in the domestic liquidity growth rate.

The statement noted that, in light of the above, the Monetary Policy Committee decided to raise the basic interest rates by 200 basis points, stressing that the path of the basic interest rates depends on the expected inflation rates and not on the prevailing inflation rates.

The committee stressed the need to restrict monetary policy as a prerequisite for achieving the inflation rates targeted by the Central Bank of Egypt, which amount to 7 ± (2 percentage points) on average during the fourth quarter of 2024, and 5 ± (2 percentage points) on average during the fourth quarter of 2024. Year 2026.

On December 22, 2022, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt decided to raise the rates of the one-night deposit and lending return and the price of the main operation of the Central Bank by 300 basis points, or by 3 percent.

The Central Bank of Egypt stated in a statement at the time that the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to raise the rates of the overnight deposit and lending return and the price of the main operation of the Central Bank by 300 basis points, to reach 16.25 percent, 17.25 percent, and 16.75 percent, respectively.

The committee also decided to raise the credit and discount rate by 300 basis points, to reach 16.75 percent.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh discussed, in Ramallah today, Thursday, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan , Jeyhun Bayramov , in the presence of Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki , the latest developments and the strengthening of cooperation.

Shtayyeh stressed, when receiving his Azeri guest, the importance of strengthening cooperation at all levels between the two countries, especially academic and student exchange, and in terms of exchanging visits between businessmen and investors, appreciating Azerbaijan's support for Palestine in the United Nations and through the Non-Aligned Movement.

Shtayyeh put the Azerbaijani minister in the picture of the conditions, violations and unilateral measures of the occupation government against our people, the Judaization of Jerusalem and the sanctities in it, the isolation of Palestinian areas from each other with barriers and the wall, and the systematic destruction of the possibility of embodying the establishment of an independent and continuous Palestinian state geographically on the 1967 borders.

The European Union Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janiz Lenarcic, announced today (Thursday) the provision of 60 million euros in humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable groups in Lebanon , including Syrian refugees and destitute Lebanese.

A statement issued by the European Commission indicated that Commissioner Lenarcic, who is visiting Lebanon to review humanitarian projects funded by the European Union and to meet with representatives of the Lebanese authorities.

The statement stated that "the new funding comes at a time when the Lebanese population is facing increasing levels of poverty, food insecurity and disease outbreaks, as about 4 million vulnerable people, including 1.5 million Syrian refugees and 2.2 million Lebanese, need humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs." .

"The new humanitarian package will provide basic humanitarian aid such as food aid, cash support, and education and health services to those in dire need," the statement added.

The statement stated that "the political and economic crisis in Lebanon has led to widespread poverty, the collapse of public services, and the increase in societal tensions, and the global food and fuel crisis has exacerbated the already dire situation."

The statement estimated that 80% of the Lebanese live in poverty, and that 36% live below the extreme poverty line, while 90% of the Syrian refugees cannot cover their basic needs.

Lebanon is suffering from an acute economic, living and financial crisis, which the World Bank classified as one of the three worst crises in the world since the mid-19th century.

The statement pointed out that the European Union's funding for humanitarian purposes for Lebanon since 2011 amounted to about 860 million euros.

The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon registered on the lists of the International Commissioner for Refugees is about 900 thousand, while the Lebanese authorities report that their number is about two million and 80 thousand displaced people, most of whom reside in about 1,400 random camps distributed in various regions.

Today, the Prisoners’ Club said in a statement that the health condition of the prisoner, Muhammad al-Khatib (40 years), from Tulkarm , is deteriorating continuously in light of the emergence of new symptoms, including: increasing pain in the extremities, loss of feeling in his left foot, and for two days he has been suffering from His heart rate accelerated, and as a result he was transferred to the Negev prison clinic with the help of his fellow prisoners, using a stretcher, due to his inability to walk due to the severity of the pain.

The Captive Club confirmed that the prisoner, Al-Khatib, who suffered about two years ago from a serious herniated disc, today needs to undergo new medical examinations, to diagnose his health condition again, in light of the emergence of new health symptoms. On the other hand, the prison administration continues its approach of procrastination and medical neglect, and every time the prisoner Al-Khatib is transferred to the clinic, the prison administration tries to invent a new excuse for the reasons for the delay in not transferring him for the necessary examinations.

As a result, the prisoner, Al-Khatib, carried out a protest step today by refusing to enter the department, as he remained outside the department for three hours in the extreme cold, until he was provided with a wheelchair to enable him to move, due to the great difficulty he faces in his movement, and to meet his basic needs, until the management (response) Imprisonment for his request.

It is noteworthy that the suffering of the prisoner Al-Khatib appeared about two years ago, and at that time he was diagnosed with a severe herniated disc, but the medications he was given caused him additional health problems, and his health condition continued to worsen until today.

The prisoner Al-Khatib has been detained since 2003, and he is sentenced to 21 years in prison, and there is about a year left until his release date.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation authorities extended the detention of four young men from occupied Jerusalem .

And local sources reported that the occupation court extended the detention of the young man, Muhammad Abu Sneineh, until tomorrow, Friday, while extending the detention of the two young men, Abdel Nasser Abu Sneineh and Ahmed Najeeb, until next Monday, and the young man, Daoud Amer Al-Ghoul, from the Ras Al-Amoud neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem, until the third of next April.

In a related context, the Israeli occupation authorities deported the citizen, Haroun Abu Sneineh, from Al-Aqsa Mosque for a period of six months.

Today, Thursday, the occupation authorities allowed the family of the prisoner, Walid Daqqa, to visit him at Barzilai Hospital in the occupied city of Ashkelon .

Sanaa Ahmed Salama, the wife of prisoner Daqqa, said that she was able to visit him with their daughter, Milad, this afternoon "for only a quarter of an hour."

Salama indicated that "Walid is still in a critical condition. It was difficult for him to talk to us because of his difficult respiratory condition in particular, and from the recent tests that were conducted for him, it was found that he had a blood clot in the lungs, in addition to acute pneumonia, which keeps him in danger." severe.

She added, “The doctor confirmed to us the seriousness of Walid’s respiratory condition. He is still in the intensive care room to closely monitor his condition, and the doctor did not deny the possibility of his condition deteriorating, God forbid, but rather said: The coming days are crucial, hoping that Walid will overcome the pulmonary danger that threatens his life.

The prisoner, Daqqa, and after great pressure from his fellow prisoners in Ashkelon prison and other prisons, was transferred to Barzilai Hospital in the occupied city of Ashkelon after his health condition deteriorated, as a result of his illness in general and the side effects of the sedatives he was taking after discovering that he had cancer in the prison. December 2022, and he suffered a stroke in his leg in February 2023.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov confirmed that his country will soon open a representative office in the State of Palestine .

This came during a press conference that Minister Bayramov held with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Malki, today, Thursday, at the Ministry's headquarters in Ramallah, on his first visit to the State of Palestine.

Minister Bayramov said that his meeting with Minister Al-Maliki discussed the development of relations between the two sides in the cultural, economic and political fields, expressing his pride in the historical relations between Palestine and Azerbaijan, which have been extended for many years.

He added that his country will expand the scholarships offered to Palestinian students to reach 25 scholarships, in addition to its intention to build a school in the city of Nablus.

He said, "We consider this visit as a foundation for deepening bilateral relations between the two countries, and a foundation for a continuous partnership between Azerbaijan and Palestine," stressing his country's support for the two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.

For his part, Al-Maliki said, during the conference, "We met today with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and his accompanying delegation as a friend of mine personally, and as a representative of a country friendly to Palestine, and this is his first visit to Palestine, and we touched on many issues and bilateral relations in how to develop and deepen them, and the need to expand The legal basis is through the signing of more agreements between the two countries.

Al-Maliki added that his Azeri counterpart will visit Palestine soon in order to open the representative office of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Palestine, and to hold a new session of political consultations at the ministerial level.

Al-Maliki thanked the guest minister for the support that Azerbaijan provides to Palestine in international forums, its support for the Palestinian right and the justice of the Palestinian cause, and its continuous and repeated vote in favor of the State of Palestine, including the recent vote related to the International Court of Justice.

Al-Maliki explained that during the meeting, the situation on the ground was discussed, and the suffering of the Palestinian people by the occupying power, in addition to discussing strengthening cooperation between the two countries in several fields.

The press conference was preceded by a meeting between the Palestinian and Azerbaijani sides, during which Al-Maliki appreciated Azerbaijan’s decision to open a representative office in the city of Ramallah, saying that this will enhance cooperation with the Republic of Azerbaijan in many fields, and would contribute to strengthening and consolidating relations between our two countries, expressing his hope that this will be lifted. Representation level to embassy level soon.

Al-Maliki added that it was agreed to hold a political consultation session at the ministerial level during the next visit, and he also touched on the importance of signing cooperation agreements between the two countries, especially between the Azerbaijani Agency for International Cooperation (AIDA) and its Palestinian counterpart, the Palestinian Agency for International Cooperation (PICA).

Al-Maliki reviewed the violations and crimes of the occupation authorities, its army, and its terrorist settler militia against Palestinian citizens, their land, property, homes, and sanctities throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, including the daily incursions into Palestinian cities and towns, and the resulting killings, arbitrary arrests, and injuries among citizens, and the seizure of Palestinian lands in favor of settlement expansion. , which rise to the level of crimes against humanity for which international law is held accountable.

He stressed that what the Israeli government is doing in terms of enacting and legislating more racist colonial laws and inciting statements issued by more than one official in the ruling Israeli coalition, finds its echo on a daily basis in the violations and crimes of the occupation forces and settler militia, which confirms that the Israeli government and its various arms, as usual, deny all The agreements signed with the Palestinian side under international and American auspices are conclusive evidence of the absence of an Israeli peace partner, and the absence of peace and political negotiations from the program of the extreme right-wing occupation government.

Al-Maliki added that Israel is continuing its settlement occupation project based on apartheid and the apartheid system, calling on the international community to take punitive measures to stop this legal crime, and to stop all forms of dealing with settlements and settlers.

The Palestinians of the occupied interior participated, Thursday evening, in a central march, to commemorate the forty-seventh anniversary of the Eternal Land Day , which was organized in the city of Sakhnin .

The demonstration started from Al-Shuhada Street in the city, under the banner of the Palestinian flag. In response to the policies of the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.

The head of the National Democratic Gathering Party, Sami Abu Shehadeh, said during the march, "The main issue and our struggle with the Zionist movement was, is, and will remain the issue of land, and we are still suffering from racist policies in everything related to land and housing, and the scene of everyone uniting under the banner of the flag The Palestinian is a beautiful scene, and it is the strongest message on the 47th anniversary of Land Day.

The Earth Day commemoration activities began, since Thursday morning, in the towns of the Earth Day Triangle, and in Al-Taybeh, which included visiting the shrines of the martyrs and their families.

In Sakhnin, the shrines of the martyrs of Land Day were visited. The martyr Khadija Shawahneh, the martyr Khader Khalayleh, and the martyr Raja Abu Raya, and then, the tomb of the martyr Khair Yassin was visited in Arraba.

The mayor of Sakhnin, Dr. Safwat Abu Raya said, "47 years have passed since the martyrdom of the Earth Day martyrs, a milestone in the history of our people, in which they made great sacrifices in defense of their land and identity.

For her part, Jalila Abu Raya, daughter of the martyr Raja, said in her speech, "Your presence here today and every year is a message of loyalty to the martyrs, and we, the family of the martyr, affirm that we are on the path of the martyr, we will remain forever, for he is the one who said that sacrifice is his duty in defense of the land and dignity."

The events of the Palestinian Land Day date back to 1976 after the Israeli authorities confiscated thousands of dunums of privately owned Arab lands, under the cover of a new decree officially issued in the mid-seventies, called the "Development of the Galilee" project, which in its main essence was the "Judaization of the Galilee." Thus, the direct cause of the events of Land Day was the confiscation of 21,000 dunums of land by the Israeli authorities from Arraba, Sakhnin, Deir Hanna and Arab al-Sawaed.

Source: Arab 48

A spokesman for the US State Department, Vedant Patel , said that the US administration is considering exempting Israelis from visas, but Israel has not yet met the US conditions.

Vedant said, in response to a question by the "Al-Quds" dot-com correspondent, regarding the statements of the US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Naides, that an agreement is expected to be reached in this regard next summer, "I do not have any update to provide, but to repeat what I said earlier, is that we are looking at to Israel's future admission to the Visa Waiver Program as a matter of benefit to the United States and Israel."

Patel added, "We are continuing to work on this issue. We are continuing to work with our Israeli partners in order to meet all the requirements. But at this time, Israel does not meet all the eligibility requirements. To be eligible for the Visa Waiver Program, Israel still has significant work to complete in A short time frame in order to meet all these requirements before the end of the fiscal year, i.e. September 30.”

“To be clear again, reciprocity of travel is a prerequisite for entry into this program. We demand equal treatment and freedom of travel for all United States citizens—regardless of national origin, religion, or race—who seek entry to or transit through Israel. ".

US Ambassador Nides told Jewish Insider that Israelis hoping to travel visa-free to the US could see progress on the issue as soon as next summer.

"It will probably be done, in July or August, when they do a review," Naides said.

According to the newspaper, his comments came hours after the Israeli Knesset passed a bill that would allow for enhanced sharing of biometric information data between Israeli and US security agencies, a prerequisite for Israel's entry into the US Visa Waiver Program.

For decades, Israeli leaders have been pushing to add Israel to the visa-exempt countries to enter the United States.

It is reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, "Today we have important news for the citizens of Israel. As promised, the legislative requirements for obtaining exemptions from US visas have been completed. In the coming months, we will meet additional requirements, and in September 2023, it is expected to join The State of Israel is included in the list of countries exempt from US visas.

Jair Polosonaro returned Thursday morning to Brazil for the first time since his defeat in the presidential elections in the face of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, on a commercial flight coming from Florida in the United States, where he spent three months, according to scenes broadcast by CNN Brasil.
The former far-right president (2019-2022), who announced his intention to return to politics, left Brasilia International Airport without going to meet about 200 of his supporters who were waiting for him and chanting his name, amid heavy security deployment.

On Thursday afternoon, a number of citizens suffocated as the Israel forces fired tear gas canisters at crowds who participated in the Earth Day celebrations, east of Gaza City.

Clashes erupted between young men and the occupation forces at the separating fence, east of Malka, east of Gaza City.

Thousands participated in the event, which was called for by the national and Islamic forces.

Many speeches were delivered that emphasized the Palestinians' adherence to their rights and their return to their lands from which they were expelled in 1948.

On Thursday, Turkey ratifies Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), becoming the last member state of the Western defense alliance to agree to this step.

The vote will take place during a parliamentary session starting at 12:00 (11:00 GMT), according to the agenda seen by AFP.

Parliament's approval is almost certain after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the go-ahead for Finland to join the alliance earlier this month, a decision welcomed by NATO.

"We have decided to launch the process of Finland's accession to NATO in our parliament," Erdogan said after a meeting in Ankara with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the time.

The vote is supposed to take place without concern after it was approved by the Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee last week.
Turkey is the last country to agree to Finland's membership, after the Hungarian Parliament approved it on Monday.

Membership of Finland and Sweden, which was jointly introduced last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, requires unanimous approval by NATO member states.

The Finnish president had expressed his "hope" for the ratification of his country's membership in NATO before the Turkish presidential and legislative elections scheduled for May 14, as the Turkish parliament suspended its work about a month before this poll.

Since May 2022, Turkey has been refusing to ratify the applications for candidacy of Finland and Sweden for NATO membership.

Turkey blames Sweden in particular for harboring Kurdish activists that it considers "terrorists", especially supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), although Erdogan acknowledged the "concrete measures" taken by Helsinki in recent months.

Finland, which was forced by Moscow to remain neutral after its war with the Soviet Union during World War II, shares the longest European border with Russia at a length of 1,340 km, after Ukraine.

The Kremlin, which at first seemed to downplay the candidacy of Finland and Sweden, has hardened its rhetoric in recent weeks.

And Sweden announced on Wednesday that it would summon the Russian ambassador in Stockholm after his statements in which he threatened the Scandinavian country and Finland that they would become once they joined NATO "legitimate targets" for operations carried out by Moscow, including "military".

Putin announced Saturday that he was going to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which is headed by Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader who is one of Putin's closest allies, and located at the gates of the European Union.

"The most important thing is that Finland and Sweden become members of NATO quickly, not that they join at the exact same time," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The situation is more sensitive for Sweden, which still faces objections from Ankara.

Erdogan said in the middle of last month, "Sweden has not taken any positive action regarding the list of terrorists," referring to more than 120 extradition requests submitted by Ankara.

The burning of the Koran by an extremist in the Swedish capital in January led to the suspension of talks between Ankara, Helsinki and Stockholm.

The Turkish president had hinted that Turkey was ready to ratify Finland's membership separately, while he hoped the two countries would join the alliance at the same time.

Despite this, Stockholm still hopes to complete its accession to the alliance before the next NATO summit scheduled for July in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The customs police in Jenin seized, Thursday noon, a truck coming from Israel loaded with (28) calves, as a result of not obtaining an agricultural transport permit and a veterinary certificate.

In a statement, the agency decided to reserve the aforementioned quantity and refer the case to the Public Prosecution Office to complete the necessary legal procedures.

Members of the US Congress, in a letter addressed to US President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State, called for a shift in US foreign policy to ensure stopping the crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people .

Senator Bernie Sanders collects signatures from members of the House of Representatives and Senate, to send them to President Biden.

The letter expressed the signatories' concern about the rapid escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank, and the alarming actions of the new far-right Israeli government.

The letter urged immediate action to prevent further loss of life, calling on the Biden administration to make a shift in US policy in recognition of the exacerbation of violence after the Israeli government seized more land and denied the rights of the Palestinians.

The letter indicated that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu includes far-right and anti-Palestinian individuals and parties, noting National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's public statements of violence against the Palestinians, and the positions of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding the recent attacks on the town of Huwwara, and his declaration that the town must be "erased." in its entirety.

The letter considered that the anti-democratic Israeli government seeking to dismantle the rule of law constitutes a threat to Israelis and Palestinians alike, and in addition to the outright hateful and anti-Palestinian policies, the Israeli government is trying to destroy the independent Israeli judiciary, and this would threaten the rights of all citizens of Israel, and allow for more corruption from Prime Ministers, and open the way towards further annexation.

The letter emphasized the importance of clear US steps to change the political situation to pave the way for peace, calling for making sure that US taxpayers' money does not support projects in the settlements. and determining whether the defense material of US origin was used in violation of existing US laws, including for a purpose not authorized under Section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act, or to commit or support serious human rights abuses by the government of Israel in violation of the provisions of the Arms Export Control Act Foreign Aid and the US Leahy Laws.

The letter called on the Biden administration to ensure that all future foreign assistance to Israel, including weapons and equipment, is not used to support gross human rights abuses, including by strengthening end-use monitoring and financial tracking.

On Thursday, the Israeli General Security Agency, the Shin Bet , announced that it had arrested two settlers from Nablus settlements who attacked a Palestinian family on the night of Purim in the town of Huwwara , while they were in a vehicle that was stopping outside a shop.

According to a Shin Bet statement, the detainees threw stones at the vehicle from a short distance, and one of them used an ax to break the vehicle's windows and attempt to attack its passengers.

After interrogating them, today he filed an indictment against them on charges of deliberately committing a terrorist act for racist motives.

The Shin Bet accused the two detainees of belonging to a group of violent settlers who are working to attack Palestinians and disrupt the activities of the Israeli army to thwart Palestinian attacks.

He considered that these activities increase unrest, escalate the situation, and pose a threat to the reality of life in the region, as well as a threat to "state security," pledging to work against it alongside the police and the Israeli army.

The dismissed Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant , said on Thursday that there is a possibility of a flare-up in the various arenas and fronts in the region.

During his visit to the Shin Bet headquarters, in the presence of its chief, Ronen Bar , Galant indicated that there are new arenas that may emerge in the event of a confrontation on various fronts.

He added, "We are in a complex security period... Iran is waging a war of attrition against Israel and at the same time advancing its plans to obtain military nuclear weapons."

He praised the Shin Bet's efforts to thwart the attacks that preserved the security of "Israel".

He refused to comment explicitly on his dismissal decision, but called for unifying the discourse.

It is noteworthy that Gallant did not receive any official letter of his dismissal, amid mediation efforts to keep him in office and resolve the differences between him and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Our first Palestinian national football team finished in the third level of the Asian Cup draw , along with Bahrain, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam and Lebanon.

The draw will be held on May 11, while the finals will be played in January 2024 in the State of Qatar.

Our team, according to the Football Association, will play two friendly matches against Indonesia and China next June, in addition to participating in the "Merdeka Cup" tournament in Malaysia, along with Lebanon, India and the host team, which will be held during the FIFA Days in October. next.

The national team is participating in the second round of the joint Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup, which is scheduled to take place from 16 to 21 November 2023.

Today, Thursday, the two prisoners, Mahmoud Talhameh and Anas Shadid , announced their hunger strike in rejection of their administrative detention.

According to the "Mahjaht al-Quds" Foundation, the two prisoners announced their strike during the hearing to confirm their administrative detention in the Israeli "Ofer" court, without any charges being brought against them.

For 23 years, the Akl family has been missing on all occasions, especially the blessed month of Ramadan, its captive son, Muhammad Jamal Salim Akl, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment 17 times, so an atmosphere of sadness and pain prevails in her life and her home in the city of Jenin , but to break the cycle of suffering, and an expression of faith in God and her adherence to hope Khadija, the sixty-year-old mother, Khadija "Umm Alaa", is keen on his presence at every breakfast and suhoor table, so she sits in the place designated for him and next to her is his large picture, and before eating her breakfast, she kisses him and calls him, and shares with her family, especially his sick father, prayer and supplication to the Lord of the Worlds to honor him with a close relief.

And she says: "No matter how long his absence is, and how severe the pain of his separation is, and the injustice of the jailer and the occupation increases, Muhammad's spirit will come with us, and, God willing, soon, he will decorate our lives, our occasions, and the tables of the coming Ramadan with his freedom and his return to us."

Since the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan, the spirit and soul of the father, Jamal Akl, refuses to eat food like everyone else, but to preserve his life in light of his suffering from a chronic disease that affected his health and movement, until he began to use a tool to help move, and to continue standing for the pleasure of his liver, which he considers "everything". Life”, he is forced to take a little for the sake of medicine.

And his father says: "Whenever it is time to break the fast, my wife does not stop crying continuously, day and night due to the absence of Muhammad Nawara, the life, the spirit and the flower of the house.

He adds, "We live in the most difficult moments during the month of Ramadan. In many cases, we lose the ability to eat, our son, and all prisoners are deprived of everything, especially freedom."

And he continues: "How can our hearts and consciences accept eating and living comfortably when our heroes waste their lives in the occupation prisons that stole their lives? And every day that passes in Ramadan, our suffering worsens, and we have nothing but patience and supplication to the Lord of the Worlds."

Even the stories and stories of Ramadan that the father, Akl, tells his grandchildren who do not know their aunt and uncle, because of the unjust occupation policies. It inspires us with determination and hope. Since birth, he was distinguished by his big heart. He was affectionate and different from his generation. He is the second in our family of 11 members. He completed his studies until the eighth grade and left education to help me, due to illness, to support the family.

The captive's mother adds: "My husband has been suffering from a blood clot for 35 years and his health condition is difficult. He sacrificed his future to share the care of the family, which has always been targeted by the occupation, especially in the first intifada. His cousin Maher Omar Aqel, the most prominent leader of the Fatah movement, was assassinated by the occupation forces." In the prime of his youth after his liberation from the occupation prisons.

And she continues: "No one in the family was spared the arrest of his cousins, Maher's brother Aqel, and Muhammad Qassem Aqel, and other of our relatives. Even Alaa, the first of my sons, was arrested, and we have always experienced the bitterness of suffering at the prison gates, or because of the occupation's pursuit of them."

The mother, Umm Alaa, recounts, "After the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Muhammad was affected by the practices and crimes of the occupation, so he participated in the confrontations and marches, and with the escalation of Israeli repression and the successive fall of the martyrs, he became involved in the armed resistance in secret."

She adds, "We did not notice anything about him. He worked during the day with his father, and at night he sneaked in with his comrades to join them in resisting the occupation silently. He also participated in the battle of Jenin camp in April 2002."

And she continues: "After the massacre, we discovered that Muhammad was at the heart of the battle. He participated in confronting the occupation and escaped death and arrest. Many of his friends told us about his heroism and struggle."

Shortly after the battle of "April", the occupation raided the house of Muhammad's family, and began to pursue him, and the raids and ambushes were repeated, but he refused to surrender, especially when the campaign to pursue him intensified after the occupation accused him of involvement in several commando operations, and his mother says: "The pursuit continued until he was surrounded and arrested in A major special operation on the morning of 2/12/2002, and he spent a long period of time in the cellars of interrogation under torture in Al-Jalama prison, and the happiest moments of my life were when I saw him alive after his arrest, but the prison administration bothered us, and continued targeting him and punishing him with isolation, and during that he was sentenced to life imprisonment 17 Once".

Muhammad did not suffer from any health problems before his arrest, and his mother says: "His health began to deteriorate during and after the interrogation, and he suffered from an ulcer in his stomach and they refused to treat him. ".

And she adds: "He withstood heroism and challenge, and he and his fellow prisoners are still fighting the battle of freedom, and we all stand with them. Prisons and judgments do not frighten us. Our children are heroes and they chose the path of struggle for the freedom of their people, and they realize the result: martyrdom or imprisonment, so the Lord of the Worlds honored them by escaping from the methods of death that The occupation masters it and writes for them a new life, during which they prove that they are stronger than the occupation and its prisons.”

And she continues: "Muhammad rejoiced us by completing his education and graduating with a bachelor's degree, and I felt when I received it from him during a great festival, that the hour of great joy is near, and our message to him and the prisoners is congratulations and blessings in Ramadan, and continuous prayer until the bars are broken and we rejoice in their freedom in the next feast, so that the feast becomes two feasts."

Today, Thursday, a young man was injured when settlers attacked him in the Al-Maarajat area, north of Jericho .

According to local sources, the settlers assaulted the young man, Amjad Kaabneh, while he was driving his agricultural tractor, and threw stones at him, which led to the smashing of the windows of his tractor, and he sustained minor injuries.

Russian security services announced Thursday the arrest of Ivan Gershkovich , a reporter for the American Wall Street Journal, on charges of espionage.

The FSB said in a statement carried by Russian agencies that it had "thwarted the illegal activity of the accredited correspondent of the Moscow office of the American Wall Street Journal, American citizen" Ivan Gershkovitch.

The security service stated that the journalist was suspected of "spying" for Washington and collecting information about a "company belonging to the Russian military-industrial complex".

Before starting his work in the American daily newspaper in 2022, Gershkovich was a correspondent for Agence France-Presse in Moscow, and before that a journalist for the English-language Moscow Times.

The journalist is of Russian origin and is fluent in the Russian language, at the age of 31, and his parents reside in the United States.