I thought that writing about the “professor” and “journalist” Muhammad Hassanein Heikal, on the centenary of his birth, about his life experience in the fields of journalism and politics, about his role in contemporary Arab life, and about his important role alongside Gamal Abdel Nasser, would be easy and smooth, but I quickly What I discovered as I was the follower and reader of all his famous articles titled “Frankly” throughout the years of the second half of the twentieth century, whether through Al-Ahram newspaper or through Arab and foreign newspapers, which amounted to more than a thousand articles, then the reader of each of his books, page after page, which numbered in the dozens, then The follower, listener, and viewer of most of his radio and television dialogues in the first fifteen years of the twenty-first century, then the follower and reader of most of what was written and said about him in books and articles. I discovered, as I follow all of this enormous intellectual heritage, that writing about him is a thorny issue, even almost difficult.

Perhaps I might add that what is most important after that is that I discovered, and perhaps others may have discovered, that “the Journalist,” as he liked to call himself, was a great Arab journalist, writer, and thinker by all standards, a man in whom many qualities came together. We were faced with a journalist who was the most important and prominent Egyptian of all. In the Arab world, and perhaps globally, in the twentieth century, he learned the profession of journalism from the school of life and advanced to it, and his profession as a journalist enabled him to make Al-Ahram newspaper one of the ten most important newspapers in the world in the sixties of the twentieth century, and we are faced with a political writer par excellence who is the most important of all, Egyptian and Arab, and perhaps We are in front of a great Arab writer who mastered the Arabic language and made it smooth and easy. We are in front of a great Arab intellectual who educated himself by himself. He did not enter a university, meaning he did not obtain a higher university degree. Although he had studied in scientific courses at the American University in Cairo, he mastered and enriched his mother tongue. Arabic and introduce new terms and expressions to it, learn and master more than one foreign language, and we are facing a mind that possesses a large encyclopedia of information and knowledge in all areas of life from history and geography, to politics with its various topics and people, to literature and poetry to culture and art in its various styles, and we are also facing A man who sought to collect and preserve tens of thousands of Egyptian, Arab, and foreign documents related to the issues of Egypt, the Arab nation, and the Arab-Israeli conflict, and made of them a large and enormous store of documents that will be at the service of Arab and foreign scholars and researchers in the future. We are in front of an important man who was in a continuous dialogue with Gamal Abdel Nasser. From the morning of July 23, 1952 until September 28, 1970, and this dialogue may have reached many times to be a partner in Egyptian decision-making at that time, and we are facing a man who was able to become shoulder to shoulder with senior politicians, scholars, writers, journalists, writers, and others in various parts of the world.

Hence, and with all that I have previously said, writing about “the professor” is almost a difficult task, especially since it comes within an article, and I asked myself: What then should I write about the late great man? Should I write about Muhammad Hassanein Heikal, the journalist, or about the writer, or about the politician, or about the writer, or about the strategic thinker, or about his role with Gamal Abdel Nasser? Or about what?
It occurred to me to write about his position on the Arab-Israeli conflict and its developments and wars since the era of the monarchy, through the eras of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat, and ending with the era of Hosni Mubarak, including Sadat’s visit to Israel, the Camp David Accords, the Arab-Israeli negotiations, the Oslo Accords, and beyond.

Yes, his positions on the issue of Palestine and his follow-up of the issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict deserve to be narrated on his centenary, especially since he was the most prominent Egyptian journalist whose name was associated with the events of Palestine in 1948. In the spring of 1948, before the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948, he came as a journalist to Palestine and moved. Between Amman, Jerusalem, Gaza, Bethlehem and Hebron, he met with King Abdullah and his army commanders in Amman. Heikal headed from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and from there to Hebron and met with the Egyptian leader Al-Bakbashi Ahmed Abdel Aziz, commander of the Egyptian volunteer forces, at his headquarters on the outskirts of southern Jerusalem near Bethlehem. He toured with these forces - and they were semi-regular forces that entered Palestine before the Egyptian army entered it - and after that he visited the positions of the Egyptian army stationed in southern Palestine in Al-Majdal, Iraq Al-Manshiya, Iraq Suwaidan, Gaza, and Al-Falujah. At that time, he wrote from Palestine his famous series of articles in the Egyptian Akher Sa’a magazine under Title: "Fire Over the Holy Land"
On the land of Palestine, Heikal met for the first time with the jeweler Gamal Abdel Nasser. He narrated the circumstances of this meeting, saying: One day in June 1948, I was heading from Jerusalem to Al-Majdal in a jeep belonging to Ahmed Abdel Aziz’s forces, and the car stopped near (Iraq Suwaydan) because of a battle. There was a circle there, so I got out of the car and walked towards (Iraq al-Manshiya) and learned that the Sixth Battalion of the Egyptian forces had won thanks to its commander, who was able to repel a direct Jewish attack that aimed to control (Iraq al-Manshiya) and (Iraq Suwaydan). I learned from the officers and soldiers who were Very happy that the one who led the operation was the jeweler Gamal Abdel Nasser, Staff of War of the Sixth Battalion..

Heikal went to see this leader, and found in front of him a tall young man, spread out on a blanket, with traces of fatigue visible on his face, and was preparing to sleep... Their session lasted a third of an hour, and Heikal did not produce a result that would benefit him as a journalist, because (Al-Sagh) refused to speak, not because he was tired or He had been sleeping for five days, but because he was angry at what the Egyptian press was publishing and the way it was treating the Palestine War.. Abdel Nasser was very critical of the press. From the perspective of dealing with the news and developments of the war, from his point of view, journalists were exaggerating and writing incorrect statements. Heikal asked Abdel Nasser: Have you read what I write about the war?! Heikal was referring to his series of articles on Palestine entitled Fire Over the Holy Land. Abdel Nasser told him: No. Then he continued: I do not mean you, I am speaking in general terms, and we know things from newspapers, and what is published in them is neither appropriate nor correct. The meeting was not happy at all, as Heikal himself described.

After the July 1952 revolution, Heikal continued to follow the issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict, firstly in his journalistic capacity and secondly because of his closeness to the decision-maker in Egypt, the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Through his reading of the roots of this conflict, which began with the issuance of the Balfour Declaration in 1917, Heikal formulated Abdel Nasser’s concept and his conception of the Balfour Declaration and Instrument. The famous phrase about this promise: “The one who does not have, made a promise to the one who does not deserve, then the two of them, “the one who does not have” and “the one who does not deserve,” were able, by force and deception, to rob the legitimate right holder of his right to what he owns and what he deserves. That is the true picture. The Balfour Declaration, which Britain made to itself, in which it gave - from a land that it did not own, but rather owned by the Palestinian Arab people - a pledge to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.” This phrase was included in the letter drafted by Heikal and sent by Gamal Abdel Nasser to the late President John Canadian in August 1961. Since then, this phrase has been repeated in Arab forums whenever there is a reference to the Balfour Declaration
Heikal continued his follow-up and monitoring of the Israeli-Arab wars later, starting from the Suez War of 1956, passing through the June 1967 War, continuing with the War of Attrition 1969-1970, and ending with the October 1973 War, some of which he witnessed. He even wrote the strategic guidance for that war at the request of President Anwar Sadat, and issued three volumes of supported books. With documents about those wars under the title “The Thirty Years’ War.”

Perhaps his most prominent role in the Palestinian cause after the setback of June 1967 was his position on the Palestinian resistance, especially with the leadership of the historic Fatah movement. He was the one who inaugurated the first meeting between Gamal Abdel Nasser and the first Palestinian guerrilla, weeks after the setback of June 1967, Major Khaled Abdel Majeed. “Name.” The activist or pioneer Fayez Mahmoud Hamdan, son of Jabal Al-Mukaber, in Jerusalem, who met him in Cairo and took him in his car to meet the late leader at his home, and wrote about the martyr Khaled Abdel Majeed in his article frankly entitled “On Hope and Death” published in Al-Ahram newspaper on August 16, 1968, and it is an article worth reading. This meeting took place before Heikal himself once again accompanied the leaders of Fatah at that time, namely Yasser Arafat, Farouk al-Qaddoumi, Salah Khalaf, Khaled al-Hassan, and Hail Abdel Hamid, to meet with Gamal Abdel Nasser. In this regard, Heikal said: It was my luck that I introduced the Palestinian revolution to the Egyptian revolution, and accompanied Yasser Arafat and some of his companions from the Fatah leadership took my car to Gamal Abdel Nasser’s house for the first time he saw them and them, and this meeting was a far-reaching turning point in the strength of the Palestinian resistance, in the value of its work, and in the space it occupied in the Arab arena. I attended every meeting without exception, and participated in every conversation on a variety of topics that were discussed. I asked President Abdel Nasser for permission to accompany Yasser Arafat secretly with him to Moscow in July 1968 to meet with the Soviet leaders, where great cooperation was later established between the PLO and the PLO. Palestine and the Soviet Union.
Heikal remained a follower of the Palestinian resistance movement and an advisor to the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization during its continuing journey later on. In 1988, the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization asked him for advice when pressure was on the organization to accept recognition of Israel and to accept UN Security Council Resolution No. 242. Indeed, he offered his opinion and advice during a meeting. In Tunisia, leaders from the Liberation Organization were included, including Yasser Arafat, George Habash, Abu Iyad, Nayef Hawatmeh, Farouk al-Qaddoumi, and others. He stated clearly: If the Palestine Liberation Organization is required to deal directly and openly with Israel on the basis of its recognition, then the basis that can be adopted is the partition resolution issued by The United Nations General Assembly, and he added that the Palestine Liberation Organization can now submit to the United Nations and to the United States its recognition of the partition resolution, Resolution No. 181 issued by the United Nations General Assembly of 1947, which is the resolution regarding the establishment of two Arab and Jewish states. Then the organization can declare the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in Exile demands and negotiates to achieve the sovereignty of the Palestinian people in their homeland. This resolution addresses Palestine as a whole. As for the demand for recognition of Resolution 242, which relates only to the territories occupied in 1967, it is not required. He stressed that the recognition required of the organization of Israel now would preferably take place under the umbrella of the partition resolution before any Another international principle. Heikal later followed the course of the Palestinian issue, deploring the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, and remained a close follower of the development of the Palestinian issue, which for him was a central issue for Egyptian national security and Arab national security.

His positions were clear regarding the issue of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict and its repercussions. Perhaps the most important thing that expresses his positions and summarizes them is what he said in describing his feelings on the day of Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem: “I confess timidly, while I was on the seashore in Alexandria, that I could not control myself when I heard Cairo Radio talking about Arrangements for President Sadat's arrival in Jerusalem on the evening of November 19, 1977. Among other things, it says: An Israeli Air Force squadron will go out to meet President Sadat's plane. I could not control myself and did not know at that moment why? So, I covered my eyes with my palms and burst into tears that I had not known since that terrible moment. I stood next to Gamal Abdel Nasser's bed while he was taking his last breath, and I could not control my feelings and surrendered myself to a sad silence that overwhelmed me for long days. And he said once when Menachem Begin visited Egypt in 1980, describing his feelings, "His convoy was in front of the window of my office, crossing the Nile Bridge. At that moment - and for a few minutes - I had an overwhelming feeling that I had no choice but to pack my bags and leave, but after hours I asked myself: Should I leave the Nile Bridge to him? And the answer came from deep within me: Neither the Jordan Bridge, nor the bridge of a small spring of water on the soil of any Arab land.

He remained until the last day of his life saying that defending Palestine is defending Egyptian national security and Arab national security, regardless of the organic connection between Egypt and Palestine, the two countries that belong to one Arab nation.

I say on the centenary of his birth, we were faced with a first-class Arab strategic thinker in the field of Arab and Egyptian national security who possessed a vision of the Arab reality and future that was unparalleled.

In today's world, there are no longer isolated islands that do not influence or are affected by developments occurring at the global level.

In a previous time, there were attempts at something like this, and they had names, frameworks, and policies such as “non-alignment,” “neutral entities,” and “positive neutrality.” Although many countries adopted these terms, from which institutions and frameworks emerged, they all dissolved in the midst of the conflicts and rivalries of the great powers that were produced and perpetuated by the conclusions of World War II. Countries fleeing the polarizations imposed by the Cold War and heirs to the hot war were merely projects for use, also under the labels Different.

Our era, in which we now live, embodies an inevitable state of vulnerability and influence, which includes all existing entities, regardless of their sizes, capabilities, and locations on the map of the planet.

The idea of the New Middle East... emerged from the need to transform this vast region, rich in potential, and with a dangerous geographical location, from an active breeding ground for producing disturbances, wars and permanent threats to the international interests gathered in it, into a safer and more stable place for its residents first, and for everyone who has interests in it, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman had the merit of proposing the idea and working to implement it.

What makes it a viable idea and not just a desire or a dream is that its material capabilities are available, and shifting the compass from indicators of fighting and rivalry to indicators of cooperation, integration and development is something that countries have no choice but to acknowledge and compete to serve their interests through.

The beginning was sound and effective, with the title “Start with yourself, your state, and your people first.” The changes that were close to being radical began within the Kingdom, and then there was the diligent move toward a “zero problems” policy with the immediate and distant surroundings, and protecting this “radical” newness with a space of independence in Drawing policies and building relationships, without clashing with the interests of countries, but by modifying their paths from an old one that was based on the intense struggle over influence and its exclusivity, to a new one in which the leaders of the old conflicts see their interests; And even less expensive.

In terms of material capabilities, the idea of a new Middle East, close even to neighboring Europe, seems possible as a realistic goal provided that the policies are implemented in an efficient manner, and in such a way that no party with interests in the region feels that it needs to spend on protecting and expanding its influence, many times more than the advantages it gains from it. What cooperation is available to him with others.

This will not be an easy, mechanical work guaranteed by desires and positive trends. Rather, it requires a lot of persistent work, and the policies that Saudi Arabia is implementing towards the hotbeds of tension in the region and the world have become an indispensable necessity for progress towards the final goal, and because Europe is the geographical and historical twin of the Middle East, a solution The dilemma at its heart is similar to the radical solution to the most productive generator of unrest in the heart of the Middle East, which is the “Palestinian issue.” If the Saudi initiative, which turned into an Arab and Islamic one to resolve the dispute over it, was put forward early, then those who did not enable it to act must regret the time they wasted and the potential they wasted as a result of ignoring it.

Although there is no place in politics for the letter “if,” it does no harm in using it to indicate a mistake. If Israel had accepted it as a basis for a solution, we and the region would have been in a better condition.

Just as Europe is the twin of the Middle East, the Ukrainian-Russian war is the twin of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and in a time of direct contact between issues, any progress on either of them carries objective progress on the other, and I am not exaggerating if I say that the older Middle Eastern twin has the elements. More than in Ukraine, this is not the result of a theoretical approach; Rather, it is due to the size of the forces directly involved in Ukraine, which is... the entire world.

In the new Middle East, Saudi Arabia has more serious influence than others, and the new map that is hoped for is not the one that Benjamin Netanyahu presented to the United Nations General Assembly. The difference is fundamental. This is because the Saudi map that Prince Mohammed bin Salman proposes without haste to announce in colours, is placed in its geographical, political and entity terrain, “Palestine”, which was completely absent from Netanyahu’s map, and there is a difference between propaganda work needed by the public relations game, and real serious work needed by the region, its peoples and the world. .

This is what is embodied by the Saudi map that is about to be drawn on the ground, and not in the space of propaganda and analysis.

Settlers formed an independent volunteer military patrol, made up of former soldiers and security men, under the pretext of working to combat stone throwing at settlers’ vehicles and provide security for them as they passed on the 55 settlement road near Qalqilya.

According to Israeli Army Radio, this step was taken without coordination with the army.

Residents of settlements surrounding that street claimed that they took the initiative after the increase in stone-throwing incidents in the area, and because the Israeli army does not provide the feeling of security they require.

They indicated that if the Israeli army made a change in the area, they would stop guarding.

The Israeli army responded to this as an individual initiative that was not coordinated with it.

A tripartite agreement is expected to be signed at the COP28 conference in Dubai in November. Under the proposed agreement, Jordan will supply solar energy from a UAE-funded plant to Israel and receive desalinated water from Israel in return.

Israel’s energy minister and the chief executive of UAE’s renewable energy firm Masdar have met to advance a water-for-energy deal with Jordan, according to the Israeli energy ministry.

The aim of the meeting on Tuesday was to advance the projects before an expected signing at the annual UN climate conference COP28 to be held in Dubai in November, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement did not specify where the meeting was held, but said it came on the heels of the “successful ministerial meeting” that took place in Abu Dhabi last month in the presence of Israel’s energy minister, as well as a visit by Masdar’s representatives to Israel earlier this month.

Under the proposed agreement, Jordan will supply solar energy from a UAE-funded plant to Israel and receive desalinated water from Israel in return.

The Times of Israel reported that political and commercial agreements will have to be signed after the agreement is sealed.

In June, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz discussed the projects with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Affairs John Kerry.

He presented a plan to build a 600MW capacity solar plant with storage in Jordan, and for Israel to export 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water per year to its neighbor, the energy ministry said at the time.

The projects are known respectively as Prosperity Green and Prosperity Blue.

The agreement aims to address Jordan’s need for water and Israel’s aim to grow its clean energy mix. Jordan is the country’s second-most water-scarce country in the world, according to UNICEF.

The UAE became only the third Arab nation, after Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, ending a 25-year period without such ties.

Israeli Knesset member Almog Cohen of the "Jewish Power" party, led by extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, bragged that the current government, of which his party is one of the pillars, has killed the largest number of Palestinians.

Cohen was responding to a question directed to him by Israeli Army Radio, this Wednesday morning, about the security performance of the current government compared to the previous government.

Cohen said: “In the test result, we killed more terrorists. I am proud of that. Killing terrorists is the most moral thing to do.”

He called for strengthening security in the Negev and dealing with its residents in a manner no less than the treatment of residents of Tel Aviv or others, in response to a question about what they face in light of the return of marches on the Gaza border.

He said: "The residents of the Negev are not second-class, and their value does not decrease. In fact, their value may increase slightly because of what happened in the past."

The Arab American Organization Against Discrimination filed a federal lawsuit against the US Departments of Homeland Security and State to prevent the implementation of the US Visa Waiver Program for Israeli citizens.

The organization attached the invitation with reliable reports and investigations confirming that Israel failed to meet all the legal requirements to be accepted into the visa exemption program, proving that it practices discrimination against Palestinian citizens and Arab Americans when they visit Palestine.

The lawsuit confirmed the failure of the Departments of Interior and State to adhere to the law when it comes to the principles of the Visa Waiver Program by allowing Israel to discriminate against Americans entering Israel and occupied Palestine, by agreeing to discriminatory rules and procedures established by the Israeli government against US citizens when traveling to Israel that violate the treatment rule. By the same token and constitutional guarantees of equality.

“Signing this agreement allows the government of Israel to create different categories of American citizens and treat them in a way that is inconsistent with the way the United States treats Israeli citizens,” the lawsuit said.

She added that based on reliable reports and investigations, Israel is currently on the verge of being accepted into the Visa Waiver Program, despite its failure to meet the legal requirements necessary for entry.

Today, the Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Minister Riyad Mansour, sent three identical letters to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the Security Council for this month (Albania), and the President of the United Nations General Assembly, regarding Israel’s impunity in the absence of accountability. .

Mansour began his messages by referring to the speech of the Israeli Prime Minister, on September 22, before the General Assembly, and the map that he waved before the international community, and he is completely confident that there will be no protest against his complete erasure of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian state, which is considered clear evidence of Israel’s colonial plans. Illegal policies of ethnic cleansing and annexation in the Palestinian territory that it has illegally occupied for more than 56 years.

In this context, Mansour expressed the State of Palestine’s condemnation of this provocative and hateful speech, calling on the international community to condemn Israel’s racist distortion of the Palestinian people and deprive them of their original existence for centuries.

He stressed that the time has come for all countries committed to the rule of law and human rights to take the necessary measures to ensure that Israel, the occupying power, is held accountable for all its grave violations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and to impose sanctions for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that it commits against the people. Palestinian.

Mansour also pointed out that the past weeks have witnessed continuous attacks by the Israeli occupation forces and settlers against the Palestinian people, noting that in one week, eight Palestinians, including children, were martyred during military attacks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in addition to the injury of dozens of civilians, including 30 Palestinians were injured on September 19 in another Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp. In this regard, Mansour referred to the martyrdom of Milad Munther Wajih Al-Rai (15 years old), at the entrance to the Arroub refugee camp, near Hebron on September 10, and the martyrdom of a 25-year-old young man on September 19, near the Israeli border fence around the Gaza Strip, to In addition, at least 33 Palestinians were injured in the demonstrations that broke out 11 days ago throughout the Gaza Strip against the illegal siege imposed by Israel.

He also noted that on the same day, four Palestinians were also martyred in a military raid on the Jenin refugee camp; The martyrs are: Mahmoud Ali Nafi’ al-Saadi (23 years old), Mahmoud Khaled Arawi (24 years old), Atta Yasser Atta Musa (29 years old), and Raafat Omar Ahmed Khamaysa (15 years old).

Mansour also referred to the martyrdom of Dirgham al-Akhras (19 years old), in another raid on the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho, on September 20, and to the martyrdom of Abd al-Rahman Suleiman Abu Daghash (32 years old) and Usaid Abu Ali (21 years old). During a large-scale pre-dawn military attack on Nour al-Shams refugees, east of Tulkarm, on September 23.

Mansour also pointed out that education in Palestine is still subject to attacks by occupation soldiers and settlers in the campaign of intimidation and harassment against students, noting that the recent period has witnessed obstruction of students’ access to schools, attacks on educational facilities, and the continued demolition of schools, which violates the right. In education and other human rights, noting that on September 21, the occupation forces raided Al-Eizariya Primary School for Girls in occupied East Jerusalem, and stormed the Birzeit University campus on September 24.

Mansour called on the international community to condemn such attacks and work to protect the right of Palestinian children and youth to education.

He also noted that settlers continued to attack Palestinian civilians, their property, and holy places, which led to the injury of a young man with disabilities, a woman, and a four-year-old child, noting that settler terrorism led to the forced displacement of the civilian population in the occupied Palestinian territory, in addition to their continued incursions. to Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Haram Al-Sharif, the latest of which was yesterday, September 26, in a serious violation of the current historical and legal status of this sacred site.

At the conclusion of his messages, Mansour stressed the need to make immediate efforts to demand that Israel, the occupying power, stop these dangerous provocations and fully respect the historical and legal status quo in the holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem, including what is stipulated in countless resolutions. United Nations, including Resolution 2334.

He once again called on the international community to take urgent measures to demand accountability for all these crimes, to put an end to this illegal and inhumane situation, and for the Palestinian people to realize their inalienable human rights.

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to close the Beit Hanoun “Erez” crossing  in the northern Gaza Strip, in front of the movement of workers to leave for the Green Line.

The office of the so-called Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities announced the extension of the closure of the crossing for 24 hours, under the pretext of continuing marches on the Gaza Strip borders.

The occupation authorities allow emergency cases of patients to leave through the crossing, in addition to allowing delegations and foreigners to move through it.

At dawn and Wednesday morning, the Israeli occupation forces launched a massive arrest campaign, targeting many citizens in various areas of the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.

The city of Tubas witnessed a large military operation, including armed clashes between the occupation forces and resistance groups.

These forces arrested the two young men, Majd Abu Siyaj, Abdul Karim Abu Siyaj, and Amid Daraghmeh, from their homes in the city, while many homes were raided and searched.

In Hebron, Rizq Halayqa, editor Qassam Halayqa, and Ahmed Halayqa were arrested from the town of Shuyoukh after their homes were raided, while Muhammad al-Rajabi was arrested from the southern region.

In Qalqilya, the young man Qutaiba Ramadan Owaisi was arrested after storming his family’s home in the Qaraan neighborhood.

Meanwhile, from the town of Beit Daqu, northwest of occupied Jerusalem, a student at Birzeit University, Abdul Muti Qutaiba Rayan, editor Saeed Mustafa Daoud, editor Musa Muhammad Hassan, and editor Asim Habis Rayan - Beit Daqu, were arrested.

On Wednesday morning, an Israeli force evacuated a large part of a settlement outpost near Ramallah.

According to the Hebrew Kan radio, the Sde Yonatan outpost, which was established several months ago on a high hill near the Maale Mikhmas settlement, southeast of Ramallah, was evacuated.

According to the radio, a building and a sheep barn were destroyed, and equipment inside the outpost was confiscated.

According to Hebrew Haaretz,  the current coalition would win between 52 and 54 seats, compared to the 64 seats they hold now, and would not have the Knesset majority needed to build a government according to polls conducted by three different Israeli news channels.

In a recent diplomatic confrontation, Russia has accused Israel of aiding Ukraine in safeguarding its nuclear power plants, while simultaneously evoking the Holocaust. 

Russia Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, took to Telegram to express outrage, suggesting that Israel, with its substantial Jewish population, is indirectly supporting a regime that pays homage to Holocaust perpetrators.

"If only the ancestors of Israel’s current political elite knew that their direct descendants would sponsor a regime that glorified their executioners and Holocaust ideologists!” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on her Telegram account Tuesday.

The controversy arose after Israel's Atomic Energy Commission Director-General, Moshe Edri, disclosed at the 67th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna that Israel had provided Ukraine with assistance to enhance the safety of its nuclear facilities. Edri clarified that this support aligns with Israel's commitment to the 'Convention on Assistance in Case of a Nuclear Accident'.

During his address at the IAEA conference, Edri underscored the global urgency surrounding nuclear safety and security, particularly in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. 

He emphasized that nuclear safety concerns are borderless, necessitating a worldwide dialogue on fortifying safety measures.

While the Israel-Ukraine-Russia dispute unfolded on the international stage, Edri dedicated a significant portion of his remarks to the imminent threat of a nuclear Iran. 

He called on the international community to condemn Iran's explicit threats, as well as those from its proxies, against Israel's nuclear facilities, reaffirming Israel's unwavering commitment to safeguarding its nuclear assets in the face of such dangers.

Israel's delicate diplomatic balancing act is evident in its approach to aiding Ukraine while maintaining relations with Russia, whose military presence looms large along Israel's northern border.

During a visit to parliament by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, Anthony Rota hailed an elderly Ukrainian immigrant from his district as a hero, prompting a standing ovation.

But Rota has faced growing pressure to resign after it was revealed that the veteran had served in a Nazi-linked military unit.

"It is with a heavy heart that I rise to inform members of my resignation as Speaker of the House of Commons," Rota told lawmakers from the parliamentary floor.

He expressed his "profound regret for my error" and the pain he caused to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world.

Russia has accused the government in Kyiv of espousing Nazi ideals, despite Zelensky being Jewish and losing family members in the Holocaust, and the controversy was likely to add fodder to that narrative.

On Friday, Rota paid homage to Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian immigrant who was visiting parliament and who is from Rota's electoral district.

He hailed Hunka as "a Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians" and "a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero."

But Hunka actually served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, "a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the Holocaust are well-documented," according to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.

The Jewish advocacy group called the incident "shocking" and "incredibly disturbing."

"This incident has compromised all 338 Members of Parliament," the organization said, adding it had "handed a propaganda victory to Russia, distracting from what was a momentously significant display of unity between Canada and Ukraine."

'Deepest apologies'

Several political parties in Canada had urged Rota, a Liberal lawmaker, to step down.

Rota, who was first elected in 2004 and became speaker in 2019, apologized on Sunday, saying that he had "subsequently become aware of more information" which caused him to regret his remarks about Hunka.

"This initiative was entirely my own... I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world," he said.

On Monday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Rota's remarks shameful.

The main opposition Conservatives slammed the Trudeau administration for failing to properly vet Hunka, despite claims it had no advance notice he'd been invited to the event.

Zelensky's visit to Canada was the third leg in a tour aimed at bolstering international support, after addressing the United Nations and visiting US President Joe Biden in Washington.

During the visit, Trudeau pledged additional aid to Zelensky's war-torn country.

Canada is home to the world's second-largest Ukrainian diaspora and Zelensky, in his speech to parliament, expressed thanks for the backing given to Kyiv since Russian troops poured over the Ukrainian borders in February 2022.

Russia has accused Ukrainian leaders of being "neo-Nazis" and has sought to justify the war with the need to "denazify" its neighbor.

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Commenting on the issue of the Ukrainian veteran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "such sloppiness of memory is outrageous," Russian media reported.

In Poland, Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek raised the possibility of seeking Hunka's extradition.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Czarnek said he had tasked the national historical research institute to see if Hunka is wanted for crimes against Poles or Polish Jews.

"I have taken steps towards a possible extradition of this man to Poland," Czarnek wrote

On Tuesday evening, Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Al-Auja, north of Jericho.

Eyewitnesses reported that the occupation forces stormed the town of Al-Auja, and deployed in its streets and at intersections, without any arrests being reported.

Riyadh and the United Nations on Tuesday condemned the attack that led to the killing of two Bahraini soldiers on the Saudi border with Yemen.

Manama announced on Monday that a Bahraini officer and soldier were killed in an attack launched by Houthi drones.
The Kingdom of Bahrain, which neighbors Saudi Arabia, has been a member of the military coalition led by Riyadh since 2015 in support of the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels supported by Iran.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation and denunciation of the treacherous attack on the defense force of the sister Kingdom of Bahrain,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

In a statement on Tuesday, the US Embassy in Riyadh accused the Houthis of being behind the attack, describing it as "unacceptable" and "threatening the longest period of calm since the start of the war in Yemen."

Yemen, which is the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula and which was devastated by years of war, has witnessed relative calm since the truce entered into force in April 2022 under the auspices of the United Nations, although it was not officially extended when its term expired in October of the year. the past.

The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, condemned the attack, saying on Tuesday, "The continued outbreak of fighting demonstrates the fragility of the situation in Yemen."

He added, "Any renewed offensive military escalation could drag Yemen back into a cycle of violence and undermine ongoing peace efforts."

He continued, "We communicated with everyone to urge them to exercise the utmost restraint at this critical time, and to use dialogue to resolve differences and reduce military tensions."

The Saudi authorities did not identify the perpetrators of this attack, which came a few days after discussions in Riyadh with Houthi officials, which both parties described as “positive.”

Likewise, the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, headquartered in Jeddah, condemned the “Houthi drone attack.”

The organization's Secretary-General, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, stressed that "such provocative actions are not consistent with the positive efforts being made to end the crisis in Yemen."

The Houthis did not comment on the attack.

The conflict in Yemen has caused the death and injury of hundreds of thousands and the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations.

North Korea warned the United Nations on Tuesday that the Korean Peninsula faces the risk of a nuclear war erupting, blaming what it described as hostility from the United States.

"The military and security situation on the Korean Peninsula and its environs is being pushed further to the brink of a nuclear war," North Korea's delegate to the United Nations, Kim Song, told the UN General Assembly.

On Tuesday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a young man from the Dheisheh camp, south of Bethlehem.

Local sources reported that a special Israeli unit, "Musta'ariboun," arrested the young man, Muhammad Fares Fararja (26 years old), while he was in front of the main entrance to the camp, on the Jerusalem-Hebron Street.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears that the eastern border with Jordan will turn into a new route for the infiltration of refugees, especially African ones, and therefore he is seeking to build a new wall that will completely close the long border.

According to the Hebrew channel Reshet Kan, Netanyahu warned his ministers during the last session of the Israeli government weeks ago, that if the eastern border is not completely closed, there will be no Jewish state.

Netanyahu gave his ministers an example of what happened in Cyprus, where he said 7 percent of its population were Muslims.

He said: We would have been in a situation similar to theirs had it not been for the decision to close our southern and northern borders in the face of infiltrators.

He pointed out that the majority of African countries live in a state of extreme poverty and famine, and their residents flee to European and other countries, and that there are many residents of Arab countries seeking asylum in various countries of the world.

He said: Since Israel possesses all the capabilities to be a country that enchants these infiltrators, and is close and accessible...
"The eastern border is so long and less secure, it may become the next port through which intruders will involuntarily flow."

He pointed out that “Israel is one of the few countries that controls its borders almost completely,” he said. Adding: “We have a border on one side that has not yet been dealt with in terms of fencing, which is the eastern border, and we will have to close it as well.”

A number of citizens were injured, on Tuesday evening, as a result of the Israeli occupation forces’ suppression of a march on the eastern border of the cities of Gaza and Rafah.

Two young men were injured by live bullets east of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

While a number of others suffered from suffocation due to the occupation forces firing heavy tear gas bombs at the young men.

Israeli drones bombed a resistance observation point east of the city of Rafah, without causing casualties.

On Tuesday evening, an Israeli special force kidnapped a young man after raiding his family’s home in Nablus.

According to local sources, this force stormed a house in the Fatayer area, and arrested the young man, Nasser Al-Sukari, before quickly withdrawing from the area.

Statements by Saudi and Israeli officials suggested that a normalization agreement between their countries was imminent, but political, security and diplomatic obstacles still constitute a barrier to this historic step in the Middle East.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the Kingdom, said in an interview last week with Fox News that the talks are getting closer every day to achieving results that could rearrange the cards in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly that the two countries are on the cusp of a "historic peace." US President Joe Biden is also looking forward to reaching an agreement before he gets busy with next year's presidential elections, according to officials familiar with the talks.

The following are questions and answers that address the possibilities of reaching an agreement:

In a meeting with Biden in New York last week, Netanyahu said that “such a peace would go a long way toward ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.” This would also represent a major political victory for a prime minister facing corruption accusations at home and protests against judicial reform plans.
Riyadh has always linked the issue of normalizing its relations with Israel to the Palestinian issue. In 2020, under American sponsorship, normalization agreements were concluded between Israel, Morocco, the UAE, and Bahrain, which the Palestinians considered “treason.”

Last year, Saudi officials presented to Washington their conditions for taking a similar step, which include security guarantees and assistance in building a civilian nuclear program and the ability to enrich uranium.
It seems that Biden is excited about the prospect of achieving a major foreign policy achievement that could help stabilize the Middle East and reduce the threat posed by Iran, before the upcoming US elections.

Former American diplomat Dennis Ross believes that the Biden team is also motivated by the desire to reaffirm Washington's influence in the region where China has achieved progress.
Ross, a former Middle East peace envoy who currently works as a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says, “Saudi demands from the (US) administration are great, but it is clear that the administration (...) is ready to try to reach a result.”

The New York Times reported last week that American officials are looking into a “mutual defense treaty” with Saudi Arabia similar to existing agreements with Japan and South Korea, but noted that this “will certainly raise strong objections in Congress.”

It is still unclear what form the potential security agreement between Washington and Riyadh will take.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies research believes that Washington should consider classifying Riyadh as a “major defense partner” or a “major non-NATO ally,” so that the same obligations are not imposed on it towards its allies in NATO.

Helping build a nuclear program would also raise questions among American lawmakers, noting that press reports confirm Israel's rejection of this request.

Riyadh says that its program will be peaceful, although Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in his interview with Fox News, repeated the Kingdom’s position that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, Riyadh must obtain it as well.

Given the many criticisms of the Kingdom's human rights record, any deal that deepens US relations with Saudi Arabia may face objections within the United States.

“U.S. lawmakers should never allow a security agreement that commits the U.S. military to shedding blood to protect a brutal dictatorship,” said Abdullah Al-Awda, Saudi director of the Washington-based Freedom Initiative.

Saudi Arabia has long said that it will not establish relations with Israel without a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In August, the Kingdom appointed its first non-resident ambassador to the Palestinian territories. Today he is on a visit to the Palestinian territories.

Speaking to Fox News, Prince Mohammed bin Salman confirmed that the Palestinian issue is “important” for Riyadh, adding, “We hope that it will lead to a result that makes life easier for the Palestinians and allows Israel to play a role in the Middle East.”

It is unclear whether Netanyahu can make effective concessions while heading a government that Biden described as “extremist.”

"This will be a difficult test," Ross says, adding, "I don't know if it's possible."
Persuading Saudi Arabia to establish relations with Israel would provide cover for countries that have joined the normalization agreements or are considering such a step. However, hostility towards Israel is deeply rooted in countries in the region.

Reports last month that Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush met with her Israeli counterpart sparked protests that led to her dismissal.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, whose country has influence in several Arab countries, said in New York that Saudi Arabia's normalization of its relations with Israel would constitute a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

Analyst Hisham Al-Ghannam wrote this month in the Saudi magazine Al-Majalla that there is no doubt that all considerations related to the Palestinians are on the minds of Saudi leaders.

He considered that "establishing diplomatic relations between the Kingdom and Israel before (the latter) commits to major concessions to the Palestinians does not provide added value to Saudi security and national interests."

The Minister of Tourism in the Israeli government, Haim Katz, heads the first official delegation from Tel Aviv to Riyadh, to participate in an international conference hosted by Saudi Arabia.

According to the Hebrew channel Reshet Kan, Katz, accompanied by a large delegation from his ministry, left Tel Aviv via Ben Gurion Airport, heading to Riyadh.

According to the channel, the Israeli delegation will participate in the United Nations Tourism Organization conference, which will last for two days.

She indicated that Katz will meet with officials from various countries, including Arab countries.

At its meeting held in Doha, today, Tuesday, the Council of Ministers of Culture of the Islamic World chose the Palestinian city of Hebron as the capital of Islamic culture for the year 2026.

This came after the meeting devoted to discussing the renewal of the cultural reality in the Islamic reality at the summit of culture ministers hosted by Doha.

The government had commissioned the Ministry of Culture two years ago to form a national committee headed by Minister of Culture Atef Abu Saif to prepare the file for nominating Hebron as the Capital of Islamic Culture for the year 2026, in order to shed light on the attempts to Judaize the city, steal its heritage and antiquities, and change its Arab-Islamic identity.

Abu Saif said that making such a decision is of great importance because it means that the Islamic world, considering Hebron the capital of Islamic culture for the year 2026, will focus its efforts on cultural work in the Holy City, and through this, programs, plans and visions will be presented that strengthen Islamic identity in the city and combat all policies of erasure. And the removal, replacement, and replacement that the occupation authorities are trying to establish in this city, which witnessed important historical and national events in the history of our Palestinian consciousness and the history of the Arab and Islamic nations.

Abu Saif added: “We have a great responsibility to present what is happening in Hebron to the Islamic world to tell them a clear message that preserving the holy places requires effort from all of us and strong interventions in order to preserve the Palestinian identity in this city.”

It is noteworthy that Jerusalem was the capital of Islamic culture in 2019 and the capital of Arab culture in 2009, and Bethlehem was the capital of Arab culture in 2020.

On Tuesday evening, Israeli occupation forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem.

Local sources said that the occupation forces stormed the camp and fired heavy tear gas bombs towards citizens' homes.

She added that the occupation forces attacked citizens, but no injuries were reported.

Today (Tuesday), Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, made an urgent appeal to double the funding and investments allocated to fill the food gap in the Arab region.

During the Arab ministerial meeting, which he called to discuss "Arab food security and financing" in the presence of Arab agricultural ministers and representatives of financial institutions, unions and the private sector, Aboul Gheit stressed the importance of food security as an integral part of Arab national security.

He pointed to the challenges facing Arab food security, especially after the Corona pandemic revealed the danger of relying on global supply chains, and after the war in Ukraine demonstrated the necessity of preparing for a decline in imports, especially of grains.

The Secretary-General warned of the increasing food gap, currently estimated at more than 100 million tons of food products, affected by a number of interrelated and complex factors, including the increasing population of the Arab world and the decline in rainfall rates in all parts of the Arab world due to climate change, in addition to other influential factors.

Aboul Gheit reviewed the efforts of the League of Arab States to enhance Arab food security, as it prepared a number of strategies and plans related to Arab food security, the latest of which was included in the outcomes of the 2022 Algiers Summit, before adding that “the obstacle of lack of funding prevented the implementation of these Arab plans and strategies.”

He stressed the speed of dealing with these challenges facing Arab food security, and called for activating an Arab financing mechanism that guarantees a permanent flow of capital and encourages investment in sustainable projects that aim to raise Arab capabilities in the fields of clean energy and smart sustainable agriculture.

Today, Tuesday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a young man from the town of Silwan, south of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem.

According to local sources, these forces arrested the young man, Jihad Al-Rajabi, after storming his house, and referred him for investigation.

Today, Tuesday, the Israeli occupation forces closed the Hamra and Tayasir checkpoints in the northern Jordan Valley from all directions.

Local sources reported that the occupation closed the two checkpoints in front of Palestinian citizens from all directions, as part of the policy of collective punishment pursued by the occupation authorities against Palestinian citizens.

The two military checkpoints connect the cities of the West Bank to the northern, central, and southern Jordan Valley, and closing them hinders the movement of citizens.

The occupation also tightened its military measures at the Zaatara military checkpoint south of Nablus, and a stifling crisis occurred due to the inspection of some vehicles.

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Palestine and its Consul General in Jerusalem, Nayef Al-Sudairi, affirmed the Kingdom’s adherence to the Arab Peace Initiative as a basis for resolving the Palestinian issue, which is the basic point in any upcoming agreement.

Al-Sudairi expressed to reporters, after his meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, Riyad Al-Maliki, at the Ministry’s headquarters, Ramallah, today, Tuesday, his happiness for his presence in Palestine, and for his meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas, on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and the Crown Prince, Prime Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Al-Sudairi said that he handed over a copy of his credentials as ambassador to Palestine and consul general of Saudi Arabia in Jerusalem, stressing that the Kingdom intends to open a consulate in East Jerusalem.

Al-Sudairi pointed to the statements of the Saudi Crown Prince last week, “in which he clearly indicated his great interest in the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian people.”

He also referred to statements also made by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, “regarding the importance of the Palestinian issue and its solution on the basis of the two-state solution leading to the establishment of the State of Palestine.”

Al-Sudairi stressed the depth of Saudi-Palestinian relations, which began during the era of the late King Abdulaziz Al Saud, to reach what it reached during the era of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stressing their keenness to develop them.

For his part, Al-Maliki told reporters, “His Excellency the Saudi Ambassador to Palestine received the Consul General in Jerusalem, who is visiting Palestine as a representative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness the Crown Prince,” describing the Saudi ambassador’s visit as “a historic moment in the distinguished relations between the two countries.”

He added: We are very happy with the presence of the Saudi ambassador in his second country, Palestine, and we believe that this step by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince brings us very close as two countries, two peoples and leaders, and reflects the depth of the historical relations between them.

Al-Maliki considered the presence of the Saudi ambassador in Palestine "reflects the development of bilateral relations and the great interest of the leadership of the two countries."

He said: We welcome the Saudi ambassador to Palestine, and we are ready to begin work from the moment to develop relations between the two countries, revealing the soon return of the Saudi ambassador to Palestine “to begin his work to develop relations between the two countries, as it is a major responsibility, and to work for his basic mission, which is to preserve the Palestinian cause.” The central issue for all Arabs, and certainly for Saudi Arabia.”

The Swedish police opened an investigation into an intentional act, after a fire Monday destroyed a mosque in Eskilstuna in the center of the country.

Police said on their website on Tuesday: “The investigation into the fire is continuing.

The police will interview witnesses and check whether there are surveillance cameras in the area.”

During midday on Monday, a fire broke out in a mosque in the town of Eskilstuna, located about 100 kilometers west of Stockholm, without causing any casualties, according to a spokesman for the police investigating the incident, told Agence France-Presse. No one has been arrested yet.

"The mosque was almost completely destroyed and nothing can be repaired," Anas Dinesh, the mosque's spokesman, told AFP. According to emergency services, the fire engulfed the main building, causing the roof to collapse.

Dinesh added, "Many children, women and men ran to the site crying. I have never seen so many people crying like this," explaining that everyone asked the same questions: "What happened, who did it?"

Dinesh refers to a year that included many acts of violence against the mosque, and also against his family. "But it is still too early to draw conclusions, and we have to wait for the police to do their job," he said.

The police confirmed that there are various hypotheses on the cause of the fire, without providing further details.

Between 15,000 and 20,000 Muslims live in Eskilstuna, while the city's population is about 108,000 people.

The commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Viktor Sokolov, who the Ukrainian army announced Monday that it had killed last week, appeared in photos distributed by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Tuesday.

The official is pictured in military uniform on a large screen alongside other senior military officials as they participate in a video meeting chaired by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

A statement that did not mention the name of the official indicated that the meeting took place on Tuesday. The Ukrainian army announced on Monday that it had killed the commander of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea in a strike on Friday on the naval headquarters in Sebastopol on the Crimean peninsula.