The Times of Israel reported that Saudi Arabia will be co-hosting an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week focused on revamping the Israeli-Palestinian peace process

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The event, titled “Peace Day Effort for Middle East Peace,” will take place on Monday and is being put on by Saudi Arabia along with the Arab League and the European Union in cooperation with Egypt and Jordan, one of the diplomats said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be the keynote speaker.

Neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian missions were invited to the event, the UN diplomat said, explaining that it is focused on congregating important global stakeholders on the issue in order to “reinvigorate” the peace process.

The event is the latest effort by Saudi Arabia to engage in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as it negotiates with US President Joe Biden’s administration about a potential normalization agreement with Israel.

Last week, Riyadh hosted a Palestinian Authority delegation to discuss how to leverage a normalization deal to advance the Palestinian cause.

Saudi Arabia did host a ministerial meeting at the UN General Assembly sidelines last year on the issue, but that event was to mark the 20th anniversary of the proposal of the Arab Peace Initiative.

Riyadh has since gradually moved away from that proposal, which offered Israel normalization with the entire Arab League only after it reached a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

The family of prisoner engineer Sultan Khalaf, who is on hunger strike, organized a solidarity stand in the town of Burqin in Jenin, with the participation of representatives of the national and Islamic forces, popular activities and large masses, to stand in solidarity with him as he continues the battle of the empty stomach, and to demand that his life be saved before it is too late.

After the Friday prayer, the participants gathered in front of the Grand Mosque in his hometown of Burqin, carrying Dhur Khalaf and chanting slogans denouncing his arrest and demanding the freedom of all prisoners, especially those on hunger strike.

A Palestinian was injured this Friday evening after settlers attacked him in the village of Burqa, near Nablus.

According to the Red Crescent, its crews provided the necessary assistance to the injured citizen.

A number of citizens were injured, Friday evening, after the Israeli occupation forces suppressed a march on the eastern border of Gaza City.

According to local sources, the soldiers stationed inside their positions and military vehicles fired live bullets, rubber-coated metal bullets, and gas bombs at the demonstrators, wounding a number of them with various injuries.

Dozens of young men and boys demonstrated in protest against the siege imposed on the city and the continued crimes of the occupation against our people.

With the participation of the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, the work of the Group of 77 and China Summit was launched today, Friday, in the Cuban capital, Havana, under the slogan “Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation.”

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and a number of leaders and heads of state of the group are participating in the summit.

Cuba assumed the rotating presidency of the group last January.

The Group of 77 and China is the largest intergovernmental organization for developing countries in the United Nations. It was established on June 15, 1964 by 77 countries, and it has maintained its name even though it has expanded and currently includes 134 countries.

The group aims to defend the collective economic interests of those countries and enhance their negotiating capacity on major international economic issues within the United Nations.

It is noteworthy that the State of Palestine assumed the presidency of the Group of 77 + China for the year 2019.

Today, Friday, the Israeli occupation forces set up a military checkpoint in Jabal al-Rahma in the city of Hebron.

According to local sources, these forces stopped citizens’ vehicles, searched them, tampered with their contents, checked the citizens’ ID cards and photographed them, causing a stifling crisis.

Settlers also gathered at the house of the Jariwi family in the Qaitoun area, after it was seized, which is located opposite the Ibrahimiyya School in the Al-Sahla neighborhood in Hebron.

The official spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, said that the administration of US President Joe Biden takes into account the special security needs that Israel faces with the Gaza Strip, which requires exceptional considerations and arrangements in demanding the United States mandate to treat all Americans equally as a condition for the United States to exempt Israel. An entry visa to the United States.

Miller said in his response to the questions of the Al-Quds.com correspondent regarding Israel’s visa exemption, the pilot program of which ends on September 30, after which Israel will be allowed to participate in this exemption, and why (apparently) Israel requires Gazan Americans to document and prove their residency abroad: “What I will say about that is that in the last few days Israel has announced new travel procedures for Gaza, and these new procedures will allow American citizens registered in the Palestinian population registry in Gaza to apply for visa-free entry into Israel.”

He added: “As we have said all along, we realize that there is a different security situation in Gaza, and therefore there will be different procedures. I - and what I will say about that is that we will monitor the implementation of those measures and make sure that Americans - all Americans - are treated equally in Make any decision regarding Israel's potential admission to the Visa Waiver Programme.

Regarding the new Israeli guidelines that require American citizens on the Palestinian registration list in Gaza to apply for a visa exemption, which contradicts the principle of free entry and exit, Miller responded by pointing out again that Israel announced these measures only a few days ago. The administration will wait for Israel's implementation mechanism for this.

Miller stressed that the decision does not fall on US Secretary of State Blinken, but rather on the Secretary of Homeland Security, and that Secretary Blinken makes a recommendation to the Secretary of Homeland Security, who makes the final decision.

It is noteworthy that 15 members of the US Senate last week called on US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to stop implementing the agreement exempting Israelis from requesting prior entry visas to the United States, in light of its failure to adhere to a major clause in the agreement that calls for reciprocity, specifically with regard to the travel of Americans of Palestinian origins. .

The letter sent by the Democratic senators on Friday said, “There are still many unanswered questions by the government of Israel about the terms of the memorandum of understanding for the visa exemption program for Israelis, which raise serious concerns.”

The signatories stressed that "Israel does not comply with the law of reciprocity for all American citizens."

The letter emphasized that “visa exemption may not be provided by discriminating against certain groups of American citizens, and all United States citizens must be treated equally.”

Iran detained two oil tankers in the Gulf waters, arrested their crews, and charged them with fuel smuggling, according to what state television announced on Friday.

The television quoted the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Muhammad Sharif Shirali, as saying, “The naval forces of the Revolutionary Guard detained two ships during the past two days.”

He added, "The two confiscated tankers... flew the flags of Panama and Tanzania and were transporting more than 1.5 million liters of Iranian oil and gas."

He said, "The Revolutionary Guard accompanied the two ships to the port (city) of Mahshahr" in the southwest of the country, noting that 37 people from the two crews were arrested and handed over to the judicial authorities in the Iranian city.

In recent weeks, the US military has strengthened its presence in the Gulf waters after accusing Iran of detaining or attempting to intercept ships in this vital corridor.

On July 6, the US Navy said that the Revolutionary Guard confiscated a commercial ship in the Gulf the day after Iranian forces accused it of two similar attempts off the coast of the Sultanate of Oman.

Iran later said that the ship it intercepted in Gulf waters was transporting "more than half a million smuggled fuel."

An agreement concluded between Israel and the United States to travel without a visa between the two countries raised the hopes of Palestinian Americans to facilitate the procedures they are subject to, but many of these travelers still complain of continued “discrimination” on the part of the Israeli authorities.

The US State Department stated that the goal of the mutual agreement concluded in July is for Israel to recognize all those who hold American citizenship “as American citizens and to receive equal treatment” regardless of their origins.

The agreement paved the way for some Americans of Palestinian origin to arrive through Ben Gurion Airport in Israel after this port remained prohibited for the vast majority of them for years, instead of traveling by land from Jordan.

Despite the progress made on paper, Americans of Palestinian origin complained of being subjected to unequal treatment, in a series of interviews conducted with them by Agence France-Presse in the United States and the Palestinian territories.

Hanna Hanania, a board member of the Palestinian American Council's advocacy group, traveled to Tel Aviv and described the change overall as "an improvement for everyone."

But when he left to return to the US state of Virginia, he said that he was subjected to a “comprehensive vetting process,” which included Israeli officials searching his car and insisting on seeing his Palestinian passport.

Ananias, who was born in Jerusalem, was also asked to stand in line for additional security checks. "The discrimination was very clear," he stressed.

"Almost everyone in this queue spoke Arabic," he told AFP. "It can be seen that most of them are Palestinians or Arabs."

The Israeli Immigration Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on these complaints.

More than 5,400 Americans of Palestinian origin have arrived in Israel since July 20, according to the Population and Immigration Authority.

Washington is currently studying the possibility of including Israel in the full visa exemption program, with a decision to be made on September 30.

NYPD Officer Haider Darwish, 38, arrived in mid-August and said he was not given a three-month visa for no reason, but was instead only granted a month's residency.

“This is not fair,” Darwish said from the West Bank city of Ramallah. “If they want to move forward with this visa (waiver program), they should treat us exactly the same way they are treated when they arrive in the United States.”

A number of Palestinian Americans told AFP that they complained of ill-treatment at the US embassy in Jerusalem, which rejected AFP's request to interview them.

In the village of Turmus Aya, north of the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where many of its residents hold American citizenship, Abdul-Jabbar sought advice from his neighbors before returning to Tennessee in the state of Georgia.

Abdul Jabbar, 50, said, “The checkpoints from the West Bank to the airport are what greatly complicate” the trip.

The neighbors advised him to leave the West Bank several hours before his travel date due to the many checkpoints, then he was subjected to a final inspection and was allowed to cross.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense, which administers civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said: “Any citizen holding a B/2 (tourist) visa can pass through the crossings as usual. As for the nature of the security examination, it is carried out according to the factors taken by the security services.” At the various crossing points, taking into consideration.

The visa-free travel program included those with ties to the occupied West Bank, but its scope expanded on Monday to include the Gaza Strip, which has been subject to an Israeli siege for many years.

Americans of Palestinian origin who travel to Gaza face greater restrictions than those who go to the West Bank, according to rules announced by the US Embassy.

People from Gaza who live in the United States and who can now travel by air to Tel Aviv, but cannot enter the Gaza Strip, expressed their disappointment.

In July, 18-year-old Lara Abu Hamda tried to cross the Jordanian borders with the West Bank and Israel to no avail. She said, "I don't understand. I'm an American. Even if I was born in Gaza and have a Gaza ID card, why does that come into consideration?"

The Israeli Immigration Authority said that ten American citizens from Gaza who were not yet included in the program were denied entry, in addition to three American citizens from the West Bank.

A Gaza artist living in Chicago, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, said he was detained in a center outside Tel Aviv airport. He underwent comprehensive security checks before being taken to the plane without his bags and belongings, and with only his credit card.

The thirty-year-old artist said, “I am still trying to get rid of all the stress and anxiety that accumulated in me during the forty-eight hours in which I was treated as a suspect.”

Obtaining permission to leave through Israel is extremely difficult for Gaza residents. As a result, most people seeking to leave the region make the arduous and expensive journey across Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

In Gaza City, Saeed Arif Shaat said, “My family is very excited about the prospect of finally being able to travel through Israel’s Erez crossing.”

Americans living in Gaza must still apply for a travel permit that, according to the Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Palestinian Territories, allows them to “travel through any international border crossing.”

Zeina Shaath, 23 years old and the daughter of Saeed Shaath, explained in her emphasis on the importance of being able to cross the Erez Crossing and travel by plane through Ben Gurion Airport, “We need our freedom and to live a normal life.”

A number of Palestinian citizens were injured by live bullets, rubber-coated bullets, and suffocation, during confrontations that broke out with the occupation forces in the West Bank governorates, today, Friday.

In Nablus, four citizens were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets, and dozens suffocated, during the Israeli occupation army’s suppression of an anti-settlement march in Qaryut, south of Nablus.

The occupation forces fired rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades, and toxic tear gas at the march participants, wounding four citizens with metal bullets, one of whom was injured in the face, and dozens suffered from suffocation.

The director of ambulance and emergency services at the Red Crescent in Nablus, Ahmed Jibril, said that the citizen who was injured in the face suffered from a broken nose and bleeding, and the necessary first aid was provided to him before he was transferred to the hospital.

It is noteworthy that during the past months, settlers intensified their raids on the Qaryut Spring, and broke its locks several times, in an attempt to seize it.

Tens of thousands performed Friday prayers, inside the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite the measures taken by the Israeli occupation forces at the gates of the mosque and the entrances to the Old City, in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem estimated that about 40,000 worshipers performed Friday prayers inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The occupation forces deployed in the streets of the city and the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and were stationed at its gates. They stopped the worshipers and checked their personal cards.

On Friday morning, the Israeli occupation forces closed the Qalandiya checkpoint, north of occupied Jerusalem, and prevented the passage of vehicles and citizens.

Local sources reported that closing the checkpoint caused a severe traffic jam that reached several kilometers.

The sources indicated that the closure of the checkpoint coincided with the deployment of thousands of occupation police personnel in the neighborhoods of Jerusalem, who harassed citizens and those coming to perform Friday prayers in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and tightened inspection procedures at the doors of the mosque and the gates of the Old City.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation authorities decided to impose a comprehensive closure on the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and close the crossings in the Gaza Strip, starting this afternoon, under the pretext of Jewish holidays.

The Prisoner's Club said that the occupation authorities decided today to release prisoner Khalil Awawda from the town of Idna/Hebron, who has been detained since December 27, 2021, and he will be released from Ofer Prison, where he has been detained recently.

The Prisoner's Club stated that the prisoner Awawda had gone on a hunger strike that lasted for 172 days, in rejection of his administrative detention, and that he was supposed to be released in October 2022, but the occupation authorities, shortly before his release, brought an "accusation" against him. Regarding an attempt to insert a phone while he was being transported from the Israeli Assaf Harofeh Hospital to Ramle, she maintained his detention, and later sentenced him to actual imprisonment for a period of 16 months and a fine of 5,000 shekels, with a suspended sentence of 8 months.

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Khalil faced difficult and dangerous health conditions during his strike, and after he suspended the strike, to this day, he still suffers from health problems, and he needs health follow-up.

On Friday morning, Israeli occupation forces arrested three citizens from the town of Abu Dis, east of occupied Jerusalem.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces, accompanied by special forces and police dogs, stormed the town, raided a number of citizens’ homes, and arrested: Muhammad Amer Abu Hilal, Muayyad Munir Atallah, and Muhammad Nabil Badr.

The English-language Times of Israel magazine website reported that Yasser Abbas, son of President Mahmoud Abbas, was among the Palestinian delegation that went to Riyadh last week, to hold talks with Saudi and American officials, to discuss a possible normalization agreement between Israel and the Kingdom under American sponsorship.

The website quoted two informed sources as saying that the delegation included, in addition to Abbas’s son, the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Hussein Al-Sheikh, the head of the Intelligence Service, Majed Faraj, and the political advisor to the President of the Authority, Magdi Al-Khalidi.

According to the website, “Abbas the Younger” (as described by the website), who does not hold any official position in the Palestinian Authority, participated in meetings with senior Saudi officials, including Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, as well as in a meeting with an American delegation in the presence of the US President’s senior advisor, Brett McGurk, and US Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East Barbara Leaf.

The website indicated that Ramallah, Riyadh, and Washington decided not to publish any photos or data about the meeting held at the meeting, which allowed the participation of President Abbas’s son to be kept away from the media.

I hesitated before writing this article, because of the implications it would have on the public mood, but this is the reality of our society inside Palestine. Violence is permeating and deeply rooted, and a stream of blood is flowing in our society, and the security services responsible for providing security and safety for the Arab citizen are absent from carrying out their duties, as if they are in a state of hibernation. Thus, under the protection of criminal gangs such as the security establishment. Violence can become a culture for our people at home, and why?

First, explain what is the term culture? It is a human production, it is a systematic picture of acquired behaviors that are inherited to children from their parents. Culture is the sum of the empirical and symbolic experiences of a person or a group, that is, a road map, such as: knowledge (knowledge), customs and traditions, morals, art, religion, means of communication, law, etc. An individual considers himself part of a particular culture when he belongs to a social group whose members see themselves as sharing those experiential experiences.

Is culture always positive? No, each group has its own culture. For example, criminal gangs have their own culture, and the Islamic movement also has its own culture. Yes, the Islamic movement will not bring a new faith, but rather revived and revived Islam again, and there is no doubt that it has a great credit for that.

Is culture eternal? No, it must be renewed from time to time. For example: If we took a sample from a rock that is fixed in place and examined it in the laboratory, we would find that it contains a certain amount of minerals. If we returned a year later to the same rock and took a sample from the same place, we would find that the amount of minerals differed from the previous year. If a rock is fixed in place and its contents change from time to time, then what about a person who moves from one place to another and is exposed to another culture and different concepts through the means to which he is exposed daily and around the clock? Therefore, a person's culture must change over the years according to the experiences he acquires, and there is no guarantee that it will change for the better. The concept of the best varies from one person to another.
All the various customs creep into the societies of the world slowly due to their initial rejection, rejection and resentment from the host society, but they gradually penetrate and later become legitimate. If we looked at a large portion of the customs and traditions prevailing in our societies today compared to what they were forty years ago, we would find that they were strange and imported from other peoples. At first, they were rejected and gradually penetrated and became part of the behaviors of our societies.
Thus, when the citizen begins to lose security and confidence in the authority responsible for providing this, he must search for alternative means to protect himself and his family members, from the danger of those gangs that pose a danger to him, in light of protecting those gangs from legal prosecution and bringing them to a fair judiciary.” "The absent present", meaning there is no deterrent to it. Thus, they have become exemplary segments that have morals that are legally rejected and contradict customs in defending themselves.
Recently, a strange behavioral phenomenon has begun to infiltrate our society, represented by some people possessing various means to protect their families, and training on how to use them and put them on until needed. The question that arises is that in the absence of a deterrent from the authority to protect the citizen and his family, does he not have the right to take all means of protection?! Thus, what is prohibited gradually becomes legitimate, such as society.
I also began to hear our children repeating strange and disturbing terms referring to violence, and this goes back to the current discourse that deals with violence. When children begin to imitate adults in their aggressive expressions, the alarm must be raised...!

Palestinian parties and factions in the Gaza Strip accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of spreading the culture of “abnormality” after distributing the “code of conduct” in its directorates, schools, and institutions.

The Joint Committee for Refugees said that this code is part of the moral and ethical decline of the international system and is against the customs, traditions and values of the Palestinian people, calling on all its employees not to sign it.

In a statement, the committee called on the UNRWA Commissioner to immediately withdraw from circulating this code, calling on the Ministry of Education to curb these actions that are being attempted to be passed.

Meanwhile, Salama Maarouf, head of the government media office, said that this blog contradicts the customs, customs and traditions of society in the Gaza Strip.

Marouf added: We see in this step a clear consistency with attempts to promote concepts that are deviant from our values and morals and contradict normal human nature. It is dangerous for an international organization like the UN Relief Agency to mobilize its capabilities and programs to serve a goal that is completely far from the justification for its establishment, which is to serve refugees from among our people.

He continued: We deplore the agency's allocating its financial and human resources to such programs in light of talk of financial crises that caused the suspension of many necessary programs and services.

The Association of Palestine Scholars also called on the UNRWA administration to retract and withdraw the blog, immediately investigate who placed it in the bulletins, and issue an apology to the Palestinian people.

The Association warned against some feminist organizations, associations, and media outlets that adopt these calls under the name of human rights, freedom, progressivism, democracy, and other glamorous and false slogans. According to the text of its statement.

The educational department of the Islamic Jihad movement also denounced this step, calling on the UNRWA administration to immediately withdraw these bulletins, while pledging fully not to publish them or publish any content similar to them in the future.

She said: The management of the UNRWA violates the accepted rules of work in the Palestinian areas, since its work is humanitarian and it is not its business to theorize terms and concepts that contradict Islamic law and common sense.

The Refugee Department and the Relief Agency of the Democratic Front also condemned the distribution of these leaflets, calling for an end to the distribution of these leaflets that provoke the feelings of citizens and employees, which are considered an attack on human rights and contradict international agreements that stipulate the preservation and respect of peoples’ customs and traditions, stressing that such leaflets call for Societal disintegration and lack of respect for the laws of the host country.

On Friday, the Israeli police deployed 5,000 police officers in occupied Jerusalem and other cities, fearing Palestinian attacks during the Jewish holidays that begin this evening.

According to the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom, the focus will be largely throughout the holiday period on the areas where intelligence information comes about the possibility of attacks, in order to provide a quick response to any scenario, especially attempts to carry out attacks.

Focus will also be on mixed cities for fear of any unusual events.

Yesterday, the Israeli army announced that it had decided to impose a comprehensive closure on the Palestinian territories due to Jewish holidays.

Israeli data, published today, Friday, on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah, showed that 48,768 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the last Hebrew year, from September 2022 to September 2023.

This number compares to 51,644 who immigrated in the same period of the previous Jewish year, according to data monitored by the Temple Mount groups.

Recently, senior officials in the US administration sent a letter to their counterparts in the Israeli government, in which they expressed their frustration and anger at Israel’s failure to complete all economic exemptions for the Palestinians.

Last night, Hebrew Channel 12 reported that Arab countries, including Jordan and the UAE, conveyed similar messages to the Israeli government through official channels, about postponing the Palestinian Authority’s debt payments to Israel for two years.

According to the channel, during the Aqaba and Sharm El-Sheikh meetings, Israel promised to transfer funds to the Palestinian Authority, but Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has so far refused to do so.

An Israeli official said that the economic benefits were not completed due to the opposition of government officials, including Smotrich, but the promises must be fulfilled, and this requires a decision from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, another official said that these entitlements were not completed and therefore were not approved, and when they are completed, this will be done.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested two young women from the Bab al-Amud area in occupied Jerusalem.

According to local sources, the occupation forces arrested the two young women, Ruaa Ajaj and Rasha Shuqair, after detaining and searching them at the military point set up at Bab al-Amoud.

A young man from the town of Maithalun, south of Jenin, was killed today, Thursday, as a result of a heavy object falling on him while he was working in one of the construction workshops within the 48 territories.

According to local sources, the young man, Riyad Ahmed Nairat, from the town of Maithalun, was killed in a workshop in the city of Lod.

A new ceasefire entered into force on Thursday evening in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, where 17 people were killed and about 100 others injured during a week of confrontations.

On September 7, clashes broke out between the Fatah movement and extremist Islamic groups in the camp located on the outskirts of the coastal city of Sidon, which is considered the largest for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

The ceasefire was announced after separate talks between Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and high-ranking officials from the Fatah and Hamas movements, who were sent to Lebanon to try to calm the situation.

The official in the camp, Fouad Othman, said that a meeting took place between Berri and a member of the Executive Committees of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, Azzam al-Ahmad. Berri also met with a member of the Hamas political bureau, Musa Abu Marzouk, and “it was agreed with the two parties to implement a ceasefire... starting today.” (Thursday) at 18:00 (15:00 GMT).

After the new ceasefire entered into force on Thursday, the sound of gunfire stopped being heard, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent.

Othman said that Hamas is not participating in the fighting, but "is in a relationship with the other party."

Since the fighting began on September 7, 17 people have been killed and about 100 others wounded, according to Imad Hallaq, an official with the Palestinian Red Crescent in Lebanon.

An Agence France-Presse correspondent reported that five Fatah fighters were buried on Thursday.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that hundreds of families have fled the camp since the fighting began.

On Thursday, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun inspected the 1st Infantry Brigade, deployed in the vicinity of the camp, where he visited the brigade’s leadership at the Muhammad Zgheib barracks in Sidon, met with officers and soldiers, and listened to a briefing on the missions carried out in light of the clashes taking place inside the Ain al-Hilweh camp.

At the end of July and the beginning of August, similar confrontations resulted in the killing of 13 people, including a Fatah leader, in an ambush. They continued for five days before calming down after a series of contacts between Palestinian factions and Lebanese officials and parties.

The Lebanese security forces do not enter the Palestinian camps according to an implicit agreement between the PLO and the Lebanese authorities. The Palestinian factions undertake a kind of self-security inside the camps through a joint security force.

Ain al-Hilweh camp is known for harboring extremist Islamic groups and outlaws. It is home to more than 54,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations, joined during the past years by thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria.

It often witnesses assassinations and sometimes clashes, especially between Palestinian factions and extremist Islamic groups.

The Fatah movement is the most prominent faction in the camp, where Hamas is also present. Extremist Islamic groups take several neighborhoods as their stronghold, one of which is the area that mainly witnessed the recent clashes with the Fatah movement.

The United States on Thursday denounced Moscow's "unjustified" decision to expel two of its diplomats working in the Russian capital, pledging to "respond" in a timely manner.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, "This unjustified expulsion of our diplomatic staff is completely baseless."

Al-Quds University hosted on its main campus the Al-Quds International Conference on Applications of Sustainable Development in the Charitable Work Sector, which is organized by the Al-Quds Fund and Endowment in partnership with the university and the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, in the presence of leaders and ambassadors of charitable and humanitarian work at the Arab, Islamic and international levels, and a number of prominent Arab and Islamic figures in Palestine, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Tunisia, Turkey, Jordan, Oman, Algeria.

In its four sessions, the conference discussed the role of Arab and international partnerships in supporting charitable organizations in the city of Jerusalem to achieve sustainable development, the development priorities of the city of Jerusalem, the reality of development work and its role in the city of Jerusalem to enhance the sustainable impact between challenges and requirements, innovation and its tools in enhancing sustainable returns and employing technology, digitization and artificial intelligence in Philanthropy, tools to measure the impact of charitable sector projects to enhance the institutionalization of sustainability applications.

In the speech of the conference’s honorary guest, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Islamic Charitable Organization, Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq stressed that the State of Kuwait, with its various positions, will remain loyal to the people throughout the land of Palestine, especially Al-Quds Al-Sharif, as it spares no effort in launching various humanitarian initiatives in the Blessed Land, indicating that the humanitarian situation in Palestine occupies the utmost importance in the Charitable Organization’s work agenda. Education is also one of the most important programs it works on to provide high-quality educational opportunities.

The Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Al-Maatouq stressed the importance of charitable and humanitarian work in helping the needy and the weak, and the role of charitable institutions and associations as a basic pillar for building sustainable societies and achieving comprehensive well-being by directing efforts to serve communities in education, health, etc., and Arab and international partnerships in the field have led to enhancing understanding between different peoples, adding, “We are making Our efforts to strengthen partnerships and achieve sustainable development, and reaching beneficiaries has become faster and easier as a result of these important partnerships.”

For his part, the President of Al-Quds University, Prof. Dr. Imad Abu Kishk greeted the conference guests from the sisterly Arab countries, the Jerusalem Endowment Fund, its governorate, and all the conference guests, continuing, “We meet today in Jerusalem, the blessed land, the first of the two qiblahs, the second of the two mosques, and the third of the two holy mosques... I am pleased and honored to welcome you to Al-Quds University, the capital’s university, science, scholars, excellence, creativity, and innovation.” The first Palestinian in teaching and scientific research and the first Arab in social responsibility.”

The price of Prof. Abu Kishk The participants in the conference are distinguished Arab elites and figures in charitable work, community development and humanitarian relief, in order to enhance the sustainable impact of charitable sector projects to empower the Jerusalemite community, as the conference topics come within the university’s vision and action plan within the framework of its social responsibility towards the people of Jerusalem. Being the only Arab university in the city, and in turn believing in the development of Jerusalemite society through the academic, development and scientific research programs it provides, in addition to community programs and various partnerships to support development and charitable work in Jerusalem and Palestine in general.

Prof. Dr. touched on Abu Kishk, due to the university’s keenness to pay attention to creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship through its various centers spread across Jerusalem in its various locations, such as the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center, the Professional Development Center, and the Skills, Simulation, and Skill Building Center, to its work to strengthen the health sector in Jerusalem through its health facilities in the city and its contribution to supporting Economy and coordination with Arab and Islamic supporting bodies and the Jerusalem Endowment Fund to support and develop the Jerusalem community, stressing the importance of participation, transparency, accountability, effectiveness, fairness and justice in community development work, and involving everyone in decision-making in the charitable sector in order to achieve the goals of sustainable and human development, empowerment and security, creating opportunities and advancing society.

The Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, said that he is attending with the participation of Jerusalem, its people, and the Arab brothers in attendance, stressing the strategic depth of the blessed city and the necessity of supporting it as a trust in all of our necks, based on its religious, Islamic, doctrinal, historical, and civilizational status, as well as Al-Aqsa Mosque, in the face of attempts to dominate and control it, matched by the steadfastness of the Jerusalemites who protect the city. Against Judaization, so that Al-Aqsa remains full of Almoravids and the support of Arab and Islamic countries, which is what this conference represents as it embodies the virtue of charitable and volunteer work in Palestine and Jerusalem in particular.

In turn, Jordanian MP Muhammad Al-Dhahrawi said, “At every moment we must be present with our words to defend the homeland and Palestine, and that Amman is the sister of Palestine and its cause is a central issue for every Jordanian,” expressing his happiness at his presence on the land of Palestine. He also praised the role of the endowment and the Arab peoples and their positions in support of Palestine. Because defending Jerusalem is the duty of every Arab.

For his part, Deputy Governor of Jerusalem, Abdullah Siam, spoke on behalf of Governor Adnan Ghaith, conveying the greetings of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen to the honorable audience at this conference in the presence of Jerusalem, where the partners extend a helping hand and goodness to support the Palestinian position and the reality of the city. He also addressed the occupation’s ongoing targeting procedures. For the city and the importance of containing and confronting this siege in order to preserve the identity of the targeted Jerusalem and its institutions and to show responsibility towards it from the entire Arab and Islamic world, and the role of endowments in caring for Jerusalem and the steadfastness of its people and institutions in order to remain steadfast and confront plans and procedures.

In a speech from the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, Dr. emphasized: Saeed Yaqeen, the importance of standing against ethnic cleansing, genocide, and falsification, and activating international law, which must protect those standing in the face of these crimes to falsify the Arabism of Jerusalem and the identity of the place, speaking about the project to support education, health, and services to support civil society and its institutions in Jerusalem, the capital, from all Arabs.

The guest of honor of the conference, the envoy of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Her Excellency Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Thani, expressed via Zoom technology the importance of relief and development affairs as a priority, especially in the issue of Jerusalem, and international regional cooperation is a great responsibility in view of the historical, cultural, Arab and international status of the city, so It is imperative to improve the quality of education and institutions and preserve heritage and basic needs that require joint efforts in Arab and international cooperation and solidarity to support the development of Jerusalem and the residents of the region and achieve development, economic well-being and societal progress through multilateral partnerships, knowledge exchange and capacity building between international and local experts, urban planning and infrastructure, education. Skills development, cultural tourism development, solidarity and social solidarity.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed Thursday his concern about increasing indicators warning of further fragmentation in the years-long war in Syria, calling for dialogue to avoid a “new catastrophic dimension” to the conflict.

A statement by Turk said that the clashes that broke out in Deir ez-Zor Governorate in late August resulted in the killing of at least 23 civilians.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said, “The indicators that warn of the fragmentation of the conflict in Syria are very worrying.”

He continued, "We can never be satisfied with watching the country slide further and further into an endless conflict, a conflict that has already left indelible scars on the lives of many civilians."

The clashes broke out on August 27 after the Syrian Democratic Forces arrested Ahmed Al-Khubail, known as “Abu Khawla,” the leader of its Deir ez-Zor Military Council. It later announced his dismissal, accusing him of involvement in “criminal crimes, drug trafficking, and mismanagement of the security situation,” and of communicating with the regime.

This prompted fighters loyal to Al-Khubail to carry out attacks that quickly developed into clashes in a number of villages and towns, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Last week, the Observatory reported that 90 people were killed in violence, the majority of them fighters.
Turk said that in addition to the 23 civilian deaths, the Syrian Democratic Forces arrested dozens of people “for their alleged involvement in hostilities,” and noted that “as a result, thousands of civilians fled their homes.”

He stressed that "the attacks affected populated areas, including camps for the displaced, markets, water treatment facilities, and health centers," adding, "The curfew and roadblocks also undermined freedom of movement and raised the prices of food and fuel."

He pointed out that the conflict was initially confined to Deir ez-Zor, but it soon spread to Al-Hasakah and the eastern countryside of Aleppo, and other armed groups became involved.

The UN High Commissioner continued, "I express my deep concern about other parties exploiting the tensions and hostilities in Deir ez-Zor and the neighborhood, in an attempt to extend their authority over the region."

He added, "All parties concerned with this latest escalation must immediately end the clashes and work to resolve differences through dialogue, with the aim of avoiding launching a new catastrophic dimension to the conflict in Syria."
The war in Syria claimed the lives of about 500,000 people, left millions displaced and refugees, and destroyed the country's infrastructure and industries.

The conflict began with popular protests that were suppressed by the regime, and branched out with the involvement of external parties, armed men, and jihadist organizations.

In recent years, there has been calm on the front lines, but vast parts of the north of the country are still outside government control.

The Prisoners' Club said that a new deterioration occurred in the health condition of prisoner Assef Al-Rifai, who suffers from cancer, and he was transferred since yesterday from the Ramla prison clinic to the Israeli "Assaf Harofeh" Hospital.

The Prisoner's Club explained that the occupation continues its crime against the prisoner Al-Rifai (21 years old), from the town of Kafr Ain / Ramallah, by arresting him and detaining him in what is called the Ramla Prison Clinic, despite the continuing risks to his life, and his urgent need for his family, especially since the CT scans that were conducted on him Recently, there has been no improvement in his health condition.

The Prisoner's Club pointed out that the prisoner, Al-Rifai, began receiving treatment (chemical and biological) in March of this year, that is, about seven months after the date of his arrest on September 24, 2022, despite medical reports confirming the level of danger that he was in. He was facing it while he was under arrest.

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A delegation from the Houthi group, which controls the capital, Sanaa, and other regions in Yemen, is preparing to make a rare visit to Saudi Arabia, which supports the government, in a move aimed at pushing forward the political solution, according to diplomatic and political sources reported Thursday.

This comes as the first public visit by a Houthi delegation to the Kingdom since Riyadh launched a military campaign at the head of a coalition to stop the advance of the Iran-allied group in the poor country in 2015, about five months after the visit of a Saudi delegation to Sanaa.

Yemen has been mired in an armed conflict over power between the Houthis and the government since mid-2014, which has caused the death and injury of hundreds of thousands, and the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to United Nations estimates.

A Yemeni government official familiar with the content of the talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis told Agence France-Presse, "There are preparations for a Houthi delegation to move to Riyadh within the next 72 hours."

He added that the purpose of the visit is “to hold a round of negotiations with Saudi Arabia and reach a final agreement on the details of the humanitarian and economic files.”

He continued that the talks focus on the issue of paying the salaries of employees of the Houthi government, which is not internationally recognized, through the authority, which is a sticking point, and the launch of new destinations from Sanaa Airport, which remained closed for years before the coalition last year allowed its airspace to be opened for planes to Jordan and Egypt.

A Western diplomat in Yemen confirmed the Houthi delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia, saying that it may take place "today", Thursday, or within the next two days.

Saudi officials did not immediately respond to questions from Agence France-Presse about the visit.

For his part, member of the “Political Bureau” Ali Al-Qahum, the highest political authority for the Houthis, wrote on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter) that the Houthi delegation will leave Sanaa “on an Omani plane to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to complete the previous meetings that took place in Muscat for more than Once with the Saudi delegation.”

He added, "Optimism exists and still exists in the success of the mediation and the Omani efforts to achieve peace in Yemen."

Oman plays the role of mediator in the conflict. Saba News Agency, the spokesperson for the Yemeni capital authorities, reported on Thursday evening that an Omani delegation had arrived in Sanaa, accompanied by the official spokesman for the Houthis, Mohammed Abdel Salam, residing in the Sultanate.

It is noteworthy that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the Sultanate of Oman a few days ago.

The visit of the Saudi delegation to Sanaa in April, and the recent rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, have raised hopes for a political solution to the bloody conflict in the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula.

The head of the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, Majed Al-Madhaji, told AFP that the Houthi delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia "is like moving the relationship between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia from the back rooms to the hall of the house, that is, legitimizing this relationship and giving it an additional impetus."

He continued, "On the political level, it is an advanced step to end Saudi Arabia's direct role in Yemen and for the Houthis to acknowledge its role as a mediator," in addition to being one of the parties to the conflict.

The intensity of fighting in Yemen decreased significantly after the UN-brokered ceasefire that entered into force in April 2022, and it continues to a large extent even after the agreement expired in October 2022.

But the humanitarian crisis in the poor country continues to worsen, with humanitarian aid declining due to lack of funding.

On Thursday, 98 international and local bodies, including United Nations organizations, called in a statement to increase funding to continue helping “more than 21.6 million people, or 75 percent of the population of Yemen.”

These authorities indicated that “17 million people suffer from food insecurity” in Yemen, and this number includes 6.1 million people who have already entered “a dangerous stage of food shortages and acute malnutrition.”

Despite the scale of these humanitarian needs, by August 2023, the Humanitarian Response Plan had received only “31.2 percent of the total needs of $4.34 billion” for 2023, leading to “drastic and alarming reductions in aid,” according to the report. For the statement.

In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross recently warned that Yemen is suffering from one of the highest rates of contamination with mines and other explosive remnants of war in the world, nine years after the start of the conflict in the country.

The committee's Middle East operations director, Fabrizio Carbone, said in an interview with Agence France-Presse that the poorest countries in the Arabian Peninsula have become among the three countries most affected by explosives.

He warned that the spread of explosives "is so large that it would not be possible to remove" all mines and remnants of war if the conflict ended today.

The Trades Union Confederation (TUC) in England and Wales, which has 5.5 million members from 48 unions, has issued a resolution affirming its commitment to supporting the Palestinian struggle for freedom, including supporting the right to boycott.

The resolution stressed the necessity of rejecting any attempt to delegitimize the Palestinian call to boycott Israel, withdraw investments from it, and impose sanctions on it (BDS), and deprive the Palestinians of the right to appeal to people of conscience around the world for support.

According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, the US “monopolization” of brokerage functions should give way to collective impartial mediation

Moscow is called upon to unite the efforts of all participants in the process of peaceful resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. This is stated in the commentary of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova in connection with the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Measures between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

“We stand for intensifying collective steps aimed at creating the necessary preconditions for resuming the peace process. We note the key role of regional players - Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Algeria, Turkey, the League of Arab States (LAS), - said Zakharova. - "The time has come to join forces. The Russian initiative, which was the focus of the meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on July 18 in Moscow with the heads of diplomatic missions of Arab countries, Turkey and the Arab League, was aimed at developing consolidated approaches to the Middle East settlement - TASS note."

As the diplomat indicated, Russia intends to closely engage in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement and other conflict situations in the region, maintaining close contact with its Middle Eastern partners, including Palestine and Israel, and relying on such an important and proven asset as trust in the Middle East to Russian foreign policy.

In addition, she noted that it is extremely important to learn lessons from the Oslo Accords (Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements). “Such an analysis is necessary to build a solid architecture for the second-tier settlement and resume peace negotiations on the entire range of final status issues,” added the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.