PALESTINE

Tue 25 Jul 2023 7:31 am - Jerusalem Time

The occupation launches a campaign of arrests and raids in the West Bank

The Israeli occupation forces launched, at dawn and Tuesday morning, a campaign of arrests and raids in several separate areas of the West Bank.


According to local sources, those forces arrested Nasser Abu Mazen and editor Salloum Ghanem from the town of Beita, south of Nablus, after raiding and searching their homes.


According to the same sources, these forces searched a number of shops, warehouses and houses in the town and confiscated many camera recordings.


In Jenin, a young man, Abd al-Hadi Hababiyeh, from the town of Sanour, was arrested after his house was stormed and searched thoroughly.


The occupation forces also stormed the Jalazoun refugee camp in Ramallah, and searched many homes.


And stormed the Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, and raided many homes.

PALESTINE

Tue 25 Jul 2023 7:15 am - Jerusalem Time

Israeli army kills three Palestinians in Nablus

Israeli occupation forces killed three Palestinian men in the city of Nablus on Tuesday.


An Israeli military spokesman said that they "neutralized" the Palestinians after they had opened fire at them. According to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan, the men fired at the soldiers from a vehicle, instigating a gun battle. The army reportedly found weapons in the car.


Eyewitnesses said troops were heavily deployed in the area, and that an Israeli ambulances arrived and transported those inside the vehicle to an unknown destination.


PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 9:36 pm - Jerusalem Time

Shooting at a settler bus south of Nablus

On Monday evening, resistance fighters opened fire at a bus of settlers, south of Nablus.


According to the correspondent of the Hebrew channel Reshet Kan, 8 bullets hit the bus, without any injuries.


The Israeli army began a combing operation in the area.


The operation took place between the Za'tara and Hawara checkpoints, south of Nablus.


The occupation forces deployed in the area, obstructing the movement of vehicles, and began searching them in search of the perpetrators of the operation.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 7:00 pm - Jerusalem Time

A timeline of the ongoing crisis in "Israel" for 7 months

Israel's controversial package of judicial reforms, of which a key provision was passed Monday, has sparked one of the largest protest movements in the Jewish state.


Agence France-Presse reviews the debate that has been going on for seven months between the far-right government led by Benjamin Netanyahu and the demonstrators, who warned against the plan on the grounds that it undermines democracy.


At the beginning of January, Israeli Minister of Justice Yariv Levin revealed the proposed reforms aimed at reducing the powers of the Supreme Court, as the government believes that it is left-leaning and politically biased.


The proposed amendments give the Israeli parliament the power to overturn some decisions of the Supreme Courts, thus giving the executive authority a greater role in appointing judges.


Centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid, a former prime minister, warned that the reform package "endangers the entire legal system in Israel."


The protest movement against the reform plan began with its opponents taking to the streets on January 7 in a mass demonstration, which soon turned into a weekly movement.


On January 22, according to media estimates, some 100,000 people turned out against what some opponents described as Netanyahu's attempt to bring about a "judicial coup."


The protest movement spread to both Jerusalem and Haifa.


Insiders in the technology sector, one of Israel's main sectors, have warned that the legislation will alienate investors, especially as it undermines the rule of law.


Israeli President Isaac Herzog tried to mediate between the government and the opposition.


On the first of March, the police intervened in dispersing the protests, using sound bombs, water cannons, and cavalry teams, and prevented the demonstrators from blocking the roads.


Netanyahu accused the demonstrators of crossing a "red line".


US President Joe Biden, whose country is the most prominent ally of the Hebrew state, called on Netanyahu to reach a compromise.


On March 14, the Knesset approved, in its first reading, a clause in the reform package that limits the ability of the Supreme Court to annul laws it deems unconstitutional.

In the same month, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant considered that the clause represents a "clear, imminent and tangible threat to Israel's security" with the expansion of protests that reached the security forces.


Gallant's position conflicted with that of Netanyahu, who punished him by dismissing him from office.


And with the threat of a general strike on March 27, Netanyahu decided to suspend the legislation and give an opportunity for negotiations between the parties.


This step did not prevent the continuation of the protests, as opponents of the reform plan want to cancel it completely.

On June 14, the two main opposition leaders in Israel, Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz, withdrew from talks with the government.
Two weeks later, Netanyahu announced the scrapping of the controversial "disembarkation" clause that would have allowed parliament to overturn Supreme Court rulings by a simple majority.


This item is seen as the most controversial of the reforms.

On the tenth of July, the Israeli parliament approved, in its first reading, the "reasonableness" clause, which eliminates the possibility of the judiciary examining the "reasonableness" of government decisions.


Later, more than 1,100 Air Force reservists, including pilots, threatened to stop voluntary service if Parliament approved the item permanently.


On the 23rd of the same month, Biden again urged the Jewish state not to rush to approve the plan, which he described as "divisive."


After returning from a visit to Washington, President Herzog tried to talk with Netanyahu, who was hospitalized to have a pacemaker fitted, to reach a compromise.


On July 24, with renewed protests, the Israeli parliament approved the main item in the reform plan, which will become law.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 6:07 pm - Jerusalem Time

The State of Palestine submits its case to the International Court of Justice

Today, Monday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Malki, delivered the written pleading of the State of Palestine to the International Court of Justice, at its headquarters in The Hague, so that the court can issue its opinion and legal opinion on the nature of the Israeli colonial occupation in the occupied Palestinian territory and the legal consequences arising from that, and the duties of states and the United Nations.


This came during a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Maliki, and his accompanying delegation, with the Registry, Philippe Gauthier.


Al-Maliki said that this is a historic day for the Palestinian people, and its impact will contribute to the consolidation of international justice, stressing the importance of this event for the Palestinian people and their struggle and quest for justice and freedom.


He stressed that the State of Palestine will carry out all its duties to ensure the progress of work to complete the work and procedures until the court issues its legal advisory opinion, pointing to the high confidence in the efficiency and independence of the International Court of Justice.


Al-Maliki stressed that the State of Palestine submitted the written pleading in implementation of the resolution of the General Assembly, the decisions of the International Court of Justice, and as part of the diplomatic and legal movement led by the State of Palestine to preserve the rights of our people and protect them from crimes committed by Israel, the illegal occupying power, leading to the accountability and accountability of Israeli war criminals, and the lifting of immunity from them.


He said, "Today, by taking this step, we will have accumulated efforts towards accountability, which have been around for a long time."

He stressed the importance and role of the International Court of Justice in considering the legitimacy of the existence and continuation of the Israeli colonial occupation, and the importance of the multilateral international system and its legal institutions, led by the Court, as the highest international judicial body, and the binding of what is issued by it.


He stressed that the pleading presented irrefutable evidence and facts of Israel's illegal policies and practices, and painted a clear picture of the crimes and suffering suffered by the Palestinian people over the decades and since the Nakba. The situation creates legal consequences and obligations for Israel first, and for the countries and organizations of the international community to combat these illegal actions.


Minister Al-Maliki appreciated the principled role of brotherly and friendly countries that have submitted and will present their written pleadings, and thanked them for their positive involvement in working with the International Court of Justice to issue its legal opinion.


He called on the parties that decided to be on the sidelines of history, by presenting pleadings hostile to international law and the rights of the Palestinian people seeking justice, to review their positions and not encourage Israel to persist in its crimes, and that their positions will offend them and will not stop the wheel of justice.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 5:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

A young man was killed in a new crime in Western Galilee

A Palestinian youth was killed, on Monday evening, as a result of being shot by unknown assailants in Western Galilee.


According to the Hebrew website Ynet, the dead man was Tamer Ibriq, 34, from the town of Abu Sinan in the western Galilee, noting that the Israeli police opened an investigation into the incident.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 3:58 pm - Jerusalem Time

The Israeli Knesset passes the judicial amendments after failing to reach a compromise

On Monday afternoon, the Israeli Knesset approved the draft amendments to the controversial so-called "reasonableness" law, which relates to judicial amendments.


According to the Israeli Knesset Channel, 64 members of the government coalition voted in favor of the project, while no one opposed or abstained after the opposition members withdrew from the hall.


And all attempts by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, since yesterday evening, to try to bridge views and delay the vote or reach a compromise that allows for negotiations later, have failed.


It was observed on live air that the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, was speaking with the leaders of the coalition and the opposition and trying to reach a compromise before the start of voting on the amendments to the law in the second and third readings.


The amendments to the law will allow any government to ignore any decisions of the Israeli judiciary, whose decisions will not obligate the government to cancel any decision taken by it.


The vote on the law took place amid widespread protests in the Israeli street in recent days, since the hours of this morning.


It is expected that the protests will escalate in the coming hours and days in light of this development, which seems to pose a political, security and economic threat to Israel, in light of the threats from the opposition and protesters, as well as economic companies and investors, and the major division that the Israeli army is witnessing for the first time in "Israel's history".

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 3:41 pm - Jerusalem Time

Two prisoners continue their hunger strike

Today, Monday, the Prisoners Authority reported that the two prisoners, Omar Kamil Al-Sanajel and Ismail Halabiya, are continuing their open hunger strike, in rejection of their administrative detention.


Prisoner Omar Kamil Al-Sanajel continues his strike for the 12th day in a row, noting that he is the father of the hero martyr Mahmoud Omar Al-Sanajel, and he was isolated by the Negev prison administration in solitary cells.


While the prisoner, Ismail Halabiya, from the town of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, continues his strike for the sixth consecutive day against his administrative detention, which was renewed for the fourth time in a row.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 1:24 pm - Jerusalem Time

The deterioration of the health conditions of three prisoners in Al-Naqab prison

Today, Monday, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Prisoners revealed, after the visit of its lawyer Fadi Obeidat, a group of sick cases of a number of Palestinian prisoners languishing in the Negev prison, including:


The case of the prisoner Munther Ikbariya (61 years) from the town of Shweika/Tulkarem, who is still suffering from a difficult health condition, as he suffers from many health and disease problems, part of which he received treatment for and the other part did not receive treatment, as he underwent laboratory tests and analyzes of the prostate and it was found that there is a defect in the functioning of the prostate, and he was informed that he will be referred to a specialist, but the prison administration deliberately neglects him medically, and the prisoner also complains There is a fatty cyst inside his left eye and he is in dire need of medical examinations. However, the prison administration still practices a policy of keeping the situation as it is, which increases the suffering of prisoners, especially those with high sentences, and indifference to their health.


As for the prisoner, Acid Jaghoub (22 years), from the town of Beta / Nablus, he suffers from diabetes. He undergoes tests and is given insulin. He began to suffer from poor eyesight as a result of high blood sugar. He needs an eye test. He also complains of severe pain in his teeth as a result of diabetes.


As for the prisoner Khaled Nawabit (46 years) from the town of Burqa / Nablus, who is currently in the Negev prison, he suffers from heart health problems, and he was scheduled to undergo an open heart operation in Ramallah Hospital on 11/27/2022 to replace the mitral valve, but he was arrested five days before the date of the operation. General wasting of the body, constant exhaustion and inability to move.


The Commission held the Israeli prison administration fully responsible for the continuation of the series of medical negligence against Palestinian detainees, and called on international institutions, human rights institutions and the Red Cross to play their necessary role towards the issue of detainees to the fullest.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 11:53 am - Jerusalem Time

Shtayyeh: What Nur Shams camp was subjected to is the best proof of the Israeli killing mentality

Today, Monday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said, "What the Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem was subjected to by the Israeli occupation forces this morning is the best proof of the Israeli mentality of destruction and killing."


In his speech at the beginning of the government session, today, Monday, in Ramallah, Shtayyeh added, "The Israeli war machine does not stop taking more lives of our defenseless children, with crimes that claimed the lives of children and young men in their prime, as happened in the field executions of the young Fawzi Violating in the town of Sebastia, and the child Muhammad al-Bayed from the Jalazoun camp, and injuring a number of others."


He continued, "All of these crimes take place in parallel with crimes committed by settler gangs throughout the Palestinian territories, and the repeated invasions of Al-Aqsa Mosque. They are crimes stemming from the doctrine of erasure, burning, and genocide espoused by the ruling coalition in Israel."


He pointed out that the ministerial committee that followed up the attacks will follow up on the issue of Nour Shams camp as well.


On another issue, Shtayyeh said, "Israeli society is paying the price today for its silence over the crimes committed by its extremist government against our people. The criminal ideas and practices practiced by the occupiers quickly backfire today on their society, which must realize the danger of the ideology embraced by these extremists and work to combat it, and that the Israeli society must put pressure to end the occupation of our land and stop committing its crimes against our people."


In another context, Shtayyeh appreciated the decision of the Portuguese parliament to recognize the plight of the Palestinian people, 75 years after the forced displacement of our people from their lands and homes in 1948, and the massacres committed by the Israeli gangs against the residents of the displaced villages and towns, which claimed the lives of thousands of victims, including women, the elderly, youth and children.


He stressed that this decision reflects Portugal's solidarity with the plight of the Palestinian people, and constitutes a first step towards the Portuguese government's recognition of the State of Palestine, and thanked the members of Parliament and the friendly Portuguese people for this moral and legal position that is consistent with the decisions of international legitimacy and international law.


The cabinet discusses weekly reports, infrastructure projects, protection of archaeological areas, loans from India and Italy, a set of laws and regulations, and issues related to the Capital Market Authority and the University of Nablus.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 11:15 am - Jerusalem Time

The factions in Gaza: Resistance is the only way to defeat the occupation

Today, Monday, Palestinian factions affirmed that resistance is the only way to confront and defeat the Israeli occupation, praising the resistance fighters’ response to the occupation’s incursions into Nour Shams camp in Tulkarem and Askar camp in Nablus in the West Bank.


Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said, "The rising presence of the resistance reaffirms the resistance's ability to continue despite all the occupation's aggression and crimes."


Qassem added, "The escalating Zionist aggression in Jerusalem and the West Bank increases everyone's responsibility to formulate a unified national strategy to confront the fascist settler government," noting that it is one of the outputs of the general secretaries of the Palestinian factions in Cairo.


In turn, the spokesman for the "Islamic Jihad" movement, Tariq Selmi, said, "The ember of resistance will remain burning and will not be extinguished by all attempts and plans of persecution, repression and intimidation."


Selmi stressed that the unity of the resistance ranks is the beacon and inspiring model for all our people, who see the resistance as hope, victory, and a light that dispels darkness and a way to defend Jerusalem and liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque.


For its part, the Popular Front considered that the occupation forces’ incursions into the West Bank, the tampering and sabotage of the infrastructure, the destruction and burning of property, the theft of some personal belongings, and the arrest of a number of young men, are part of the systematic Israeli campaign targeting the citadels of resistance, especially in the steadfast camps, in a failed attempt to bring them to their knees and kill the resistance will within them.


The Front demanded the masses of our people and all resistance formations to continue to confront this frenzied attack, which will increase in its ferocity in the coming days, and which is closely linked to the plans and objectives of the occupation aimed at imposing unilateral steps and facts on the ground.



PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 10:34 am - Jerusalem Time

The occupation arrests 4 brothers fishermen off the coast of Gaza

On Monday morning, the Israeli Navy arrested 4 brothers, fishermen, after attacking their boat off the coast of Al-Sudaniya, northwest of the Gaza Strip.


According to local sources, Israeli gunboats surrounded the boat carrying the four brothers of the Bakr family, amidst gunfire, and arrested them and took them to an unknown destination.


The Israeli navy constantly targets fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 10:21 am - Jerusalem Time

Prisoners of "Jihad" sit in the courtyards of the "Negev" prison

Today, Monday, the Captive Club reported that the prisoners of the "Islamic Jihad" movement are holding a sit-in in the courtyards of the "Negev Prison", to protest against the overcrowding they face inside the rooms, with the prison administration continuing to transfer more new detainees and detainees to the prison.


The club stated, in a statement, that the suffering of prisoners in (Negev) prison has recently worsened, which is considered one of the largest central prisons in which prisoners are held, and their number is about (1,400) prisoners.


He added that the issue of overcrowding affected the prisoners on several levels and aspects related to the daily detention life of the prisoners.


Note that there is a decision by the Supreme Court of the occupation to specify the space for each prisoner inside the room, yet the prison administration neglects to implement or abide by the decision.

ARAB AND WORLD

Mon 24 Jul 2023 10:18 am - Jerusalem Time

Biden urges Israel not to rush judicial reforms

US President Joe Biden urged Israel not to rush into increasingly "divisive" judicial reforms, given the other challenges facing the US ally.


In a statement initially published by the Axios news website and sent to AFP by the White House, Biden said it was "illogical for Israeli leaders to rush this matter," adding, "The focus should be on bringing people together and finding consensus."


"From the point of view of Israel's friends in the United States, the current judicial reform proposal seems to have become more divisive, not less," Biden continued.


On Sunday evening, Israeli President Isaac Herzog entered into negotiations for the last quarter of an hour in order to reach a settlement between the opposition and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, on the eve of Parliament's vote on a key clause in the judicial reform bill, which sparked unprecedented protests.


The Netanyahu government, which includes far-right and ultra-religious parties, plans to limit the powers of the Supreme Court, under the pretext that the changes are necessary to ensure a better balance of powers.


The controversial judicial reform proposed by Netanyahu's far-right government last January caused sharp divisions in Israel and one of the largest protest movements in the country's history.


Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the streets of Jerusalem against Netanyahu's proposal to limit the powers of judges in a project that his opponents say would undermine democracy, while lawmakers began discussing a key item in it.


Opponents accuse the prime minister, who is being prosecuted on charges of corruption, which he denies, of seeking to pass reforms with the aim of overturning possible sentences against him.

OPINIONS

Mon 24 Jul 2023 10:17 am - Jerusalem Time

Democratic partnership is the gateway to national unity

Mustafa Barghouti

Mustafa Barghouti

Opinion Writer

It is no exaggeration to say that the Palestinian people are facing the most serious challenge in their history since the occurrence of the Nakba in 1948. The rulers of Israel, through their behavior and statements, leave no room for doubt about their intentions, to liquidate the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people, to annex and Judaize what remains of Palestine, and to try to subject the Palestinians, as Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, to one of three options: “either departure, or complete submission to Israeli fascism, or death.” The Israeli fascist ministers also crossed the lines of calling for colonial expansion. Comprehensive settlement, annexation and Judaization to demand gradual ethnic cleansing, and the use of settler terrorism as a means to achieve this.


The government of Israel went beyond its imposition of restoring its military and security control over the so-called Areas (A) to imposing its civil control as well, and this is the significance of Smotrich's statements before the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee in the Israeli Knesset, that he wants to restrict Palestinian construction not only in Areas (C), but in the entire West Bank.


These statements confirm, what we have said repeatedly, the death of the Oslo Accords and Israel's intention to annex the entire West Bank.


It is important here to point out that the Israeli opposition, which opposes the judicial changes, supports the behavior and actions of the Israeli government in everything related to the Palestinians, settler colonialism, and the killing and abuse attacks against the residents of the West Bank, the latest of which was the brutal attack on the Jenin camp, as well as against the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian national movement will not be able to face this historic challenge and the fierce attacks of the Zionist movement, without unifying its ranks and energies. No force, regardless of its capabilities and sacrifices, can face this challenge alone.


Likewise, no force, whatever its history, has the right to claim the exclusive right to lead the Palestinian people and their just struggle.


It is no secret to anyone that the Palestinian internal division is the greatest factor of Palestinian weakness exploited by Israel and all the enemies of the Palestinian people, and the most reason behind which all those who fail to support the rights of the Palestinian people, and those who normalize with the fascist occupation government, hide behind it.


There are internal Palestinian differences in visions and convictions, and in interests as well. There are cases that adhere to visions that events and life have proven to be a complete failure, out of concern for individual interests, and sometimes factionalism.


But what is definitely proven, after all that happened, and what we have seen of successive brutal invasions of West Bank cities, repeated wars on the Gaza Strip, and dangerous expansion of settlement terrorism, is that the Zionist movement targets everyone without exception, including the interests of those who still cling to the illusion of the possibility of reaching a compromise with the Zionist movement.


In light of the existing political pluralism in the Palestinian arena, and pluralism is a healthy phenomenon, diversity and difference can be a source of weakness through division, or a source of strength through unity.
In order to get out of the circle of division, and by that I mean not only the division that took place in 2007, but the deeper division that crystallized after the signing of the Oslo Accords, there is no solution other than accepting the principle of democratic partnership, partnership in making political and militant decisions, and partnership in formulating a national strategy of struggle and joint resistance.


All of this is achievable if the collective national interest takes precedence over all factional, partisan, and individual interests, and if the sense of common danger is translated into action, a joint program of action and struggle, and a unified national leadership, to thwart the Zionist attack on the Palestinian people and their future.


There is great doubt among the masses of the Palestinian people about the meeting of the Palestinian forces scheduled to be held at the end of this month of July in Cairo. These masses cannot be blamed for their feelings of doubt and anxiety, after witnessing repeated meetings of the same forces, which end in failure, or in agreements that are not implemented so that everyone returns to the circle of division and exchange of accusations.


And if, God forbid, the next Cairo meeting ends in another failure, the anger of the Palestinian masses, after all that happened in Jenin and elsewhere, will be great and sweeping.


For all of this, and based on the interest of the Palestinian people in blocking the road to Israeli fascism, it is the duty of everyone to make every possible effort to make this last opportunity a success and an entry point for a new approach and path, and a unified national strategy of resistance, that adopts the principle of democratic partnership within a unified national framework, and a unified national leadership, and paves the way for giving the Palestinian people their usurped right in democratic elections for their leaders.


There are four indicators, prior to the Cairo meeting, that can suggest seriousness and keenness for the success of that meeting. The first of these is the immediate release of political detainees and an end to the phenomenon of political arrests.


The second is to stop the mutual media campaigns, which have crossed all limits.


The third is the willingness to give enough time to the national dialogue, so that it reaches tangible and specific results, which people see in implementation and not in statements and agreements that are not implemented.


The fourth is a clear declaration by all the participating forces to agree to the principle of democratic partnership and put it into practice, within the framework of a unified national leadership, whose work continues to take and implement collective decisions, and to lead the joint national struggle. This does not detract from the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization, but rather restores its dignity.


Once again, we repeat, no one will benefit us unless we benefit ourselves, and what scratch your skin is like your fingernail, and the lesson is in implementation and application, not in constructive words that are blown away by the wind.

OPINIONS

Mon 24 Jul 2023 10:17 am - Jerusalem Time

The upcoming meeting of the secretaries-general in Cairo and the need for a different approach

Ahmed Issa

Ahmed Issa

Opinion Writer

The upcoming meeting of the general secretaries of the Palestinian national and Islamic action factions, which is expected to take place in Cairo at the end of this month, differs from the previous meetings and attempts to end the division, achieve national unity, and agree on a comprehensive Palestinian national strategy. They and their policies with a balance of gold.


This makes the misreading of this context and the lack of agreement in this meeting on a comprehensive Palestinian national strategy, and the failure to achieve Palestinian unity, the achievement of which is at its highest level a condition for achieving the minimum level of Palestinian rights, an argument for the two communities and evidence of their lack of appreciation for the importance of the moment when the Palestinian strategic environment is witnessing locally, regionally and internationally, radical transformations that entail a number of opportunities for the Palestinians, perhaps equal in size to the threats they entail.


Where success was not the share of the approaches that were employed in the previous attempts and meetings, as two approaches were employed in these attempts: the first sought to agree on all the details before going to general elections, and the second was based on starting with the Palestinian general elections first, and then agreeing on the details under the dome of the elected parliament.


Despite the relevance of the two approaches, neither of them achieved the desired goal, and the disorientation remained the same. Therefore, this article proposes a different approach that begins with what is not disputed by the Palestinians, which is here the Palestinian national security, in terms of the concept, goals and objectives, and here some may argue that the disagreement over the means and methods of achieving national security, may backfire and deepen the Palestinians’ predicament and increase their division and disorientation that they are in.


In order to avoid the Palestinian people being held hostage to disagreement and disagreement over means and methods, and to keep them forever in the predicament and disorientation in which they are now living, and in order to cut off those who try to steal their dream, the need increases to develop a general framework for Palestinian national security, from which emerges what this article will call (the Palestinian national security equation).


In this regard, Hussein Agha and Ahmed Sameh Al-Khalidi argued in the introduction to their book (A General Framework for a Doctrine of Palestinian National Security), which was published by the Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy (Muwatin) in 2006, by saying, “The situation of the Palestinians is still critical. With Israel at times, and their commitment to the rules of negotiation with it at other times. Their strategic horizon is unclear, as it ranges from a comprehensive final settlement that includes the establishment of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state, and a costly and protracted struggle that does not bear the promise of progress towards the goals of independence and liberation. Between these two extremes there are many possible endings, each of which carries its own results and consequences.


In such a vague horizon, Agha and Khalidi add, "the importance of crystallizing a general structure for Palestinian national security emerges as an important tool for framing and arranging Palestinian strategic and political priorities. Such a framework, whether adopted publicly or tacitly agreed upon, would be a means to express the Palestinians' security needs, a way to ward off their fears, and a mechanism to help them achieve their goals."


In fact, there were several calls by other Palestinians to develop a framework such as that called for by researchers Hussein and Ahmed, and there were also modest attempts in this regard by those appointed as Palestinian national security advisers, as well as by some non-governmental organizations (NGO), and by law specialists, especially in the recent attempt to develop an informal draft of the constitution for the State of Palestine, which I believe is the best of all attempts despite its importance, but none of these attempts resulted in developing an equation for Palestinian national security, neither publicly nor implicitly. Which is worth looking into and addressing the causes.


And if the situation of the Palestinians today is compared to what it was in the year 2006, it can easily be asserted that it is more critical politically, economically, security and socially, which makes the development of the “Palestinian national security equation” a higher national priority, especially since it has become clear to the youngest Palestinians that the settlement and negotiations did not lead to an independent state as desired by the Palestinians, despite their achievements of strategic weight in this field, such as the transformation of the organization’s status into a non-full member state in the United Nations according to the resolution No. (19/67) issued by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2012, which allowed Palestine to join the institutions of the United Nations, especially the International Criminal Court, despite the international organization’s recognition of the Palestinian plight and its commemoration of the anniversary of the Nakba in accordance with Resolution issued by the United Nations General Assembly No. (A/RES/77/23) in the year 2022,


It also became clear to them that the armed resistance did not liberate an inch of the land and did not lift the siege on Gaza, according to what Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri said in a rare audio recording made in 2020, where Al-Arouri added in this recording that the settlement project did not advance, just as the resistance project did not progress either, and the only project that advances is the occupation project!!!


It is true that the situation of the Palestinians is still critical, as they are still under occupation, siege, oppression, killing and displacement, as happened recently in the camp and governorate of Jenin and before that Nablus, Tulkarem, Jericho, Bethlehem and Azza, and they are still in exile and diaspora, and their independent state is still not behind the doors, but on the other hand, with their steadfastness and steadfastness on their land and their insistence on achieving their national goals and aspirations, they have brought the Western Zionist colonial project to the brink of failure and the end, as the lack of Insight is the only one who does not see this truth, and in order for the Palestinians, especially the future generations, to be able to declare victory over this project, they must control their methods and means with a balance of gold, which is provided only by the Palestinian national security equation, on one side of which stands the national capabilities of the people, and on the other side stands the national aims, purposes and objectives, and the means and methods mediate them.

OPINIONS

Mon 24 Jul 2023 10:11 am - Jerusalem Time

Increasing Jewish attacks on places of worship for Muslims and Christians!

Jerusalem Hadith

Jerusalem Hadith

Opinion Writer

Day after day, the attacks of Jews and herds of settlers on places of worship of Muslims and Christians are increasing, whether in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, or the Palestinian interior, especially in mixed cities and elsewhere, within the framework of the desperate Jewish attempts to force Palestinian citizens, Muslims and Christians, to leave their land and their country, in order to resolve the conflict that has been going on for more than a century in favor of the occupying state and the notable settler state, but rather existing in the West Bank, where the massive settlement attack and the attacks of herds of settlers against our people and the arming of these people You will settle those who wreaked and continue to wreak havoc with the occupation army in the Palestinian land.


Yesterday, the attack took place again for the second time in less than a week, against the Church and Monastery of Mar Elias in Haifa, under various allegations and allegations, but in reality they are attempts by state-supported Jews targeting the Palestinian Arab presence in the country, as a prelude to a wide ethnic cleansing that the occupying state is preparing for, pending favorable conditions.


The state's security services could have prevented this attack, especially since it is the second within a week, which proves that these agencies are complicit with extremist Jews. The same applies to the authority in Israel, especially the political one, which does not move a finger about these attacks, which also affected churches and monasteries in East Jerusalem, including the Church of the Virgin Mary, which was defended by Palestinian guards and youths as evidence of true brotherhood between Muslims and Christians in this country, whether before or after the occupation.


Also, these attacks affected the request of a Christian cleric to hide his cross, which is a Christian rite, while accompanying a German minister when she visited a few days ago the Al-Buraq Wall, which was seized by the occupying Power after its occupation of Jerusalem in 1967 AD, which it calls according to its claims the Western Wall, although this wall is Islamic and belongs to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque with international recognition and investigation committees were held during the Al-Buraq Revolution in 1922 AD, that is, before the establishment of the Israeli entity in addition to the Attacks on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and other churches and monasteries.


As for the attacks on the sanctities and the Muslim clerics, it is an event without embarrassment. Every day, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is stormed and Talmudic prayers are held inside it, and it has been divided temporally.


This is in addition to the measures taken by the occupation authorities against clerics by deporting them from the mosque and from Jerusalem, as well as what happened and is happening to the stationed men and women stationed in the mosque in terms of arrests and deportations from the mosque and outside Jerusalem.


This is in addition to the attacks on mosques at home and throughout the West Bank, and some of them inside are turned into gambling shops and other immoral practices inside.


Faced with this reality, what is required of the Palestinians first is to confront these attacks with unified unity, especially since the international community, including the Christian West, does not move a finger, as if the matter does not concern it.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 9:46 am - Jerusalem Time

Two injuries during the occupation forces stormed the Askar camp

Today, Monday, two citizens were injured during the Israeli occupation forces’ raid into the Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus.


The Red Crescent in Nablus told Al-Quds.com: The outcome of the occupation forces' raid into the camp was two injuries, one of which was a volunteer field paramedic.



PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 9:00 am - Jerusalem Time

Claims for international companies to end their contracts with the occupation

Activists and human rights activists in the American arena called on employees working for Google and Amazon to join their colleagues who refuse to work in these two companies, in light of their continued provision of services to the occupation army and the Israeli apartheid regime.


Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud signed a $1.22 billion contract to provide cloud technology to the Israeli government and military.


Activists believe that by dealing with the Israeli apartheid regime, Google and Amazon will make it easier for the Israeli government to monitor Palestinians and force them to leave their lands.


Activists are preparing to gather a larger crowd of workers in the two companies, as well as advocates for Palestinian rights, to stage a sit-in in front of the annual Amazon Web Services Summit in New York City on the 26th of this month, titled: "#NoTechForApartheid", to deliver a message to the management of the two companies by refusing to allow business as usual as long as Amazon continues to profit from the violence and oppression that Palestinians face daily.

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PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 8:57 am - Jerusalem Time

Netanyahu leaves the hospital to participate in the Knesset session

On Monday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Sheba Hospital, after he underwent surgery to place a pacemaker.


According to the Hebrew website Ynet, the medical team recommended that Netanyahu rest at home for at least 48 hours, and for two weeks in general, and reduce his movements.


Netanyahu stayed in the hospital for two days, amid doubts about his health and the transparency of the information he was providing himself through short videos that were recorded and posted on his social media accounts.


And the Hebrew Channel 13 said, last night, that Netanyahu was subjected to an irregular heartbeat for 12 seconds, which prompted his urgent transfer, Saturday night - Sunday, to the hospital, and it was decided to perform the surgery on him.


Today, Netanyahu will participate in the Knesset session to vote on the controversial "reasonableness" law.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 8:51 am - Jerusalem Time

The occupation launched a campaign of arrests in the West Bank

On Monday morning and dawn, the Israeli occupation forces launched a campaign of arrests among citizens in separate areas of the West Bank.


According to local sources, these forces arrested Alaa al-Hajj Muhammad and his son Muhammad from al-Mughayyir village in Ramallah.


In Nablus, the student at Birzeit University, Rayan Khreyoush, and the two young men, Ayoub Hamayel and Diaa Dweikat, were arrested, all from the town of Beita, south of Nablus.


Meanwhile, the editor, Nour Khuwaira, from Nablus, was arrested.


In Jenin, the young man, Adham Turkman, was arrested after storming his family's home.


In Hebron, a student at the Polytechnic University, Issa Asafra, from the town of Beit Kahil, and a young man, Ibrahim Maher Khamis, from Bethlehem, were arrested.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 8:38 am - Jerusalem Time

A decisive day in "Israel"!

The next few hours will be decisive in the fate of the state of division within "Israel", in the event that the Knesset plenary votes on amendments to the controversial "reasonableness" law that relates to the work of judicial bodies.


The Knesset session will be held amidst noisy demonstrations called by the opposition and protesters from political, security, economic, health and other sides, to demonstrate against these legislations led by the far-right government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.


This morning, hundreds of demonstrators arrived near the Knesset and blocked the main street in an attempt to impede the access of Knesset members to the headquarters in order to participate in the session that will be held to vote on the law.


Dozens of demonstrators set up tents in front of the Knesset building, amid a great alert for the Israeli police, who use water to disperse the demonstrators and try to open the road.


According to the Hebrew website Ynet, several protesters were arrested.


And major commercial companies announced the closure of their doors and stores in various Israeli regions, as part of a call from the business forum to completely disrupt the economy.


Yesterday evening and until the early hours of dawn, Israeli President Isaac Herzog tried to bridge the gap between the government coalition and the opposition, in an attempt to prevent the situation from worsening.


Herzog put forward a plan to try to freeze these legislations and enter into serious negotiations, and it seems that the dispute revolves around the period of time in which the legislation should be frozen.


Opposition leaders will meet today before the Knesset session to coordinate their positions.

PALESTINE

Mon 24 Jul 2023 7:52 am - Jerusalem Time

The occupation launches a massive military operation in Nour Shams camp in Tulkarm

The Israeli occupation forces launched, at dawn and Monday morning, a massive military campaign in Nour Shams camp, Tulkarm district.


Those forces raided many citizens' homes and wreaked great damage.


The occupation forces deliberately sabotaged and bulldozed the infrastructure in some streets in the camp, in the same way they carried out their operation in Jenin camp weeks ago. They also demolished the walls of houses, and deliberately sabotaged citizens' vehicles, breaking some of them.


During the hours-long raid, the resistance confronted the occupation forces, clashed with them and detonated explosive devices with their vehicles, amidst violent explosions.


It was reported that two young men were wounded, and described as stable, while at least two young men were arrested from inside their homes, including Moamen Qaraawi, the son of Hamas leader Fathi Qaraawi.

PALESTINE

Sun 23 Jul 2023 10:27 pm - Jerusalem Time

Hebrew channel: Netanyahu is lying about his health

Hebrew Channel 13 said, on Sunday evening, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not reveal that he was in danger before being transferred to the hospital on Saturday night - Sunday.


According to the Hebrew channel, Netanyahu was exposed to irregular heartbeats for 12 seconds, and the device that was installed under his skin did not give him any signal, but he activated it himself after he felt a danger to his life.


According to the channel, the medical team monitoring his condition immediately decided to transfer him to the hospital due to the seriousness of his condition. Upon his arrival at the hospital, it was decided to perform surgery on him by installing a pacemaker.

PALESTINE

Sun 23 Jul 2023 8:59 pm - Jerusalem Time

The occupation arrests a girl south of Hebron

On Sunday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a girl from the village of Deir Razeh in Dura, south of Hebron.


According to local sources, these forces arrested the girl, Suzan Samir Amr, while she was near the al-Majnouna camp, which is located on the town's lands.

PALESTINE

Sun 23 Jul 2023 8:05 pm - Jerusalem Time

Haniyeh: We look forward to the success of the Cairo meeting at the political and field levels

The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said, "Hamas has taken the measures through which it aspires to make the Cairo meeting a success, and to raise its results to the level of the current political and field moment, including the bilateral meetings that take place with the factions and the intensification of contacts with the Egyptian brothers."


Haniyeh praised the statement issued by the national meeting that was held in Gaza and Ramallah today, Sunday, in which representatives of our people in the diaspora and the occupied interior participated, which carried contents that constitute an important platform for the meeting of the general secretaries in Cairo.


He said: "This national meeting has expressed the collective will of the broad spectrum of our people at home and abroad calling for the need to build a comprehensive national plan to confront the fascist government of the occupying entity."


He added, "The national situation, which was reflected in this meeting, believes that Cairo's next station, which comes in light of existential challenges, must put us before a new stage by building a national strategy that is based on comprehensive resistance and changing the rules of political behavior with the enemy."


Haniyeh stressed that this requires serious preparation for the success of the leadership meeting and immunizing it from failure, pointing to the release of political prisoners.

PALESTINE

Sun 23 Jul 2023 7:42 pm - Jerusalem Time

Two bullet wounds during clashes west of Jenin

Two young men were wounded by metal bullets, on Sunday evening, during clashes with the Israeli occupation forces in Rummana village, west of Jenin.


According to local sources, the clashes erupted after those forces stormed the village, firing stun grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets at the citizens and their homes, wounding two young men with metal bullets.

ARAB AND WORLD

Sun 23 Jul 2023 5:17 pm - Jerusalem Time

Former US ambassadors to Israel are calling for cutting off aid

Two former US ambassadors to Israel called on US President Joe Biden's administration to cut off military aid to Israel, arguing that the relationship between the United States and Israel would be more appropriate without feeling financial dependency.


Famed columnist Nick Kristof of The New York Times, one of the most influential columnists in liberal circles, said on Saturday that former US ambassadors Dan Kurtzer and Martin Indyk told him it was time for a new approach to the US-Israel relationship that did not focus on foreign aid.


According to Christophe, Kurtzer told him, "The Israeli economy is strong enough that it does not need assistance. Security assistance distorts the Israeli economy and creates a false sense of dependence."


"The aid provides the United States with no leverage or influence over Israeli decisions to use force, because we sit quietly while Israel pursues policies we oppose, we are seen as 'enabling' the Israeli occupation," Kurtzer told Kristoff.


"The United States provides billions of dollars in aid to Israel that allows it to avoid difficult choices about where to spend its own money, and thus allows Israel to spend more money on policies we oppose, such as settlements," Kurtzer continued.


As for Martin Indyk, who also served as the US special envoy for peace in the Middle East between August 2013 and April 2014, he said, "Israel can bear it, and it would be better for the relationship if Israel stood on its own two feet."


The statements, made by two of the most important supporters of Israel historically, come at a time when this issue has been confined to a handful of progressive House representatives, and at a time when the relationship between the United States and Israel may be facing unprecedented tension, given the Biden administration's deep dissatisfaction with the policies pursued by the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu related to judicial reform, settlement expansion and other issues related to Israel's approach to the Palestinians, which makes the two-state solution, in which the administration verbally clings, almost impossible.


Perhaps one of the indications of this tension is Biden's refusal to officially invite Netanyahu to the White House for an official visit, which led to conflicting readings between the two parties, which unleashed many interpretations.


Kristof's call also comes as Democrats have become increasingly divided over the state of US-Israel affairs, with progressive voices critical of Israel being officially portrayed as anti-Semitic by Republican rivals and the rest of the Democratic Party unsuccessfully seeking to avoid politicizing the issue.


While judicial reform has forced many Democrats to contemplate whether they can continue to unabashedly support Israel if it loses its status as a democracy, senior US officials used President Isaac Herzog's recent visit to insist that the relationship is solid and unbreakable.


“I don't think any change should happen suddenly or in a way that jeopardizes Israeli security,” Kristoff suggests. The reason for rethinking US assistance is not to seek leverage over Israel — although I do think we should get tougher on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who destroys any hope for a two-state solution and is, in the words of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, “determined to shatter Israel into a corrupt, racist dictatorship that will lead to the collapse of society.”


Instead, Kristof says, "The reason for having this dialogue is that US aid to another rich country squanders scarce resources and creates an unhealthy relationship that harms both sides.


"Today, Israel has legitimate security concerns but is not in danger of being invaded by the armies of its neighbours," he says, "and is richer per capita than Japan and some European countries. One sign of the changing times: Almost a quarter of Israel's arms exports last year went to Arab countries."


According to Christophe, the annual aid value of $3.8 billion to Israel is more than 10 times what the United States sends to the most populous country of Niger, which is one of the poorest countries in the world and is under attack by jihadists. In countries like Niger, that amount could save hundreds of thousands of lives annually, or here in the United States, it could help pay for much-needed early childhood programs.

PALESTINE

Sun 23 Jul 2023 2:05 pm - Jerusalem Time

President Abbas will visit Türkiye and meet Erdogan next Tuesday

Next Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.


The Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Turkey, Faed Mustafa, said that an official reception ceremony will be held for President Abbas at the Turkish presidential palace in the capital, Ankara.


He added that President Abbas will meet with President Erdogan and the Turkish leadership, within the framework of the regular political consultations that take place between the two presidents and the two friendly countries, in light of their historical ties and relations.


Ambassador Mustafa stressed that the visit is of great importance at this delicate stage in the march of our national cause, in light of the local, regional and international developments, the increasing frequency of Israeli aggressions against our people, and the Israeli government's disavowal of all agreements and the foundations on which the political settlement process was built.


He pointed out that these and other developments will be on the agenda of discussion between the two presidents and the leaders of the two countries, in addition to consultations on various regional and international developments and their repercussions on our national cause, and ways to strengthen bilateral relations.


The Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Turkey praised the Palestinian-Turkish relations, which are witnessing positive developments and great progress in all fields.

PALESTINE

Sun 23 Jul 2023 12:20 pm - Jerusalem Time

Al-Nakhala requires attending the Cairo meeting to release the detainees

On Sunday, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Ziyad al-Nakhala, stipulated that his movement attend the meeting of the general secretaries that will be held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, at the end of this month, on the release of detainees.


Al-Nakhala said in a brief press statement, "We will not go to the meeting of the general secretaries in Cairo before the release of our mujahideen brothers in the prisons of the Palestinian Authority." According to the text of his statement.


The Palestinian Authority denies that it has any political detainees, and says that those it arrests are based on criminal cases, especially after attacking a police station in the town of Jaba, south of Jenin.


Hamas had confirmed that it would participate in the upcoming meeting, as announced by Khalil al-Hayyah, a member of the movement's political bureau, during a national meeting in Gaza.