On Sunday, Palestinian factions, forces, and legal personalities in the Gaza Strip organized a national meeting about the meeting of the secretaries-general on the 30th of this month in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Politicians and many personalities delivered speeches that emphasized the importance of making the upcoming meeting a success.

Khalil al-Hayyah, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said that there is keenness and desire from all forces to make the meeting of the general secretaries a success, stressing that his movement is going to the meeting and will make every effort to make it a success as it is a great opportunity to advance the national situation and unity.

Al-Hayya called for a comprehensive national vision to confront the occupation and its fascist government, and for the sake of Palestinian reunification and the unity of his home, calling for the formation of a new national council through elections, even if it was not possible to agree on a transitional national council, and the formation of an inclusive national leadership, and the formation of a government emerging from it.

The Hamas leader said: We want the meeting to come out with clear results in confronting the occupation government.

He added: The constants of the Palestinian cause today are in great danger, but despite the fascism and danger of this government, it gives our people a new lever and a new opportunity to confront it.

He pointed out that the occupation entity is no longer an oasis of democracy and freedom, and the current government finds no one to support it from the world, indicating that the occupation entity is torn from within and is struggling, and has become isolated.

He continued: We have an opportunity to isolate the entity and put pressure on it. The opportunity is available to us today how to confront and resist the occupation. We have no choice but to go united. like he said.

The Hamas leader added: This entity, which is reeling from its differences and its might among the world, is not permissible in any way to receive its criminal leaders in our Arab and Islamic capitals.

For his part, Khaled al-Batsh, a leader in the Islamic Jihad, called for immediately starting measures to release political detainees, stop all forms of prosecution, stop security coordination in all its forms and manifestations, and disengage from the Oslo Accords and the Paris Economic Agreement.

In his speech, Al-Batsh stressed the need to stop the campaigns of incitement, media squabbles, and the exchange of accusations with the resistance, calling for the need to agree on a national plan and strategy that adopts the option of resistance and national struggle in all its forms to confront the crimes of the occupation.

He also called for the need to form a unified national leadership represented by the forces, factions, popular activities and independent personalities to assume the tasks of the challenges of the occupation and rebuild a political system on the basis of unity and partnership by proceeding immediately to re-form a national council with the participation of the national whole and the diaspora without ignoring our people at home, and the implementation of the Cairo and Beirut agreements. like he said.

Al-Batsh demanded the rebuilding of the PLO, the establishment of a unified national leadership, the formation of a national unity government without any obligations or conditions, and the start of resolving the issues of the Palestinian people, realizing their just demands, alleviating their suffering, and lifting all forms of sanctions on the Gaza Strip.

He added: Time is of blood and there is no room for tampering with the interests and destiny of our people.

The leader in Islamic Jihad said: It is required to strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinian citizen in all arenas of his presence. In order to continue confronting the Zionist project on the land of Palestine. according to his expression.

He added: A national response to Arab normalization with the occupation is required, so that the Arabs can return to their role in supporting the Palestinian cause.

Today, Sunday, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs called on humanitarian, human rights and women's institutions to intervene immediately to stop the daily violations and harassment of female prisoners in Damon Prison.

According to the commission’s lawyer, Hanan al-Khatib, the life reality of a number of female prisoners is getting worse and more complicated, specifically that the psychological situation of a number of them has become reflected in the details of daily life, and there are no interventions by the prison administration to deal privately with sick female prisoners or provide them with the necessary and appropriate treatment.

She added that in terms of demands, procrastination and indifference are present on the part of the prison administration, as there are a number of matters and necessities that requests have been submitted to them, but the administration ignores that.

It indicates that there are 28 female prisoners in Damon prison, in addition to two female prisoners in the so-called Ramla prison clinic, and two female prisoners in “Abu Kabir” Madani, thus bringing the total number of female prisoners to 32.

On Sunday, it was announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Cyprus and Turkey has been postponed.

According to the Hebrew website Ynet, the postponement of the visit came due to Netanyahu's health conditions.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu was scheduled to travel to Cyprus, to meet with senior officials there, and then go on Friday to Turkey, which he received an invitation to visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The last foreign tour of Netanyahu last March to Paris, and since then did not leave "Israel", which is witnessing widespread protests against the judicial reforms led by his government.

This postponement comes after repeated postponement of his visit, which was approved several times to the Emirates.

Last night, Netanyahu underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker.

And it was reported from Sheba Hospital - Beitel Hashomer, that Netanyahu is in good condition and that he will remain in the hospital for observation.

In a videotape, Netanyahu said that he is expected to leave the hospital during daylight hours today to arrive tomorrow, Monday, at the Knesset to vote on the bill to reduce the reasonableness argument.

The sessions and talks in which Netanyahu was scheduled to participate today have been postponed, including the government session and a discussion with Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi about the refusal of hundreds of officers and soldiers to serve.

After a period of the Hamas coup in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, and the cadres and leaders of the Fatah movement were assassinated and arrested, voices came out calling on Hamas to release the political detainees, i.e. the Fatahists. Hamas responded by a number of its leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar, that there are no political detainees and that all those arrested have criminal charges. I remembered this when I heard official sources in the West Bank these days saying that there are no political prisoners in the West Bank.

A political prisoner is a prisoner of conscience and has rights and privileges. Therefore, the ruling regimes in the countries of the Third World, and we are among them, and even in some countries that consider themselves among the civilized countries, refuse to apply this adjective to their opponents and assign them various titles, foremost of which is the accusation of terrorism! What I mean to say is that the denial of the status of a political prisoner is not limited to the Palestinian case, but rather extends to many countries, because the security services in all countries "refer to one sheikh."

Before I touch on the issue of political detention in the Palestinian arena, I would like to refer to the invitation made by President Mahmoud Abbas to the secretaries of the Palestinian factions to hold an urgent meeting, and that this call came in the aftermath of the Israeli attack on Jenin camp, killing twelve citizens, wounding dozens, destroying homes and sabotaging the camp’s infrastructure, including the electricity, water and roads network. Everyone gathered around it and everyone stands together in one trench, and that this is the goal of the Cairo meeting.

This is in theory and based on the logical conclusion that one should expect if one assumes that the call itself came in the context of logic and reality.

I do not want to discuss the effectiveness and extent of the field presence of some members of this framework, which is called the secretaries of the factions, nor do I want to discuss the validity or validity of this title, although some will, rightly, say that many of those who bear this title are today outside the temporal, spatial and struggle context with all due respect to their history, which we do not deny them, but we do not believe that it justifies their continued acquisition of the power to make fateful decisions related to the issue. And I go back and repeat what I said, which is that this talk is about some, not all.

The attack on the Jenin camp and what resulted from it is a war crime by all standards, and the response to it must be a massive and resounding response at the same level as the attack, in order to assure our people that we are not easy prey for the madmen of the occupation who like to dance over the remains of dead Palestinians or their bloodshed, like Smotrich and Ben Juffair. Is this response what the president wanted? Is the framework of the secretaries of the factions the real framework and address for such a response? I leave the answer here for the reader.

And if we assume for the sake of argument that the president really wanted everyone to assume their fateful national responsibilities, then this requires us to assume that everyone, government and opposition, each from his side, makes every effort to clear the air and create healthy conditions that provide an opportunity for the success of this meeting.

One can imagine the political and financial pressure exerted on the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and the blackmail it is subjected to under the so-called "support for terrorism". However, I believe that some of the actions taken by the PA in the West Bank were not necessary and did not contribute to creating the conditions for the success of the secretaries' meeting. I do not think that anyone can defend the arrest of members of the Student Council or a preacher in their seventies, or the refusal of some security services to implement court decisions to release detainees, or the continued detention of fighters who carried weapons at the height of the attack on Jenin camp, and there were promises to release them immediately after the president's visit to the camp ended.

From this rostrum, I call for not repeating the saying that there are no political detainees, and for the release of Sheikh Mustafa Abu Arra and all the activists who are under arrest in the prisons of the Authority, with their commitment to stop any actions that contradict the official policy of the Authority at this stage.

At the same time, I call on all factions that disagree with the authority's approach to freeze all activities that are not consistent with this approach to provide the necessary healthy atmosphere for the success of the secretaries' meeting on the 30th of this month.

Despite all of the above, I affirm that I belong to those who do not deceive themselves and do not expect that the Cairo meeting will come out with something new. Repeating the same work, using the same tools and methods, and expecting different results is stupid in and of itself. We have repeatedly watched this movie and watched the meetings, compliments, banquets and grandiose speeches, which ultimately resulted in nothing. The term political tourism has become a common currency, and the matter of these seasonal protocol meetings has become an opportunity for convalescence trips for some, and a festival that satisfies the desire of others to feel that it is still present.

I hope that the Cairo meeting will come out with new positive data that will disappoint all pessimists like myself and prove that this time we are different from what we have always been in the past, and that we have preferred the interest of the country and the people over narrow factional and individual interests.
[email protected]

If I could go back in time, I would have chosen for my undergraduate studies in federal Germany the science of ancient history and archaeology, rather than political science, modern history and international law. I am motivated by this hysteria, which is sweeping wide political circles in Israel, starting with the Religious Zionist Party headed by Bezalel Smotrich, passing through the Jewish Power Party headed by Itamar Ben Gvir, and ending with the Likud Party headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. This hysteria is not new today. It was latent in the so-called document of independence of this country, which came to this region on the wing of the Balfour Declaration, and not on the wing of a divine promise.
It is the hysteria of searching for history without historical support. This is the case of Benjamin Netanyahu, as is the case of Bezalel Smotrich and many others. It should be noted here that a fundamental disagreement is taking place in Israel on this level between two schools: the first reads the books of the Torah and conducts excavations on the basis of that in the length and breadth of this country in order to prove the validity of its myths, and the second conducts excavations, and then returns to the books of the Torah to refute these myths.
The kingdom of Benjamin Netanyahu goes far in history, to three thousand and five hundred years ago, as he claims, and so is the case with Bezalel Smotrich. As for the new state of Israel, it is the return of the soul to that kingdom. This was the case, in any case, in the declaration of the independence of this country in 1948, when Israel was resurrected again in that year. It is the kingdom of Saul, David and Solomon resurrected again. So what is the story of that kingdom?

In the beginning, the "Bani Israel", and specifically the priestly institution, were not enthusiastic about the idea of ​​ruling in a state or a kingdom. The Prophet Samuel, the greatest of their prophets, was very disappointed when those pastoral tribes of the "Bani Israel" put him before one of two options, either the kingdom, as is the case of the neighboring peoples, or bear the consequences of remaining in misery and submitting to the neighboring kingdoms, which in this case are the Canaanite kingdoms. Samuel had no choice but to submit to the desire of those tribes, to choose Saul and anoint him as king over the "children of Israel". It was coincidence that played a role in that, as Samuel was not previously acquainted with that shepherd, who went out looking for his father's donkeys, which got lost and lost their way. That shepherd was Saul himself, a tall boy, taller than his own skin by a head, and very handsome. Samuel admired him and anointed him without prior knowledge as king over Israel. This Saul did not build a kingdom, as he soon became involved in a conflict with the priestly institution, for nothing but that he himself offered the sacrifice before he went out to fight the Philistines, which aroused the ire and anger of Samuel. It is, in short, the well-known story of the struggle in history between the secular and theological. Samuel's anger turned into a search for an alternative king who was more willing to obey the priestly institution, so his choice fell on David, leaving Saul in a big dilemma, especially after he learned that Samuel had secretly anointed David as king over the "children of Israel." This Saul is the creation of the Prophet Samuel, nothing more or less. His luck was miserable, and that prophet predicted a miserable fate for him. He lived between the hammer of Samuel and the anvil of his obsessions with David. He did not build a kingdom and killed his two sons in a battle with the Philistines.

David's story is more complex. David was a problematic character from start to finish. Before he was anointed king over Israel, David was, according to the accounts, just one of the eight sons of a man from the tribe of Judah from Bethlehem. He was like a shepherd of his father’s sheep who was fluent in playing the harp, and his star shone in the well-known interesting story, The Fassa of David and Goliath. Goliath was a giant Palestinian knight, who stood in one of his battles with the "Children of Israel" challenging Saul and his army leaders to a duel for forty days without anyone appearing to him, until David came and what was the matter of the legend of David and Goliath. However, this myth contains a contradiction that still awaits resolution. In the first book of Kings, David is mentioned as the killer of Goliath, but the second book of kings refutes the account and states that Elhanan, who is from Bethlehem, is the killer of Goliath. This contradiction was resolved through the use of the texts of Mary. In those texts, David appears as a title or an adjective, and in this sense it means the leader. Thus, the Torah scholars resolved that contradiction and considered David (the adjective) and Elhanan as one person, and they called Elhanan the name David, in appreciation of him for his valor. However, the contradiction in the legend of David and Goliath did not stop at these limits, because the legend also states that David / Elhanan, according to the seventeenth chapter of Saqr I Samuel, moved Goliath's head to Jerusalem, which was exclusively for the Jebusites, and there was no presence of any of the "children of Israel" or of Saul and his followers.

Before he became king, David was the leader of a gang that included six hundred bandits in its ranks, and he was pursued by King Saul, and he often resorted to the Philistines asking for protection, and the Philistines granted him that according to the Books of Kings. And when he became king after the tragic fate of Saul, David was also expelled across the Jordan to his son Absalom, who usurped power from his father. The beginning of his reign did not suggest stability, which would allow him to build a kingdom capable of waging wars and expanding victories over neighboring kingdoms and establishing an empire. And what came in the account of the Book of Samuel and the Book of the First Kings regarding that empire, which extended from the Nile to the Euphrates, did not exist in the first place.
But what is the source of the legend of that empire? Many historians assert that this myth is a borrowing from Egyptian writings about the wars of "Thutmose III" and his victories over the alliance of kingdoms in Aram, Moab, Edom and Canaan, which called for repelling the Pharaonic expansion in this country down to Mesopotamia, and who built an Egyptian empire that actually extended from the Nile to the Euphrates. These wars and victories are inscribed in their details on the walls of the Karnak Temple. The biblical narrative about David's empire came in the form of a metaphor, almost without modification, and it appeared naked. This is indicated by the book of Samuel II in the eighth and tenth chapters, as they are completely borrowed from the wars of that pharaoh.

However, Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University goes further. In his report, published by the Israeli magazine Jerusalem Report on August 5, 2011, he denies any historical proof of the existence of David. warrior king Who took Jerusalem as his capital, and confirms that the personality of David, as a highly honored leader who united the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, is nothing but an illusion and imagination and had no real existence.

In conclusion, Benjamin Netanyahu, like that reckless fascist Bezalel Snotrich, reminds me of that coin that embarrassed Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of August 2017, after he posted its picture on his Facebook page, claiming that it was an exciting discovery and further evidence of the deep connection between the people of Israel and his country, Jerusalem, the Temple, settlements, Judea and Samaria, and that it dates back to the days of the Second Temple two thousand years ago, so that it quickly became clear later that the piece is nothing but a souvenir for children minted at the initiative of the Israel Museum about 1 5 years from that date. The story of David's kingdom is like the story of that coin.

At the request of a Palestinian, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the highest international judicial body (the International Court of Justice) on the legal nature of occupation.

The court in the Netherlands issued on 8-2-2023 a decision that the United Nations and member states are able to provide information about questions submitted to the court pursuant to Article 66 of its statute, and set 7-25-2023 as a time limit for submitting written statements about questions to the court, and 10-25-2023 as a time limit for states and organizations to submit written comments or objections to written statements submitted by other countries or organizations.

The question that I wish to include and study, and repeat in every political or diplomatic meeting, 75 years after the recognition of the State of Israel at the United Nations, and after the intransigence of Member States - which have been calling for the dissolution of the two powers for decades - on recognizing the Palestinian state, and from here, if there is an international consensus on the necessity of ending the occupation, why not ask the following questions:

Why does the United Nations not demand that the State of Israel define its geographical borders, as it does for other member states, and in accordance with the principles of the international system? Based on an explicit answer, member states decide whether to continue proposing the two-state solution or dispense with it out of respect for the imposed realities on the ground.

Isn't it wise for the international system to deal with the occupation as a UN legal issue and not as a subject for negotiation? Isn't it time to realize that negotiations in themselves are a means, not an end?

Is the tool of "bilateral negotiations" between the Palestinians and the Israelis really a "single and sufficient tool" for achieving peace and securing a politically independent Palestinian state? Isn't it time to draw the court's attention to consider peaceful measures and means of conflict resolution other than "negotiations" to achieve the same goal? Is it not wise to resort to mediation, conciliation, or arbitration, among the methods that the court may deem appropriate, while maintaining the ultimate goal of achieving peace for the two peoples? Avoid further procrastination and achieve self-determination for the Palestinian people, as it is an inalienable right in the international system.

It is necessary for the Palestinians to learn from their experiences in these arenas. In 2004, when an advisory opinion was issued by the International Court of Justice on the wall, it affirmed the duty to establish a Palestinian state as soon as possible, affirmed the illegality of the wall, and placed responsibility on the United Nations. However, the advisory opinion was not properly built upon and is not binding in the end!

The international community is aware of the extremist Israeli government's determination to continue its occupation and undermine the right of Palestinian self-determination. This time, the court will present an advisory opinion on the legitimacy of the long-term Israeli occupation. It is necessary that the statements and questions focus on exposing the obsessive settlement purpose of prolonging the occupation, which is an explicit violation of the peremptory standards of international law. Therefore, we hope that the Palestinian legal and diplomatic team will conduct a hearing and feed the public with the developments of the sessions. It is necessary to present written statements, comments and international responses to achieve the supreme Palestinian interest. It is necessary to reactivate the national and legal committees to mobilize and unify efforts to follow up the file and avoid wasting any opportunity!

Going to the ICJ, coinciding with a bloody extremist Israeli government, is a positive Palestinian diplomatic step to seek an advisory opinion, which constitutes an initiative to break out of the circle of emptiness and to direct the gravity towards the "occupation" and the need to start ending it.

Dalal Erekat: Professor of Diplomacy and Strategic Planning, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Arab American University.

The occupation continues in its rebellion and arrogance, killing, injuring and arresting day and night without accountability or oversight, and it does not care about statements of denunciation and denunciation that have become an unpurchasable commodity, as long as it is not attached already on the ground to curb the occupation and the herds of settlers who shed the blood of our people. Denounced, which has become neither fattening nor singing from hunger.

Yesterday only, the occupation killed in cold blood two citizens, one of whom was assassinated by firing a hail of bullets at the car in which he was with another young man, for no reason other than killing, which are orders from the leaders of the Israeli forces, to kill all that is Palestinian within the framework and context of the policy of resolving the conflict in favor of the occupying state and the herds of settlers using brute force, and if this force does not achieve its goals, then with more force.

Hours before that, the occupying forces killed in cold blood a young man who did not exceed 17 years of age, that is, according to international custom, he is still a child, without caring about any action by the international community who did not and will not move a finger in punishing the occupying state. Which explicitly stipulates the right of the people under occupation to resist it by all available and internationally recognized means and methods.

In the face of this continuous reality and in front of the daily Palestinian bloodshed, the unity of the national ranks is necessary to confront these crimes that shame humanity and that are caused by the Palestinian weakness resulting from the division and the primacy of partisan and individual interests over the supreme national interest.

Despite this devastating division, which is on its way to turning into secession unless it is remedied, there is still an opportunity to unify ranks and develop programs and action plans in order to confront this occupation and the herds of settlers who have come to believe that the conditions are ripe for liquidating the cause of our people and resolving the conflict in their favor, leading to carrying out the widest ethnic cleansing operations against our people.

Will the national interest prevail over other interests of the Palestinian leadership, or will the occupation continue its countless crimes?
Tomorrow we will see it soon, and history will not be merciful to anyone.

Israel faces a decisive fate in the coming hours, especially with the Knesset vote tomorrow, Monday, on the "reasonableness" bill, which allows the passage of judicial legislation sought by the far-right government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, which has created an unprecedented state of division among the Israelis.

The protests expanded this time to reach the depth of the most important Israeli military arm, represented by the "air force", which is witnessing a state of rebellion against the current government and the leadership of the Israeli army, in light of the refusal of hundreds of officers and soldiers from the reserves to comply with any instructions to join military operations.

And according to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, published on Sunday, there are serious fears that this crisis will spread to regular officers and soldiers, considering that what is happening has not happened before in the Israeli army and its various units, especially the Air Force.

Netanyahu was supposed to meet today with the Chief of Staff of his forces, Herzi Halevi, to discuss this crisis and find out the truth about its dangers, but a surgery performed by the Israeli Prime Minister caused the meeting to be postponed.

This coincides with news of the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's intention to vote against the "reasonableness" law, which angered the Likud and the government coalition parties, from which sources threatened that they would dismiss and expel every member of the coalition who votes against his choices regarding judicial legislation.

The Knesset plenary will convene this morning to hold a debate in preparation for a vote on reducing the reasonableness argument in the second and third readings tomorrow, Monday.

The debate will continue for more than 24 hours, during which the opposition will explain its reservations about the proposed bill.

It is expected that the Knesset will vote on it finally at noon on Monday.

This comes amid the continuation of widespread protests by the Israelis, who reject all these moves.

On Sunday morning, an Israeli court extended the detention of 3 young men from Bethlehem, accused of carrying out a stabbing attack last Thursday evening in occupied Jerusalem, which seriously injured a settler.

According to the Hebrew Channel 7, two of the detainees were extended until next Sunday, and the third until Monday of next week.

She indicated that they are still under investigation by the Israeli security services.

At dawn on Sunday, settlers burned a vehicle and damaged several others, after they infiltrated the town of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah.

According to local sources, a group of settlers arrived in the village, burned a vehicle belonging to a citizen, and damaged the tires of 8 other vehicles.

The settlers wrote racist slogans calling for the killing of Arabs.

Last night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker.

And it was reported from Sheba Hospital - Beitel Hashomer, that Netanyahu is in good condition and that he will remain in the hospital for observation. The Israeli Arabic-language radio station Makan also reported it.

In a videotape, Netanyahu said that he is expected to leave the hospital during daylight hours today to arrive tomorrow, Monday, at the Knesset to vote on the bill to reduce the argument of reasonableness.

The Israeli government ministers decided to appoint Minister of Justice Yariv Levin as Acting Prime Minister.

The sessions and talks in which Netanyahu was scheduled to participate today have been postponed, including the government session and a discussion with Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi about the refusal of hundreds of officers and soldiers to serve.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli army announced that it had arrested 5 citizens from separate areas in the Palestinian territories.

According to a statement by an Israeli military spokesman, 3 were arrested from the villages of Al-Mughair, Ramallah, and Anata, near occupied Jerusalem.

He pointed out that other residents of Al-Aroub camp in Hebron were arrested.

He stated that the detainees were transferred to the Shin Bet for interrogation.

There is a belief that I do not agree with, among some observers of political affairs and international relations, that there are deep and fundamental differences between the United States and the colonial occupying state that may lead to dispensing with the functional role of this state created by the United States itself and a decline in the level of strategic relations between them.

The nature of the United States' relationship with Israel is determined by the origins of the emergence of the two states from ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination, as well as religious, ideological, political, military security determinants, and the nature of societies of an ethnic mixture, determinants that cannot be overcome under the current international system and attempts to sustain unilateral hegemony of the United States.

Therefore, in the two places today there are trends that predict the unsustainability of stability emanating from the reality of the history of those determinants and similar facts, including the illusion of nationalities creating religious groups and overcoming the contradictions of the ethnic mixture of the population who came as immigrants to settle in those homelands that possessed civilization and history.

Two lies that were invented at the expense of the rights of other nationalities of the indigenous owners of the country, and at the expense of civilization and history through all the attempts that are still underway to bring awareness to the indigenous peoples.

Progressive thinker Noam Chomsky says in this regard that, first of all, we must not lose sight of the fact that the three major countries most supportive of the Israeli occupation state are the United States of America, Canada and Australia. They are entities based on colonial settlement movements, which exterminated the indigenous population.

Today, what the Israeli colonial occupation is doing in Palestine is a picture similar to what happened in those countries, policies that were built with careful planning since the beginnings of the crime of population replacement and ethnic cleansing of our people in their homeland.

The motives of the United States' unconditional support for Israel are based on what I mentioned at the beginning of the religious and cultural reasons represented in the thought and approach of Christian Zionism. Christian fundamentalism arose before Jewish fundamentalism, as Christian fundamentalists read in the Bible about the need for the Jews to return to Palestine according to their vision.

Among these fundamentalists are “evangelicals who enjoy great influence in decision-making circles in the United States and even in European countries where they are spreading, and they believe in the literalness of the Old and New Testaments together, as according to their belief, “the establishment of the State of Israel is a prelude to the return of Christ the Savior, who will confront the pagans, among Muslims and other Arab Christians, specifically in the East, during a major battle called “Armageddon”, meaning the plain of Armageddon in Palestine, and that Peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis is a delay in God's promise, according to their claim.

On the other hand, there is the role of the Israeli lobby in guiding American foreign policy that supports the colonial occupation state without limits, and even exercises its role as a partner since before its recognition of the State of Israel in preventing our Palestinian people from exercising their right to self-determination and limiting this right to the so-called Jewish people.

Here, it is necessary to refer to Chomsky's approach between the apartheid regime of South Africa and the Israeli colonial regime. Chomsky adds, "In the case of South Africa, the international community eventually exerted intense pressure to end apartheid within a single state, while in the case of Palestine, the international community appears ready to support "statehood" without seriously addressing Israeli apartheid.
The slogan of “constructive engagement” and the two-state solution are two myths that distract attention from the core issue and allow continued colonization and ethnic cleansing in Palestine, as well as allowing the United States, Britain, the European Union, and Canada to affirm over and over again their support for apartheid through political rhetoric, military support, contracts and trade agreements with Israel, and profiteering at the level of monopolistic and multinational corporations from colonialism and continued occupation.

The strategic relationship that binds the Israeli occupation state to the United States and those in the orbit of American foreign policies is based on the ideology of colonialism and oppression of peoples and ensuring the continuation of American hegemony as the policeman of this world, despite what appears today to be the beginnings of the collapse of this path based on the unipolar system.

Terrorism was and still is one of the features of that strategic relationship, and it is not limited to those operations carried out by “ISIS” and “Al-Qaeda” and others in the region. My brothers in the region to continue striking the Arab national state and the goals of the Palestinian national project to defeat the colonial occupation, because Kandahar is more important to them than Bethlehem, as I mentioned in my article last week.

The existing relationship between the two states and what the bias in the US Congress represents to the Jewish state is not new, of course, but there is space, at least narrow, for understanding the Palestinian situation and the rights of our people, even though it is on paper.

Now this space no longer has a significant effect in Congress except for a small minority represented by a group of left-wing progressives or socialists in the Democratic Party led by Bernie Sanders and a number of members of Arab roots whose number unfortunately does not exceed the fingers of the hand. It is similar to objecting to the war against the Vietnamese people, with its vastness and popularity in all states.

Two months ago, a draft resolution was put forward in the House of Representatives "Congress" to congratulate Israel on its "75th" anniversary. Contrary to the usual, he completely ignored the mention of our Palestinian people and only referred to peace between Israel and “the other neighboring countries.” The Republicans rejected any reference to the two-state solution as was the case in the past, and the reference was limited to the “Abraham Accords” only.

Another resolution passed two days ago by a majority of congressmen from both parties, except for the objection of only 9 members, rejects the claim that Israel is an apartheid state, and affirms its right to defend itself, as did the Europeans, although Israel only defends the continuation of its colonial occupation.

This is in addition to the course of the United States voting in the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly on resolutions related to Palestine, which protects the occupying state and even encourages it now to continue its crimes without any accountability or sanctions, but rather to continue following the policy of carrots without sticks, with the aim of lifting the blame or absorbing some objections from here and there.

Even old Biden did not hide his Zionism, which he professed during his visit to Bethlehem, and which we demanded by waiting for the return of Christ to fulfill our requests and rights. Thus and with all insolence, this is the American policy drawn by the deep state in the United States with the influence of the owners of the military and financial industries complex there to ensure that it continues to serve the determinants of this strategic relationship that I referred to.

The transient crisis today between the American administration and the government of the occupying state does not, in my opinion, constitute a disagreement about the nature of the strategic relationship or the functional role of the occupying state not only in the region, but also in interfering with the internal conditions in a number of countries of the world to preserve the role and hegemony of the United States and their common interests related to the Zionist movement and money interests and manage the conflict of some hotbeds of conflict around the world, including the continuation of managing our conflict with the Zionist movement and its outcome represented by the occupying state and the apartheid regime, through the approach of managing the crisis without resolving it in a way that allows the way to impose new realities on the ground by implementing the vision of Zionist Christian fundamentalism And the consensus of the Zionist parties related to this, despite the erosion and internal conflict that the occupying state suffers from between the interests of ethnic tendencies in their society and the reality under the repercussions of the differences of the Zionist movement itself since its inception.

The American administration wants guarantees of stability of affairs in the occupying state and the preservation of its unity and strength so that it can implement its plans in the region that it drew half a century ago or more, as is the case on its part in the eastern central Europe region and the attempts to besiege Russia through the war it is waging by proxy, that plan that was talked about four decades ago by the US National Security Adviser Zionist Brzezinski, in addition to its attempts to prevent the expansion of China's power in the world and the transition to a multipolar system and the weakening of Europe as a subordinate to American policies.

The United States has nothing to do with what the Zionist opposition raises, which has nothing to do with the issue of occupation, and related to their interest in judicial procedures and their claim of the absence of democracy and the rise of dictatorship. The history of American foreign policy is based, within its various components, on support for the leaders of dictators who trampled democracy and even oppressed their peoples in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Balkans. It is the United States that carried out or supported coups against elected democratic regimes. The criterion for it is the existence of dictatorial or democratic regimes is the extent to which these regimes serve their policies, influence and plans. It is a whirlwind that began to dissipate with the agreement on Netanyahu's invitation to Washington, the enthusiastic reception by Herzog, and perhaps the imminent return of Gantz to the government if Netanyahu's protection and the American vision are guaranteed according to a deal that can be concluded.

The Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Prisoners stated that about five thousand prisoners in the occupation prisons will double their suffering due to the measures taken by the occupation authorities and given the environment of these prisons and their internal structure that cannot be coexistent with. Among the new measures taken by the occupation authorities is the placement of iron sheets in front of the windows of the rooms, which completely blocks the entry of fresh air into them, and leads to harm and shortness of breath for thousands of prisoners.

What is worse and despicable is the deprivation of new prisoners of their underwear and preventing its entry or access to them, as well as the ventilation openings are very small and do not exceed thirty centimeters, and the occupation’s use of pesticides in these conditions and conditions leads to chronic diseases in the prisoners, especially during the summer and high temperatures.

The suffering of these prisoners is wide and new measures are taken every day without the existence of human rights in its folds. One example is that the wounded prisoner Amir Atatreh was shot, injured and arrested without any reason or justification. The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Prisoners Affairs conveyed painful details to two administrative prisoners languishing in Megiddo prison, namely Muhammad Odeh (31 years) from the city of Tulkarem, who was kidnapped by the undercover occupation forces while he was in a shop, and the second is The prisoner Omar Abed (31 years) from the city of Jenin, after their house was raided at night, and he tried to escape from this occupation force by jumping from the upper floor, but he fell on his foot and was unable to survive, and the occupation forces came and arrested him.

These are only examples of what the occupation is doing and what is happening and is being done by the occupation, because the practices they are doing consider it a normal matter and a legal procedure, and the examples are many and endless, but our people are steadfast and strong and our youth are solid as iron, and they do not settle or allow the occupation forces to impose what they want on them, because their aspiration to the future is strong and they are waiting to get what they want, and no matter how long it takes and how severe the occupation measures and its crimes are, the future is ours and we are steadfast on our land and we adhere to our rights.

Today, Saturday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested three young men from the Al-Abyat area, east of Bethlehem.

According to local sources, the occupation forces arrested Yazan Shadi Obayat (18 years old), Ibrahim Awad Obayat (19 years old), and Muhammad Mahmoud Obayat (19 years old), after raiding and searching the homes of their families.

A young man was killed, and another was wounded, on Friday evening, by the Israeli occupation forces, who opened fire at a vehicle in which the two young men were traveling, in the Sebastia area, northwest of Nablus.

According to the Red Crescent, its crews received the 19-year-old martyr and transferred him to Rafidia Hospital.

The Israeli army arrested the other wounded man, whose health condition was unknown.

The occupation army prevented Crescent crews from reaching the targeted vehicle quickly, which hindered saving the martyr's life.

Unusually, the manifestations and feelings of joy were absent from the high school results in the city of Nablus this time, as there were no firecrackers, except for what was rare, and no car horns rattling the streets, and there was no line-up in front of the famous kunafa shops; As if the citizens were saying, "How can we rejoice when there is a martyr in our presence?"

In conjunction with the announcement of the high school results, on Thursday morning, loudspeakers in the city's mosques were mourning the martyr Badr Sami Al-Masry (19 years old), who was shot dead by the occupation's bullets hours before the results were announced during the confrontations that were taking place in the vicinity of the "Maqam Yusuf" that the occupation forces stormed to provide protection for hundreds of extremist settlers who arrived there under the pretext of praying in it, which is available to them, according to the "Oslo" agreements; which only the Palestinian side committed to.

In the vicinity of Joseph's tomb, the sounds of bombs, bombs, and bullets were loud, and in the corridors of the hospital, the groans and groans of the martyr's family were loud, as his grieving parents had just arrived, calling to heaven, and touching with trembling hands the body of their beloved, who was in a hurry to leave.

Citizens living in the vicinity of "Joseph's shrine" say that as soon as loudspeakers and social media began announcing the death of one of the city's youths during the confrontations, the settlers raised the level of provocation, and their laughter began to grow louder, and their celebrations became louder. From their point of view, "a good Arab is a dead Arab."

Dozens of martyrs from the city, its camps, and its villages rose during the past years in the battles to defend "Joseph's shrine." Hundreds were also wounded, and there were also Israelis killed, in this struggle that hardly ends around these few meters, which has become a symbol of the struggle between right and wrong.

The Palestinians assert that the "Maqam of Joseph" is an Islamic building registered with the Awqaf, and it includes the tomb of one of the righteous saints, Sheikh Joseph Dweikat, while the Israelis claim that the building houses the remains of the Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him, which, according to their claims, the Israelites brought with them when they left Egypt.

The occupation had extended its control over the "Joseph's Tomb" or "Joseph's Tomb" upon the occupation of Nablus in June 1967, and the site turned into a shrine for settlers in which they constantly perform their Talmudic rituals.

The most violent rounds of conflict over the "tomb of Joseph" took place in 1996 during what was known as the "tunnel gift", when an armed clash took place between the Palestinian security forces and the occupation soldiers, during which 7 occupation soldiers were killed who were part of a force guarding the "tomb of Joseph".

At the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000, a battle took place in the vicinity of "Joseph's Tomb", at which time one of the occupation soldiers was killed and others were wounded, and six Palestinians were killed in bloody confrontations and armed clashes.

In 2011, a group of settlers crept into the grave at night without the escort of the occupation forces, and when they left, the Palestinian security patrol fired at their vehicle after they refused to obey orders to stop, which led to the death of one of the settlers.

To this day, "Joseph's Tomb" is still a scene of events, and many liken it to a "meat grinder" that does not stop working.

Palestinian officials, researchers, and experts acknowledge that the Palestinian Authority’s recognition, in accordance with the terms of the Oslo Accords, of Joseph’s tomb as a holy place for Jews in the heart of Nablus was a major failure and a loophole that religious and extremist settlers exploited to establish their presence in this historic city, and perhaps expand this presence in the future.

The Portuguese parliament voted, by majority, on the decision to recognize the catastrophe that befell the Palestinian people in 1948, and praises their struggle to obtain their right to self-determination, in an advanced step from a European country.

The resolution condemns the Israeli occupation policy of illegal expansion and annexation that violates international laws.

It also calls on the Portuguese government to take a clear and frank position in defense of the right of the Palestinian people, as guaranteed by international norms and laws.

The parties that voted for the resolution are: the Socialist (PS), the Communist (PCP), and the Left Alliance (BE), while the parties that voted against it are: the Social Democrats (PSD) and the far-right party "Enough" CHEGA.

The Israeli occupation forces expelled an international solidarity delegation from Al-Hamra checkpoints in the Jordan Valley and Al-Jalama north of Jenin, and prevented them from reaching the Jenin refugee camp and city, after they detained them yesterday at the Shaqi Shomron checkpoint near Nablus for several hours.

Lina Al-Rolyan, coordinator of the international "For Palestine" campaign, told Al-Quds.com that the delegation, which includes 60 activists and solidarity activists of different European and American nationalities, went to the Jenin camp, in solidarity with its people after the recent Israeli aggression, but the occupation has been targeting it since its arrival in Palestine, deliberately obstructing it, restricting its movement and preventing it from achieving its goals of entering the Palestinian areas affected by its crimes.

She added: "Two days ago, they prevented us from entering the Jordan Valley and then Jenin, and despite that, we refused to leave the Palestinian territories, and they also asked us on the grounds that we are not wanted because of our hostility to what they call anti-Semitism."

And she continued: "We arrived at the Hamra checkpoint today, Friday, and they prevented us from passing, so we changed the path towards the Al-Jalama checkpoint, but the occupation soldiers intercepted us, detained us, and prevented us from passing, and all attempts and communications failed to cancel the Israeli decision that is hostile to all international norms and laws."

The Swedish activist, Tobias Marutana, told Al-Quds.com that the occupation soldiers searched the facts of the solidarity activists and confiscated the Palestinian flags. They detained them for four hours, then expelled them and prevented them from passing on the claim that Jenin is a closed military zone and foreigners are prohibited from entering it.

The delegation denounced these Israeli measures, which confirm Israel's keenness to fight international organizations and the forces of solidarity and its continuation in concealing and obscuring the truth and preventing its crimes from being communicated to the world.

The spokeswoman said: "We expelled an affirmation of the arrogance and arrogance of the occupation and its persistence, which exceeded all limits, with the escalation of repression, crimes and massacres, as happened in the Jenin camp, which confirms the need for movement and action from all forces and parties supporting Palestine to prosecute Israel, expose it and boycott it in all forums."

A 17-year-old Palestinian was killed on Friday evening by the Israeli occupation forces in the village of Umm Safa, north of Ramallah.

According to Palestinian Health Ministry, the teenager - Mohammad Fuad Bayed - died of a critical wound to the head during clashes with occupation forces in the village.

Washington – Almost three-quarters of respondents to a major poll found that Americans would prefer Israel to be a democratic state over a Jewish state of Israel, if the occupation of Palestinian territory continues indefinitely. 

In a poll by the University of Maryland, 80 percent of Democrats said that Israel should prioritize its democratic character over its Jewish one. Sixty-four percent of Republicans, who have a more favorable approach to Israel, agreed.

Even among Evangelical Christians - the most ardent supporters of Israel - a majority of 58 percent preferred a non-Jewish democratic Israel to its inverse. 

For the first time, the poll also delved into attitudes toward Zionism and antisemitism. Seventy percent of respondents said such criticism of Israel was not antisemitic. A majority of Republicans, too, concurred. 

The poll was conducted during a critical juncture in U.S.-Israeli relations, and amidst a growing consensus that the two-state solution is no longer possible. It also comes as leading international and even Israeli human rights groups have charged Israel with committing the crime of apartheid. 

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued reports in the last two years making this case, as have B'Tselem and Yesh Din, though the latter only applied its analysis to the occupied West Bank. This comes years after Palestinian groups have posited a similar conclusion. 

Israeli occupation forces suppressed a prayer protest against home demolitions in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Friday.

The sit-in took place in the Al-Bustan area of Silwan. Palestinian sources said that Israeli troops fired rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades, and skunk water against the locals. 

Israeli occupation authorities recently notified Nidal Al-Rajabi from the Al-Bustan area that his home would be demolished, as part of a broader policy of forced displacement against Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem.

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

Local sources said that a number of citizens suffocated from tear gas today, Friday, during clashes with the occupation in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, and Beita, in the south.

In Qalqilya, three civilians were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets, and dozens suffocated by toxic tear gas, during clashes with the Israeli occupation forces, following the start of the weekly Kafr Qaddum anti-settlement march, east of Qalqilya.

Local sources said that the occupation army fired rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades and poisonous gas massively at the participants in the march, which led to the injury of three of them, and dozens of them suffocated. They were treated in the field.

In Ramallah, two civilians were wounded by live bullets in the head and abdomen, and they arrived at the Istishari Hospital in Um Safa village, and their injuries were described as serious.

The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People organized its fifth annual conference on Jerusalem.

This year's conference, held in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, focused on the impact of Israeli settlement policies on the Palestinian population of Jerusalem.

The conference discussed the demographic changes resulting from the expansion of Israeli settlements and how they affect the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, as well as the legal and human rights implications of Israel's settlement policy - including the impact on property rights, the discriminatory division of municipal land and freedom of movement.

The conference, which was held virtually via the Internet, served as a platform for Palestinian and international experts to present their views to the international community, interact with member states and other parties, and discuss possible solutions and strategies to challenge such policies.

The committee chair, Ambassador Cheikh Niang, said the conference reviewed the impact of Israeli settlements on East Jerusalem, including the institutional, social and economic challenges facing the Palestinian population.

It also discussed recommendations regarding actions related to the United Nations database of companies facilitating the work of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, compiled by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Ambassador Niang said that Israeli policies aimed at bringing about demographic change, particularly through the establishment of settlements, forced displacement, and ongoing home demolitions in East Jerusalem, in addition to the tight control over Palestinian movements and daily business, make Palestinians feel trapped in isolated enclaves and excluded from the rest of the West Bank and the world.

He added, "Israel restricts the ability of Palestinians to find work and housing, with a heavy social and economic impact on their daily lives, and imposes control through a complex system that limits access to their Jerusalem identity and residency rights."

On the one hand, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East Affairs, Khaled El-Khayari, said that the presence and expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank - including East Jerusalem - is directly linked to the escalation of Israeli settler violence.

He said that Israel - as the occupying power - is obligated to protect Palestinians and their property from acts of violence committed by armed settlers, and to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.

He pointed out that the United Nations supports all diplomatic efforts that enable the two parties to resume a credible political process that leads to ending the occupation and establishing a just and lasting peace in the context of the two-state solution.

It is noteworthy that the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was established in 1975 pursuant to General Assembly resolution 3376, and was assigned a mandate to advise the General Assembly on programs aimed at enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and property from which they were displaced. The committee's mandate is periodically renewed.

The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, has officially ended his duties, and will be temporarily replaced by his deputy Stephanie L. Hallett until a new envoy is appointed. 

Stephanie Hallett is a veteran member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, and has held several positions, including as the Acting Director for the Middle East and North Africa Region and the Director for Gulf Affairs at the National Security Council.

She has also worked in Cyprus, Oman, Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, as well as for Washington's Bureau of Iranian Affairs.

Hallett graduated from George Washington University and University of Cambridge.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday morning that Israeli intelligence recently sent a firm letter to Russian intelligence officials asking them to stop online influence operations on Israelis.

According to the Hebrew newspaper, bots that spread pro-Russian propaganda in Hebrew have recently appeared on social networks, with the aim of persuading the Israeli public not to support Ukraine, amid the belief that this is a Russian political campaign with instructions from the Kremlin.

According to the newspaper, the Russian influence measures are not the first of their kind, but they exploit every "wound in Israeli society, and every sharp disagreement." as you say.

In recent days, the Israeli security establishment has defined the expansion of influence operations, with a focus on deepening internal Israeli divisions.

She indicated that the message that was sent to the Russian intelligence is the second of its kind, as a similar message was passed before the recent Israeli elections, in which the Russians were asked not to interfere in the elections.

An Israeli soldier was injured by an explosive device in Beit Ummar, after troops stormed a funeral procession in the occupied West Bank town.

Israeli soldiers fired tear gas toward the Palestinians, leading many to choke from tear gas inhalation. 

One Israeli soldier suffered a minor foot during the crackdown, according to Hebrew media reports, and was transferred to Sha'are Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem.

Earlier on Friday morning, Israeli forces arrested a man from the city of Hebron and raided the homes of several Palestinians.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces arrested 20-year-old Ezz Shehadeh while his family were celebrating the success of their son in his high school exams.

The occupation forces also broke into the Al-Shaloudi family's home on Al-Shalala Street in the city center, and threatened to arrest over launching fireworks.

A 24-year-old citizen Palestinian died of his wounds on Friday morning that he sustained in a quarrel between two families that took place in May in Qalqilya.

The police spokesman, Colonel Louay Arziqat, said that the quarrel that occurred around two months ago resulted in the serious injury of a citizen, as a result of which he was transferred to the Nablus Specialized Hospital for treatment. On Friday, the man succumbed to his injuries. 

Arziqat confirmed that the Public Prosecution decided to keep the body until it was transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine to conduct a post-mortem. 

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will receive Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on July 25 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 28, the president's office announced.

The Turkish presidency said that Abbas' visit will focus on "Turkish-Palestinian relations and the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in addition to other current international issues."

After a years-long diplomatic crisis, ties between Turkey and Israel have improved in the last year, culminating in the visit of Israel's President Isaac Herzog to Ankara.

Nevertheless, Turkey fiercely condemned the clashes that took place at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in early April. Erdogan described the entry of Israeli troops into the holy mosque as "crossing a red line".

Armed Israeli settlers started building a new settlement outpost in Al-Sawahreh, east of occupied Jerusalem, on Thursday evening. 

Residents of Al-Sawahreh said that the settlers targeted land belongs to the Abu Hussein family at the main entrance to the village.

Local sources indicated that the aim of the outpost was to link the settlements of Kedar and Boaz, which were established on the lands of Abu Dis and Al-Sawahra respectively.