OPINIONS

Sat 06 May 2023 10:28 am - Jerusalem Time

Khader Adnan knocked Israel out of hunger

Hamdi Farrag

Hamdi Farrag

Opinion Writer

Many, especially those who knew him, do not believe that he left this world as a young man in the prime of his life and the height of his activity and giving, preparing himself to become a popular Palestinian leader, distinct from those we knew from the rest of the oppressed leaders, but rather an international symbol in the peaceful, violent, stubborn and difficult struggle against injustice domestic and global arrogance. He laid the groundwork for the history of his struggle with five open-ended hunger strikes over the course of ten years against his administrative detention, until he declared the strike the moment he was arrested from home, i.e. before he reached the prison, regardless of the type of detention and the detaining party, until his last arrest came on a few fabricated charges in early February. At the beginning of May, he passed away without regret, without hesitation, and without bargaining over a morsel of food that could have brought him back to life for another forty years.


The struggling sheikh did not realize that circumstances had changed this time, and that the hour to kill him and get rid of him had come. They did not transfer him to the hospital after a month of his strike, not after two months. Here, he felt that he was being “neglected” by a prison administration or a jailer, which will soon be rectified. He wrote his will in an attempt to draw attention, without any tinge of retracting his decision to stop the strike or take the subsidies. Here, his lawyer applied for his release on bail, which means that the charges against him are empty, but even if they were not, they do not investigate him once. Or even a word, so why would they keep it there?


In her last visit, nine days before he was killed, the head of Physicians for Human Rights accused the Israeli doctors of abandoning their “duty” to save his life. Khadr told her that he was crammed into her bed room full of bugs, which forced him to sleep on the floor, and the emergency button was present. In the toilet he didn't have to crawl to get to it. So there is a ministerial decision to kill this person, taken by the concerned minister with others in the prison service, stating: He wants to die, let him die. The Israeli journalist, Gideon Levy, described him as a fighter for freedom, but for three months he has been a prisoner in detention by the State of Israel, and for this reason the Secretary-General of the United Nations called for the formation of an investigation committee. - . Not all people know the meaning of starvation for 87 days, starvation to death. It is one of the most difficult types of death, simply because it dies every day, but every hour and minute. Khader Adnan endured it in front of the world in its two poles, good and bad, clean and dirty, freedom fighter and racist. Fascist, so he enters honorable human history, and Khader Adnan becomes a martyr in the religious sense, as he goes to heaven, and the linguistic meaning, in the sense that he will perpetuate his people and live much more than he was destined for if he lived until the last moments of the most humiliating years of life. We loved you, Sheikh Khidr, alive above the earth, and we will love you more alive under it.

OPINIONS

Sat 06 May 2023 10:15 am - Jerusalem Time

Palestinian pressure for amendments on the eve of Israel's acceptance of the US visa waiver program

Bashara Bahbah

Bashara Bahbah

Opinion Writer

Palestinian Americans raise concerns about Israel's application to join the US Visa Waiver Program, causing delays in granting US approval to the Israeli application. If approved, the Visa Waiver Program would allow Israeli passport holders to visit the United States without first obtaining a visa from the US Embassy—a laborious and often unpredictable process that allows US consular officials to grant or deny visa applications at their discretion.


A recent letter from the American Federation of Ramallah-Palestine to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas, including input from the American Palestinian Council and various Arab American organizations, raised concerns about Israel's continued discrimination against US citizens, particularly Palestinian Americans entering Israel through an airport. Ben Gurion and the land crossings across the bridges with Jordan.


Countries participating in the US Visa Waiver Program must provide “reciprocal privileges for US citizens.” Reciprocity is a central principle upon which the US Visa Waiver Program is based. Every US citizen on a tourist visa to the 40 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program should be treated equally - regardless of race, creed, ethnic background, or secondary citizenship. It is reported that Americans, especially Palestinian Americans, who enter or leave Israel are usually racially profiled based on their Arabic-sounding names, place of birth, second nationality, and the extent and nature of their political activity, and are often subjected to inhumane treatment and detained for long hours.
The 55,000 Palestinian Americans currently residing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are not permitted to travel through Ben Gurion Airport without a special, difficult-to-secure permit from the Israeli Civil Administration, which regulates practically most aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank and, to a lesser extent, in Gaza.


Informed sources have informed me that a draft agreement has already been completed, and both Israel and the United States hope to sign the agreement by the end of May, but the US Department of State and Homeland Security continue to encourage all parties involved to raise their observations and concerns before the agreement is finalized. If approved, the agreement will become effective by September of this year.


Successive Israeli governments have made joining the Visa Waiver Program a priority political goal. But in order for Israel to be accepted into the program, the rate of rejection of tourist visa applications to the United States may be up to 3% at most. Israel has exceeded this limit mainly due to travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the Corona pandemic that have forced many Israelis to postpone applying for tourist visas to America until a later date, so there is now a rare window for Israel to qualify.


But many other requirements must also be met, and Israel must still commit to making fundamental policy changes before any final approval is granted by the United States. This gave the Palestinian Americans influence over Israel's admission to the program.


Palestinian Americans pointed out that no country that has occupied another people for more than 50 years and subjected millions to its military control is accepted into the US Visa Waiver Program. Also, Israel is the only country that does not have internationally recognized borders, which raises and complicates fundamental considerations.


Before Israel can be accepted into the Visa Waiver Program, the United States must certify that Israel has changed its discriminatory policies toward Palestinian Americans, especially those with Palestinian passports. Therefore, Israel must commit to the following:


Recognizing the primacy of US citizenship over any other nationality that Palestinians may hold, including the possession of a Palestinian passport.


• Israel must allow Palestinian Americans to enjoy unfettered, visa-free freedom to travel to, from, and within Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.


US citizens should be allowed entry into Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, even Palestinian Americans.


Any agreement between the United States and Israel must include the Gaza Strip. Internationally, the world, with the exception of a few countries, views the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem as forming a single whole.


• Israel must include in its agreement all entry points - the airport, bridge crossings and any ports.


Complicating matters is the regulations enacted on October 20, 2022 by the Israeli Civil Administration, also known as the Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, as this office worked at the time to codify and tighten previous restrictions on the entry of foreigners, including American citizens, into West Bank. These regulations effectively prevent most US citizens from entering the West Bank. On the other hand, there are no restrictions imposed on US citizens who wish to visit the illegal Israeli settlements established in the West Bank.


If the restrictions imposed by the Office of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories remain in effect, this means that Israel will not respect the principle of reciprocity, and therefore it is not eligible to participate in the US Visa Waiver Program.


Palestinian Americans are requesting the US State Department to develop and implement a reporting system to track cases of denial of entry and mistreatment of US citizens at all entry points into Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. The US State Department should establish a 24/7 hotline at the State Department for US citizens to report Israeli violations of the terms of the US Visa Waiver Program.


The United States should also warn Israel in advance that any serious violations could necessitate its removal from the Visa Waiver Program, just as Argentina was kicked out of the Visa Waiver Program for its citizens overstaying tourist visas two decades ago, when Argentina was experiencing a severe economic slowdown.


Details of the draft agreement between Israel and the United States on the visa waiver program have remained classified and have not yet been made public. Despite the looming and approaching deadline for Israel's entry into the Visa Waiver Program, Israel should not take for granted that it will be allowed to join the program. It is noteworthy that Palestinian Americans have become more organized, more politically engaged and motivated than they were a few years ago.


Without meeting the guarantees required of Israel to enter the Visa Waiver Program, the United States cannot make an agreement with Israel that circumvents what US law requires. Otherwise, the US government will end up in a legal battle with the Palestinian Americans.


*Dr. Bishara Bahbah is Vice President of the American Palestinian Council, a US-based public advocacy group. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem daily Al-Fajr newspaper, taught at Harvard University, and served as the assistant director of the university's Middle East Institute.


Sat 06 May 2023 10:02 am - Jerusalem Time

He released a video of Trump's testimony as part of his civil rape trial

On Friday, a video clip was published in which former US President Donald Trump testified in a case in which a female journalist accuses him of rape in the 1990s. The media began circulating the video after a jury had reviewed it Thursday.


Over the course of 48 minutes, Trump appears in the video wearing a blue tie, a white shirt and a dark jacket, and he defended himself, sometimes in a harsh tone, while answering questions from the plaintiff's lawyer, journalist E. Jane Carroll.


Trump had been absent from the civil trial in New York in this case, but the jury was shown Thursday previous testimony he gave in this video, in which he strongly denies the alleged facts.


And the former president confirmed in the video recorded while giving his statement in October 2022, "She is a liar and sick (...) I think she is sick and suffers from mental disorders."


Given his absence and the impossibility of interrogating him, the plaintiff's lawyers requested journalist E. Gene Carroll broadcast lengthy video excerpts during the court hearing.


In this civil case, a jury of nine citizens will decide whether the former president should pay damages to Jane Carroll, who since 2019 accuses him of raping her in the spring of 1996 in the fitting room of a New York supermarket and then defaming her by claiming that she was lying.


During his testimony, Trump reiterated that he did not know EJ Carroll, who was then a columnist for Elle magazine, and repeatedly stressed that she was "not his type."


Then I showed him a picture taken during a social evening in which he was present with Jane Carroll years before the alleged meeting in 1996.


Trump confirmed that he did not remember the incident, and thought that Jane Carroll in the picture was his ex-wife, Marla, "She is my wife ... She is Marla," and immediately his lawyer tells him, "It is (EJane) Carroll."


On Thursday, the jury was able to view a widely circulated video clip in which Trump says in 2005 degrading things to women.


In the video, Trump boasted of kissing and touching them as he pleased, saying, "When you're a star, women let you do that. You can do anything with them."


"It's really old news," he said during his testimony, stressing that it was "conversations in the dressing room" or "the way the general public speaks."


According to US media, Trump has been accused in the past by more than 20 women of sexually assaulting or inappropriate behavior towards them. He denied the accusations and was never prosecuted.


However, a new law that became effective in New York as of November gives rape victims the right to sue even if decades have passed since the sexual assault.

ARAB AND WORLD

Sat 06 May 2023 9:37 am - Jerusalem Time

Cypriot company banned from flying in Lebanese airspace

Lebanon announced that the Cypriot company "TUS AIR" was banned from flying over its airspace or landing at its international airport, because some of its shares are owned by an Israeli company.


This came, according to the official Lebanese National News Agency, in a statement issued by the Director General of Civil Aviation, Fadi Al-Hassan, in which he indicated that the Cypriot company has become 49.9% owned by the Israeli company KNAFAIM HOLDINGS LTD.


Fadi Al-Hassan had received a letter from the Cypriot Civil Aviation Authority including the appointment of TUS AIR to invest air transport services between Cyprus and Lebanon based on the air transport agreement between the two countries in 2017.


Al-Hassan's statement stated that the ban will be enforced "until further notice, pending recommendations issued by the next conference of liaison officers of the regional offices to boycott Israel in banning dealing with the aforementioned company."


The Office of the Boycott of Israel, which was established by the Arab League in 1951, sets a blacklist twice a year in the name of Israeli companies to boycott.

Sat 06 May 2023 9:29 am - Jerusalem Time

Britain pledges $100 million to protect the Amazon rainforest

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced his country's pledge to provide $100 million to support the fund dedicated to protecting the Amazon rainforest, during his meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in London.


"Beyond football, we have many common interests... (one of them) is the fight against climate change," Sunak said as he greeted Lola at 10 Downing Street.


"I am pleased to announce that we will invest in your Amazon Fund," he added, paying tribute to Lula's "leadership" in this field.


A spokesman for the Prime Ministry said Britain's contribution to the fund, which aims to reduce logging and protect biodiversity, amounts to 80 million pounds ($102 million).


Lula launched the Amazon Support Fund in 2008 during his presidency of Brazil, with a $1 billion pledge from Norway. However, his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who was a climate change skeptic, froze it during his term.


And with his return to the presidency in January 2023 at Bolsonaro's expense, Lula reactivated the fund from the first day he assumed office again.


The British pledge would be an additional diplomatic boon for Lula, who is seeking to push rich countries to contribute financially to efforts to save the world's largest rainforest, which is crucial to combating global warming.


Last month, US President Joe Biden announced the allocation of $ 500 million to the fund, but it needs Congress's approval, which is expected to turn into a difficult attraction between the Democratic administration and its Republican opponents.


At the beginning of the year, Germany pledged 200 million euros to protect the Amazon, of which 35 million were to the fund.


Lula has vowed to take strong action to protect the environment and strengthen the protection of the Amazon, mainly after the dissolution of oversight bodies under his predecessor Bolsonaro, who sparked international outrage during his four years as president over fires in the Amazon and systematic deforestation.

PALESTINE

Sat 06 May 2023 9:08 am - Jerusalem Time

Do not be its victims..electronic begging..crying for money!

Begging is no longer only in reality, but beggars are roaming social media platforms, crying over their financial conditions, in order to obtain money, often using accounts on those sites that are close to reality.


Electronic begging.. a money grabbing tool


The method of electronic begging is not completely different in meaning or content from the traditional method of begging known to the communities, and this time it differs in terms of the tools used, the first of which is the Internet, and the use of a social application that is more widespread in the geographical area, and the aim of which is to steal money.


Sidqi Abu Duhair, a researcher and consultant in media and digital marketing, told Al-Quds.com: “I think that the idea of electronic begging is old and still is (impersonating a friend of yours). Money through digital applications or recharge the balance.


Abu Duhair continues, "Therefore, the story and skill of digital beggars developed in a different way, and turned into asking for need, using digital emotion, which affects the victim."


Electronic victimization tools!


The electronic beggar tries to put details such as a picture, or some posts of a spiritual nature, and some scenes through videos; To suggest to the victim that he is really in need, and needs aid, as he plays on emotion with content, according to Abu Duhair.


Abu Duhair continues, "Some use a fictitious name, a pseudonym, fake accounts, and unreal details as information about the account that is conducting the electronic begging."


Types of electronic begging


About the most commonly used types of electronic begging, Abu Dhair explains that it is through social media platforms due to its closeness to realism, the use of afflicted areas, and the use of the name of afflicted families as well, until the victim actually falls.


Another type that Abu Dhair calls the "fisherman", as all he does is publish a harsh critical "post" about a restaurant, "cafe shop" or clothing store, so that digital users interact about the post between supporters and opponents.


Abu Duhair says, "The idea of the supporter here is that the Facebook platform is the most used in the Palestinian digital community, and thus he gets a free prize to stop harming the target shop."


There is another type, which is widespread in a noticeable manner, which is the request for the names of medicines, so the beggar requests it and writes its name from the victim, and the victim sends the beggar to a reliable pharmacy to be assured that he has obtained the medicine, and indeed he presents himself and his name and gets the drug, but the electronic beggar sells These medicines are in another pharmacy, under the pretext that he does not need them or that they are not suitable for the patient, or any other excuse.


Balance transfer for the beggar!


As for Muhammad Abu Al-Zein (a pseudonym), he confirmed to Al-Quds that a person in the name of a woman was posting a picture of Al-Aqsa Mosque on her Facebook account, and on the cover of the account was a picture of a “advocacy poster” design. He sent him an addition, two or three days later, the person started commenting. on Muhammad's posts, then sent him a morning greeting.


And Muhammad continues, after about a month, I was surprised by this woman who calls herself "Umm Ayham" and that she is a resident of a city in the West Bank, asking him for financial assistance, because her husband has cancer and her children, the eldest of whom is 10 years old, and they need money.


And she asked him to transfer the amount of one hundred shekels, and she did not want to embarrass herself in the banks or to distance her from them. The act Muhammad agreed, and she asked him to transfer the balance to her number, and this was done. After a week, the matter came back and asked for the same request, and when he refused, that lady activated the feature the ban! To be surprised by a friend of his that the lady's data is incorrect.


In order not to fall victim to "electronic begging"


In order not to fall victim to electronic begging, according to "Abu Dhair", it is necessary to ask about the beggar person, such as his place of residence, phone number, full name, and ID number, and to contact the competent authorities to search for the identity of the person in need.


Abu Duhair says, "I strongly advise against dealing with any electronic begging attempt, because the needy will not go to social media platforms to satisfy his needs in this way."


Abu Duhair added, "Those who practice electronic begging have found the easiest way to obtain money without toil and effort, and the money is transferred directly through a digital application in most cases."

SPORT

Sat 06 May 2023 8:58 am - Jerusalem Time

The Egyptian Super Cup: Al-Ahly wins the thirteenth title at the expense of Pyramids

Al-Ahly retained the Egyptian Football Super Cup title after its victory over Pyramids after extension 1-0 (original time zero-zero) on Friday at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi in front of 32,194 spectators.


Al-Ahly owes its thirteenth title victory to Tunisian Ali Maaloul, who scored the match's only goal from a penalty kick in the 96th minute of the first extra half.


It was decided that Al-Ahly, the 2022 Egypt Cup champion, would meet its traditional rival, Zamalek, the league champion, but the latter apologized for not playing the match against the background of suspending the penalty for suspending Al-Ahly player Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba”, and Pyramids, the runners-up of the League and Cup competitions last season, replaced him.


Al-Ahly coach Marcel Kohler kept the player who caused the crisis, "Kahraba", on the bench until the 76th minute, before he was pushed as a substitute and caused the penalty kick from which the winning goal came.


It was the third confrontation between the two teams in the current season, and it all ended in favor of Al-Ahly, after it had also won 3-0 in the league, and 2-1 after the extension in the final of the cup competition last April.


The Swiss coach, Marcel Kohler, who was contracted by Al-Ahly in September, as a substitute for the Portuguese Ricardo Soares, won the second title with “Al-Ahmar” and at the expense of the same team, after Pyramids was a party to its first coronation in the cup.


For his part, Pyramids failed to win its first title ever, and it started the match strongly, and South African Fakhri Lakai hit a ball that was blocked by Mohamed El-Shennawy, Al-Ahly goalkeeper (19).


Al-Ahly responded with a Tunisian Ali Maaloul shot from a free kick, which was dealt with by Pyramids goalkeeper Ahmed El-Shennawy brilliantly and sent it to a corner (34).


Ahmed Abdel Qader made a wonderful individual effort and crossed to Muhammad Al-Sharif, who was late in shooting, so that Moroccan Walid Al-Karti pushed it away and passed to the side of the Pyramids goal post (54).


Al-Karti was close to opening the scoring after he hit it from a corner, but Muhammad Al-Shennawi pushed his ball away from the goal line with great difficulty (71).


The two teams resorted to two additional halves, and “Kahraba” penetrated and blocked Pyramids defender Ahmed Sami, so that the referee awarded a penalty kick, which Maaloul successfully hit (96).


Substitute Dudu Al-Gabbas almost equalized after being single and a shot was saved by the brilliant Al-Ahly goalkeeper (113).


"Of course, I am happy to win the Super Cup and crown my third championship with Al-Ahly," Swiss coach Marcel Koehler said in televised statements after the coronation. "I consider all titles like my children, and I love winning all championships."


He added: “Al-Ahly fans are not satisfied with championships. After winning any championship, they demand another championship, which is also my philosophy as a coach. I thank the players for the great effort in the past period, and during 8 months we won 3 championships, and we have 3 more championships ahead of us at the end of the season.”


And about the changes in the squad against Pyramids, Koller concluded, "We have great matches that we played in the last period, and I must say with a proper rotation process between the players to avoid injuries."

OPINIONS

Sat 06 May 2023 8:35 am - Jerusalem Time

Exploiting the poverty of citizens in the Gaza Strip towards large employment...a crime against humanity and childhood

Mounir al-Ghul

Mounir al-Ghul

Opinion Writer

With the deterioration of the economic conditions in the Gaza Strip and their exacerbation to an extent that threatens the lives of citizens and keeps the vast majority of them below the poverty line, the urgent need for employment in the Strip and the search for work in any way, even if simple, in order to earn a living, and what has been observed during recent years and in light of the continuation of the economic blockade that The percentage of employment has increased significantly among the poor, especially among young people who are keen to help their families. The phenomenon of young children working and being absent from school to support their families has surfaced, sometimes due to the father’s illness, the death of the father, or the inability of the head of the family to fulfill all living requirements due to the size of the household. Large families, as some of them may include more than ten children due to the huge population, in addition to modern employment among girls and women in their fields of specialization such as weaving, spinning, sewing, and working in shifts also in a number of factories, office jobs, etc…


There are many witnesses from the Gaza Strip of children defying the hot weather in the summer and the cold in the winter. They work harshly in selling stones, building materials, gravel, steel, etc., where they use some pets such as a donkey or a horse in search of collecting a very small number of shekels at the end of a tiring and hard day to help their families in light of the lack of resources. Financially, and given the dependence of families on foreign aid, which is not sufficient to achieve even a small part of the exorbitant and expensive living costs …


We monitor daily children wandering in the streets, alleys, and on the seashore, selling nuts, biscuits, sweets, and crackers, amid a constant feeling of fear, especially when working in the port of Gaza, where this feeling turns into shame, of having to sell biscuits to people, and some people do not treat them well, and sometimes children of their age stand playing And they laugh with their parents while the poor sell biscuits, and this makes them feel jealous in light of the clear differences between some rich families and most of the other poor families...


UNICEF has been working for years to identify children at risk, including those involved in child labour, through child protection advisers and case managers who work in the 20 UNICEF-supported family centers across the Gaza Strip.


When a working child is identified, UNICEF tries to get him back into the education system, sometimes by offering vocational training. Counselors provide educational and psychosocial support to the children, while helping families contact the Ministry of Social Development in order to request financial support, short-term job opportunities or small business projects.


In light of the wide spread of working cases among children, some parents are convinced that their children attend protection awareness sessions, with the father realizing that there is support available for his son, but there are many cases whose owners suffer from psychological and social trauma as a result of the battles and wars imposed on Gaza, and they need more From individual counseling sessions based on mental health and life skills courses in order to increase children’s self-confidence, ease their suffering and dispel their fears in order to have an opportunity to play safely in the afternoon and evening hours after a reassuring and calm return to schools …


There are many cases of compulsory work among women, girls, and young men, in addition to children, some of which stem from the illness of parents and the need for help, and others from insufficient aid. In all cases, the work here appears to be compulsory and imposed on the shoulders of those workers who are supposed to be in other locations such as education, study or travel. Abroad, obtaining university scholarships, or decent and free work in companies and sectors that the sector lacks. Therefore, extreme poverty contributes to the imposition of a high level of employment. Here, there is a need for an in-depth investigation into the existence of cases of exploitation by employers in two aspects: the first is the imposition of many working hours on the Gazan citizen and the exploitation of his urgent need for funds On the one hand, providing low and simple salaries that are not enough to cover a living, and this is considered a flagrant violation of workers’ rights and persecution of them, and it must stop …


Even in the cases of workers from the elderly citizens who cross the crossings daily and go to work inside the Palestinian interior, we find that brokers, the occupation and settlers alike are the cause of every calamity. They blackmailed the needs of needy families in the Gaza Strip, and stole their children from their schools to fill their pockets without accountability or oversight and without scruples of values or morals...


In this context, there are many painful scenes of workers staggering for long hours before leaving the crossings, in addition to the lack of insurance for their health, future and life, and they are always at risk of falling during work. There are many cases in which workers were killed, especially in the West Bank. Who is responsible for managing the workers’ file and where did he arrive? Child labor file, this file that revolves between reality, solutions and laws?


According to recent statistics, more than 5 percent of Palestinian children under 15 years of age work, and most of them are from the West Bank. However, the statistics in the Gaza Strip are also large. Child labor, as is customary, violates national and international laws and regulations. This is an important area for research and review. What is also of concern is that the largest percentage Of the children engage in activities in which there is no protection from any aspect, according to updated data, about 63% of working children within the age group (10-17 years) are concentrated in mining, construction and agricultural activities, which means that the risks are high, which sounds a great danger It expands under cover of night due to the exploitation of families’ need for a source of income, and the exploitation of that need by dark merchants by stealing the lives of children.


In this regard, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor says: “Articles 14 and Article 93 of the Palestinian Labor Law prohibit the employment of children under the age of 15, and children between the ages of 15-17 are allowed to work, but under certain conditions, the most prominent of which are that these works are not dangerous and that the working hours are In addition to providing medical examinations for children every six months.



These necessary issues lead us to talk about the need for a framework that protects workers, preserves the rights of young children, prevents their absence and dropout from schools, and searches for other opportunities to help poor families, but the situation is very different, and the phenomenon of exploiting poverty for the sake of large workers has become a disturbing phenomenon in which exploitation and injustice reach the point of crime. The Gazan citizen will remain threatened with the theft of his honorable life under pain of a living. What is required is broad national and institutional solidarity to confront child labor in general and in the settlements in particular, and to fight all those involved in it, because the lives of our children are more important than their pockets and more important than those farms and settlements, which are built on the suffering and sacrifices of our people.


What is required is a living without oppression, humiliation or threat, and this is one of the simplest human rights, and it is our right to get rid of the occupation because it is the basis of all evils and the quagmire of the merchants of death, no matter how different their roles are. Is there any answer?


Taking into account that 53 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip are children under the age of sixteen and the phenomenon of child labor has been monitored for years, meaning that it is not new to Palestinian society, what is new and dangerous is its exacerbation due to the blockade and difficult conditions as a result of unemployment and lack of job opportunities. Future psychological and physical risks for these children, who should be the youth of the future to participate in building the Palestinian society.


The solution "lies in finding ways out for contentious political issues between the factions and the Palestinian Authority, with the aim of opening future prospects for all economic issues as well."

ARAB AND WORLD

Sat 06 May 2023 8:24 am - Jerusalem Time

Iran carries out the death sentence against an Iranian-Swedish dissident

On Saturday, Iran carried out the death sentence against the Iranian-Swedish dissident Habib Shaab on charges of terrorism, according to a judicial source.


The judiciary's website, Mizan Online, stated that "the death sentence against Habib Shaab, nicknamed Habib Asyud, the leader of the terrorist movement Movement of Struggle, was carried out this morning, Saturday."


On March 12, the Iranian judiciary confirmed the death sentence against him on charges of "corruption on earth, forming a rebel group, planning and carrying out many terrorist operations."


Sweden said at the time that "the death penalty is an inhumane punishment that cannot be remedied, and Sweden, along with the rest of the European Union, condemns it in all circumstances," according to Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.


It leads the people of the "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz," which is active in Khuzestan Province in the southwest of the Islamic Republic. The Iranian authorities consider it a "terrorist" organization and hold it responsible for attacks, most notably an explosion that killed about 30 people.


Shaab, who was residing in Sweden, went missing in October 2020 after he went to Istanbul, before he appeared after about a month detained in Iran, according to a tape broadcast on state television at the time.


The trial of Habib Faragallah Shaab, nicknamed Habib Asiud, began in January 2022 on suspicions of "terrorism", especially "corruption on earth" and others. On the sixth of last December, the Iranian judiciary announced the death penalty against the fiftieth man, according to local media.


Sweden sought to provide him with consular assistance, to no avail, given that Iran does not recognize his dual citizenship.

PALESTINE

Sat 06 May 2023 8:13 am - Jerusalem Time

Two young men were killed by the occupation forces in Tulkarem camp

On Saturday morning, two young men were shot dead by the Israeli occupation forces, after they stormed the Tulkarem refugee camp.


According to the Ministry of Health, the two martyrs are Samer Salah al-Shafei, 22, (wounded by bullets in the neck, chest, and abdomen), and Hamza Jamil Khreyoush, 22, (wounded by bullets in the chest, abdomen, and left foot). They were transferred to Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital.


She indicated that a third injury, described as stable, had arrived in the extremities.


Clashes took place between the occupation forces and the resistance fighters after discovering a special force that infiltrated the Tulkarm camp.


The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announced that the martyr Hamza Khreiush was the perpetrator of the revenge operation in Avni Hefetz.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 9:50 pm - Jerusalem Time

"Diana" and "Yasmine" are two university students who adapt their disabilities and work miracles

With great energy and determination, the twenty-year-old student, Diana Saleh, was able to overcome her silent instinct, and to take confident steps towards excellence and creativity in her university major, "Ceramic Art", and to employ all the blessings bestowed upon her by God of insight and quick intuition, to compensate for the loss of her sense of speech and hearing, and to refine her skills. She has a variety of artistic talents.


Disability did not stand in the way of the ambition of the student Saleh, from the village of Sarta, west of Salfit. Rather, she volunteered her to take on many challenges and engage with her peer students at An-Najah National University, which in turn established a unit for the care of students with disabilities to create the appropriate environment, to integrate them into society and provide them with the necessary services, while she spent Diana lives her school life with her classmates who are deaf and dumb, with whom she used to communicate in their common sign language.


Saleh speaks to Al-Quds.com, in her language, and her older sister Walaa translates, saying: “I am the only deaf and dumb student at this university, and through my successful experience I wanted to be the key that opens the doors for other students of this category who wish to complete their studies.” teach them.”


And she continued her studies with brilliant excellence, increasing day by day, despite all the difficulties she faced since high school - according to her sister Walaa -, but she was able to gain many experiences in her field of specialization, and she worked on developing and developing her, and she began marketing her artwork in various exhibitions and in partnership with different institutions. And a trainer for other students. She also represents the university in many conferences that are held inside or outside the country.


Saleh added, "I want to learn the art of cinematography via YouTube as well, and for me all the skills I have gained are not enough, so I have to research and explore new things every day, as there are no limits to science in my opinion."


Saleh expressed her gratitude to the university, which embraced her since she joined it from the first day, and met her needs through the unit for the care of students with disabilities, noting the cooperation of her teachers and colleagues in the specialty as well, and she does not forget the virtue of her family, who stands side by side with her in every step she takes.


She hopes to achieve her highest wishes to work in this university that she has always loved, as a teaching assistant in the College of Fine Arts, and looks forward to fulfilling this wish with eagerness to be the first teacher in the deaf and dumb class at the university, while she will seek to attract male and female students from this category so that she will not be the last student Considering that this step is a qualitative leap added to the university's achievements.


social responsibility

Samer Al-Aqrouq, Director of the Unit for Students with Disabilities at the University, told Al-Quds.com: “Out of our social responsibility, we established this unit to take care of more than three hundred students with disabilities, while this university has become the only and pioneering university in providing this service to its students.” people of determination, out of its belief in the need to integrate these groups with other members of society, and to guarantee their right to education.


He praised the success achieved by the student Diana Saleh over the years of her studies to reach the brink of graduation, indicating the role played by the unit to assist students in choosing their majors and seeks to serve them based on the capabilities they possess, as he said: “We receive all cases that want to join the university, and we found that The student Diana has a hobby of drawing and her abilities enable her to enroll in the ceramic art program at the College of Fine Arts.


Optimism and determination despite disability

In this regard, Al-Aqrouq also spoke about the experience of the student Yasmine Janajra (19 years old), from the village of Talouza, east of Nablus, whose mobility disability is challenged by the strength of her personality, her optimism about life, and her constant insistence on learning.


He points out that the university has been fully prepared since the establishment of this unit, as it worked to find adaptations to facilitate safe access for people with disabilities to the campus and its facilities, which helped a lot in their mobility, especially those with mobility disabilities.


Janajra told Al-Quds.com: "The university suggested the special education program to me, because it suits my condition, and I also wanted to learn it in order to know more information about my situation in particular, and about people with special needs in general."


She added, "I have overcome many challenges, so I decided to be an inspiration to other people of determination, and to show them through my experience that there is no failure in life, no matter how difficult we face, and we must try with strong will in order to reach all that we aspire to."


The student Janajra expressed her strong love for the university because of the constant interest and support she receives from her fellow students and the administrative and academic bodies, which makes her feel the importance of the effective role she plays within the university, and makes her play her role as a diligent student to the fullest, as it always pushes her to do everything she can to serve others. of students with disabilities.


Al-Aqrouq continued: "Creativity negates and eliminates disability, so we are interested in making them initiative and productive in society without dependence on it, and that they have duties as they have rights, so we work to refine their personality and enhance their self-confidence, so that they can discover their capabilities and creativity."


Unlimited contribution

This unit contributes to their involvement in many student activities within the university - according to Al-Aqrouq - such as exhibitions and sports activities, and some of them joined the choir of the Deanship of Student Affairs, and some of them were distinguished by the talents of playing and singing, and many of them participate in courses and conferences that are held inside or outside the university.


Al-Aqrouq calls for supporting students with disabilities financially and morally, and establishing special units for them in all institutions of higher education, in addition to promoting the integration of these students into university life, implementing counseling and awareness activities for them and paying attention to their reality in various Palestinian universities.


It is noteworthy that this unit was established by the university in 2008, and it was able to attract many students with disabilities after joint efforts with local authorities and schools in various regions and governorates of the country, and work to educate parents and introduce these groups to their rights and provide them with scholarships, in addition to creating a suitable environment for them within the university and meet all their needs.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 9:03 pm - Jerusalem Time

Netanyahu is considering offering a gift to Ben Gvir at the expense of Palestinian prisoners

The Hebrew channel Reshet Kan reported, on Friday evening, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his entourage are studying the possibility of holding a ministerial discussion on approving the death penalty law for Palestinian prisoners who carry out operations.


According to the Hebrew channel, this step comes in light of the differences with the so-called Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, and in an attempt to resolve the differences with him, and appease him.


Ben Gvir had said earlier in the day that he would continue to boycott the sessions of the Israeli Knesset in light of the policies of the current Netanyahu government, especially with regard to returning the bodies of Palestinian martyrs, and the weak response - as he describes it - against Hamas.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 9:03 pm - Jerusalem Time

The "Prisoner's Club" holds the occupation responsible for the life of the captive Atoun

The Prisoners Club, the Israeli Occupation Prisons Administration, held full responsibility for the life of the detainee, MP Ahmed Atoun (55 years old) from Jerusalem, after his health condition deteriorated, and he was transferred to Shaare Tsedek Hospital, during which he underwent medical examinations, and according to the information, he will undergo a catheterization operation. next Sunday.


The club stated in a statement that the expelled MP Atoun was arrested at dawn yesterday, Thursday, from his home in Beit Sahour / Bethlehem, after assaulting him and his family members.


It is noteworthy that the occupation authorities released him last November, after an eight-month administrative detention. He is a former prisoner who spent more than 16 years in the occupation prisons, most of them under administrative detention.


The Prisoner's Club called on all the competent authorities to take urgent action, to find out the exact details of the health status of the prisoner Atoun, and stressed that the sick cases among the prisoners are on the rise, especially among the prisoners who spent long periods in captivity, as the number of sick prisoners is about (700) prisoners. .

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 8:50 pm - Jerusalem Time

Hanegbi: Hamas is playing a double game, and we will maintain our deterrence against it

On Friday evening, the head of the so-called Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, accused the "Hamas" movement of "playing a double and complex game" and allowing Islamic Jihad to "vent out the frustration" felt by the two movements, by firing rockets.


Hanegbi claimed, in an interview with Hebrew Channel 13, that the Israeli army forces maintained deterrence and carried out a strong attack against Hamas during the last round two days ago.


In response to a question asked about what was revealed by the same channel yesterday about talks taking place for the possibility of developing the "Marine" gas party located 30 kilometers from Gaza, Hanegbi said: "No infrastructure projects will be allowed to be implemented, and there are many proposed projects that will not be implemented." It is allowed to be implemented without the return of Aron Shaul and Hadar Goldin."


He touched on the visit of US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Saudi Arabia, expressing his hope that there will be a near breakthrough in the file of normalization with the Kingdom, given that this is a goal of Israel.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 8:03 pm - Jerusalem Time

Two workers were wounded by the occupation bullets, south of Qalqilya

Two workers were injured, this Friday evening, by Israeli occupation forces, south of Qalqilya.


The Israeli forces opened fire on the workers' feet near the separation wall, west of the town of Habla, wounding them.


ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 05 May 2023 7:29 pm - Jerusalem Time

Global Health: COVID-19 is no longer a global public health emergency

The World Health Organization said today (Friday) that the COVID-19 pandemic no longer constitutes a "health emergency of international concern."


This was announced by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, at a virtual press conference from Geneva.


The World Health Organization first declared COVID-19 a health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alert, on January 30, 2020, and a panel of health experts has maintained the status since then, meeting every three months.


In March 2020, the World Health Organization called COVID-19 a pandemic, while the novel coronavirus was continuing to spread around the world.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 5:45 pm - Jerusalem Time

Ben Gvir angers Netanyahu again because of the martyrs of Nablus!

The Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, continues to ignite a fire between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after a dispute arose between them following the weak response to the rocket fire from Gaza last Tuesday.


Ben Gvir decided to continue boycotting the sessions of the Israeli Knesset, a decision that was taken after the weak bombing of Gaza, as he describes it.


This time, Ben Gvir pleaded for the return of the bodies of 3 Palestinian martyrs from the "Black's Den" in Nablus, who were handed over this evening, indicating that he and his party members will continue to be absent from the Knesset sessions until the current right-wing government returns to work according to its specific policies.


Ben Gvir said: "We are a right-wing government, and the public did not give us a mandate to return the bodies of the terrorists, or to avoid bombing Gaza."


He added, "It is not too late for a strong and offensive political security leadership," considering the re-delivery of the bodies as a serious mistake.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 5:42 pm - Jerusalem Time

Khader Adnan.. Assassination in broad daylight!

After the few minutes that the occupation granted to the prisoner, Sheikh Khader Adnan, during his open hunger strike, to talk about his isolation in the "Ramle Prison" clinic, to the military court in "Ofer", his wife (Umm Abd al-Rahman) left the courtroom, repeating the words of her companion who had trained her. He summed up his condition by saying, "I am dying."


When Sheikh Khader Adnan learned that the court session had been postponed to consider the appeal submitted by his lawyer to release him on bail due to the seriousness of his health condition until the tenth of May, he added to it, “Until that date, I will be a martyr.” Immediately after leaving the court, Umm Abd al-Rahman again launched an urgent appeal to all organizations. And free the world to move before it is too late and save her husband from "attempts to execute and assassinate him."


Martyr Adnan's wife told Al-Quds.com, "His condition was very difficult, as he spoke slowly and with a very heavy tongue, and appeared with his exhausted body, and it seemed as if he had lost the ability to see us, so he could not look at us continuously and see us, but he did not hear us or move." nobody".


And she adds: "All indications of an assassination attempt on him appeared clearly from the previous session in Ofer, as he fainted several times, and the occupation prevented us from visiting him, and prohibited all institutions from accessing him and knowing his situation, in light of the isolation, pressures and penalties that have not stopped since he announced his new battle since He was arrested from our house."


Umm Abd al-Rahman, who accompanied her husband’s detention stations over the past years, and accompanied him in the five empty bowel battles that he previously fought, led campaigns of support and solidarity with him, and celebrated his victories with him, recounts, in the first hours after she received the news of the martyrdom of Sheikh Khadr at dawn on the 87th day of his strike She said that since she left him in the courtroom last Sunday, “I expected his martyrdom, as he was in a difficult condition, and his body, which I saw exhausted and fading, did not have the ability to bear more or count on it a lot, and whenever the phone rang, I lived nightmares of anxiety, stress and fears, To bring me the news of his death.”


At dawn on Tuesday, the Israeli Prison Service announced the death of Sheikh Khader Adnan in his cell, and soon his family and wife received the news, so feelings mixed and pictures multiplied, and Umm Abd al-Rahman says: “I had a painful feeling as soon as I heard the news, and frankly, I did not believe it, my heart did not believe it, and until this moment, no I still live with contradictory feelings that I believe and do not believe. It is not easy for our hearts and our lives to comprehend the issue of losing a person who means everything to us in life.


And she adds: "The Lord of the Worlds honored me with patience, and we feel proud of his heroism, steadfastness, patience, and jihad for the sake of God and the truth. He always wished and asked for martyrdom."


And she continues: “We ask God Almighty to choose the best and rest for him, despite the heartbreak at his distance and the pain of separation is not easy, especially since we are talking about a hero like Sheikh Khadr. Alien".


In the house of the martyr Sheikh Khader Adnan in Arraba, southwest of Jenin, his wife and children sat in the middle of his pictures, surrounded by family, relatives, friends, the women of his town, the family and everyone who knew, lived and loved him, who came to support and support her, and found her in a state of steadfastness, steadfastness, challenge and patience.


So when did (Umm Abd al-Rahman) see her husband, Khader, for the last time, and what were his last words to her? He did not forget his will to me, he said, "Take care of yourself and the children, Umm Abd al-Rahman," and the broadcast was interrupted.


And she adds: “I went out repeating and supplicating to God and saying: God suffices me, and He is the best disposer of affairs. Protect him with your protection and choose the best for him.


And she continued: "I was sitting on the prayer rug, and prayed to God to grant him comfort, peace and reassurance, as he was suffering and in great pain, but he always enjoyed will, courage and patience, until he rose as a martyr, fulfilling the highest wish he had asked for throughout his life."


Waiting for the body.

With patience, equanimity, and defiance mixed with pride and pride in her companion, from whom she bore 9 children, Umm Abd al-Rahman prevented the women from crying, and said: “We will not receive the mourners of Sheikh Khadr, and there will be no house of condolence in our home, but rather we receive well-wishers with pride and pride in his martyrdom and the honor he bestowed.” Lord of the Worlds, but there is a pain in our hearts, because we do not know the fate of his body.”


She added, "We are waiting and hoping that the efforts will succeed in compelling the occupation to release his pure body, and preventing his capture in the graves of numbers and the refrigerators of the occupation, which committed the crime of execution and assassination."


And she continued: “We demand that he not be touched and dissected as we demanded his will, and that we receive him as the great martyrs, and that the burial beside his father’s body in the godmother and companions of his martyr path, and we will continue to struggle and work until we see him, embrace him, and bleed him with what he deserves and wished for.”


Wife's messages.

Since announcing the news of her husband’s martyrdom, Umm Abd al-Rahman has been keen to take care of her children, raise their spirits, and charge them with determination and patience, and she said: “We will not wait for anyone to return the body of the sheikh who left behind 9 children. which he chose."


And she added: "My message to the occupation will not undermine our resolve, and we will remain as we were taught and raised by Sheikh Khader. His life and blood are precious and not cheap for us. He is equal to the whole world, and we ask God to help me raise his children, and that the occupation end before they grow up, and his dream and all the martyrs come true." .


stations of his life.

Martyr Khader Adnan Muhammad Musa descends from the town of Arraba, southwest of Jenin, in which he was born on 3/24/1978. In the Al-Aqsa Intifada, he became the spokesman for “Jihad” in the West Bank, and he was subjected to persecution, assassination attempts, and arrest several times, and he spent several years in Israeli prisons. Despite that, he completed his university studies, obtaining a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree from Birzeit University, then Jerusalem Abu Dis.


Despite his arrests and persecution, he got married and started a family and had nine sons and daughters, the youngest of whom is a year and a half old and the eldest Abd al-Rahman (14 years old). The occupation arrested him two months after his marriage, and he spent a year and a half and was freed.


During the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2004, he went on an open hunger strike for 12 days, as a result of his isolation in Kfar Yona prison, and he did not stop his strike until after the prison administration acquiesced in his demand to transfer him to the regular prisoner sections. From obtaining his freedom and facing his repeated arbitrary arrests.


During his arrest in 2012, he launched an empty stomach battle against administrative detention, and went on strike that lasted 66 days. After several judicial hearings and solidarity campaigns following the collapse of his health, the Israeli Supreme Court decided to release him in April of the same year, after his health deteriorated.


With his new arrest, in 2015, he went on a hunger strike for 56 days, which he started on May 8, 2015, to put pressure on the Israeli authorities to release him and pledge not to detain him administratively. He was later released, but he was re-arrested, and he went on strike in 2018 for 59 days. , before taking away his freedom, and in 2021 he went on a similar strike for 25 days.


During his detention, Khader Adnan was subjected to interrogation, torture, and isolation in Israeli interrogation centers, especially Al-Jalameh and Petah Tikva. Despite this, he embodied a state of steadfastness and defiance despite the fact that he was subjected during his hunger strike to death threats at times, and to force-feed him at other times, and even in the last days of his last strike before To rise as a martyr in the sixth strike, which is considered the longest empty stomach battle he waged.


During the past years, his mother and then his father died, which had a great impact on his life due to his close relationship with them, and he wrote in his will, demanding that he be buried alongside them in his hometown, the town of Arraba.

ECONOMY

Fri 05 May 2023 5:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

The General Authority of the Palestine Exchange approves a 10% dividend distribution

The General Assembly of the Palestine Exchange approved the recommendation of the Board of Directors of the Stock Exchange to distribute cash dividends to shareholders at a rate of 10% of the nominal value, during the ordinary General Assembly meeting that was held at the “Paltel” business center in Ramallah.


According to a statement issued by the stock exchange today, Friday, the meeting took place in the presence of the chairman and members of the stock exchange’s board of directors and representatives of its executive management, and with the participation of the representative of the companies’ registrar at the Ministry of National Economy, Bilal Kittaneh, and the external auditor, Abdul Karim Mahmoud, representing the “Ernst & Young” company, and the legal advisor Haitham. Al-Zoubi, in addition to the members of the General Assembly and their representatives.


The meeting discussed all the items and recommendations on the agenda, as the General Assembly approved the administrative report for the year 2022, the financial statements and the auditor’s report for the fiscal year 2022, and the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors and their discharge for the fiscal year 2022, in addition to the re-election of the “Ernst & Young” company. To audit the stock exchange’s accounts for the fiscal year 2023, and to authorize the Board of Directors to determine its fees.


In this context, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Palestine Exchange, Samir Hulileh, said: “During the past year, the Palestinian economy experienced many difficult events, but the performance of the listed companies for the year 2022, despite all the disturbing indicators of the state of the global economy, clearly illustrates the rapid developments witnessed by the most important Palestinian economic establishments, in light of their ability to adapt, withstand and achieve growing profits.


He pointed out that the stock exchange is currently leading efforts focused on reorienting the investment compass in Palestine, and giving the securities sector its share that is commensurate with its ability to advance development and advance the economic reality in light of the weakness of the general orientations of the Palestinian investors to invest in the securities sector, compared to their investments in other sectors.


He stressed the continuation of efforts to list new public shareholding companies, as two companies' applications are currently being studied for listing on the stock exchange, seeking to increase the depth of the market and provide it with new financial tools, and increase liquidity in the market, which in turn raises the value of the profits achieved for the Palestine Stock Exchange and enhances its presence.


He added: “During the year 2022, the Palestine Stock Exchange witnessed fundamental changes, both at the level of its board of directors and its executive management, in a way that achieves the aspirations of the stock exchange to bring about a real renaissance in the Palestinian securities sector and keep pace with the rapid developments in this vital sector globally.”


The Palestine Stock Exchange achieved net profits for the year 2022 that amounted to $1,008,352, with a slight increase of 0.57% over the year 2021. On the other hand, the net profit per share amounted to about $0.10. Turnover increased by 13% compared to 2021.


The statistical data issued by it indicated that it achieved an outstanding performance compared to the Arab and international markets, as its main index, “Al-Quds Index”, increased by 5.14%.


During the year 2022, the Palestine Stock Exchange witnessed new exceptional listings and important deals, in addition to the launch of the Al-Quds Islamic Index. The Arkan Real Estate Company, which is a subsidiary of the Palestine Telecommunications Company (Paltel), and Al-Safa Islamic Bank, were listed. During the same year, the Stock Exchange witnessed the implementation of the largest deal in its history. With a value of approximately $51 million on the shares of Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO Holding).


It is noteworthy that the number of investors in the Palestine Stock Exchange reached, until the end of the year 2022, approximately 70,000 investors distributed over 123,000 accounts with different classifications between active and passive, with only 2,500 new accounts opened during the aforementioned year.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 5:03 pm - Jerusalem Time

Continuous attacks by settlers east of Bethlehem

Many citizens who live near two settlements located east of Bethlehem, especially the villages of Kisan, Al-Rashaida, Jub Al-Dhib and Beit Tamar, confirmed that many herds of settlers have spontaneously formed organized militias affiliated with the fascist extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, the so-called Minister of National Security.


What is meant by these two settlements is the "Abi Nahal" settlement established on the lands of the village of Kisan, which is only one kilometer away from the citizens' homes in the village, and was established in 1999. It was established in the year 1980, and both of them are not far from each other, and the residents maintain close relations in them and coordinate their attacks on citizens and their property, and the number of settlers in the two settlements is estimated at about a thousand settlers.


Armed militias
According to many activists, the settlers in these two settlements have launched intense attacks against the residents for many years, but in the last year, and specifically in the months that followed the formation of the fascist government of Benjamin Netanyahu in a coalition with the parties of Sumrich and Ben Gvir, these groups became an organization that took the form of armed militia. This was evident in their carrying arms and daring to attack citizens’ homes inside the village, breaking into some of them and destroying their property, as well as launching serious attacks and assaults on farmers and pedestrians in their pastures, to force them to leave them. It was noted that, during their attacks, they were carrying pictures of Ben Gvir, and some of them even wore T-shirts bearing his picture and written under it in Hebrew, "Al-Jifer", which means hero.


Citizens injuries
Musa Obayat, Mayor of Kisan, explained that members of these militias assaulted a number of foreign farmers and solidarity activists several months ago, stabbed one of the solidarity activists with a sharp object, and broke her leg after hitting her with sticks in full view of the occupation soldiers. Wadi al-Ghar area of the village of Kisan, and they threw stones at them and attacked the farmer, Mustafa Abayat, who suffered bruises all over his body. On the first of last March, they assaulted the farmer, Muslim Ibrahim, who is "30 years old." On the twenty-ninth of the same month, they attacked the homes of citizens and sheep herders in Kisan wilderness, and injured Ali Yusef Obayat (70 years old) and his son Jihad, and they were taken to the hospital for treatment.


Continuous attacks
The citizens' vehicles were not spared from the assault and the throwing of stones, nor were their trees spared, as the settlers burn some of them with insecticides and uproot others. They are suppressed and arrested, especially when settlers file malicious complaints against citizens.


Challenge School 5, located in the village of Jub al-Dhib, was not spared from the attacks of these settlers, whether by attacking students or organizing sit-ins in front of it to demand its demolition. Many activists assert that one of the reasons for the occupation forces to announce the demolition of the school is only in response to these settlers and with the encouragement of Ben Ghfir, who is visiting The two settlements from time to time, and he meets his supporters who in some neighborhoods write provocative slogans on the walls of some houses, including in Hebrew "Ben Gvir passed from here" and "Ben Gvir the next prime minister."


practices are not accidental
In this regard, Hasan Brijieh, director of the Wall and Settlement Authority in Bethlehem Governorate, says, "The escalation of attacks by Ansar al-Fashi Ben Gvir was not by chance. Bethlehem is only planned at a high level and it is not long ago that Ben Gvir participates in that, especially since he visits the two settlements constantly. The aim is to seize the pastures of these vast villages, whose lands extend to the shores of the Dead Sea. The cave in the Kisan wilderness, and its annexation of these two settlements.


Brijieh stressed that we cannot remain silent about this reality, warning at the same time that they will commit actual massacres against the citizens, as the indicator is clear and without any ambiguity.

ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 05 May 2023 3:36 pm - Jerusalem Time

A strong earthquake kills a person and destroys homes in Japan

A strong earthquake struck areas in central Japan on Friday, killing at least one person and injuring 21 others, while relief teams are searching for a person stuck under the rubble following the collapse of a number of houses.


The 6.5-magnitude quake struck in the afternoon at a depth of 12 kilometers, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
And meteorologists warned citizens of the possibility of aftershocks or landslides in the coming days, but they ruled out the risk of a tsunami.


"There was a big tremor for a long time that lasted about two minutes. I was scared because the shaking didn't stop," a local government official in Suzu City, who asked not to be named, told state broadcaster NHK.


Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters in Tokyo that one person was killed in the quake and that there were "many reports of building collapses."


The dead man fell after falling off a ladder, an official with the Suzhou Disaster Management Service told AFP, adding that 21 other people were injured.


The firefighting and crisis management services said that at least three buildings were destroyed, with two people trapped inside.


One of them was pulled from the rubble and taken to hospital, while paramedics searched for the other person.


Footage broadcast by NHK showed smashed or twisted traditional wooden houses, broken windows and damaged roofs. In one of the aerial views, the foot of a collapsed mountain can be seen.


Friday is an official holiday in Japan as part of what is known as "Golden Week" when a large number of people travel for entertainment or visit relatives.


Express trains between Nagano and Kanazawa, a popular tourist area, were halted, according to Japan Railways, and resumed after less than two hours.


The magnitude of the quake was 6 on the Japanese Shindo scale of 7.


The American Institute of Geophysics estimated the earthquake's strength at 6.2 degrees, saying that it struck close to the coast, but the Japanese Meteorological Agency determined its epicenter on land.


According to the Japanese minister in charge of managing earthquake disasters, Koichi Tani, there have been reports of landslides and some people resorting to shelters.


Japan is constantly exposed to earthquakes due to its location in the "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific Ocean, which is experiencing high seismic activity. This region extends from Southeast Asia to the Pacific basin.


However, Japan applies very strict building standards to ensure that buildings can withstand a strong earthquake, and often conducts emergency drills associated with a major earthquake.


A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck a fishing village in the same area in 2007, injuring hundreds of people and damaging more than 200 buildings on the Noto Peninsula.


The peninsula is a rural area on the coast of the Sea of Japan, famous for its natural scenery.


Japan is haunted by the specter of the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that occurred under the sea off its northeastern coast in March 2011, which led to a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing.


The tsunami in 2011 also resulted in the destruction of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima facility, causing the worst nuclear disaster in the post-war history of this country, and the most serious nuclear accident in the world since Chernobyl.


Matsuno confirmed to reporters that no abnormal indicators had been detected in the Shiga and Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facilities as a result of Friday's earthquake.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 3:29 pm - Jerusalem Time

Civil Affairs: Receiving the bodies of the three martyrs in Nablus

Today, Friday, the Public Authority for Civil Affairs said that it had received the bodies of the three martyrs in the city of Nablus, which were being held by the Israeli occupation.


The martyrs are: Uday Othman Al-Shami, Jihad Muhammad Al-Shami, Muhammad Raad Dabeek, and their pure bodies will be buried according to the arrangements of their families.

ARAB AND WORLD

Fri 05 May 2023 2:51 pm - Jerusalem Time

The battles continue in Sudan despite the armistice and the US threats to impose sanctions

The battles continued in Sudan on Friday, despite the armistice that the two military commanders fighting for power pledged to abide by, and despite US threats to impose sanctions.


For the 21st day in a row, the five million residents of Khartoum woke up to the sound of air strikes and machine gun fire, according to AFP witnesses.


Since April 15, fighting between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) has resulted in about 700 deaths and thousands of injuries, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Group (ACLED).


US President Joe Biden affirmed that "the tragedy... must end," hinting at imposing sanctions on "individuals who threaten peace," but without naming anyone.


This country, with a population of 45 million, emerged in 2020 from two decades of US sanctions imposed on the Islamic military dictatorship of General Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown by the army under street pressure in 2019.


In 2021, Al-Burhan and Daglo together overthrew their civil partners, after sharing power with them since the fall of Al-Bashir. However, differences soon emerged between the two generals and escalated, one of the most prominent reasons being the conditions for integrating the Rapid Support Forces into the army.


Since then, nothing seems to be able to reconcile the two men, who exchange accusations of violating successive armistices.
And the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, announced on Tuesday that the two parties to the conflict had agreed "in principle", during contact with him, to a truce that would last from the 4th to the 11th of this month.


However, US intelligence chief Avril Heinz expects "long-term" battles, because "the two sides believe that each of them can wait militarily and have little motive to sit at the negotiating table."


For his part, Khaled Omar Youssef, a civilian minister who was dismissed during the coup, said that "every minute that (the war) continues, people die, people are displaced, society is torn apart, and the state weakens."


The fighting resulted in the injury of more than five thousand people, the displacement of at least 335 thousand people and the forced displacement of 115 thousand others, according to the United Nations, which requests 402 million euros to assist Sudan, which is one of the poorest countries in the world.


The United Nations stated that "more than 50,000 people crossed on the third of May" to Egypt, adding that "more than 11,000 people" crossed to Ethiopia and "30,000 people to Chad."


For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that it is "absolutely necessary" that the Sudanese crisis not cross borders.


And in Darfur in the west, on the border with Chad, civilians have been armed to take part in clashes between soldiers and the Rapid Support Forces and tribal and rebel fighters, according to the United Nations.


In this region, which witnessed a bloody war that began in 2003 between the Bashir regime and rebels belonging to ethnic minorities, the Norwegian Refugee Council pointed out that "at least 191 people were killed, dozens of homes were burned, and thousands were displaced," in addition to the looting of its offices.


On Thursday, eyewitnesses reported clashes in El-Obeid, 300 km south of the capital.


On Friday, an additional 30 tons of aid arrived in the port city of Port Sudan, which has remained relatively untouched by the violence.


The United Nations and other NGOs are seeking to negotiate the delivery of these shipments to Khartoum and Darfur, where hospitals and humanitarian stocks have been looted and bombed.


At a time when diplomatic contacts are intensifying in Africa and the Middle East, the army said it chose the proposal put forward by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa (IGAD) because of the need for "African solutions to the continent's problems," while welcoming US and Saudi mediation.


Al-Burhan's envoy was present in Addis Ababa on Thursday. Cairo also announced that it had spoken by phone to the two warring leaders.


The Arab League will hold two extraordinary meetings in Cairo on Sunday at the level of foreign ministers, one of which will be devoted to discussing the war in Sudan, a high-ranking diplomat told AFP.
Al-Burhan's camp pledged to name a delegate to represent it to negotiate a truce with the other party under the auspices of "the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti."
On the other hand, the RSF announced that it had agreed to a truce for three days - not a week - and that it was communicating with a long list of countries and organizations.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 2:41 pm - Jerusalem Time

Injuries during clashes with the occupation in separate areas of the West Bank

Today, Friday, a number of citizens were injured during clashes with the Israeli occupation forces in separate areas of the West Bank.


According to local sources, a number of citizens suffocated with tear gas during clashes with the occupation in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, and Beita, to the south.


While a number of citizens suffocated during the settlers' storming of the Qaryut spring, south of Nablus.


In Qalqilya, 5 civilians were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets, as a result of the Israeli occupation forces' suppression of the weekly Kafr Qaddum march.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 2:36 pm - Jerusalem Time

US court rejects lawsuit filed against Palestinian group accused of supporting "terrorism"

The Court of Appeals in the US capital, Washington, upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by the "Jewish National Fund" against the "American Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR)" in what was considered a major judicial victory against the Israeli lobby organizations' attempts to silence advocacy voices for the Palestinian cause in the United States.


It happened in the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) Court of Appeals on Tuesday, after a lawsuit brought by the Jewish National Fund and 12 other plaintiffs (US citizens living in Israel) targeting the US campaign for and support for Palestinian rights. Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.


The plaintiffs allege an alleged relationship between the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) with the BDS National Committee and support for the Great March of Return, a movement that in 2018 saw thousands of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip protest for their legal right to return to their ancestral homes that they seized. Israel during its creation in 1948.


The suit alleges that these activities violated the Anti-Terrorism Act, which prohibits "material support" of terrorism. Hamas was designated a "foreign terrorist organization" by the United States in 1997.


According to a press release by the US-Palestinian organization USCPR, the court found that "the advocacy and coordination of a boycott of Israel" economically, academically [and] diplomatically "is not illegal."


Although this lawsuit was previously dismissed last January, the move to uphold the dismissal is nonetheless a (interim) victory for the USCPR, given that the organization still expects another appeal sometime in the coming months. Ahmed Abu Zneid said, The executive director of the organization said in a press statement that the plaintiffs will ask the court to reconsider, believing that the court will remain firm in its decision.


What the court did is considered an application of the law that gives the organization the right to work for the Palestinian cause, and all that the "Jewish National Fund" organization seeks is to drown the pro-Palestinian workers in judicial quagmire to waste its efforts and resources.


It is not expected that any future endeavors by the "Jewish National Fund" in this lawsuit will be crowned with any success, but there is concern among activists for Palestinian rights that the continuation of the cases against them exhausts their energies.


In March 2021, a lower court dismissed the lawsuit, calling the arguments unconvincing. In January, the USCPR asked the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington to uphold a federal district court's dismissal of the lawsuit.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 2:04 pm - Jerusalem Time

40,000 perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Tens of thousands performed Friday prayers in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite the strict military measures imposed by the Israeli occupation forces in the vicinity of the mosque and the Old City.


The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem estimated that about 40,000 citizens performed Friday prayers in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid the deployment of the occupation forces in the streets of the city and the vicinity of the mosque, stationing them at its gates, and checking the personal cards of the worshipers.

PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 1:56 pm - Jerusalem Time

A young man was killed in the occupied interior with a new shooting crime

A 34-year-old man was killed this afternoon, Friday, after he was shot in the town of Ein Mahel, in the occupied interior, bringing the death toll of murder victims in the Arab community to 63 since the beginning of this year.


Local sources said that the victim was Muhannad Shalabi, a resident of Ein Mahel, who was shot at the entrance to the town, leaving him in critical condition, after which he was transferred to the Italian Hospital in Nazareth.


Arab society is witnessing a continuous escalation in murders and violent incidents, at a time when the Israeli police are failing to play their role in combating crime, amid indications confirming the complicity of the Israeli security services with criminal gangs.


PALESTINE

Fri 05 May 2023 1:29 pm - Jerusalem Time

The occupation continues to besiege Jericho for the 14th day in a row

The Israeli occupation forces continue to impose their continuous siege on the city of Jericho, for the 14th day in a row.


According to local sources, the occupation forces continue to erect military checkpoints at the entrances to the city of Jericho and its main and secondary exits, stopping and searching vehicles and trucks, checking the identities of passengers, and obstructing the movement and movement of citizens and goods.


The occupation erects its barriers at the main entrances to the city, namely: the two northern entrances to the city on the "Training Authority" and "Al-Maarajat" roads, the southern entrance to the city near Aqabat Jaber camp, and the eastern entrance known as the yellow gate near the Karama crossing.


The violations of the occupation in Jericho from the beginning of this year, according to the latest statistics for the Jericho governorate and the Jordan Valley, resulted in the martyrdom of 9 martyrs who were killed in cold blood, their age did not exceed 28 years, 45 wounded, and 137 detainees. martyrs, and targets the Palestinians with its punitive measures.


While the total value of the losses of the city of Jericho in the tourism sector and related sectors from the month of February to the month of April amounted to 221 million shekels, while the losses of the city of Jericho in the same sector during the holiday period amounted to 121.4 million shekels.

_

Fri 05 May 2023 1:19 pm - Jerusalem Time

People who will attend the coronation of King Charles

About 2,300 people are expected to attend King Charles III's coronation, far fewer than the more than 8,000 guests who packed Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953.


The following are the most prominent personalities expected to be present or absent:


- Prince Harry, the youngest son of the king, who withdrew from royal life and directed a barrage of criticism of his family.


Prince Harry is expected to attend the coronation ceremony itself and not the other events scheduled for that day.


Among the world leaders: Australian Prime Minister Antwi Albanese, Chinese Vice President Han Jing, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hepkins, Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.


- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murti, along with members of the government and about 80 members of both houses of Parliament.


- Hundreds of community heroes, such as the student Max Wozi, who slept in a tent in his garden for three years, to collect donations for charitable causes.


- Among the kings and princes of the world, King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia, Crown Prince of Denmark Frederick and Princess Mary, Crown Prince of Japan Fumihito and Princess Kiko, Prince of Monaco Albert II and Princess Charlene, King Abdul II of Jordan and Queen Rania, King of Maori Toihitia, King of Thailand Maha Vigilalongkorn and Queen Sutida.


- American pop star Lionel Richie, the first global ambassador for the Prince Charles Charity Fund.


Camila's children, cookbook author Tom Parker Bowles and art expert Laura Lopez, and their father, Camilla's ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
- US President Joe Biden will represent his wife, First Lady Jill Biden.


Meghan, Prince Harry's wife, will stay in California with their two children, Lilibet and Archie.


- Most members of the British aristocracy, including the Earl of Carnarvon, the baptismal son of the late Queen Elizabeth and a close friend of the family, whose family owns the luxurious Highclere Palace, where the drama series Downton Abbey was filmed.
The elite of British society usually expected to be invited to the ceremony.


But the matter is different this time, given Charles' desire that the list of invitees be according to "merit, not aristocracy."


Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, the King's brother, who still lives with him at Windsor Castle.
- Lady Pamela Mountbatten, 94, his son Louis Mountbatten, mentor to Charles, and one of two surviving bridesmaids at the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II in 1947.

ECONOMY

Fri 05 May 2023 1:17 pm - Jerusalem Time

Earnings from Apple and other tech giants exceed expectations

Giant technology companies were able to rebound again during the first quarter of 2023, despite the global economic slowdown, as their revenues and profits exceeded market expectations, thanks to their resorting to mass exchange operations and issuing a number of advanced products.


The company's "Apple" results, published Thursday, greatly exceeded analysts' expectations, as the US group's revenues amounted to about $95 billion between January and March, while its net profits amounted to $24 billion.


iPhone sales rose slightly year-on-year to $51.33 billion, also exceeding analysts' expectations, while demand for electronic devices fell sharply due to inflation.


In addition, the activity of the services provided by the company (music, entertainment, online storage, payments...) rose slightly on an annual basis, achieving about $ 21 billion in the second quarter of its troubled fiscal year.


A statement quoted Apple President Tim Cook as saying, "We are pleased that we achieved a record for services and another record result for sales of + iPhone + during the second quarter of the year (...) that our most prominent active devices have reached their highest levels."


He said during a phone call with analysts, "We have achieved record revenues through the 'Apple Store' (App Store for 'iPhone' phones), pointing out that 'more than 975 million paid subscriptions' have been registered for services provided by 'Apple'."


Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, pointed out that “+Apple+ scored many points in the past quarter,” pointing out that the progress witnessed in the results of “iPhone” shows that the company “continues to gain market share in China despite the bad economic conditions.


The Cupertino Group's revenue and net profit declined slightly year-on-year, but the market expected worse results.


The demand for electronic devices, which rose a lot during the pandemic period and the quarantine associated with it, has decreased in recent months due to inflation.


And in the second half of 2022, mobile phone sales around the world fell to their lowest level since 2014, according to Canalys.


Canalys analyst Lu Xuanqiu noted in late January that "the popularity of iPhones in terms of their professional advantage is helping Apple increase market share, despite pressures in demand."


"Unexpected supply difficulties associated with these devices prompted Apple to accelerate the diversification process to mitigate the impact of this problem," he said.


Last month, “Apple” launched a savings account with high interest rates (4.15% on an annual basis, compared to 0.37% on average in the United States) for holders of “Apple Card” cards that became available in the market in 2019. About 990 million were deposited. dollars in these accounts during the first four days, according to Forbes.


Sales of personal computers declined at the beginning of the year, while Apple's Macs did not escape this decline, as it generated revenues of $7.2 billion during the past quarter, compared to $10.4 billion in the same period last year.


Over the past week, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) and Amazon reassured the markets of better-than-expected quarterly results, despite the slowdown in their growth.


Despite advertisers reducing their perks, Meta and Google's digital advertising revenue rose slightly year-on-year, to about $70 billion (Google) and $29 billion (Meta).


Their decisions to dispense with the services of a large number of employees were well received by investors, just like Amazon's plan, which decided to cut 27,000 jobs.


The e-commerce and cloud computing company's revenues exceeded $127 billion, with an increase of $3 billion over the expected result.


Microsoft pleased Wall Street with cloud-powered revenue. The group is building on its success in the field of artificial intelligence by integrating into its services tools pioneered by the startup OpenAI, which launched ChatGPT.


Analyst Dan Ives noted last week that "the macroeconomic environment is not buoyant, but technology has weathered it better than all the pessimists expected," adding, "With cost-cutting and huge market capitalization as a safety net, we expect the sector to weather the storm more easily than other sectors."