On Monday morning, the Israeli oppression units stormed Section (6) in Rimon Prison.

According to the Prisoners' Club, those forces carried out extensive searches inside the department, amid a state of tension that prevailed in the prison.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen will travel to Brussels tomorrow, Tuesday, to hold meetings with European officials.

Cohen is expected to meet with European Union Foreign Minister Joseph Borrell, whom Israel previously refused to allow him to enter occupied Palestine, for political reasons related to his positions on the Palestinian issue, as reported by the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz.

Although the declared goal of the visit is the Iranian file, the crux of the conversation will focus on the European Union's stances towards the Palestinians, and its support for Palestinian projects that use some of them for "terrorist" activities, according to the Israeli government's claim.

Before heading to Brussels to meet with Borrell and other European figures, Cohen said: "It is important for me to make it clear to our friends in Europe that Israel does not oppose humanitarian aid coming from European countries and the Union to the Palestinian Authority, but we will not allow European aid to indirectly reach and be used by terrorist organizations." In acts of incitement against Israel and the Israelis. According to him.

Last March, Borrell said that violence is increasing on both sides, and indiscriminate attacks claim many lives, and that settler violence in the West Bank is increasing and threatening the lives of Palestinians, and that Israeli military operations often lead to the killing of Palestinian civilians, and sometimes without proper accountability, while settlement continues. Illegally expanding, the status quo regarding holy sites is eroding.

At the time, Israel considered these statements as a comparison from Borrell to what it described as "Palestinian terrorism" with the measures it takes to defend itself.

A young man (20 years old) was critically wounded today, Monday, when he was shot by the occupation forces in Bethlehem.

According to the Ministry of Health, the young man was hit by an explosive bullet fired at him by the occupation soldiers, which penetrated his lower back and the thoracic cavity, causing a complete laceration of the right lung.

It indicated that during his surgery at Beit Jala Governmental Hospital, surgeons found dozens of shrapnel in his chest and lung.

She indicated that the young man was hit by a live bullet in the hand, and the bleeding was stopped.

Paraguayan voters Sunday chose a president from the right-wing party that has held power for nearly eight decades, at the expense of a centre-left rival whose campaign has centered on fighting endemic corruption.

Santiago Peña, a 44-year-old economist and former finance minister, won more than 42 percent of the vote, continuing the dominance of the right-wing conservative Colorado party, the results showed.

His opponent, Efrain Allegri, 60, of the center-left coalition of parties, received about 27.5 percent, despite his narrow lead in opinion polls.

The result bucked the recent trend in Latin America, with voters voting for left-wing parties to punish the political class and major parties.

The Colorado Party has been ruling almost continuously since 1947, despite the transformation of the regime from dictatorship to democracy in 1989.

But Peña was forced during the election campaigns to defend himself from the stigma attached to his political mentor, former President Horacio Cartes, whom Washington officially described in 2022 as "extremely corrupt" and prevented him from entering and dealing with US soil.

In his first speech after his election, he thanked Peña Cartes for his "unwavering dedication to the party" to cheers from his supporters at the party's headquarters.
Allegri conceded defeat, saying "the effort was not enough".

About 4.8 million voters out of a population of 7.5 million were invited to choose a successor to President Mario Abdo Benitez, who ended a five-year term defined by the constitution.

They also voted to elect their deputies, and the Colorado party achieved the largest share in the Senate, with about 43 percent.

Although voting is compulsory in this country, the participation rate was only 63 percent.

Endemic corruption, crime and poverty were major campaign themes.

Like his rival, Alegre, Peña is a conservative with hardline stances on abortion and same-sex marriage in a country where the overwhelming majority is Catholic.

In terms of international politics, Peña pledged to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, unlike Allegri, who promised to transfer official recognition to China.

Paraguay is one of only 13 countries in the world - and the only one in South America - to officially recognize Taiwan.
The latter congratulated Benya on his election.

"Based on common values such as democracy, freedom and traditional friendship between the two countries, we will continue to strengthen cooperation and exchanges with the new government of Paraguay," Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement Monday.

Peña also pledged, in statements to Agence France-Presse, to move the Paraguayan embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Allegri has repeatedly pointed to endemic corruption in the Colorado party.

Paraguay ranks 137 out of 180 in the ranking of the NGO Transparency International.

Per capita GDP is expected to grow by 4.8 percent in 2023, according to the Central Bank, and 4.5 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund, which is among the highest rates in Latin America.

However, a quarter of the population suffers from poverty.

Indigenous groups and slum dwellers particularly complain of neglect and many have said they will not vote.
Peña has pledged to create half a million jobs without explaining how.

"From tomorrow (Monday) we will start planning for a Paraguay that we all want, without unfair social inequalities. We have a lot of work to do," he said in his victory speech.

Crime is also a concern. The Anti-Money Laundering Attorney General, a crime-fighting mayor, and a journalist were killed in 2022, in settling scores between cartels.

Because Paraguay's borders are porous (landlocked and located between Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia) it is a major transit point for drug trafficking into Europe.

"We hope the least bad wins. Everyone has weaknesses," Marta Fernandez, 29, told AFP after casting her vote in Asuncion.

Also in the capital, voter Ana Barros, 60, said, "At least we must hope for a decrease in the crime rate. What I hope as a mother is for the children to be able to study and work."

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he will invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress if President Joe Biden does not invite him to the White House.

McCarthy, who is on a visit to Israel accompanied by 16 members of Congress to participate in the celebrations of the so-called "independence" (the Palestinian Nakba), did not specify a date for Netanyahu's visit to Congress if he was invited, but he confirmed that he would do so, and that it should take place soon.

In an interview with the Hebrew newspaper, Israel Hayom, McCarthy described Netanyahu as a "dear friend."

He pointed out that since he took office 80 days ago, he had not met with Biden, saying: "He treats me the same way, that Netanyahu and I are on the same path."

McCarthy pointed out that before his arrival in Tel Aviv, he met with the Jordanian monarch, Abdullah II, and discussed with him several issues, including the case of Jordanian MP Imad Al-Adwan and his accusation of smuggling weapons to the West Bank, which he said bothered him a lot, and that the Jordanian monarch does not support what the aggression did.

The Palestinian Minister of Health, Mai al-Kaila, condemned the Israeli occupation's aggression against Beit Jala Governmental Hospital and its firing of gas bombs in its yards, which endangered the lives of patients, especially children and the elderly.

Al-Kaila added, in a statement, that the occupation army deliberately fired gas canisters in the hospital yards, causing many patients and their companions to suffocate.

And she added that the medical staff in the hospital closed the first floor in the hospital in order to preserve the patients until the occupation withdrew from the hospital’s vicinity.

The Minister of Health called on the international community, international legal organizations and human rights organizations to put pressure on the occupying power to stop its aggression against our people and the health and medical institutions that international law stipulates to protect.

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz revealed, on Monday, that the Israeli authorities have reached the final planning stages of constructing a separate road for the Palestinians linking the south and north of the West Bank in the E1 area near the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, without passing through the settlements.

According to the Hebrew newspaper, the road was planned in an area where Israel had so far avoided construction due to severe international criticism.

The United States, the European Union and other countries criticized any plans in the region, especially since they are considered part of the heart of the plan for the future Palestinian state.

The planned route is supposed to pass from the Al-Zaim area and continue to Al-Eizariya, southeast of Jerusalem, and its stated purpose is to separate Palestinian passengers who have to cross "Gush Adumim" to reach Route 1, away from Jewish passengers, according to the newspaper.

She pointed out that the road was originally planned according to the route of the separation wall that was built in the area, which means that Israel will be able to start building the route of the separation wall planned around "Gush Adumim" and build in the area.

She pointed out that the road planning was approved in 2020 by the then Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, and its construction depends on the political level.

The project is defined as "security" and does not pass through the usual planning institutions and its planning processes are not transparent, yet the Ministry of Transportation and the Jerusalem Infrastructure Company participate in it.

The road partially passes through Areas (B), which are areas in which Israel does not have the authority to plan and build regular roads. It was recently agreed between the Ministries of Finance and Transportation to allocate an additional 30 million shekels for the road, out of a total cost estimate of 279 million shekels.

The Ma'ale Adumim settlement municipality says that the purpose of the road is to separate the lines of communication between the Palestinians and the settlers, and it will allow the Palestinian residents to go directly to Ramallah without passing through the Al-Za'im checkpoint or the roads used by the Jews.

On the political level, the road will connect Jerusalem with the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim, and allow construction in the existing Jewish settlement in the area known as E1.

Attorney Neta Ammar Shiv, representing the municipality of Al-Eizariya and the Bedouin communities in the area, says that the road will be built on the basis of an order to seize private Palestinian lands, and it will exacerbate and exacerbate the traffic crisis and will not solve it, as Israel claims, and will cut off the road between the Bedouin communities living in Area C.

While the Peace Now organization said that the road will separate Al-Khan Al-Ahmar from the dozens of Bedouin communities surrounding it, and it is an apartheid road designed to close a vast area in the heart of the West Bank to the Palestinians, which means annexing those areas to Israel.

At dawn on Monday, the Israeli occupation forces launched a campaign of arrests among citizens in the West Bank.

According to local sources, those forces arrested Mahdi al-Sharqawi, a leader in the Islamic Jihad, after storming his house in the town of Zababdeh, south of Jenin.

Meanwhile, the editor, Samer Bani Odeh, was arrested from the town of Tammun, south of Tubas.

In Nablus, the occupation forces arrested a group of citizens following a massive campaign of raids on a number of homes. Among them were Nasser Badawi, his son Ahmed, Nizam Yousef and his son Karam, Waddah Nasuh and his son Nasuh, Abdul Latif Salham, Muhammad Sheikh Musa, and Amjad Bakr.

The occupation forces arrested a young man from Tulkarm, whose identity was not known, after storming a house in Nur Shams camp.

Meanwhile, the two young men, Anas Hatem Qafisha and Omar Abu Sneineh, were arrested after storming their homes in Hebron.

During their incursion into several areas, especially Zababdeh and Nur Shams camp, the occupation forces came under fire from the resistance fighters.

A 19-year-old man was killed at dawn today, Monday, as a result of a fire that broke out in a room he was sleeping in next to a restaurant in the Kafr Qassem area of the occupied interior.

According to the Hebrew Channel 7, the young man is a resident of the West Bank.

A woman and her two children were killed, at dawn on Monday, by her husband, in the occupied city of Al-Taybeh.

According to the Hebrew website Ynet, Baraa Jaber Masarwa (26 years old), and her two children Amir (two years old) and Adam (six months old) were stabbed to death by the head of the family.

According to the Hebrew site, the mother was stabbed to death in the kitchen, while he stabbed his two children while they were sleeping in their bed.

The Israeli police said that it is investigating the circumstances of the incident, while the Taybeh municipality refused to link it to the usual murders in the Arab sector, considering what happened as a humanitarian catastrophe.

A young man was killed and a number of other citizens were injured, this morning, Monday, by the Israeli occupation forces, after they stormed the Aqabat Jaber camp in the city of Jericho.

According to medical sources, the young man, Jibril Kamal (Al-Lada'a), was killed when he was shot directly at him, and the occupation forces prevented the medical staff from transporting him for treatment.

According to the same sources, at least 6 citizens, including a woman, were wounded by the occupation bullets.

The sources indicated that the occupation forces arrested the two young men, Ahmed Wahdan and Ahmed Jihad.

The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces announced on Sunday the extension of the truce, which ends at midnight, for a period of three days, although it has been constantly violated since its inception.

The army said in a statement that, based on Saudi and American efforts, "the armed forces agreed to extend the armistice," stressing its "full readiness to deal with any violations."

The Rapid Support Forces also announced "an extension of the humanitarian truce for 72 hours" in response to "international, regional and local calls."

It said it would abide by the cease-fire "despite the continued violations" by the army.

Sudan has plunged into chaos since the bloody struggle for power erupted in mid-April between army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, nicknamed "Hemedti".

The war left at least 528 dead and 4,599 wounded, according to figures announced by the Ministry of Health on Saturday, but the toll is likely to be higher.

The two parties to the conflict regularly exchange accusations of violating the truce, which was extended for three days under international mediation, and ends at midnight on Sunday (22:00 GMT).

According to eyewitnesses, Agence France-Presse, clashes took place near the army headquarters in Khartoum, and the city of Omdurman, west of the capital, was subjected to air strikes.

From the south of Khartoum, an eyewitness said, "There is very fierce fighting and heavy shooting in the street every few minutes since early morning."

With the battles entering its third week, families in the capital, which has a population of about five million people, and its suburbs are still suffering from a lack of food, water, electricity and cash, and many of them are staying at home.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced internally or to neighboring countries, while several foreign and Arab countries are organizing large-scale evacuations.

The first shipment of humanitarian aid from the Red Cross arrived in Port Sudan on Sunday, sent from Amman and weighing eight tons.

"We were able to fly to Port Sudan from Amman as a medical staff, with supplies to deal with war-wounded, enough to stabilize 1,500 wounded," Patrick Youssef, regional director for Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told a virtual press conference from Geneva.

Youssef hopes to "obtain permits and security guarantees," adding, "We have another medical staff ready (...) and we also hope to send aid from Nairobi in the coming days."

International and regional powers called for an end to the escalating violence between the two military leaders, but they refused direct talks and exchanged accusations through the media.

On Sunday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan met with an envoy of Lieutenant General Al-Burhan.

No diplomatic solution appears on the horizon, despite international and regional efforts.

However, the Arab League announced that a meeting would be held on Monday at the ambassadorial level, at the request of Egypt, to discuss the situation in Sudan again.

In a statement, the United Nations announced the retention of a number of its employees in Sudan, headed by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Volker Berthes, while 700 of its employees, embassies and non-governmental organizations arrived at Port Sudan in preparation for their evacuation.

The statement stated that "43 internationally recruited United Nations staff and 29 international NGO staff have already been evacuated from El Geneina (West Darfur) and Zalingei (Central Darfur) to Chad... A small number of internationally recruited staff will remain, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General." Volker Berthes, in Sudan and will continue to work towards a solution to the current crisis."

The United Nations said that about 75,000 people were internally displaced during the first week of fighting, mainly in the states of Khartoum, Northern, Blue Nile, North Kordofan, North, West and South Darfur.

More than 30,000 people fled to Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Central Africa, according to United Nations estimates, which warned that the number of fleeing could reach 270,000 if the fighting continues.

Arab and foreign countries intensified efforts to evacuate their employees and nationals.

The Sudanese Ministry of Health said that the fighting affected 12 states out of 18 in the country.

In West Darfur, at least 96 people have been killed since Monday in El Geneina, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which described the situation as "serious".

Looting, destruction and arson are increasing, including inside camps for the displaced, according to Doctors Without Borders, which was forced to "stop almost all of its work in West Darfur" because of the violence, according to the organization's deputy director in Sudan, Sylvain Peron.

In a statement, Peron warned that his organization is "very concerned about the impact of violence on those who have already suffered waves of violence."

The Ministry of Health indicated that "the armed tribal conflict caused the destruction of the main hospital in El Geneina and the Ministry of Health, and damaged its property, vehicles and equipment."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the fighting in Darfur as "horrific," and said, "Society is collapsing, and we see tribes now trying to arm themselves."

The Darfur region witnessed a bloody war that began in 2003 between the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir and rebels belonging to ethnic minorities, killing 300,000 people and displacing 2.5 million others, according to the United Nations.

In this war, Al-Bashir resorted to forming the "Janjaweed" militia, led by Dagalo, which later evolved into the Rapid Support Forces, which were officially established in 2013.

In 2021, Al-Burhan and Daglo overthrew their civilian partners, after sharing power with them since the fall of President Omar Al-Bashir in 2019.

However, differences soon emerged between them and escalated, the most prominent of which was the conditions for integrating the Rapid Support Forces into the army.

The Sudanese army announced in a statement that Dagalo was moving forces "from the west to the capital." It was not possible to verify this information from an independent source.

Experts from the Carnegie Center for Middle East Studies say that Dagalo can "mobilize the Arab tribes in Darfur and in other regions," and add, "The longer he can maintain his positions in Khartoum for a longer period, the stronger his position will be at the negotiating table."

On Sunday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a young man from Tulkarm camp.

According to local sources, these forces arrested the young man, Muhammad Nabil Sheikh Ali (20 years), after checking with his intelligence services at Al-Taybeh military checkpoint, located on citizens' lands, southwest of Tulkarm.

The Secretary-General of the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions, Shaher Saad, confirmed that 143 million shekels are lost by Palestinian workers who work inside, and are paid monthly to permit brokers.

Saad confirmed in an interview with Al-Quds.com, on the occasion of International Labor Day, which falls on tomorrow, Monday, the first of May, that there is an increase in the value of what workers pay to permit brokers, as last year it was 120 million shekels per month, but it was monitored and reached Since the beginning of this year until now, 143 million shekels per month, as the worker pays an average of 3 thousand shekels to these brokers for each permit for one month.

Saad stressed that what is happening by employers by evading taxes, as well as paying lower wages, has prompted workers to resort to the black market and permit brokers, since they are paid attractive salaries, much more than those paid through work in an organized and official way!

According to Saad, 220,000 male and female workers work inside the country, of whom 75,000 work through permit brokers, 105,000 work in an organized manner, and 30,000 work smuggled.

On the other hand, and about the number of workers who have died since the beginning of this year until now, Saad said: "35 workers have been martyred for a living since the beginning of this year, including 27 workers inside, while 1,800 injuries were monitored for workers, of whom 50 were wounded by the occupation's bullets, and the rest are minors." He worked, which are statistics that we could not reach and they declared that.”

On a separate note, Saad stressed that Labor Day this year comes in light of the need to work to pass laws and legislation that protect the rights of the working class, without which social justice for workers cannot be achieved.

Saad continued, "In addition, the minimum wage is not applied in light of the need for the existence of labor courts, as more than 75,000 male and female workers have been monitored who are not subject to the minimum wage law."

Saad noted that the current minimum wage is 1,880 shekels, although it is incomplete and inconsistent with the cost of living table and the high prices table. He said: "The minimum wage was 1,450 shekels, then it was raised after painstaking negotiations."

Saad continued, "However, in light of the high prices and high cost of living, work must be done to link the minimum wage to those hikes, as wages vary from year to year, and it has become a requirement to raise the minimum wage to 2450 shekels."

On Sunday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a young man in the eastern town of Al-Sawahra, in occupied Jerusalem.

Those forces arrested a young man - whose identity was not known - after shooting at his vehicle in the town.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party have dominated political life in Turkey for twenty years.

Some segments of society benefited from this, while others lost out in a polarized country. Here are some examples on the eve of the presidential and legislative elections on May 14.

Religious people
Known as the Diyanet, the Department of Religious Affairs has become a powerful social force under the rule of Erdogan, a devout Muslim whose conservative Islamist party challenged the secular foundations of post-Ottoman Turkey.

This administration has its own television channel, which plays a role in political debate, and benefits from a budget similar to that of a medium-sized ministry. Its broad powers have made it a target for the president's secular opponents, who complain about the rise in mosques, Koran lessons, and the influence of religious fraternities.

The former head of Diyanet, Mehmet Gormez, found himself embroiled in a scandal because of his extravagant lifestyle.

Real estate and construction sector
Under Erdogan's leadership, real estate and major projects have developed across Turkey, spurring growth.

However, some groups and businessmen considered close to the government have been awarded controversial public contracts.

This boom reshaped the country, giving new homes to millions of people while dramatically altering the image of a city like Istanbul, which was suddenly full of skyscrapers. This development boom was accompanied by the head of state's appetite for "crazy projects" and ambitious mega-investments worth billions of dollars - bridges, highways, airports... - including the Istanbul Canal, designed to double the size of the Bosphorus but never seen the light of day.

conservative women
Erdogan has defended the rights of conservative Muslims after decades of staunch secularism. Thus, religious women were gradually allowed to wear the headscarf - previously prohibited - in universities, public offices, the police and parliament. In fact, the head of state made it a personal matter because his two daughters, who wear hijabs like their mother, were "not allowed to wear hijabs" at university.

media
The Turkish media landscape, which was considered an epitome of pluralism, has gradually contracted under Erdogan. Observers note that 90 percent of the Turkish media is now controlled by the government or its supporters. The outgoing president preferred that newspapers and television channels be owned by businessmen close to the authority who were granted public loans. In parallel, the suppression of dissenting voices began, especially those emanating from the Kurdish media, which was further strengthened after the failed coup in 2016. According to the Turkish association "B24", 64 journalists are currently in prison.

Army
The Turkish army, secular and accustomed to coups, gradually lost its influence on the political arena. This accelerated after a military faction staged a coup attempt in 2016, attributed to the preacher Fethullah Gulen, who was exiled to the United States. Erdogan responded with purges that led to the imprisonment of thousands of soldiers - hundreds for life. The high-ranking military personnel were also eliminated, which weakened the capabilities of the main force in NATO's eastern flank. The Air Force, in particular, lost many of its pilots and officers.

Kurds
After secular governments oppressed the Kurds, like the majority of minorities in Turkey, they helped elect Erdogan and supported him in his early days. The head of state tried to strengthen their cultural and linguistic rights, and initiated negotiations to put an end to the armed activity of part of them and grant them a greater degree of autonomy in the southeast. But after the failure of these talks and the outbreak of violence in 2015-2016, the Kurdish community (15 to 20 million people) found itself under increasing pressure. Dozens of Kurdish leaders have been imprisoned or removed from their elected positions.

The main pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, whose leader has been imprisoned, is also at risk of being banned, like many parties before it accused of "terrorism".

Middle class
Turkey experienced an economic boom during the first decade of Erdogan's rule, which led to the formation of a thriving new middle class. But since 2013, the economy has moved from one crisis to another. According to the World Bank, Turkey's gross domestic product—which is a measure of a country's wealth—has fallen to the level of Erdogan's first five years in power.

With the official inflation rate reaching more than 85 percent last year, the savings of millions of families have dissipated, and many families are barely able to secure their sources of spending until the end of the month.

On Sunday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested two civilians who tried to cross the border fence in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to the Israeli army spokesperson, no weapons were found in their possession and they were transferred for interrogation.

Today, Sunday, the Israeli authorities continued their siege of the city of Jericho in the West Bank for the ninth day in a row, according to local officials and Palestinian citizens who complained of incurring economic losses as a result of this step.

The deputy mayor of Jericho, Fathi Brahma, told Xinhua that the Israeli authorities are tightening their procedures around Jericho and erecting military checkpoints at its entrances for the ninth day, which has affected the economic and social lives of Palestinians.

Brahma added that the mood of the Israeli authorities is what is being dealt with with the lives of the residents. There is an incomprehensible stress on people leaving the city, while facilitating movement for those entering the city without any justification.

He pointed out that heavy economic losses were inflicted on the city and its economy as a result of this blockade, as thousands refrained from visiting the city, which is the first tourist destination for Palestinians in the West Bank and Palestinians from East Jerusalem and inside Israel.

Brahma reported that the prices of many agricultural products fell due to the blockade and that farmers were unable to export their crops to other cities in the West Bank, while severe damage was inflicted on the tourism sector, which is the backbone of the city's economy, and the activity and purchasing movement that follows it is almost suspended.

No official Israeli comment was issued regarding the siege of the city, but the Hebrew public radio reported that the steps imposed on Jericho, which is a destination for tourism and visitors, came due to the escalation of operations in a way that had not happened in years.

The head of the Chamber of Commerce in Ariha, Tayseer Hamidi, condemned the continuation of the policy of blockade imposed on the city, considering it a "collective punishment" aimed at hitting the city's economy.

Hamidi told Xinhua that the initial losses of the economic sectors as a result of the ongoing Israeli siege on Jericho for the ninth day in a row were estimated at tens of millions of dollars.

Hamidi explained that the affected sectors are represented by the tourism sector, buying goods from shops or renting hotels, as well as tourist villas and swimming pools that the city is famous for, as well as transportation and communications.

Hamidi warned of the reluctance of investors to invest in Jericho, especially from areas of Jerusalem, in light of the disruption of construction projects in which the city witnessed a great renaissance during the past years.

The siege around Jericho began last Saturday on the second day of Eid al-Fitr, when the city was preparing to receive more than half a million people during the holidays from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Palestinians in Israel due to the abundance of tourist facilities and parks in it.

Palestinian activists circulated on the social networking site ((Facebook)) pictures showing the Israeli forces stopping vehicles and subjecting them to searches and verifying the identities of their passengers at the checkpoints.

In this regard, Rami Mahdawi from Ramallah wrote on his Facebook page about the difficult moments he experienced for nearly seven hours at an Israeli checkpoint while returning to his home from Jericho on the third day of Eid al-Fitr.

Mahdawi said, "After spending quality time with the family in one of Jericho's parks, a journey of torment and hardship began, after military checkpoints were erected at all entrances to Jericho and impeded the movement of citizens."

He added, "A journey of suffering represented by spending all the time inside your vehicle with two girls who have many needs, without being able to answer their many repeated questions and comments (why are they standing) and (we want to drink and eat)".

Mahdawi believed that the issue of "detaining thousands of citizens for a long time is one of the attempts made by the occupation in order to disbelieve the Palestinian in his cause and its justice, and to hit the internal tourism and its economic impact and to bring the Palestinian family down and try to show it as weak and unable to protect itself."

Jericho, which is inhabited by more than 30,000 people, including 6,000 Palestinian refugees, is an ancient Palestinian area located near the Jordan River and north of the Dead Sea, and is known as the City of the Moon.

The number of permanent and temporary Israeli barriers dividing the West Bank, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, is estimated at 593 military checkpoints and gates, while the Israeli army says that the deployment of military checkpoints comes for security considerations.

According to a 2021 study issued by the Applied Research Institute (ARIJ), a non-governmental organization headquartered in the city of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, Palestinians lose about 60 million working hours annually due to checkpoints, with losses estimated at about $270 million annually.

Today, Sunday evening, the Israeli Ofer Court extended the detention of Jordanian MP Imad Al-Adwan for 8 days. According to his lawyer, Jawad Boulos.

The Israeli Public Prosecution submitted a request to the court to extend the detention of Attorney Adwan for an additional 12 days pending investigation, which prompted his lawyer to refuse this, while the court did not allow them to meet their client.

Today, Sunday, the court convened, one day before the expiration of the eight-day extension of the detention period, with the ruling that tomorrow, Monday, is an official holiday in the Israeli occupation state.

On Sunday, the governor of the Bryansk region in western Russia announced that the death toll in a Ukrainian air strike that targeted the Russian border village of Suzymka at night had risen to four.

Ukrainian missiles hit the village of Suzymka, about ten kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border, according to local governor Aleksandr Bogomaz, who wrote on Telegram, "Four civilians were killed."

The initial toll issued by the authorities stated that two people were killed.

Bogomaz indicated that the bodies of two other victims were recovered from under the rubble of a house destroyed by the bombing.

Towns and infrastructure in the Russian regions bordering Ukraine, such as Bryansk and Belgorod, are hit by strikes that Moscow attributes to the Ukrainian army, without Kiev claiming responsibility for them.

On Saturday, five districts of Belgorod were deprived of electricity after Ukrainian artillery shelling.

Doctors Without Borders called on the Israeli government to immediately stop demolishing Palestinian homes, schools, property, and infrastructure in Masafer Yatta, and to stop issuing new demolition orders, and to comply with international and humanitarian law.

Doctors Without Borders, during a documentary report presented today, Sunday, in its office in the city of Hebron, denounced the Israeli policies, and called on the occupation authorities to immediately stop forced displacement plans, and called on the international community to take all necessary measures to protect the population and ensure respect for their human rights.

The head of the Doctors Without Borders mission in Palestine, David Cantero, called on the Israeli authorities to immediately stop the demolition, to follow international law and human rights law, and to stop the demolition of schools, homes, and night raids in Masafer Yatta.

He pointed out that the occupation authorities are imposing enormous pressure on the residents of Masafer Yatta to leave the area, which may amount to a forced transfer, which is prohibited under international and humanitarian law.

He explained that the occupation authorities have intensified their measures since May 2022, after the "Israeli Supreme" issued a ruling to remove all legal restrictions that impede the forced displacement of Palestinians in the region, which affected the mental health of the population, and their access to basic services, including medical care. .

The report included individual interviews and focused discussions with residents of the villages of Masafer Yatta (Umm Qassah, Umm al-Khair, al-Majaz, al-Markaz, Sha'ab al-Butum, and Wasfiya al-Fawqa), documenting their suffering from repressive measures and political violence from the occupation and settlers, with the aim of forced displacement.

The organization called on the international community to intervene urgently, especially the three parties (the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations), by pressuring Israel to stop violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Masafer Yatta, and to demand accountability for the demolition of donor-funded buildings in Masafer Yatta.

Today, Sunday, two citizens were injured when settlers attacked them in the town of Burqa, northwest of Nablus.

According to local sources, settlers from the "Homesh" settlement attacked the citizens, Khaled Salah and Mahmoud Reda Farounia, while they were in the village lands, injuring them, and they were transferred to Rafidia Governmental Hospital for treatment.

The Authority for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said that the Israeli Prisons Administration transferred the detainee, Muhammad Yusef al-Soufi, to Soroka Hospital.

The authority stated that the prisoner, "Al-Sufi", was admitted to the hospital after he lost consciousness as a result of extreme exhaustion while he was leaving to Al-Fura Square.

The authority pointed out that the prisoner underwent a catheterization operation inside the hospital, and he is now in a stable condition.

Today, Sunday, the Israeli Ofer Military Court postponed issuing a decision regarding the release of prisoner Khader Adnan, on a bail request.

The session was held in his presence via video conference, and a new session was set for him on the tenth of next May.

It is noteworthy that the prisoner, Khader Adnan, is on hunger strike for the 85th day in a row.

After a religious ceremony on May 6th, the UK will witness three days of celebrations for the coronation of Charles III. The religious ceremony is rooted in royal traditions, but the king wanted to modernize it.

This historic day will start with the "King's Procession", which will head to Westminster from Buckingham Palace, in a carriage that will travel about two kilometers.

The ceremony is scheduled to start at 11:00 (10:00 GMT) and last for about an hour under the supervision of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church.

The celebration, which will include classical music and more modern musical compositions, is supposed to reflect "the king's role today and aspiration to the future, while rooted in tradition and historical greatness," according to the palace.

Although Charles III (74 years) wanted a simpler and shorter celebration than the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, in front of an audience of guests limited to two thousand people (foreign leaders, kings, elected officials, civil society), some steps remain unchangeable.

Once in church, the King will be introduced to the audience, who will salute him, before taking the oath.

The Coronation Oath, written since 1688, has undergone changes over the centuries. For example, Elizabeth II swore to rule "according to her laws" the people of the United Kingdom and the 14 other countries of the Crown, and to defend the Anglican faith, which the king presides over.

Charles would be characterized by a more ecumenical discourse towards all religions.

Next, the King, seated in King Edward's Chair, will receive the anointing from the Archbishop, then the royal robes, the golden ball with a cross, and the scepter and crown of St. Edward will be placed on his head.

Members of the ruling family will pay homage to the king.

After that, the King and Queen Camilla, who will also be crowned during the ceremony, will leave in a carriage as part of the "coronation procession" towards Buckingham, accompanied this time by a procession of about four thousand soldiers dressed in ceremonial clothes.

The royal family will finally appear on the palace balcony to greet the crowd and watch the Royal Air Force planes take to the skies.

Some members of the royal family will play a role during the coronation ceremony, while others, such as Prince Harry, who is present without his wife Meghan, or his uncle, Prince Andrew, who has been affected by a sex scandal, will be present only as spectators.

Thus, Charles chose four companions from his relatives, including his grandson Prince George (9 years old), second in the line of succession to the throne, and the young son of Edward Tollemache, the king's baptismal son.

For her part, Queen Consort Camilla chose members of her family from her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles. She will be accompanied by three of her grandchildren, Gus, Louis and Freddie, in addition to Arthur, who is the son of one of her nephews.

In addition to the May 6 ceremony, the UK is preparing for three days of coronation festivities.

The people were invited to participate Sunday in a "big lunch" as part of the parties taking place in the neighborhoods, where the "coronation tart" will be on the menu, the recipe of which was revealed by the palace in mid-April.

And at night, a concert will be held at Windsor Castle in west London, which will be attended by 10,000 randomly selected Britons.

Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and tenor Andrea Bocelli lead a poster for this concert marked by the absence of British stars.
Finally, the royal family will invite Britons to do volunteer work on Monday, May 8, which will be a day off.

Tomorrow, Monday, Jordan will host a new meeting on Syria, in which the foreign ministers of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt will participate, according to a statement by the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement quoted the official spokesman for the ministry, Sinan al-Majali, as saying, "The meeting comes as a continuation of the consultative meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, which was hosted by Saudi Arabia" in mid-April.

He added that it also comes "to build on the contacts made by these countries with the Syrian government and in the context of its proposals, and a Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis."

The ministry did not provide further details.

In mid-April, a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries was held in Jeddah, in which Egypt, Iraq and Jordan also participated, to discuss the issue of Syria's return to the Arab League, about a month before an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia.

The Arab ministers participating in the Jeddah meeting agreed on the importance of playing an Arab leadership role in efforts to end the crisis in Syria.

A few days after the meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus, in the first official Saudi visit to Syria since the estrangement between the two countries with the start of the conflict in Syria 12 years ago.

Several Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, closed their embassies and withdrew their ambassadors from Syria, in protest of the Syrian regime's handling of a "popular uprising" in 2011, which developed into a bloody conflict, during which Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries supported the Syrian opposition factions.

The League of Arab States suspended Syria's membership in November 2011.

However, over the past two years, there have been signs of rapprochement between Damascus and several capitals, including Abu Dhabi, which restored diplomatic relations, and Riyadh, which held talks with Damascus about resuming consular services between the two countries.

Today, Sunday, settlers attacked citizens' lands and destroyed their agricultural crops in several areas in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.

Ratib al-Jubour, the coordinator of the Popular Committees to Resist the Wall and Settlements, south of Hebron, said that settlers attacked the lands of the citizens in each of "Al-Ain Al-Bayda, Maghair Al-Abeed, Sha'ab Al-Butum, Al-Shomra, and Al-Thala" in Masafer Yatta and the Bedouin Badia, and grazing their livestock on the citizens' agricultural crops of wheat and barley. And olive trees, which caused the destruction of a large part of them, as they belong to a number of families, known as: Al-Jundi, Al-Jabarin, Al-Zuwaidin, Makhamra, and others.

He pointed out that these attacks are repeated on a daily basis and at an escalating pace, especially at this time, with the aim of hitting the pastoral season and destroying the citizens' agricultural crops, the main component of livestock, the main source of income, for the people in those areas, to put pressure on them and displace them in favor of settlement.

Eleven people have been killed after a gas leak in India, an official said Sunday, in a new industrial accident in the country.

The spill occurred in Jayaspura, an industrial area in Ludhiana, in the northern state of Punjab.

The official, who asked not to be named, stressed that the authorities need to determine the type of gas that leaked or the cause of the leak.
"11 people were killed and four are in hospital. The rescue operation is continuing," he told AFP after the accident.

Industrial gas leaks are common in India. Poor safety standards are usually to blame.

Last August, at least 112 Indian women were hospitalized after a gas leak occurred in a garment factory in the south of the country.

A similar incident occurred in June, in the same area where 200 women lost consciousness after a gas leak, according to NDTV.

In 2020, at least five people died and hundreds were hospitalized after a gas leak at a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam, an industrial port city in the same state.

In 1984, 40 tons of gas leaked from an insecticide factory in Bhopal (center), killing 3,500 people, most of them residents of shanty towns around the facility, in one of the worst industrial accidents in history.

The so-called Israeli Border Guard forces announced that they arrested 256 Palestinians who entered different areas without permits, in addition to 81 persons suspected of transporting and hiring them, during the past two weeks.

According to the Hebrew website Ynet, 112 workers were arrested in Jerusalem, and 39 suspected of being transferred and employed, while 59 were arrested in the central, southern, northern and coastal regions, and 85 in West Bank settlements.

The Central Bureau of Statistics said that the number of workers in Palestine amounted to about 1,133 million workers, with 655 thousand in the West Bank, 285 thousand in the Gaza Strip, and 193 thousand workers in the 1948 territories.

In a press release issued today, Sunday, on the occasion of International Labor Day (May 1), on the labor situation in Palestine in Palestine for the year 2022, the Census indicated that the number of unemployed decreased to 367,000 in 2022, compared to 372,000 in 2021. Unemployment among individuals participating in the labor force in Palestine in 2022 rose to about (24%) compared to about 26% in 2021, as a result of the high participation rate in the labor force in the same year, as it reached about 45% compared to about 43% for 2021.

At the regional level, the unemployment rate decreased for both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, reaching about 13% and 45%, respectively, compared to about 16% and 47% in 2021.

The statistics indicated that the total underutilization of labor decreased from about 34% in 2021 to about 31% (500,000 people) in 2022, and this number includes about 56,000 frustrated job seekers, and about 22,000 time-related underemployment.

Hebron and Jenin governorates have the highest unemployment rate in the West Bank, and Deir al-Balah in Gaza:

The governorates of Hebron and Jenin in the West Bank recorded the highest unemployment rate for the year 2022, at about 17%, followed by the Bethlehem governorate at about 15%, while the lowest unemployment rate in the West Bank was in the Jerusalem governorate at about 3%, while in the Gaza Strip, the Deir al-Balah governorate recorded The unemployment rate was highest at about 55%, followed by Khan Yunis governorate at about 49%, while the lowest unemployment rate was in the North Gaza governorate at about 38%.

More than a million workers and the most employed private sector:

The number of workers in Palestine reached about 1,133 million workers. With 655 thousand in the West Bank, 285 thousand in the Gaza Strip, and 193 thousand workers in Israel and the settlements, of whom about 862 thousand are wage employees in Palestine (449 thousand employees work in the West Bank, 228 thousand employees work in the Gaza Strip, 156 thousand employees work in Israel, and 29 thousand employees in the Israeli colonies).

The statistics showed that about 54% of the total wage employees in Palestine work in the private sector. With 327 thousand paid employees from the West Bank and 140 thousand paid employees from the Gaza Strip, compared to about 24% working in the government sector and about 22% working in Israel and the settlements.

The percentage of wage employees from the West Bank who work in Israel and the settlements is about 29% of the total number of wage employees.

A quarter of wage employees in the private sector work in primary occupations:

The percentage of wage employees who work in primary professions and in the profession of technicians and specialists in the private sector is about 24% of the total wage workers in the Palestinian private sector for each of them; 27% for males compared to 8% for females in primary professions, while the percentage of employees working in the profession of technicians and specialists was about 15% for males compared to 68% for females.

Low real wage rates in the private sector:

The real average daily wage for wage employees in the private sector in 2022 (base year = 2018) was about 93 shekels in Palestine; By 38 shekels in the Gaza Strip and 117 shekels in the West Bank (not including workers in Israel and settlements).

The building and construction activity recorded the highest rates of real daily wages in the private sector at a rate of 135 shekels in the West Bank and 38 shekels in the Gaza Strip, followed by the services activity at 128 shekels in the West Bank and 69 shekels in the Gaza Strip, while the agricultural activity recorded the lowest average real daily wage at 89 shekels. in the West Bank and 22 shekels in the Gaza Strip.

In a related context, the average weekly working hours for wage employees amounted to about 41 working hours. 39 working hours for wage employees in the public sector and 43 working hours in the private sector.

40% of paid employees earn less than the minimum monthly wage:

The number of wage employees in the private sector who earn less than the minimum wage (1,880 NIS) is about 172 thousand wage employees, of whom 56 thousand are in the West Bank (representing about 19% of the total wage employees in the private sector in the West Bank) with an average monthly wage of 1,421 NIS, compared to 116 thousand wage employees in the Gaza Strip (representing about 89% of the total wage employees in the private sector in the Gaza Strip) with an average monthly wage not exceeding 697 NIS.

Less than a third of wage employees in the private sector get their rights:

About 28% of wage employees in the private sector obtain their rights (financing retirement / end-of-service gratuity, in addition to paid annual leave and paid sick leave, and the number of wage employees in the private sector who have a permanent work contract (written for an indefinite period) About 83 thousand wage employees, and about 90 thousand workers in the private sector have a temporary work contract (written for a limited period, verbal agreement), compared to about 294 thousand workers who do not have a work contract, while 46% of women workers get a paid maternity leave .