OPINIONS

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

The Balfour Declaration, Palestine and Israel

Written by: Ibrahim Ibrash
The Balfour Declaration, the promise made by Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary on November 2, 1917, to the Jewish millionaire Rothschild, to grant the Jews a state in Palestine, was the second stage for the establishment of the Zionist project after the first Zionist conference in Basel, Switzerland, on the twenty-ninth of August 1897, which The goal of the Zionist movement was to establish a national home for the Jews in Palestine.

The text of the promise was: "His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may detract from the civil and religious rights enjoyed by the non-Jewish communities residing in Palestine, nor the rights or political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

We will not go into here the circumstances of the issuance of this promise, its legitimacy, its parties, and the fact that it was issued in the midst of World War I, when Britain needed financial support for the Jews and their scientific expertise in the war efforts, in addition to getting rid of the Jews in Europe who were unacceptable, etc., and I will focus in my article on dismantling the promise from Where the borders of the state granted by the promise to the Jews, and in this context we make the following observations:

The first: The promise did not say that Palestine is the national home of the Jews, but rather the text was clear when it said that a national home would be established for the Jews (in Palestine). The Balfour Declaration, where the General Assembly of the United Nations decided in November 1947 to divide Palestine into two states, with Israel based on an area of 55%, and the rest on which an Arab state for the indigenous population would be established.

Second: Although the promise denies the existence of the original Palestinian people, as it talked about the mere existence of minorities that have civil and religious rights, Britain’s approval of the partition decision and the United Nations’ recognition of partition means that in Palestine there is a people other than the Jews who have political rights and not just civil and religious rights. Thus, the text of the Balfour Declaration obligating Israel to protect civil and religious rights pertains to the Palestinians inside the State of Israel, which was approved by the partition decision, while the rights of the Palestinian people in the rest of the Palestinian territories are subject to the resolutions of international legitimacy that clearly speak of the right of the Palestinian people to determine their political destiny and their right to an independent state.

Third: Had it not been for the Balfour Declaration that Britain imposed on the League of Nations and made it part of the British mandate deed over Palestine, and if the Western, especially British and American support for the Zionist project had not continued, then this racist Zionist entity would not have been and would not have continued to this day and to be With this apparent force on him.

Fourth: Despite the occupation of all of Palestine by the Zionists, those whom Arthur Balfour considered a minority - the indigenous Palestinians - represent today more than half of the population of Palestine residing on the land of Palestine, according to the Israeli statistics themselves, in addition to a similar number of them abroad bearing the name of Palestine, and the world recognizes that they are Palestinians are waiting for their return to their land.

Fifth: The land of Palestine, which is supposed to be a state exclusive to the Jews, as the Zionists interpreted the Balfour Declaration, to be shared with them by the Palestinian state, as the United Nations General Assembly voted on 11/29/2012 in favor of granting Palestine - the West Bank and Gaza - the status of a non-member observer state (the resolution was supported by 138 countries 9 countries opposed it, and 41 countries abstained from voting) and that Jerusalem be the capital of the Palestinian state.

In conclusion, the existence of the State of Israel is illegitimate even on one inch of the Arab land of Palestine, just as the Balfour Declaration failed to achieve the goals of the Zionist movement, which was seeking through the promise to erase the Palestinian people and resolve the conflict in Palestine in its favour. The Palestinians today are the descendants of those whom the Balfour Declaration considered They are mere minorities with civil rights who struggle to determine their political destiny and establish their independent Palestinian state.

OPINIONS

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

Targeting culture is an assault on society

Written by: Nihad Abu Ghosh

It is always useful to recall the importance of the Palestinian national culture in the battle of the Palestinian people to obtain their national rights. It suffices to recall the comment of Golda Meir, the Israeli Prime Minister in the sixties, on the assassination of the martyr Ghassan Kanafani when she said, "Today we got rid of an armed intellectual brigade." In addition to Ghassan, a group of the best Palestinian creators, intellectuals, and media figures appeared on the lists of Israeli assassinations, whose main weapon was the pen, the feather, and the word to defend their people and their national cause, among them the martyrs Majid Abu Sharar, Kamal Nasser, Naji Al-Ali, Hanna Moqbel, Hani Jawhariyyah, Hanna Mikhail, Ezzeddine Al-Qalq and Naim Khader, Abd al-Wahhab al-Kayyali, Mahmoud al-Hamshari, Wael Zuaiter, Ali Fouda, and many others, as well as those of Palestine’s creators, writers, and intellectuals who were subjected to arrest, including poets Mahmoud Darwish, Samih al-Qasim, and Tawfiq Ziyad, and those who were subjected to deportation, such as our Jerusalem writer Mahmoud Shuqair, Akram Haniyeh, Khalil al-Sawahiri, and others.

Targeting culture and intellectuals is not an Israeli specialty, but rather a global phenomenon that was paid for by the great international creators who faced tyranny, such as the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmat and the Chilean Pablo Neruda.

Now, in the circumstances of the intractable internal crisis that we live in, and with the decline in the status of the Palestinian cause regionally and internationally, and the intensification of the Israeli attack on our land, our sanctities, and all our national rights. An attack is launched from among our ranks on the climate of public freedoms, including freedom of expression and cultural and artistic creativity that we extracted from the tusks of the occupier, and which grew, developed and took root in the context of confronting the occupation, rebuilding the Palestinian national character, and formulating its national consciousness. In the past few weeks, culture and freedom of creativity, which is a condition for its prosperity, have been subjected to a series of attacks and threats that led to the suspension of some performances and events, and intimidation of all workers and those interested in the fields of culture and arts, which heralds a serious setback for Palestinian society in general, and an alarming decline in public freedoms and the conditions for creativity. Especially cultural and artistic.

The last thing that happened in this context was the decision of a solid institution such as the Abdul Mohsen Qattan Foundation to cancel one of its activities and close its doors temporarily after receiving a threat from an “unknown person”. The statement warned of "the dire effects that these threats and actions could have on cultural life" in Palestine and on society in general. Also, the organizers of a music festival in Bethlehem were forced to cancel it due to such threats, and before that, the attack on the "Cultural Warehouse" event. A year and a half ago, angry young men attacked an artistic event in the shrine of the Prophet Musa under the pretext of violating the sanctity of a mosque. None of these young men, who had the support of even some leadership circles in power, were held accountable, while the artist Sama Abdel Hadi was arrested and questioned despite obtaining official permissions. for the event!

There are a number of issues that raise concern in all of these incidents, the most prominent of which is that those who threaten and attack are individuals and groups who have decided to take the law into their own hands on behalf of the authority, its tools, and its justice and security institutions, and on behalf of society with its various forces, bodies and formations, which opens the way for advocates of chaos and chaos to implement their own law According to their awareness, mood, and interests, which could expand tomorrow to include interference in people's behavior in public facilities, universities, streets, and workplaces.

In this downward regression, culture appears to represent the "minor rib" or the "inclined wall" on which the supporters of chaos prevail, and justify their actions by claims of defending the culture of society and virtue, although there are serious doubts about the extent of their eligibility to present a conception of culture and virtue. Especially after it became clear that their attack on the Ishtar theater was due to a misunderstanding as a result of incitement from some party, so they imagined that the colors that the playwrights carried in their activities symbolized the gay flag! Noting that their zeal and zeal is focused on issues associated with sex, nudity or light clothing, and does not rise up against the daily violations and systematic humiliation of tens of thousands of Palestinians, men and women, that affect their dignity and humanity, at checkpoints, crossings and workplaces in Israeli settlements and projects, in addition to daily raids and desecration. The holiest of sanctities and the assault on the stationed and stationed.

Strange is the silence and disregard of the authority, or even its failure to carry out its duties in protecting culture, the arts and its institutions, and protecting individuals regardless of their orientations. And the chaos that reached its climax in the city of Hebron, and in the incident of the sinful assault on Dr. Nasir al-Din al-Shaer. With these stances, the authority contributes to detracting from its prestige and weakening its legitimacy, as if it were shooting at its feet and at the project of building a state of law and sovereign institutions.

The danger of attacking culture and its institutions threatens the entire Palestinian society with its institutions, public freedoms, values, and traditions of struggle and pluralistic democracy. This does not definitively mean that we are all required to accept or support any cultural project or artistic show as it is without criticism or scrutiny. The competence of the one charged with enforcing the law, and before him the official institutions, is not to impose the law by hand, clubs, and chains, and the aggressor today may be the victim tomorrow.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

Qatar condemns the settlers' violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque

Doha-"Jerusalem" dot com- The State of Qatar condemned the Israeli settlers' permissiveness of the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, their storming of the Al-Qibli prayer hall and the assault on worshipers and women in the mosque.


In a statement today, Thursday, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of the systematic Israeli attempts to change the religious and historical status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and held the Israeli occupation authorities alone responsible for the cycle of violence that will result from the repeated storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and disregard for the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world. And it called on the international community to take urgent action to stop it. Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people.

ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

A new dispute between Britain and China

BEIJING - (AFP) - China said Wednesday that it had lodged an official complaint with Britain over an altercation between its diplomats and a Hong Kong protester at its consulate in Manchester, northern England.


British police said that a group of men left the consulate during a demonstration at the end of last week, dragged a demonstrator into the consulate and assaulted him.


The incident sparked widespread condemnation in Britain and caused a diplomatic dispute, prompting the British Foreign Office to summon a senior diplomatic official.


Beijing said Wednesday that its diplomats were not to blame for the altercation.


"Due to malicious harassment by outlaws and illegal entry into the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester, this has injured Chinese personnel and threatened the security of Chinese buildings," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a routine press conference.


He added that China had "expressed its displeasure" to the British authorities and urged London to do more to protect its diplomats on British soil.


Beijing had earlier announced that the protesters had "illegally entered" the consulate, which was not mentioned in the text of an official foreign ministry report Wednesday.


Police in Manchester said they were conducting an investigation into the incident, which the prime minister's office deemed "extremely troubling" and drew condemnation from British lawmakers.


The man in question, in his 30s, sustained injuries and spent the night in hospital, according to police.


The newly appointed chair of the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Cairns, accused Chinese Consul General Zheng Xuan, a senior Chinese diplomat in Britain, of being on the scene and "tearing up posters" during a "peaceful protest".


China has not responded to these accusations.


The demonstration was held in front of the Chinese Consulate in Manchester on Sunday, the opening day of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing, which is expected to coincide with a third term for President Xi Jinping.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

The occupation releases a guard in Al-Aqsa

Jerusalem – “Al-Quds” dot com – Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces released a guard working in the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, after detaining him for about an hour.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces arrested the guard, Abdul Karim Qaoud, after beating him near Bab al-Silsilah, one of the doors leading to the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

OPINIONS

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

How did it happen in Israel?

Written by: Nabil Amr


Indeed, Israel is a place of oddities and wonders, and the strangest thing about it is its political system, which allows the owner of the highest number of seats in parliament to go to the opposition defeated, and bring the owner of the lowest number victorious and the prime minister, and this is what happened in the previous elections.
In Israel, too, the recent elections produced an equation that rarely happens elsewhere, which is that those who toppled the prime minister in a previous round brought him back on the necks in a subsequent round, and what is meant here is those who formed the government of “change” Lapid-Gantz, and those who were described as the helmsman Mansour Abbas.


how did that happen?
The government of change outperformed Netanyahu's coalition in the previous elections by one vote, and in the middle of its term, those who fled fled from it, and those who remained remained, and a tie became the master of the situation, which dictated going to a fifth election.


Netanyahu, who is without the prime minister, no longer sees life as a taste. He wasted not one minute or one vote but mobilized him in the battle of return, and he did not leave small or big things without employing them in his fateful battle to regain the throne.


With well-known ability, he succeeded in gathering the ranks of his deep “right” camp, and with the same ability he worked within the opponents’ camp, taking advantage of the fragility of his alliance relations and the intensity of the internal rivalry between its parties. Meretz after wasting more than one hundred and thirty thousand votes, and the Arab League list wasted more than one hundred and twenty thousand votes, and the voter turnout in the Arab sector did not rise as much as it did in the Jewish sector, and all of this gave Netanyahu victory on a plate of gold. . It was not an ordinary victory in which he aspired to a majority of one vote, but rather a blatant victory that provided him with the formation of a government with a comfortable majority made up of the solid right-wing muscle. It also provided him with dispelling the forces of opponents and complicating the possibility of the emergence of an effective alliance against him.


What happened would not have happened had Netanyahu's opponents not done what they did over a year of their rule. They showed weak leadership and an inability to escape Netanyahu's legacy, so they relied on what showed them as if they were his shadow and not a substitute for him. They were consistent with his propositions to solve the Palestinian issue by adopting the economic solution formula instead of the political one, and increased it in killing and oppression, until the year of their rule recorded the highest level of blood that bled from the bodies of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. It was offered by Netanyahu, “You are just a security agent for us,” which goes far beyond the limits of coordination specified in the agreements, of which nothing else remains.


The chicken that laid golden eggs in Netanyahu's coop was the manner in which the Arab community dealt with the elections, despite the fact that simple, accurate and proven calculations indicated the possibility that he would be the guaranteed decisive force against Netanyahu and his dangerous right.


The Arabs made a mistake twice, the first when they did not mobilize their voting potential in close to the percentage with which the Jews mobilized... It is true that it rose by several points from what the polls indicated, but the unprecedented density of the Jewish vote neutralized this increase; It seemed ineffective. As for the other mistake, it was when the Arab political forces waged their electoral battle by exerting the greatest effort in their internal competition. As the level of rhetoric fell, and the apparent goal became to prove the superiority of each formation over its competitor, and such a matter is only valid in reality at the level of bragging.


Finally... the season of the fifth elections closed on an increasing decrease in Arab representation in the Knesset and an increasing fragmentation of the anti-Netanyahu coalition, and a higher and deeper position was granted to the forces that want to eradicate the Arab situation in Israel from its roots.


And with the same power of influence in the general governmental trend against the Palestinians, their authority, their entity, and their rights in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem.


What happened in Israel, according to the scale of comparison between the bad and the worse, is that the bad failed and the worst won, and what is really unfortunate is that the Arabs inside the country have a great contribution to that.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

The occupation tightens its procedures at the checkpoints of occupied Jerusalem

Jerusalem - "Al Quds" dot com - On Tuesday morning, the Israeli occupation forces tightened their measures against Jerusalemites at some checkpoints.


According to Jerusalemite sources, the occupation forces prevented school students from passing through the Shuafat camp checkpoint, northeast of occupied Jerusalem .


Those forces tightened the inspections at the checkpoint itself, which caused a suffocating crisis in the place.


Similar measures were taken at Anata checkpoint and Hizma checkpoint.


OPINIONS

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

Excerpts from the speeches of al-Hakim d. George Habash in late 1978, shortly after the signing of the Camp David Accords

Written by: Dr. Ahmed Qatamesh

In his speech at Al-Mustansiriya University - Baghdad, he said: (The real danger of the Camp David Accords is that for the first time in the history of the Arab struggle against the Zionist invasion, an Arab party comes and officially and legally declares its readiness to recognize the Zionist presence on the land of Palestine and on Arab land). In speeches and interviews 1977-1979, pg. 149, he said: The danger of the Camp David Accords does not stop at this point, as it bears for the first time the beginning of a declared, reactionary, Zionist-imperialist Arab alliance.
(Defining a clear political line that sees the organic interdependence between Zionist "Israel", imperialism and Arab reaction, and drawing up plans and programs on this basis is the first item in the confrontation process) p. 136.
(The second line is to prepare the Palestinian and Arab masses, mobilize them organizationally, arm them, and train them in various means of fighting and confrontation in a long-term popular war that will last for decades to achieve victory) ... p. 139, and the third, fourth, fifth, and ninth line...etc.
(And a clear position on the autonomy emanating from Camp David, a decisive and declared position that calls on all the masses to boycott the elections of the Autonomy Council... and to generate the ground for a mass struggle with the aim of overthrowing it...) p. 178.
(The central link in the confrontation has become the Lebanese masses...) p. 182 on the occasion of the eleventh launch.
(...As we enter the new year, we feel and deeply realize that the focus of our attention must be directed towards the masses of our Palestinian people and towards our Arab masses, so that we put in their hands our vision of the current political conditions that our Palestinian revolution and our Arab region are going through, and let us also define the urgent tasks before us that we can through Its achievement is to continue our victorious march towards achieving our goals...)
(Despite the enormity of the hostile attack we are facing, we do not have the slightest doubt about the inevitability of the victory of our just cause, and our appeal to the inevitability of victory is not an emotional or idealistic one. We believe in the inevitability of victory based on reading the history of the struggles and heroics of the masses of our Palestinian people that did not stop despite the blood, tears, sacrifices and pain.. Relying on the enormous energies and potentials latent in the masses of our Palestinian people and the masses of our Arab nation...relying on a scientific reading of the movement of history and its upward trend...on the victories achieved by the world revolution in its march towards destroying the imperialists and reactionaries and creating a new world in which justice, freedom, democracy, socialism and peace prevail )
"Coincidentally," Lula, the representative of the left, won the Brazilian presidential elections, as Brazil represents a third of the population of the Latin continent and more than half of its geography. It is also "coincidental" that the Communist Party of China, which has more than 96 million members, ended its 20th congress and its leadership of a country of more than 1.5 billion people. With close to 20% of humanity, and an annual national production of about $16 trillion at local prices, $22 trillion at global prices, and a balance exceeding $3.5 trillion, President Xi emphasized building a modern socialist China with Chinese characteristics, an advanced army with international standards, and a rejection of hegemony.
(We are witnessing today the beginning of an imperialist-Zionist-Arab reactionary alliance that aims to completely liquidate our cause, end our revolution, and crush everything that is patriotic, progressive, and revolutionary in our homeland... Our revolution has faced from the moment of its inception a successive and continuous series of conspiracies and confrontations aimed at destroying, annihilating, and destroying it, but Despite all of this, this revolution was able to stand firm, continue, and remain a thorn in the side of imperialism and an obstacle as a tool in the way of its plans in the region. On the visit of a delegation to Syria in 1978:
(... The position we have taken is based on a deep understanding of the political developments in the Lebanese arena, where there is a contradiction between the Syrian and isolationist projects... Armed battles have been taking place for months between the Syrians and the fascists... Syria's view of the conflict with "Israel" It is a struggle for existence.... And Syria is aware that achieving any interim goal requires the same force that is needed to achieve the strategic goal... Syria believes that settlement and its projects will not lead to anything, hence Syria's position as a state differs from that of the party.... They emphasized The importance of the bilateral relationship.... There are many basic points that need the continuation of the dialogue, and we do not stand on complete common ground on the basic urgent issue, and the most important point in the joint meeting was confronting the isolationist scheme and its destructive effects, but rather the future of national action in the region). pp. 202 and 206.
In response to the question of national unity:
(The PLO is required to harden its political stances, in particular the complete and definitive exit from the path of settlement and put forward a political and radical line against imperialism and against the Arab reactionary forces...) p. 207.
(The issue is big, and it is not important that we get emotionally excited about the issue of Palestinian national unity. Rather, our viewpoints are supposed to unite on the problems facing Palestinian national unity and the way to address these problems.... Here I say that on a political level, it is important that we agree on three basic points, which are.. the point The first is the freedom of political positions as long as these positions are within the national framework and within the national pole and are not inconsistent with the PLO Charter.
The second point is that we agree on a minimum program around which all factions would agree.
As for the third point, each organization should have complete freedom and fight with complete freedom to present its own point of view among the masses on issues that are not agreed upon....
On the organizational level, the problem is not in the number of organizations, but rather in the nature of the relationship that governs these organizations. For example, the Vietnamese Liberation Front included a large number of political organizations....
There must be frontal frameworks that include all national forces without exception...and determine the manner and basis on which the framework of the front that includes all organizations will depend...and this leads us to the issue of how to form committees. T. F..) pp. 208 and 209.
And answering a question: What is the impact of the Iranian revolution on the issue of Palestine?
(What we care about is the content of this movement, and this is clear. It is hostile to imperialism, reaction, Zionism and Israel... It removed a reactionary regime allied with Sadat and Zionism and brought an alternative regime in favor of the Palestinian revolution that would join us in our battle against imperialism and Zionism... It offers the peoples of the region a model in Determination, will, and determination... It is an anti-imperialist, reactionary, and Zionist movement, and with these implications it is a progressive movement.As for the ideological aspect, we are striving in the Palestinian arena, the Arab region, and the Middle East for close cooperation between progressive currents that are anti-imperialist and Zionist, regardless of any existing ideological differences. Among them... The most dangerous thing that can happen is that ideological conflicts prevail over what is common... Our common battle is against imperialism, reaction and Zionism... In the fifties, imperialism played on the chord of conflicts, and therefore we are supposed to seek to thwart imperialist attempts on this level).

ECONOMY

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

Maayah: The tour guide represents the interface of Palestine to the world

Bethlehem - "Jerusalem" dot com - Georges Zina - Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Rula Maayah, stressed the importance of the Palestinian tourist guide, as it is the interface of Palestine for tourist groups.


And she stressed the need to overcome all the obstacles and obstacles that the Corona pandemic caused to this profession, as the Palestinian tourism sector is the first to be affected by the pandemic and will be the last to recover from it.


Minister Maayah's speech came during her meeting with the head of the Arab Tourism Guides Syndicate, Youssef Aida, and a number of members of the administrative body, where the meeting took place at the ministry's headquarters in Bethlehem.
Maayah confirmed that the government and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities are doing a great job to confront all obstacles and obstacles, by preparing plans and programs on several levels, and these plans and programs include those related to the promotion of Palestinian tourism, strengthening confidence and re-linking with international tourism agencies, and some that depend on rehabilitation and development The tourism sector, in addition to restoring confidence in the Palestinian tourism industry at the local and international levels, developing new health protocols, maintaining employees working in this sector and improving their skills to be ready for the new situation and able to carry out their tasks under the existing situation.
In turn, Eidah talked about the importance of the relationship of partnership and cooperation between the union and the ministry, and the need to overcome obstacles and obstacles on the ground, indicating that in cooperation with everyone, we will overcome all obstacles.


SPORT

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

The basketball fighter continues his training camp in Qatar

Doha- Bassam Abu Arrah/ Our national basketball team continues its closed training camp in the Qatari capital, Doha, in preparation for participating in the preliminary qualifiers for the 2025 Asian Cup in Group E, which includes, in addition to Palestine, the host Qatar, the Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman.

The coaching staff of the national team, consisting of the Greek Yanis and the assistants Salim Al-Hosari and Issa Kamel, makes great efforts through daily exercises within two morning and evening meals at the QBA and Al-Gharafa Hall in order to equip the players with strong equipment to compete to win matches and earn points, where the Greek coach works On the technical plans of the team, while Al-Hosari and Kamel help him with physical fitness training, collective technical matters, and applications on the ground.

The team's therapist, Dr. Mahmoud Abdel Qader, also makes huge efforts for the players before, during and after training in order to reach them to the highest levels of physical level without injuries.

As for the two administrators, Nimr Ayoub and Alaa Taqatqa, their mission began before arriving in Doha, and the big task is still in them in order to manage the affairs of the delegation and the team so that it is ready for the official meetings that the fedayeen will undergo on the twentieth of this month.

OPINIONS

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:11 pm - Jerusalem Time

An unprecedented struggle!

Written by: Rashid Hassan


Our great Palestinian people are going through an unprecedented state of struggle, in its long, long history, with the recognition of those concerned with the Palestinian issue, observers, and even the Zionist enemy’s troopers, who were terrified, and the occupied Lod airport began to witness an unprecedented reverse emigration.. despite the modest numbers so far.. !!

There is no doubt that our people are haunted by struggle and struggle, and the love of resistance, since God created this land and what is on it..

Did this great people not, throughout its glorious history, which extended from the Canaanites and the Jebusites, who intended the city of Jerusalem, to stand up to more than 27 people who invaded Palestine, so their lot was death, destruction and dispersion, at the hands of the mighty people, as described by the Lord of Glory: “There is a mighty people in it.” God Almighty has spoken the truth.. Facts and events have proven that this brave people deserves this description and the great epithet from the Lord of Glory, as evidenced by His Majesty entrusting him with the task of defending this holy land, protecting it from greedy people. He himself conquered it..and he triumphed with pride and presumptuousness, despite his small number and modest capabilities, over the largest nations on earth at the time..and he defeated the Crusaders, the Hyksos, the Romans, the Greeks, the Persians, and the Romans, and they became, as his great poet depicted them, “passing by in fleeting words”..!!

Promises start..

Today, our Palestinian people are going through an unprecedented state of struggle, whose title is: the involvement of young men and boys, with enthusiasm, in the furnace of the battle for liberation.. racing to embrace martyrdom.. and confront the herds of colonial settlers.. with stones, knives, daggers, and Molotov cocktails. And light weapons are “mostly pistols.” They are not afraid.

Look at what happened a few days ago.. A Palestinian boy, “Muhammad Rajab Qutaish, 16 years old,” from the residents of Anata, the village adjacent to the Shuafat refugee camp, wanted to avenge the martyred lion, the hero of Shuafat and all of Palestine, “Uday al-Tamimi.” Kalith pounces on one of them with Naglaa's stab wounds, before the enemy soldiers attack him..and he is taken to the hospital with serious injuries..

The young boy “Muhammad Rajab 16” determined to avenge the martyr Al-Tamimi and all the martyrs of Palestine, so he fearlessly attacked a herd of settlers in Sheikh Jarrah, spreading panic and terror among them, before he could stab one of them!!

This heroic cub painted a bright picture of the state of struggle created by the Lions of Jenin, Nablus, Shuafat, etc., and its title is: Confronting the enemy everywhere, in the streets, at checkpoints, besieging the colonies... pounces on the colonizers' rabble... and creating a state of insecurity in all of Palestine It pushes deviants of horizons to emigrate, and to return to where their ancestors came, in order to preserve their lives and the lives of their children, and they have become at the mouth of the Palestinian death.

The lone wolves are the foundations of this distinguished state of struggle, after they reached a firm conviction that it is necessary to get out of the state of humiliation and humiliation.. and this will not be done except by detonating the armed resistance and striking the enemy at strategic points.. So the operations of Hadera and “Dizenkov” Street in Tel Aviv were and Beersheba..etc.

This state of struggle will not be broken with God’s help, nor will it bow before storms.. and it will continue at an accelerated pace.. and here it is pervading all of Palestine from the sea to the river and from Rafah to Naqoura, and here are the Lions of Hebron and Tulkarem brandishing their weapons.. and organizing military parades similar to the Lions of Nablus and Jenin ..

Our people have broken chains, broken fear.

And here he is living the days of splendor, pride, glory and pride.. waiting for the beautiful dawn.. the next dawn of liberation inevitably.. neither the prison nor the jailer will remain.

Glory and eternity to the martyrs.

And death to the Zionists.

About the "Jordanian Constitution"

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Translator: "The Lions' Den" is the endless headache of "Israel" and the "Palestinian Authority".

Translation by "Al-Quds" dot com - The Hebrew newspapers, published on Wednesday, focused on the recent operations of the " Lions' Den " groups in Nablus, which began inflicting deaths and injuries on the ranks of the Israeli forces.


The Hebrew newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, said that the Israeli army has no choice but to attack the "Lions' Den" groups by itself, and not to rely on the Palestinian Authority , which failed to tame these groups after the army responded to its request to do so.


In an analytical report by its reporter and military analyst, Yossi Yehoshua, the newspaper indicates that these groups, active in Nablus during the past few months, are responsible for the recent series of attacks, noting that the number of their members may range between 30 to 50, and they are not linked to any organization, whether Hamas. Or jihad or others.


According to the newspaper, these groups do not have an organizational body, a hierarchical chain of command, or a clear organizational behavior that could result in a high intelligence expectation, and they pose a challenge to the authority's rule, but the Israeli army considers them "terrorists", and they must be attacked with the best units and using the capabilities of the Shin Bet, And not waiting for the movements of the PA security services, because the Israelis are the ones paying the price for the attacks of these groups.


She referred to yesterday's operation that led to the death of a soldier near Nablus in an operation that was claimed by the same groups, pointing to the new failure of the soldiers not to respond to the perpetrator of the operation, which necessitated the opening of an investigation in this regard, as happened in the Shuafat operation.


In the opinion of the newspaper, it is necessary to find the necessary deterrence to work against these groups, in light of the emerging complications.


For its part, the Hebrew newspaper "Haaretz" said, in its issue issued on Wednesday, that the "Lions' Den" groups, whose name was announced publicly a month after the assassination of Ibrahim Nabulsi, have become one of the main problems for the security services in Israel, as well as for the Palestinian Authority.


The Israeli security establishment believes that the members of these groups are activists who were former members of various organizations, and a series of events prompted them to call themselves the "Lions' Den". They are concentrated in the Old City and Balata camp, and their stated goal is to confront the Israeli army and settlers.


According to the Hebrew newspaper, the members of the group are "secular youth between the ages of 18 and 24, and they do not visit mosques or are influenced by religious figures... They are members of well-known families, some of them (i.e. their family members) are active in the security services of the authority, and armed groups were formed in Jenin Which was engaged in clashes with the Israeli army in every incursion as an inspiration to them. According to her claim.


A Fatah activist from the old city of Nablus, who personally knows many of the activists in the Lions' Den, said that this organization is far from being a hierarchical organization that receives instructions from higher authorities. My hierarchy reached the late President Yasser Arafat and other officials such as Marwan Barghouti, so the matter is completely different now.. This is a local organization of young people, and the vast majority of them do not belong to anyone, and some of them belong to organizations such as "Fatah", "Hamas" and "the Popular". As quoted by "Haaretz".


The Hebrew newspaper says that Israel asked the Palestinian Authority to act against the "Lions' Den", but the problem for the Authority is that unlike Jenin, in which the militants receive support from the Islamic Jihad, in Nablus that group is the "Fatah Flesh" that decided to rebel against the Authority. Therefore, the latter faces difficulties in dealing with it without prejudice to its legitimacy in the West Bank.


The newspaper claims that "Hamas" is trying to exploit these groups by financing them through "Musab Shtayyeh" (the pursuer detained by the Authority), especially since the movement found difficulties in establishing its infrastructure due to Israeli intelligence operations, noting that the Authority arrested Shtayyeh because of his attempts to link those groups with "Hamas".


An Israeli security source told Haaretz, "The Palestinians also realized that Nablus is an important test for them," noting that the authority preferred to talk with the activists of those groups, because it considered that failure against them would lead to the creation of other additional groups in all West Bank cities, which even Now do not participate in events.


According to the Hebrew newspaper, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with the heads of his security services and informed them that he was not ready to accept the continuation of the activity of any armed groups not under the authority, and asked them to work on collecting weapons and arresting the "instigators." According to the newspaper claim.


The Israeli security establishment believes that after Prime Minister Yair Lapid's speech at the United Nations, a major change occurred in the positions of President Abbas, who sees Lapid's statements about the two-state solution as an opportunity for change within the Palestinian Authority, and that he is ready to work to maintain dialogue with Israel.


According to sources in the Israeli security, the rescue of the Israeli family that entered Nablus last week was an example of this, and the Palestinian security personnel rushed to reach the family to protect them and return them to Israel openly, which was done in the past as secretly as possible. As the paper says.


According to the newspaper, the Palestinian Authority has been making efforts recently to integrate some members of the "Lions' Den" into the security services, so that they turn themselves in and lay down their weapons in exchange for a limited period of imprisonment or house arrest, and they will then be integrated into the security services if they show commitment and agree to do so.


The newspaper pointed out that in the past few weeks, Israel has also taken important steps to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, including refraining from entering Nablus except in cases where there is accurate information about the militants' intention to carry out attacks.

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Climber Rekabi returns to Iran after appearing in a competition without a headscarf

Tehran (AFP) - Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi returned to Iran on Wednesday, according to official media, after participating without a veil in an Asian competition held in South Korea, where dozens of her citizens gathered to welcome her.


In the final competitions on Sunday, Rikabi was satisfied with putting a bandage on the head, in a move that was interpreted as support for the protests that have been taking place in Iran for a month in the wake of the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, after she was arrested by the morality police on the grounds of not adhering to the strict rules of dress in the Islamic Republic.


Rikabi's move constituted a violation of the dress code that Iranian women must abide by when participating in foreign competitions, including the full head covering.


My passengers, 33, arrived at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran at dawn on Wednesday, according to footage published by Iranian state television.


A videotape published by the reformist "Sharq" newspaper via the Telegram application showed dozens of people gathered outside the access building, cheering and applauding.


They were surrounded by a minibus and a car, in which Rikabi and others from the climbing team are believed to have been aboard.


Earlier, Rakabi appeared inside the airport building, wearing a black jacket and a hat on her head.


After being received by members of her family, she spoke to the official media, while she lowered a medical mask and put it on her face.


"Because of the atmosphere in the finals of the competition and the unexpected invitation for me to start my participation, I got confused with my technical equipment (...) and this made me unaware of the issue of the headscarf that I should have put on," said Rikabi.


"I have returned to Iran safely, in excellent health, and according to the predetermined schedule. I apologize to the people of Iran for the tensions I have created," she added, stressing that she "does not intend to leave the national team."


These statements were similar to what was published on Tuesday on the Rekabi Instagram page, where she apologized in a written text for the "concern" she had caused, and confirmed that her appearance was "unintentional".


On Tuesday, human rights organizations outside Iran expressed concern about Rekabi, following reports that she had lost contact with her after appearing in the competition on Sunday.


However, the Iranian embassy in Seoul denied "all fake news and misinformation related" to Rakabi, adding that she and her team left South Korea on Tuesday.


And a broadcast broadcast published by the International Federation of Climbing Sports showed that Rakabi appeared in the first competition with her head covered with a handkerchief pulled back, but in the next competition to climb a high wall with a rope, she was satisfied with wrapping her head with a band that showed all her hair tied back.


This came as Iran witnessed, since September 16, protests against the background of the death of Amini (22 years old), during which many participating women removed their veils in the streets and educational institutions.


During the recent demonstrations, many male and female athletes expressed their support for the women's demands, and some of them were subjected to measures from the authorities, such as temporary arrest.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

The Civil Defense told Al-Quds: 30 accidents are the result of what we have dealt with in the West Bank since the beginning of the depression

Ramallah - exclusive to "Al Quds" dot com - The Palestinian Civil Defense confirmed that the outcome of what its crews dealt with since the beginning of the depression yesterday evening, Sunday, until Monday evening, amounted to 30 accidents in several governorates of the West Bank.


The Director General of Public Relations and Media in the Civil Defense, Nael Al-Azza, told Al-Quds.com: “Civil defense teams dealt with 30 accidents from Sunday evening until Monday evening, within 30 hours, in several governorates in the West Bank, that is, an average of one accident every hour".


According to al-Azza, these incidents included 5 cases of water draining from inside homes and shops in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Jericho, towing a vehicle in Jenin, and opening a street in Ramallah due to a partial collapse.


Al-Azza called on citizens to adhere to the instructions issued by the competent authorities, to limit the impact of depression, and to quickly call the emergency number 102 in the event of any accident, giving full details of the accident.


Al-Azza stressed the need for the safe use of heating devices by keeping them away from flammable materials, and to ventilate the house before going to sleep, as well as for drivers to drive their vehicles with caution, leaving a sufficient safety distance between vehicles, and avoiding passing water bodies.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Haniyeh meets more Moroccan personalities

الرباط- “القدس” دوت كوم- التقى إسماعيل هنية رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة حماس، اليوم الخميس، مع عدد من الشخصيات المغربية، ضمن زيارته التي ستستمر عدة أيام للرباط.

وبحسب بيان لمكتب هنية، فإن من بين الشخصيات التي التقاها هنية والوفد المرافق له، الحبيب المالكي رئيس مجلس النواب المغربي، والذي أكد على العلاقة التاريخية بين الشعبين، ودعم المغرب ملكًا وحكومةً وبرلمانًا وشعبًا للشعب الفلسطيني.

وأكد رئيس البرلمان المغربي أن القدس عاصمة الشعب الفلسطيني، مشيرًا إلى دور البرلمان في دعم الحق الفلسطيني ومتابعة كل التطورات المتعلقة بالقضية الفلسطينية.

من جانبه، استعرض رئيس حماس التطورات السياسية والميدانية الأخيرة ومجمل القضية الفلسطينية التي تمر بمرحلة غاية في الحساسية والأهمية، وأشار رئيس الحركة إلى نتائج وتداعيات معركة سيف القدس وانعكاساتها في المجالات المتعددة.

وجرى خلال اللقاء بحث أفق التعاون مع مجلس النواب المغربي في إسناد حقوق ونضال الشعب الفلسطيني، وسبل دعم أهل مدينة القدس المحتلة.

كما التقى هنية، مع حكيم بنشماس رئيس مجلس المستشارين في المغرب، والذي أكد وقوف بلاده إلى جانب الشعب الفلسطيني وصموده ومقاومته.

وأكد بنشماس أن المغرب مستعد لتقديم كل الدعم للشعب الفلسطيني.

من جهته قال هنية، إن الشعب الفلسطيني أثبت توحده حول القدس والمقاومة، فيما الأمة عبرت عن تضامنها وإسنادها لشعبنا، وكذلك كل أحرار العالم الذين تظاهروا دعمًا للقدس وغزة والضفة وحقوقنا الوطنية. كما جاء في بيان مكتبه.

وبدأ هنية زيارته عصر الأربعاء إلى المغرب برفقة وفد قيادي من حماس، في إطار الحركة السياسية والدبلوماسية النشطة التي يقوم بها في أعقاب معركة سيف القدس، حيث قام بلقاء أمير دولة قطر الشيخ تميم بن حمد آل ثاني، ثم التقى وزير المخابرات المصري في القاهرة، ويُعتبر المغرب محطته الثالثة، وسوف يزور عقبه موريتانيا مطلع الأسبوع المقبل. كما جاء في بيان مكتبه.

والتقى هنية أمس سعد الدين العثماني رئيس الوزراء المغربي رئيس حزب العدالة والتنمية وعدد من قادة الحزب، حيث بحث الجانبان العديد من القضايا المتعلقة بالعلاقات الثنائية ونتائج معركة سيف القدس وسبل دعم القضية والشعب الفلسطيني.

ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

American obsession with the Iranian parades used in Ukraine

Washington - "Al-Quds" dot com - Saeed Erekat - The US administration, in its statements and official statements, attaches special importance in its comments on the Russian-Ukrainian war since the beginning of this month to the " Iranian marches ", which the US administration claims that Russia uses extensively to destroy Ukrainian infrastructure and kill Ukrainian civilians. .


On the "Iranian marches," US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, "Today the United States joined the United Kingdom and France in raising the issue of Iran's transfer of drones to Russia at a meeting of the UN Security Council, where members of the Council received expert briefings from the United Nations Secretariat on Reports of the transfer of these dangerous weapons... We have expressed our deep concern about Russia's acquisition of these drones from Iran in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231."


"The United States began warning in July that Iran was planning to transfer drones to Russia for use in Russia's brutal war against Ukraine, and we now have ample evidence of these drones being used to strike Ukrainian civilians and critical civilian infrastructure," the statement adds.


"As Iran continues to lie and deny supplying weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, we are committed to working with allies and partners to prevent dangerous weapons transfers to Russia. We will not hesitate to use our sanctions and other appropriate tools on all those involved in these transfers, and we will also continue to Increase unprecedented security assistance to Ukraine, including air defense capabilities, so that Ukraine can defend itself from these weapons.


And American media showed that it was rubble of destroyed marches on television, which they claimed were Iranian-made, noting that they did not show any signs confirming that their origin was Iranian.


For his part, Deputy Spokesman for the US State Department, Vedant Patel, confirmed in his press conference on Wednesday that these drones, in response to a question put to him by Al-Quds correspondent on Tuesday, are Iranian-made, and that Russia uses them because they are available in abundance and because they are cheap to manufacture.


The spokesman says that these weapons would give a major boost to the "faltering" Russian war machine in Ukraine, "but Iran's clerical rulers are facing increasing international pressure over their military alliance with Moscow."


Iran denied that it is providing Russia with drones, as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said Thursday, "The allegation that Iranian missiles were sent to Russia for use against Ukraine is baseless."


In a tweet on Twitter, Abdollahian said that he had received a phone call from European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, and "I reminded him of our clear policy of opposing the war and its escalation in Ukraine."


He stressed that "the allegation that Iranian missiles were sent to Russia to be used against Ukraine is baseless," noting that "we have defense cooperation with Russia, but certainly sending weapons and drones against Ukraine is not within our policies."


Iran has worked to develop a huge domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes that prevented it from importing weapons, including drones and missiles, which it considers vital elements in its protection system from its archenemy, Israel, as well as from the United States, which has forces deployed in several bases in Region.


Although Western military analysts say that Iran sometimes exaggerates its capabilities, drones have become an essential element in Iran's monitoring of the safety of its borders, especially the Gulf waters around the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supplies pass.


In the past few years, Iran and the regional powers it supports have increasingly relied on drones in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, where they have extended their influence through proxy groups for the benefit of Iran.


Saudi Arabia and the United States said they believed Iran was behind a drone and missile attack on important Saudi oil facilities in 2019, which Tehran denies.


The Islamic Republic says its drones are the most powerful in the region. In addition to surveillance missions, it can be used in attacks, either by dropping munitions or by so-called "kamikaze" suicide planes that hit their target before exploding. Iran designed its suicide planes to travel long distances so that they could strike the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.


Iran says its ballistic missiles, with a range of up to 2,000 km, are an important deterrent and response force against the United States, Israel and other potential regional targets. It denies it is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.


Its missile program, which has already produced about 1,000 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, is one of the largest of its kind in the Middle East.


The Arms Control Association says that the list of Iranian short and medium-range ballistic missiles includes Shahab-1, with an estimated range of 300 km, Zulfiqar (700 km), Shahab-3 (800-1000 km) and Imad-1, which is under development and has a range (up to 2,000 km). kilometers), and the Sejjil, which is also under development and has a range of (1,500-2,500 kilometers). Iran also has cruise missiles such as the KH-55, which is an air-launched missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead (up to three thousand kilometers), in addition to an advanced missile. Anti-ship is capable of carrying a warhead weighing 1000 kg.

OPINIONS

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Netanyahu and the "Jewish Gun"

Written by: Bakr Abu Bakr

Benjamin Netanyahu's extremist and terrorist ideas stem from Jabotinsky's thought and his "revisionist" Zionism.


Under his leadership, the philosophy of the "Beitar" terrorist organization has become to live by the sword! The main current in Israel, after the founding Zionist-labour movement (the Weizmann, Ben-Gurion, and Golda Meir movement) extinguished, and the left and the center melted.


In his book “A Place Among the Nations” (the Arabic version was published by Al-Dar Al-Ahlia in 1997 AD), Netanyahu wrote, showing clear racism and contempt, that “Israel” should show the maximum level of force towards the Arabs (the same words as Jabotinsky), and that the Palestinians can live in the country "Foreigners" only under the rule of the Israelis.


Previously, "Netanyahu" deceiving history said that Jerusalem was the capital of "Israel" 3000 years ago! And President Trump followed him to shout the same myth in 2017 AD, so the religious and open-minded Jews of America, headed by the American Rabbi Jacob Shapiro (his YouTube video) shouted to him that [No] Kabirah was not the capital of the Jews, this is completely untrue. As historically proven by the Jewish historians and archaeologists themselves, including the Israeli writer, thinker and journalist "Boaz Evron", who proved that Jerusalem was never, nor at any time, "the capital of the Jewish people." We add that the Jews were not originally a people at any time (see Shlomo Sand in his profound book: The Invention of the Jewish People).


Yitzhak Shapira, Ben Gvir, and Smotrich:

What is the difference between the old and new extremist thought of Netanyahu, and the opportunist right-wing thought of his close return to power, from the thought of the Zionist rabbi and mufti "Isaac Shapira" who resides in our lands in the West Bank near the stricken city of Nablus with his likes and his terrorist students, who issued a fatwa in his hateful and extremist racist book "The King's Law" that year 2009, explicitly by exterminating all Arabs and even their children without exception, killing and abusing them, on the grounds that they are non-Jews! And because they are not part of the racist "God's chosen people" myth. The crematorium of the Dawabsha family was in 2015 near Nablus in implementation of the fatwa, and before that the crematorium of the child Muhammad Hussein Abu Khudair in Jerusalem.


Such extremism is what we find later in the words and even the actions of Zionist extremists today, such as Bezalel Smotrich, from the far-right “religious Zionism” party, who said, speaking at a session of the Knesset plenary in 2021: “David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, He should have 'finished the job' and expelled all the Arabs from the country when it was founded."


And the likes of the Iraqi extremist extremist terrorist "Ben Ghafir" who constantly takes up his weapon and defames the innocent, and resides as a colonizer in our land in Kiryat Arba (the village of the four) in Hebron (his extremist terrorist party called Religious Zionism won 14 seats recently) and who demanded the expulsion of the original citizens, i.e. the Palestinian Arabs From Palestine without apologizing for what he said, despite his own admission of it and his camouflaged saying that he had changed!


Netanyahu confirms the fascist origin:

We return to the head of extremism, Netanyahu. On July 15, 2015, he delivered a speech at the memorial to Ze'ev Vladimir Jabotinsky in Jerusalem, in which he spoke warmly and passionately about his fascist teacher and teacher, Jabotinsky, who "lay the foundations for the history of our fighting youth over 100 years," according to him.


Referring to the philosophy of "moral" power, he added: "Jabotinsky illuminates our path, and it is he who taught us that the time has come for us to show the world the rifle and the Jewish spear."


The Zionist right and the religious right do not differ in their fascism, racism, and exclusion from each other in terms of type. Rather, in intensity, form, declaration, and implication, what indicates harsh years to come, in which the Palestinian will find nothing but firm faith, bond, steadfastness, and unity as a veil from the fire.


ECONOMY

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

The Bari Calpo chocolate factory resumes production after being infected with Salmonella

BRUSSELS - (AFP) - The giant Swiss factory "Barry Calpo" in Belgium for chocolate products, which ranks the largest in the world, resumed production on Monday after a six-week hiatus due to contamination with salmonella bacteria, the group announced.


And company spokesman Cornel Warlop told AFP that three out of 24 production lines have been restarted in Ouise (northwest of Brussels), adding that disinfection operations are continuing in the other lines.


"In the coming weeks, we will be able to operate more production lines to return to the normal level of production. However, we remain cautious because this process is unprecedented, as the cleaning and disinfection process takes a long time," he said in a statement.


The presence of the bacteria was discovered at the end of June at the company's Belgian factory in the Weiss region.
As a result, the group immediately stopped production at its factory, reported the matter to the health authorities, and contacted all of its customers.


Quality experts have identified lecithin as a source of contamination.


The Swiss group provides chocolate products to giant companies in the food industry such as Hershey Mondelez, Nestlé and Unilever, as well as to biscuit factories, artisans and confectioners.


The preparations can be used to manufacture chocolate bars as well as beverages, biscuits and flavorings in ice cream or bakery products. Therefore, products go through several stages before reaching consumers.


The monitoring of salmonella in this factory comes a few weeks after the discovery of contamination with this bacteria in products of the "Kinder" company inside a factory belonging to the Italian Ferrero group in Arlon, western Belgium.


Bari Calpo, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, is the world's leading manufacturer of cocoa and chocolate. It had an annual turnover of 7.2 billion Swiss francs for the 2020/2021 fiscal year (ending August 31) with a net profit of 384.5 million Swiss francs. Its sales amounted to 2.2 million tons.

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

A shortage of cholera vaccines prompts the WHO to adopt a single dose

Geneva (AFP) - A shortage of cholera vaccines has prompted the World Health Organization to reduce the two recommended doses to one dose due to increased demand resulting from the emergence of several foci of the disease in the world, the organization announced Wednesday.


"This change in strategy will allow doses to be provided to more than one country at a time when there is an unprecedented rise in the number of foci in the world," wrote the organization, which participates in the international coordination group in charge of distributing vaccines on an emergency basis.


Since January this year, 29 countries have reported cases of cholera, including Haiti, Malawi and Syria, which is facing an outbreak of the disease.


It is an exceptional situation, as the Health Organization stated that "during the past five years, less than twenty countries recorded an average increase in cases."


The organization estimates that cholera hotspots are "increasing in number and becoming more widespread and dangerous" because of floods and droughts, but also because of population movements or other factors that limit access to clean water and increase the risk of an epidemic spread.


Cholera is usually transmitted through contaminated food or water and causes diarrhea and vomiting.


A safe drinking water supply and sanitation facilities are essential to prevent its spread.


The World Health Organization considers that the "single-dose strategy has been shown to be effective" while acknowledging that there is a lack of precise duration of protection with the single-dose regimen and that protection appears to be weaker in children.


"With the two-dose regimen, when the second dose is given six months after the first dose, immunity to the disease lasts three years," the WHO said.


But she believes that "the benefit of giving a dose is always greater than taking no dose."


And the organization adds that "although the temporary cessation of the two-dose strategy leads to a decrease in immunity and a shortening of its duration, this decision will allow vaccinating a larger number of people and ensuring short-term protection for them, if the global cholera situation continues to deteriorate."

Stocks of cholera vaccines are very limited at the moment. Of the 36 million doses that are supposed to be produced in 2022, 24 million were sent for preventive (17%) and interactive campaigns (83%), and the International Coordination Group approved an additional eight million doses for the second round of emergency vaccination in four countries, as announced by the World Health Organization in a statement .


"Since vaccine manufacturers are currently producing at their maximum capacity, there is no short-term solution to increase production," she added.


One reason for the vaccine shortage is the decision by the Indian vaccine maker, the French subsidiary of Sanofi, to halt production by the end of the year, but it is not the only reason.


Doctors Without Borders, a participant in the international coordination group, says the reasons for the lack of vaccines are multiple.


"This last option is the way to avoid the impossible choice between sending doses to one country instead of another," Dr. Daniela Garoni, the NGO's international medical coordinator, said in a statement.


"One-dose vaccination will provide shorter protection, but it is the fair and equitable way to protect as many people as possible while we face simultaneous cholera epidemics," she added.


However, she stressed, "This solution is temporary, and the current supply shortage is a source of serious concern for any short- and medium-term response needed for new cholera epidemics to emerge this year."

OPINIONS

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Aim Bank of Israel is bankrupt!!

بقلم: حمدي فراج

من أهم نتائج العدوان الإسرائيلي الأخير الذي اطلقت عليه إسرائيل اسم “حارس الأسوار” اسرائيليا، و”سيف القدس” فلسطينيا ، انها رسخت في عقول وقلوب الناس في العالم أجمع ، حقيقة ان دولة اسرائيل هي الاكثر قتلا للاطفال، فقد قتلت خلال اسبوع تقريبا ما يزيد على ستين طفلا، بمعدل عشرة اطفال تقريبا كل طلعة شمس، تقتلهم قصفا و ردما بدون ان يرف جفنها ، ناهيك عن عشرات الالاف منهم الذين زرعتهم رعبا و فزعا لمدة قد تطول خوفا من هذا الموت الاسرائيلي .
التدمير ، هو ثاني اهم استخلاصات الحملة، تدمير الابراج والمنازل والمدارس والشوارع والمصانع والمؤسسات، كأن اسرائيل تقول انا آلهة الدمار والتدمير في المنطقة ، بل وفي العالم ، لا قيمة لترسانتي بدون مثل هذا التدمير ، حتى لو كانت مكاتب صحافة ، مسجد ، مستشفى ، مدرسة .
أما “محمد ضيف” الذي فشلت محاولتان اضافيتان للمحاولات الست السابقة على صيده ، فقد نجا ، بل تحول الى رمز فلسطيني عربي وربما اممي جديد بعد فراغ الساحة من رمزية عرفات وحبش ، ولو كنت اسرائيليا لسألتهم : لماذا لم تعثروا على أسرانا المختطفين لدى حماس؟ ولماذا لم تحرروهم بدلا من البحث عن الضيف او غيره؟
وحدّت الحملة الشعب الفلسطيني الذي كان منقسما ومتشرذما ومختلفا ، وكاد قبل الحملة ان يصطدم بحائط سد سوداوي احباطي ، وحّدته ليس فقط من رفح الى جنين ، بل اللد وكفر كنا ، وقرى لم يسمع بها احد من قبل بمن فيهم موسى ابو مرزوق على شاشة الميادين ، هذا التوحد تعمد بدم شهيدين من ام الفحم واللد ونحو ثلاثين شهيدا من الضفة ومئتين من غزة ، ولو طالت الحملة اكثر لرأينا تعمدا بدماء عربية دشنها اللبناني محمد طحان .
لقد أحدثت الحملة التفافا شعبيا عارما حول المقاومة ومحورها ، وعلّمت معنى ان تكون الوحدة وطنية، بمعنى لا وطنية بدون بندقية ، ثم يلتف الشعب حولها ، تنصره وينصرها . وستحمل الايام القادمة بدون شك تعزيزا لهذا المحور ، سيتعمق ويتمدد ليطول حدودا وكيانات اخرى .
على الطرف الاخر من المعادلة، سحبت الحملة البساط بعيدا من تحت خط الاعتدال والتسالم والتفاوض. رفعت شعبية حماس والجهاد ونقلتهما من فصائل دينية الى فصائل شعبية وجماهيرية عربية وربما عالمية، ووجّهت صفعة قوية لمعسكر ابراهام ، حتى ان وزير خارجية الامارات لوح بذلك. واظن ان نتنياهو لن يزور الامارات من الان حتى مماته سياسيا وبيولوجيا .
اعتقال اكثر من ألف “اسرائيلي” لكل واحد منهم اسرة وعشيرة ، اصدقاء ومعارف ، جيران وزملاء عمل ، تيوبيين وفيس بوكيين ، سجون ومحاكم وزيارات وصليب احمر … الخ .
القدس كعاصمة موحدة وابدية ويهودية والهيكل والمبكى ووعد الرب وشعب الله المختار ، سقطت الى الابد.
بداية فصم في العلاقة مع امريكا قد تزيد الفرز بين الجمهوريين والديمقراطيين ، لن تسمح ان يأتي فريدمان آخر -” السفير الامريكي الاسبق”- يهدم بيده جدار منزل فلسطيني في سلوان فيمنحه لمستوطن مثله.
ما يزيد على ثلاثمائة مليون دولار خسائر يوميا، و الطريق امام عودة حماس لدمشق يبدو انها قد عبّدت.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

50 doctors send an open letter to the Israeli government regarding the prisoner Awadeh

Jerusalem - "Quds" dot com - More than 50 Palestinian and Jewish-Israeli physicians, active in the Physicians for Human Rights Association, signed an open letter calling on the Israeli government to immediately release the hunger-striking prisoner Khalil Awadeh , and to stop using the policy of administrative detention.


In their letter, the doctors express their deep concern for Awadeh's safety, and Israel's frequent use of administrative detention, a method that forces people to go on prolonged hunger strikes as a last resort in the face of this pervasive tool.


Meanwhile, 16 Israeli human rights organizations issued a joint call for Israel to immediately release Awadeh, and stop its extensive use of administrative detention.


The letter issued by the associations stated that Awadeh is one of 671 Palestinians administratively detained by Israel, without trial, and in violation of international law, adding: Awadeh's life is in imminent and immediate danger, and his continued administrative detention for political reasons constitutes a serious violation of human rights.


The associations declared that the only way to save Awadeh's life was to immediately release him from administrative detention.


In this context, the Military Court of Appeal recently rejected the appeal filed by Al-Awawdeh against his administrative detention, and approved the continuation of his administrative detention, despite the opinion of specialized doctors who stated that Al-Awawdeh's life is in imminent danger.


In the coming days, Awadeh is expected to appeal the decision through his lawyer, Ahlam Haddad, to the Supreme Court.


It is noteworthy that Khalil Awadeh has been admitted since the end of last week to Assaf Harofeh Hospital, and Dr. Lina Qasim Hassan, a volunteer family physician at Physicians for Human Rights, who holds the position of director of its administrative body, visited Awadeh, and wrote in her assessment that his condition is serious and that his life is in definite danger. Awadeh’s weight is 42 kilograms, and he suffers from massive nystagmus (twitching of the pupils of the eyes). ), and he faces problems in looking and talking, and it seems that he faces difficulties in perceiving time and place, and he suffered an injury in his cognitive ability, and it is not known to what extent, and if it is possible to recover from it.


Although Hassan's assessment was transferred to the Military Court of Appeal for consideration, the judge ignored the assessment and approved the continuation of the administrative detention.


Commenting on the rejection of Awadeh's appeal, Anat Litvin, director of the Prisoners Department at the Physicians for Human Rights, said: "The judge continues to insist that there is no definite danger to Awadeh's life, while ignoring the opinions of three expert doctors from the Physicians for Human Rights, and 55 additional medical professionals who signed a letter calling for his release due to his health condition, and he ignored the point of view of the prison service’s health facility, which is a doctor and a state employee no less than a judge. Khalil Awadeh, and they, in this way, ignore his right to life.”

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Updated 1 || Recognizing his identity.. A young man was killed by the occupation bullets in Qalqilya

Qalqilya - "Jerusalem" dot com - The young man Aref Abdel Nasser Lahlouh (22 years) was killed, Wednesday, by an Israeli military force, claiming that he attempted to carry out a stabbing attack at a military junction near the Kedumim settlement in Qalqilya.


According to local sources, the young man, Lahlouh, is a resident of the Jenin camp .


An Israeli military spokesman claimed that the Palestinian youth got out of a vehicle and tried to stab one of the soldiers, but he was neutralized.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

A delegation from Hamas arrives in Damascus for the first time in more than ten years

Damascus - (AFP) - A delegation from the Hamas movement arrived in Syria on Wednesday, according to an official in a Palestinian faction, told Agence France-Presse, on a visit that is the first since it severed its relations with Damascus more than ten years ago, following the outbreak of conflict in the country.


Hamas was considered one of the closest Palestinian allies of President Bashar al-Assad. And it made Damascus its headquarters abroad for years, before it criticized the authorities’ suppression of the protests that swept the country starting in mid-March 2011, and the relationship between the two parties was severed.


"The Hamas delegation arrived in Damascus for a two-day visit," the Secretary-General of the Popular Struggle Front, Khaled Abdel Majeed, told AFP. The visit included meetings with Palestinian faction leaders and Syrian officials, led by Assad.


The Hamas delegation, headed by the head of the Arab and Islamic Relations Bureau, Khalil al-Hayyah, will meet al-Assad on Wednesday noon, as part of a delegation that includes representatives of the Palestinian factions. Their representatives will hold a press conference after the meeting.


The Hamas delegation arrived in Beirut on Tuesday night, coming from Algeria, where the Palestinian factions signed a reconciliation agreement on Thursday, under which they commit to holding legislative and presidential elections within a year.


Hamas' visit to Damascus comes after its leadership announced last month its desire to resume relations with Damascus, in light of the "accelerating regional and international developments surrounding our cause and our nation," which analysts considered a sign of a number of Arab countries normalizing their relations with Israel.


Following the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, relations gradually soured between the two parties until the movement's leaders, headed by the former head of its political bureau abroad, Khaled Meshaal, left Damascus in February 2012. The movement closed all its offices and stopped its activities there.


For years, Syrian officials considered Hamas's departure a "severe blow" to the relationship with Syria, and some of them described it as "treason."


The visit to Damascus, according to what an official in the movement told AFP earlier, was preceded by meetings with Syrian officials, mediated by the Lebanese Hezbollah and its Iranian backer.


The movement maintained a good relationship with Hezbollah. Despite his disagreement with her over her position on Damascus, he has always considered it part of the "axis of resistance," which also includes Damascus, Tehran, and Iraqi factions.
A leader in the movement told AFP earlier that Hamas is going to open an office in Damascus, but it is "too early to talk" about returning the movement's headquarters to Damascus, as was the case previously.
In 2017, Hamas announced its disengagement from the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been banned in Syria since the 1980s and is one of the most prominent components of the Syrian opposition following the outbreak of the conflict.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Officially.. Approval of the new route of Wadi Al-Nar Street

Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - The Supreme Planning Council, in its session held today, Thursday, at the Ministry of Local Government in Al-Bireh, approved the new route of Wadi Al-Nar Street , which will pass through the lands of the towns: Al-Sawahra Al-Sharqiya, Dar Salah, and Al-Shawamrah.


The Chairman of the Council, the Minister of Local Government, Majlis Al-Saleh, stressed the importance of the project and its great advantages, pointing out that the new path is more streamlined to facilitate traffic and make it more secure, because there are no steep slopes like the ones currently in place, in addition to saving a lot of effort and time.


The Council also decided, during the session, to put several projects into effect, which are "organizational amendment" projects in each of: Jericho, Ramallah, Turmos Aya, Al-Mazra'a Al-Gharbiyya, Dura Al-Qara', Asira Al-Shamaliya, Nablus, Beit Iba, Tubas, and Birzeit, in addition to Approval of "detailed structural" projects for the purpose of housing in: Ignissia, Talouza, Cyrenaica, and Salfit, as well as a "detailed structural" project to organize the use into housing in Hajjah, street planning in Kour, and structural planning for industrial organization in Safarin.


The Council approved the organizational expansions in the towns of Anin and Awarta, in addition to its approval of the expansion of the industrial zone on the lands of Deir Sharaf, Beit Lid, and Ramin, and the re-deposit of the structural plan of Anin for the objections.


In the same context, the Council approved requests for facilitation and appeal requests in the communities of: Al-Bireh, Jourat Al-Shamaa, Ariha, Anin, Talluza, Tubas, Marah Rabah, Surda, Beit Jala, and Beit Iba, while it decided to form sub-committees to re-study the requests of: Beit Gala, Beit Sahour, and Ramin.


The council also instructed the secretariat to re-study a request for facilities for an additional building permit in Aboud, and instruct the local committee to study a draft regulatory amendment to organize street paths and re-division in Beitunia.


The Council rejected an organizational amendment project to change the use and organize streets in Ramallah, and a street expansion project in Nablus, while it postponed a request for expansion in Al-Dhahiriya, as well as a request to resume facilities in Aboud.


ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

A judicial decision to seize the property of two deputies, defendants in the Beirut explosion

Beirut - (AFP) - The Lebanese judiciary issued, on Wednesday, a decision to reserve the property of two defendants in the Beirut port explosion case, based on a lawsuit filed by the Beirut Bar Association on behalf of the families of the victims, according to a judicial source told Agence France-Presse.


The source said, "The head of the Beirut Implementation Department, Judge Najah Itani, issued a decision to seize the property of MPs Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zuaiter at a value of 100 billion pounds."


The issuance of the decision came within the framework of a lawsuit filed by the Prosecutor’s Office at the Beirut Bar Association before the Civil Court of First Instance in Beirut to hold the two deputies, who previously held the positions of Minister of Finance (Khalil) and Minister of Public Works and Transport (Zuaiter), accountable for their “abusive use of the rights of defense and prosecution, through They filed lawsuits that impede the progress of the investigation, and demanded compensation for this arbitrariness in the amount of one hundred billion pounds,” according to the same source.


In the aftermath of the port explosion , the Prosecution Office of the Beirut Bar Association took over the prosecution of the state by filing claims on behalf of nearly 1,400 families of the victims and those affected by the explosion.


And the two deputies belonging to the Amal movement, which is led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, have submitted several lawsuits against them, along with other officials, to stop the judicial investigator, Judge Tariq al-Bitar, from investigating the explosion that killed more than two hundred people on August 4, 2020, and injured. More than 6,500 others were wounded, causing massive destruction to the port and a number of the capital's neighborhoods.


The investigation raises a political division, with major forces, most notably Hezbollah, objecting to Al-Bitar's work, accusing him of "politicizing" the file.


The investigation into the explosion as a result of the lawsuits against Al-Bitar has been suspended since the end of December, which fuels the anger of the victims' families and human rights organizations. And they renewed, coinciding with Lebanon's commemoration Thursday of the second anniversary of the explosion, calling on the United Nations to send an independent fact-finding mission, in the face of the stumbling of the local investigation.


According to the authorities, the explosion resulted from the storage of large quantities of ammonium nitrate inside the port without precautionary measures, following the outbreak of a fire, the causes of which are unknown. It turned out later that officials at several levels were aware of the dangers of storing the substance and did not move a finger.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Christmas preparations begin in Bethlehem amid a complaint about the occupation measures in the city

RAMALLAH - (Xinhua) - Palestinian officials in Bethlehem announced today, Saturday, the start of preparations for this year's Christmas celebrations, with a message entitled "The spirit of Christmas brings us together," amid a complaint about the occupation measures in the city.


It is scheduled to light the Christmas tree, which was erected in the middle of the Church of the Nativity square in Bethlehem, with a height of more than 15 meters, and includes dozens of decorated light ropes and various forms of drawings, next Saturday, with the participation of Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh and other officials.


Hanna Hanania, Mayor of Bethlehem, said during a press conference held at the municipality headquarters to mark the start of the activities for this year that Christmas is a new beginning filled with joy, hope and hope for a better tomorrow, stressing that Bethlehem, the cradle of Christ and the Holy Land, is in dire need of peace based on justice, love of people and living freely. And dignity.


Hanania added that Christmas is passing and the city of the Nativity is still "besieged by the separation wall that Israel is building, 2 km away from the Church of the Nativity, which restricts freedom, impedes movement, and affects all aspects of life."


He added that the Israeli measures make the reality more painful in Bethlehem, but "our hope is always alive with the Christmas star and its sparkling message, and it makes us look to the future with hope and optimism and for a better life that guarantees us to live in freedom, dignity and independence, like the rest of the peoples of the world."


Hanania called on the faithful and peace-loving peoples of the world to visit Bethlehem and make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in order to achieve support for the Palestinian presence on this land and to strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinian people to continue as they have always been witnesses to the birth of Christ.


It is expected that the number of participants in the Christmas tree lighting ceremony will reach tens of thousands, including diplomats and consuls in the State of Palestine and European personalities represented by cities that are sister to it, in addition to artistic teams from Malta, South Africa and France, according to the municipality.


For his part, the Governor of Bethlehem in the Palestinian Authority, Kamel Hamid, said in a speech on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas during the conference that Christmas is "a national day that has been celebrated by the Palestinian people for decades."


Hamid added that Christmas is a global message that renews its importance and historical role and bears the suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the Israeli occupation, calling for support for the Palestinians' right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state on the 1967 borders.


More than 3.5 million tourists visited the Palestinian territories in 2019, most of them to Bethlehem, before the city was closed following the discovery of the first cases of coronavirus in March 2020, according to official statistics.


According to a joint report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Tourism, the losses of the inbound tourism sector to the Palestinian Territories during the year 2020 amounted to about $1.021 billion, after its spending decreased by 68 percent compared to 2019 due to Corona.


In the context, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rola Maayah said during the conference that the celebration of Christmas this year will be different from the past two years due to Corona disease and the accompanying halt to tourism.


Maayah stated that the current year witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of tourists, which reached 600,000 visitors after the Corona crisis, noting that expectations for the month of December will reach more than 100,000 tourists, with 80% of hotel occupancy.


There are 70 hotels with 4,700 hotel rooms in Bethlehem, while more than 33,000 Palestinian workers are active in the field of tourism in the West Bank governorates, the largest percentage of whom are concentrated in Bethlehem, according to official Palestinian statistics.


Christmas celebrations are usually accompanied by the deployment of Palestinian security forces and the closure of main streets in Bethlehem to facilitate the movement of tourists and pilgrims from various countries and to protect the religious figures present.


Brigadier General Thabet al-Saadi, Director General of Bethlehem Police, confirmed during the conference the police's readiness to maintain security and safety, noting that about 700 officers, 46 vehicles and 17 bicycles will participate in securing the Christmas celebrations, along with other elements from the various security services.


In addition, the convoy of the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, arrived today in Bethlehem, coming from the city of Jerusalem, marking the start of the Christmas celebrations and the feast of St. Catherine the Pastoral, which falls on Sunday.


An official reception for the Custodian of the Holy Land took place at the court of the Church of the Nativity, with the participation of Palestinian officials and a number of Christian clergy, and scout teams played, while Patton later presided over a private prayer in the Church of "St. Katrina".


Ramzi Khoury, head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, told reporters that the message of Christmas and the Palestinian people is "to arm themselves with hope towards achieving national goals by ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a Palestinian state."


In turn, Patton, Custodian of the Holy Land, assured reporters upon his arrival that the Christmas message is always "a message of peace to all peoples of the world," expressing his hope that peace and stability will prevail in the Palestinian territories.


The city of Bethlehem is considered a destination for Christians of the world because it includes the Church of the Nativity, which was built by Constantine the Great in the year 330 AD over a cave or cave in which Jesus was born.


It is believed that the Church of the Nativity is the oldest churches in the world, and there is another basement nearby. It is believed that St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus, Bishop of Rome in the year 383 AD, to translate the Bible from Aramaic and Hebrew into Latin, has spent thirty years of his life translating the Bible.


PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

Among them is a school student.. The occupation arrests 5 citizens from separate areas in the West Bank and Jerusalem

Governorates - "Jerusalem" dot com - Today, Monday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested 5 citizens from separate areas in the West Bank and Jerusalem.


According to press sources, the occupation forces arrested the young man, after searching his vehicle at a military checkpoint in Tulkarm.


She added that the occupation forces arrested the student Abdul Rahman Abdul Qadir Murar (17 years old), from Tariq Bin Ziyad School in the southern region of Hebron.


In Al-Bireh, the occupation soldiers ambushed a number of young men in the Jabal Al-Taweel area in Al-Bireh, fired live bullets at them, and arrested two of them, whose identities are not known yet.


A picture taken by a mobile phone showed that the occupation soldiers took a detainee towards the "Psagot" settlement, which is established on the lands of Al-Bireh.


The Israeli occupation forces also arrested a woman from the occupied city of Jerusalem , after she left the Chain Gate near Al-Aqsa Mosque, and her identity was not known.

ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

13 people were killed when a truck fell on a bus in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people were killed and five others injured when a truck fell on top of a passenger bus in Rahim Yar Khan city of east Pakistan 's Punjab province, rescue workers told local media.


Reports stated that a passenger bus fell into a ditch on Fayroza Central Road and got stuck in it. The accident occurred when a truck loaded with sacks of sugar fell on top of the bus.


Rescue officials said the rescue operation then began with the help of 10 emergency vehicles as well as cranes belonging to the district administration, adding that rescue work was hampered by heavy rains.


Rescue officials said the initial death toll of five had risen to 13 as rescue teams began removing bodies from the bus.


They added that the injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Traffic accidents occur frequently in Pakistan, mainly due to poorly maintained vehicles, rickety roads and neglect of road safety measures.

PALESTINE

Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

The Lions' Den claims responsibility for the shootings in response to the martyrdom of Uday al-Tamimi

Nablus - "Jerusalem" dot com - The "Lions' Den" group announced, at dawn Thursday, that it opened fire towards Israeli forces in more than one area around Nablus.


In a statement, it stated that its members targeted an infantry force in the vicinity of the Gerzim military point, causing injuries, and another force was fired at the vicinity of Military Checkpoint 17, and shots were fired at the occupation soldiers near the town of Deir Sharaf.


The statement said: "This is before the dawn, but after sunrise, the den has another saying, God willing.. The blood of Uday al-Tamimi and the martyrs of Palestine has become fuel for a volcano that only God will extinguish." according to the text of its statement.


Wed 15 Mar 2023 10:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

((Washington Post)): The increasing number of maternal deaths during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium in the United States

نيويورك- (شينخوا) للولايات المتحدة سجل مشين عندما يتعلق الأمر بصحة الأمهات خلال فترة الحمل والولادة والنفاس، ويظهر تقرير جديد صادر عن منظمة الصحة العالمية أن الوضع يزداد سوءا، وفقا لما ذكرته صحيفة ((واشنطن بوست)) في تقرير لها صدر في وقت مبكر من هذا الأسبوع.


يقول تقرير الصحيفة إنه على مدى العقدين الماضيين، حققت الكثير من دول العالم تقدما مطردا في تقليل عدد الوفيات أثناء الولادة أو بعدها بفترة وجيزة، لكن الولايات المتحدة اتجهت في الاتجاه الخاطئ.


وفقا لمنظمة الصحة العالمية، تحسنت صحة الأمهات خلال فترة الحمل والولادة والنفاس في معظم البلدان بين عامي 2000 و2015، على الرغم من أن التقدم بدأ في الاستقرار، وانعكس في بعض الأماكن بين عامي 2015 و2020. كانت الولايات المتحدة من بين 23 دولة فقط شهدت زيادة متوسط معدل وفيات الأمهات في فترة الحمل والولادة والنفاس، خلال هذين العقدين.