On Saturday morning, the Israeli occupation forces arrested two young men from the town of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin.

Al-Quds.com correspondent reported that large Israeli forces stormed the town amid gunfire and tear gas canisters, and raided several homes.

He pointed out that those forces arrested the two brothers, Abdullah and Abdulaziz Yahya Massad, after storming their family home.

Armed clashes erupted between the resistance fighters and the occupation forces in the town.

On Saturday morning, more than 625,000 male and female students went to school in the Gaza Strip, after an annual vacation that lasted about 3 months.

Of the total number, 305 thousand are in public schools, approximately 300 thousand are in UNRWA schools, and 21 thousand are in private schools.

Some recreational activities and events were allocated to receive students on the first day.

The total number of schools in the Gaza Strip is 803, including 448 government schools, 288 UNRWA schools, and 67 private schools. More than 22,000 teachers supervise the educational process, including 12,000 in the government, 9,300 in UNRWA, and 1,300 teachers in private schools.

The head of the Amhara state in Ethiopia submitted his resignation on Wednesday after the federal government recently declared a state of emergency there, in the face of escalating armed clashes between fighters and the army, according to what an official media outlet quoted from the local parliament on Friday.

The Amhara Parliament approved "the request for the resignation of the regional president, Dr. Yelkal Kivale, and appointed Arega Kebede to replace him," according to the statement published by the Amhara Media Corporation (AMICO).

The resignation came Wednesday after the local parliament in Amhara held an "emergency session" and "discussed the current security situation. At the end of the discussions, a consensus was reached on the need for consistent reforms."

The local parliament elected Yekal Kivale Asris in September 2021, and this parliament is dominated by the Prosperity Party of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Kebede is relatively unknown on the political scene.

Since April, the Amhara region has witnessed armed violence that erupted after the federal government announced its desire to dismantle the country's "special forces", which are armed units established by some regional states 15 years ago. Amhara nationalists see this decision as a desire to weaken their region.

The federal government declared a state of emergency on August 4, after renewed fighting in early July between the army and local fighters in the Amhara region in the north of the country, including local militia fighters known as "Fano".

The violence in Amhara raises concerns about the stability of the second largest African country in terms of population, nine months after a peace agreement was reached that ended a brutal two-year conflict in the neighboring Tigray region, where militias and "special forces" in Amhara provided decisive support to the Ethiopian army against rebel forces in Tigray.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, an independent organization linked to the government, reported on August 14 that violent clashes had decreased in major urban areas on August 9, but were continuing in other parts of the region.

The military command appointed in Amhara under the state of emergency said that on August 23 the situation had "recovered to normal" thanks to "measures taken in the second and third phases of the military operations".

"The General Command issued a strict order to continue the military operation in order to promote and ensure peace and stability," it added.

It is almost impossible to verify conditions on the ground in Amhara because federal authorities restrict access to the area.

It is not yet known how many people were killed in the clashes, but the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission expressed concern about the civilian casualties due to the use of heavy artillery.

Doctors in two of the affected cities told AFP in early August that dozens of civilian deaths and injuries had been recorded.

On August 13, at least 26 people were killed in the town of Phinot Silam in an airstrike, a hospital official and a resident told AFP.

Ethiopia is home to more than 80 multilingual ethnicities and has often had difficulty managing diversity within its borders.

Ethiopia is a federal republic comprising 12 regional states along ethno-linguistic lines, and two administrative councils, including Addis Ababa.

The Amhara region is predominantly inhabited by the Amhara people, the second largest ethnic group in the country in terms of population.

Hamas condemned, in the strongest terms, the attack by the Israeli occupation police on the prayers at the Lions Gate, while they were on their way to perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque this afternoon.

In a statement, Hamas held the occupation fully responsible for this barbaric aggression, and for obstructing their access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, as described.

it said, "This is a provocation to the feelings of Muslims, and a flagrant violation of the freedom of access to places of worship guaranteed by all international laws and legislations."

"Hamas" called on the Palestinian people to continue to travel and reside in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in defense of it and to thwart the Judaization plans of the occupation against it.

And it stressed that Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem will remain a symbol of resistance that we will not deviate from until their liberation with all our occupied lands and our Islamic and Christian sanctities, and the establishment of our independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

On Friday evening, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the village of Taanak, west of Jenin, and caused material damage to a vehicle.

According to local sources, these forces stormed the village of Taanak, launched a sweep and search campaign in the village, and one of the occupation military vehicles deliberately rammed the vehicle of Sameh Turkman from the village of Rummana, which caused severe material damage to it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed, on Friday evening, that his government guarantees freedom of mobility and movement for the Palestinians as it is for the Israelis.

In a press statement, Netanyahu claimed that the statements of the so-called national security minister in his government, the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, said that the right to life takes precedence over the right to freedom of movement of the Palestinians.

Netanyahu tried to market stories in which he claimed that Palestinians use these methods to kill Israelis.

Netanyahu's statement came in several languages, including English, in light of the successive international condemnations, especially from the US administration and the European Union, of the extremist Ben Gvir's statements, in which he told Hebrew Channel 12 last Wednesday that "the right of my wife and children to freedom of movement precedes the Palestinians' right to movement."

20-year-old Ezz El-Din Mahmoud Kanaan succumbed to his wounds on Friday evening, after he was shot by Israeli occupation forces during their two-day invasion of Jenin refugee camp. 

The American “Axios” website revealed on Friday that the administration of US President Joe Biden informed the Israeli government last week that it would have to make major concessions to the Palestinians as part of any potential major deal with Saudi Arabia that includes normalization between the kingdom and Israel, four US officials and a source familiar with the issue Axios said.

Experts consider that reaching an agreement that includes a Saudi-Israeli peace agreement would be a historic achievement in President Biden's foreign policy.

The administration is pressing for a deal before the end of the first quarter of next year, when the presidential campaign is expected to consume Biden's agenda.

But the Biden administration faces an uphill battle, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strong reservations about taking any significant steps toward the Palestinians.

Doing so is likely to anger the far-right parties that are part of his coalition and risk bringing down his government.

The Axios report refers to the visit of the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, to Washington last week for talks at the White House and the State Department about the deal with Saudi Arabia.

According to the site: "Four current and former US officials told Axios that White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Tony Blinken raised with Dermer the need for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians as part of any Saudi deal, while two US officials said Blinken told Dermer that the Israeli government" is misreading the situation if it thinks it will not have to make such concessions."

The officials told the site that Blinken also said that Saudi Arabia will need to show the Arab and Islamic world that it has obtained important achievements from Israel regarding the Palestinians in return for a normalization agreement.

The site indicates that a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said that they do not comment on private diplomatic talks while the US State Department referred the matter to the White House.

Sullivan also told Dermer that Biden wants broad support from Democrats in Congress to strike a massive deal with Saudi Arabia, a source familiar with the case told Axios. To do that, Sullivan said, serious Israeli steps toward the Palestinians would be needed, and many of the Senate Democrats who would have to vote on parts of any mega-deal are highly critical of the Saudi or Israeli government or both.

Dermer in his talks with Blinken and Sullivan was not very forthcoming about potential Israeli concessions to the Palestinians, according to US officials and a source familiar with the issue.

According to the site, “Dermer told Sullivan that Israel’s concession is that it is willing to accept a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia,” according to the source familiar with the matter. Sullivan said in a press conference with reporters on Tuesday that “there are still hard ways to achieve a major deal.” ".

There are still many outstanding issues, including a possible defense treaty between Washington and Riyadh and potential US support for a civilian nuclear program that includes uranium enrichment on Saudi soil.

According to the site, "three current and former US officials said that it is possible to invite Netanyahu to the White House to meet with Biden in the third week of September, and the Biden administration has not confirmed whether a meeting will be held at the White House between Biden and Netanyahu or not."

A source familiar with the matter said that such a meeting would likely focus on emphasizing the need for Israel to make concessions to the Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, made racist statements during the interview with the Israeli Channel 12 News, in which he said: My right and the right of my wife and children to move in Judea and Samaria (the biblical designation for the occupied West Bank) is more important than the right of the Arabs to move. My right to life comes before their right to movement. This is the reality.

The truth is that it is a living reality, that it calls for a system of systematic oppression and unilateral control of one ethnic group over another ethnic group in occupied territories, and this is according to the legal analysis of the International Criminal Court, and Ben Gvir’s statement is an admission that the policy he wants and that he seeks to advance as a minister in the Israeli Government, is, categorically, an apartheid policy, and Ben Gvir embodies the racism and apartheid that characterizes Israel, and its brand-named government.

And he expressed it again, and said that my right and the right of my Jewish brothers to travel and return home in peace in the streets of Judea and Samaria, outweighs the right of the terrorists who throw stones and kill us. I will not apologize and will not go back on my words.

It is a true expression of the true face of the racist, fascist Israeli Government, what it is doing, the situation based on apartheid, the daily life of the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, and the unjust siege on our people in the Gaza Strip.

The condemnation of the United States is without any importance, and it is similar to the condemnation issued by it regarding the terrorism of the settlers and its description of their attacks on the Palestinians as terrorism. This comes in the context of defending the Israeli government and absolving it of responsibility before the international community, and its silence on the incitement of Ben Gvir and other fascists in the government coalition. Their racist statements come in the context of legitimizing and perpetuating the Israeli occupation and apartheid, deepening settlement activity, and imposing more forms of injustice, persecution, and collective punishment on the Palestinians.

In an article by the military analyst for the Haaretz newspaper, Amos Harel, published today, Friday, in which he says that between an attack and another murder in Arab society, it has become more and more clear that violence serves the parties to the fascist government coalition. And that the settlers talk about Operation Defensive Wall 2, the goal is more than just revenge.

As the crisis surrounding the coup deepens, the connection between it and what is happening in the West Bank becomes clear. It is doubtful if this is high on Netanyahu's list of priorities, but for his far-right partners the possibility is clear: the formation of an extremist government and the weakening of the justice system will serve their plans to expand settlements, increase friction with the Palestinians and weaken external checks on the exercise of power in the West Bank.

In a new position paper by Attorney Tamar Feldman of the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights, published last week, she states that the government has "promote two major systemic steps since its establishment, regime change and the establishment of a new government, and sovereignty in the West Bank. The two movements are intrinsically linked to each other." They start from the same basic assumptions and are guided by the same rationale, which is the aspiration to establish a government without limits and free from restrictions.

According to Feldman, the coup not only reflects the extension of authoritarian concepts and practices from the occupied territories to Israel itself, but rather serves as a tool to loosen the reins of authoritarian rule in the territories themselves and makes it possible to free the hands of the military, the commander-in-chief, the security forces and the government of Israel, from responsibility for the fate of its inhabitants and their basic rights, who are defined as a "protected" population under international law.

Feldman said changes in the government structure and limits on the exercise of power in the West Bank establish control over the territories and change their legal status. At the same time, the neutralization of judicial review, harming the independence and accessibility of the judicial system allows in practice the stabilization of the status of the Palestinian population as subjects without rights. The combination of control of the territories along with the violation of the power of judicial review, allows Israel to rule without standards in the territories without responsibility to its inhabitants, to extend sovereignty over space without concern for the rights of its citizens, and to exercise maximum authority with minimum responsibility, this time both in law or in practice.

Although the Israeli judicial system is part of the occupation system, the shining fact that refutes the democratic nature of the occupying state, while the Palestinians live under the apartheid regime. The claim now that the ultimate goal of judicial reform is to tighten restrictions on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, to deprive the Palestinians of their rights, to annex more lands, and to ethnically cleanse all Palestinian lands under racist Israeli military rule, is a policy pursued and invested in by successive Zionist governments.

On Friday evening, the Israeli occupation forces suppressed a march condemning the settlement in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem, and arrested one of its participants.

According to local sources, these forces arrested the Jerusalemite activist Muhammad Abu al-Hummus, after assaulting him during the march in which Arab and foreign activists participated, during which they condemned the settlement activities targeting of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Today, Friday, Hamas condemned Britain's decision to stand against a ruling by the International Court of Justice regarding the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, and to present an opinion opposing the principle of submitting the case to the International Court.

Hamas said in a statement, "This is a continuation of the British policies supporting the occupation and denying the rights of our Palestinian people, starting with issuing the ominous Balfour Declaration, which granted the occupation alleged legitimacy on our occupied lands, and not ending with the British governments' condoning of the occupation's crimes."

It added, "The British position contradicts the values of justice and truth, by tying the hand of international justice to bridle the occupations crimes and brutal violations."

Hamas called on Britain and the international community to stop tampering with international and humanitarian law and double standards, and shoulder their responsibility to end the Zionist occupation, hold its leaders accountable for their crimes, lift the injustice against our defenseless Palestinian people and support their right to freedom and self-determination.

Hamas called on Britain and the international community to stop tampering with international and humanitarian law and double standards, and assume their responsibility to end the Zionist occupation, hold its leaders accountable for their crimes, lift the injustice against our defenseless Palestinian people and support their right to freedom and self-determination.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed the international positions that denounced, condemned the racist incitement statements made by the extremist minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.

In a statement today, Friday, the Foreign Ministry considered that this is a step in the right direction, but it is not sufficient, especially since these statements express absolute hatred towards the Palestinian.

And it called for real American and international pressure on Netanyahu to dismiss Ben Gvir and arrest him as a punishment, especially since settler terrorism has escalated in an unprecedented way against Palestinian citizens, because they feel protected, supported and backed by the likes of Ben Gvir and Smotrich.

The Foreign Ministry held the Israeli government and its Prime Minister, Netanyahu, directly and fully responsible for repeating these positions and statements.

Today, Friday, the Dutch Supreme Court rejected a request by a Dutch Palestinian to prosecute a former Israeli minister, who holds him responsible for the killing of six members of his family in a raid on Gaza in 2014.

"The Supreme Court rejects the appeal," the Hague court said in a statement.Thus, the highest judicial authority confirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal, which said that the country's judiciary is not competent to decide the  case.

In 2021, the appeals court said in its decision that the petition related to actions taken by "senior military officials who carried out the official policy of the State of Israel" and who therefore enjoy functional immunity.

Dutch-Palestinian Ismail Ziyada lost six of his family members, including his mother and three brothers, in an Israeli army raid on Al-Bureij Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on July 20, 2014.

Because he holds Dutch citizenship, in September 2019 he asked a court in The Hague to open a file in preparation for the trial of Benny Gantz, who was then Chief of Staff of the Israeli forces, in addition to a former commander of the Israeli Air Force, General Amir Eshel, on charges of war crimes. He said that justice cannot be achieved in Israel in this file.He also requested compensation of about 540,000 euros.

Gantz also held the position of Minister of Defense in Israel between 2020 and 2022 and Deputy Prime Minister in 2021 and 2022. Ziadeh resorted to seeking justice in the Netherlands, as he holds its nationality.The Supreme Court ordered him to  pay more than two thousand euros in costs. 

In 2019, the Court of Appeal ordered him to pay more than 3,800 euros in procedural costs. 

Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, which lasted from July 7 to August 26, 2014, to stop rocket fire from the besieged Gaza Strip.

At least 2,251 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 74 Israelis, most of them soldiers, were killed in this Gaza war.

Today, Friday, settlers launched attacks on farmers and lands of citizens in the West Bank.

In Hebron, today, Friday, settlers attacked citizens in the Qalqis area, south of Hebron.

Eyewitnesses reported that settlers attacked citizens and their vehicles at Khirbet Qalqis roundabout, south of the city.

It is noteworthy that the settlers intensified their attacks on the citizens, and closed the roads near the settlements under the protection of the occupation forces, which are the main roads for citizens to reach the city of Hebron.

In Nablus, settlers stormed the Qaryut spring, south of Nablus.

Local sources reported that the settlers stormed the spring under the protection of the occupation forces, who fired stun grenades and tear gas at the citizens who responded to the intrusion, which led to clashes in the area.

It is noteworthy that settlers have intensified their weekly incursions into the spring, breaking its locks several times, in an attempt to seize it.

Several Palestinians were injured by tear gas in clashes with Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank in Friday. 

In the weekly anti-settlement march in Kafr Qaddum, several Palestinians were treated for tear gas inhalation at the site after Israeli troops fired tear gas grenades. 

Also on Friday, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and their vehicles in Khirbet Qalqis, south of Hebron. 

Eyewitnesses added that settlers closed down roads in the area with their activities, preventing Palestinians from reaching the city of Hebron.

Israeli settlers also stormed the Qaryut spring, south of Nablus. Local sources said that the settlers arrived at the spring under the protection of soldiers, who fired tear gas at the Palestinians, leading to clashes.

Settlers' attempts to takeover the spring have grown in intensity in recent months. 

The European Union strongly condemned the statements made by the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir regarding the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The European Union affirmed, in a statement, today, Friday, that relations between the European Union and Israel "must be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, and that all human beings are equal and must be treated in the same way."

It added  "The values of democracy and respect for human rights are at the heart of the partnership between the European Union and Israel, including with regard to citizens living under occupation in the Palestinian territories".

It stated that the settlements are illegal under international law, and constitutes an obstacle to peace and threatens to render the two-state solution unviable. 

It reaffirmed its strong opposition to the Israeli settlement policy and the actions taken in this context, including movement and access restrictions.

The European Union called on Israel to "allow a tangible improvement in the freedom of movement and access of the Palestinians, allow the acceleration of Palestinian construction, allow economic and social development in Area C and stop disturbing the living conditions of the Palestinians there."

Tens of thousands of students will return to their schools in the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday, August 26, 2023, with the start of a new academic journey that brings hope for a brighter future and arouses enthusiasm within the connected and cohesive Gazan society, amid a sense of anticipation and optimism that prevails among students, teachers and parents.

Gaza public and private schools, as well as schools affiliated with the The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), open their doors from the border line and the separating fence north to the south.. from northern Gaza to southern Rafah, amid political, economic and social challenges imposed by the nature of the prevailing conditions in the Strip due to the continuation of the unjust blockade for the seventeenth year in a row. Despite this, the commitment to education remains a constant model and a sacred asset among the Gazans, who annually qualify tens of thousands of graduates to universities after the end of their secondary studies.

The education in Gaza passes through two stages, basic and higher, at the end of which, successful students go to universities to obtain intermediate academic degrees (diploma and bachelor’s) to higher university degrees (master’s and doctorate). And a large part of them do not find a job opportunity in their field, so they are forced to either migrate abroad or work in another job in the labor market that has been greatly affected in the Gaza Strip because of the blockade and the failure to open new horizons, and the vast majority of graduates do not find an opportunity to work at all, which adds to the atmosphere of poverty more widespread unemployment, to a large extent.

Returning to the topic of schools of the Gaza Strip, they are considered a firm foundation and a role model through the insistence of students and their parents to continue the learning journey, under the leadership of a distinguished educational apparatus that includes tens of principals and hundreds or even thousands of teachers keen to achieve a comprehensive educational renaissance based on a clear message that education builds the foundations of the homeland and raises the nation's edifices to the highest position.

In Gaza, schools open their doors to present their deep educational message based on true Islamic education and patriotic education on the love of knowledge. Therefore, you find that schools are full of cultural, social, sports and scouting activities, and regularity morning show queues and chanting national and religious chants and acclamations. The citizens of Gaza feel proud as they see their children under the care of trustworthy hands keen to provide the best means of education, based on the Palestinian curriculum that focuses on the history, geography, heritage of the homeland and its economy, at a time when Jerusalem schools are exposed to a major Israeli campaign to distort education and replace the Palestinian curricula with Israeli curricula. However, the awareness among educational administrations in all parts of the country, from Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, makes the Israeli attempt to brainwash students out of reach..

The Gaza community seeks to take advantage of the current calm and the state of security that is established temporarily to achieve a new stability that contributes to raising the pace and level of education and reassurance of their sons and daughters on the way to and from schools. Despite this, dangers remain, especially the schools near the eastern border area of the Gaza Strip, which are exposed at many times, especially during school hours, to gunfire or tear gas canisters by the occupation soldiers stationed in the military towers on the border fence line imposed by Israel. This greatly threatens the lives of the students and creates a margin for anxiety despite the calmness and reassurance in light of the distance from the language of war.

A number of students in the Gaza Strip have been victims of Israeli violence in recent years, either as martyrdom, injury or arrest. Hence, the responsibility of all parties is doubled to provide protection and safety for Gaza students and allow them to start their new school season in a safe and calm atmosphere away from the language of violence and wars that affect the students’ psyches. It also threatens their future.

Despite all these circumstances, the creativity of the population in the Gaza Strip has been remarkable in recent years through the exploitation of technology. With the rapid technological development, and the solutions offered by artificial intelligence technologies to its pioneers that were believed to be impossible, horizons have been opened for young people in Gaza to think outside the box and provide answers to many questions, through innovations that serve the environment, health, and human beings, and are on their way to global presence.

Like other projects that have been making their way in the besieged Strip for more than 17 years, students’ innovations face many obstacles, most notably the lack of required supplies and the high price of some of them, which pushes them to resort to less efficient alternatives. Hence, we noticed many initiatives and inventions that meet the needs of citizens. Young children and school students like creating a "smart seed sowing" robot, which saves time and effort for the farmer, and ensures better crop production; Given that it takes into account all the elements of agriculture, such as sun access, ventilation, and the distance between one seed and another, and it was invented in Khan Yunis last year because of the love of challenge and the lack of acceptance of “living under pressure” without finding appropriate solutions, based on the unsafe conditions that farmers live in, and the robot can help them to save time and effort, as well as protect them from the risks of working in their lands near the border areas.

And according to the “Learning Resources” department in the Ministry of Education in Gaza, “the official interest in the subject of artificial intelligence and its integration in the extracurricular activities of school students in the Gaza Strip appeared about three years ago, while the design of robots has occupied the ministry’s attention for many years.” Students were exposed to advanced technological courses that contribute to the investment of artificial intelligence to achieve new projects and inventions, which contributed to the development of competitions under the title of the National Robot Olympiad sponsored by UNESCO to highlight the innovations of future designers and their pioneering projects.

The Ministry of Education seeks to establish "technological incubators" that include distinguished students in its schools. To stimulate their energies through curricula, exhibitions, competitions and scientific projects.

In light of this, the ministry hopes that "these activities will become extended, so that the student does not stop at certain levels, leading to educational fields closely related to artificial intelligence and robotics" in universities.

The emergence of successes, innovations and inventions based on artificial intelligence in the schools of the Gaza Strip, despite all the circumstances, confirms beyond any doubt that this creativity needs more stability and calm, so that Gaza students can enjoy a new educational journey that promises a brighter future and a glow towards more achievements.

The US State Department issued a statement regarding Israel's visa waiver to the United States noting that "On July 19, 2023, the United States and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Extension of Reciprocal Concessions and the Visa Waiver Program (Reciprocity Memorandum of Understanding), which details the steps that Israel undertakes to extend reciprocal privileges to all citizens of the United States, and citizens who travel to or through Israel for short-term business, tourism, or transit travel as required to participate in the Visa Waiver Program.

According to the State Department statement, Israel began implementing new travel policies consistent with the Memorandum of Understanding on Reciprocity on July 20, 2023, and will update its travel policies relating to travel of US citizens registered in the Palestinian population registry in Gaza, including those who reside in Gaza, by September 15, 2023.

According to the US State Department statement, Israel has made the following commitments:

1. All US citizens who travel to Israel with a valid US passport shall be recognized by Israel as US citizens and shall receive equal treatment without regard to race, religion, or national origin. This obligation does not affect Israeli law which requires any Israeli citizen - even if he holds another nationality - to enter Israel with his Israeli passport, just as the United States requires citizens of the United States to enter the United States with an American passport.

2. Citizens of the United States may apply for visa-free entry in order to be able to enter or exit Israel - for business, tourism and short-term transit purposes not exceeding 90 days.

3- An American citizen requesting entry to Israel for short-term visits is expected to be approved, except for legitimate security, criminal, health, or immigration concerns—which could justify a different outcome based on uniform application of Israeli legal standards.

4. Due to the security situation in Gaza, US citizens residing in Gaza will not be eligible at this time for direct visa-free travel from Gaza to Israel via the Erez Border Crossing. Instead, Israel will establish new procedures for American citizens residing in Gaza to request a permit or visa for short-term visits, including transit and tourism, directly from Gaza into Israel via the Erez border crossing. Any US citizen registered in the Palestinian population registry in Gaza, including residents of Gaza, and residents outside Gaza, will be able to enter Israel without a visa through Israel's international ports of entry. The Government of Israel will announce and implement new entry procedures by September 15 for Palestinian Americans on the Gaza registry, including Gaza residents, consistent with the Memorandum of Understanding signed July 19, 2023 on reciprocity. We will update our guidance accordingly after Israel announces these new measures.

5- American citizens residing in Gaza who have been denied a permit or visa to enter Israel through the Erez border crossing can apply to travel safely between Gaza and the Allenby Bridge border crossing. This travel must be requested at least 45 days in advance and also needs to be approved by the Palestinian Authority. Israel will also facilitate permits to enter Gaza for travel once a year for US citizens who are first-degree relatives of a Gaza resident. The Department of State reminds US citizens that there is a Level 4 advisory for travel to Gaza, and US citizens are advised not to travel there.

6- Israel will launch the new "Marom" travel permit system for all foreign visitors to Israel, including US citizens. When the Marom system is fully operational (currently scheduled for May 2024), all US citizens, including residents of the West Bank, will be able to use the system to travel to and through Israel. As an interim step, Israel has made an application administered by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) available to US citizens residing in the West Bank. US citizens who do not wish to use this temporary application can leave the West Bank through the Allenby Bridge border crossing and seek entry to Israel through any Israeli international port of entry by presenting their US passport. After turning Maromis on, US citizens residing in the West Bank will have the option to use the Maromor COGAT app to make short-term visits to Israel.

7. In the exceptional cases in which a US citizen is denied entry for security, criminal, health, or immigration reasons based on uniform application of Israeli legal standards, Israel will direct the concerned US citizen to obtain a visa or authorization to travel to Israel, consistent with US standards . The treatment of citizens of other Visa Waiver Program members who are denied visa-free travel to the United States.

According to the statement, Israel publishes updates to its travel policies and procedures, trains its border personnel, and reports aggregate statistics and data to the United States regarding the implementation of new travel policies and procedures.

Israel will implement new entry procedures by September 15 for Palestinian Americans registered in the Gaza Registry, including Gaza residents, consistent with the July 19 decision.

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

The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem estimated that about 50,000 prayers attended Friday prayer in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Local sources stated that the occupation forces deployed in the streets of the city and within the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, stationed at its gates, stopped the prayers, checked their identity cards, and assaulted them. A number of them sustained injuries and bruises. 

On Friday, the Danish government presented a draft law banning the burning of the Qur’an, after the unrest that occurred in several Muslim countries due to the desecration of copies of the Qur’an in Denmark.

Justice Minister Peter Hammelgaard said during a press conference that the law "will prohibit dealing in an inappropriate manner with objects of great religious importance to a religion," explaining that the legislation aims specifically to prohibit the burning of these objects and symbols and their desecration in public places.

The minister said that the burning of the Qur'an, which he described as "basically showing contempt and a lack of sympathy ... offends Denmark and harms its interests."

The new provision is to be included in Chapter 12 of the Penal Code, which is related to national security.

The minister added that "This is at the heart and drive of what we do... We cannot sit idly by while a few individuals do everything they can to provoke violent reactions."

The provision would also apply to the desecration of the Bible, the Torah or religious symbols such as the cross, with the offender punishable by a fine and two years in prison.

One Palestinian suffered from a foot fracture from a stun grenade fired by Israeli occupation forces on Friday at Lions' Gate, one of the gates of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. 

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that their medical staff treated him at the scene.

Local sources said that the stun grenade was fired during an attempt to detain a Jerusalemite, Shaker Al-Zaatari, at the Old City gate. 

The Waqf estimated that 50,000 prayers came to Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayer. 

Police spokesman, Colonel Louay Arziqat, stated that the police arrested one of the two people who opened fire on the Khalil Al-Rahman cycling team this morning, in Hebron.

Dr. Farouk Ashour of the Khalil Rahman cycling team said that a gunman fired his pistol and wounded 6 of the team members with minor injuries.

Ashour added in a recorded video: "The gunman fired his gun between my legs, and I was hit by shrapnel. He also shot between the riders' legs, and five of us were also wounded by shrapnel."

Ashour explained that the riders team was at Al-Tahrir Square, south of Hebron, at 6:00 am today, and was preparing for its weekly tour, when the gunman attacked them.

Israeli occupation forces detained three Palestinians after searching their homes in the greater Hebron area on Friday morning.

Local sources identified the detainees as Amir Omran Ribhi Burqan from the Sinjar area of Hebron, Saed Jibrin Mahmoud Murr from the city of Yatta, south of Hebron, and Abdullah Issa Abu Hashem from Beit Ummar in the north. 

The occupation forces also stormed several neighborhoods in the city of Hebron, including the neighbourhoods of al-Sheikh, Abu Katila, Sanjar, and Namira.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is bracing for several international trips in the next few months, as he faces a pivotal period at home over his judicial overhaul legislation. 

The prime minister will travel to Cyprus to participate in a tripartite summit attended by the prime ministers of Greece and Cyprus in his first overseas trip since his visit to London five months ago.

He is also coordinating visits to Belgium, Turkey, Morocco, China and the United Arab Emirates in the coming months.

Netanyahu will also go to New York to deliver a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, as well as hold meetings with other foreign dignitaries on the sidelines. 

Netanyahu, however, has not yet received any invitation to meet U.S. President Joe Biden.

The deputy head of Hamas' political bureau and the head of its office in the West Bank, Saleh al-Arouri, is trying to escalate the situation in the occupied West Bank with Iranian funding, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Friday.

Al-Arouri, who is facing deportation from Turkey to Lebanon, has been trying to ramp up attacks against Israeli targets as well as undermine the Palestinian Authority. 

The leader's main West Bank policy is to consolidate the "unity of arenas" – meaning that armed groups and popular resistance in the West Bank will respond whenever there is a flare-up in another Palestinian arena, such as the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem, or even from refugee camps beyond the borders, similar to what was seen in May 2021.

Haaretz also pointed out that the Israeli security establishment is also concerned about the nascent attempts to establish a primitive missile infrastructure in Jenin, the possible use of drones to carry out attacks, and the manufacture of explosive devices. 

On Friday morning, the Israeli Public Prosecution filed an indictment before the Beersheba District Court against a young man from the occupied 48 territories, under the pretext of belonging to ISIS.

According to the Hebrew Channel 7, the detainee tried to recruit more people for ISIS. It indicated that he was arrested last month by the police and the Shin Bet, and the indictment included contacting a foreign agent and attempting to conspire to commit an attack.

At dawn on Friday, Palestinian youths set fire to areas in the vicinity of Gfut settlement, one of the settlements of Gush Etzion, between Hebron and Bethlehem.

According to the Hebrew Channel 12, 8 teams worked to put out the fire in the area surrounding the settlement.

Former US President Donald Trump published his criminal image Thursday on "X", in his first post on the former Twitter platform since January 2021.

And with the image that was taken of him in a Georgia prison when he was briefly arrested on charges of extortion and conspiracy to overturn the results of the recent presidential elections in his favor, Trump returns to the platform that was his preferred means of communication.

Twitter suspended Trump's account for violating the platform's policy by encouraging a crowd of his supporters to storm the Capitol building in Washington on January 6, 2021, to prevent Congress from approving Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election.

The new owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, reactivated Trump's account last November, days after the Republican billionaire announced his decision to run for the presidency, but he has not published any tweets yet, preferring to remain on his own platform, "Truth Social."

Trump's post Thursday includes the criminal photo taken of him at the Fulton County Jail and a link to his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.

Above the photo, he wrote "Criminal Photograph - 24 August 2023" and appended it with the phrases "interference in the elections" and "no surrender".

The U.S. State Department and the European Union condemned Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's remarks that his family's freedom of movement and security is more important than the freedom of movement of the Palestinians.

"We strongly condemn Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir’s inflammatory comments on the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents of the West Bank," the U.S. State Department spokesperson said. 

"We condemn all racist rhetoric; as such messages are particularly damaging when amplified by those in leadership positions and are incongruent with advancing respect for human rights for all," the statement added.

The European Union also weighed in on the far-right minister's remarks, asserting that their relationship with Israel "must be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles."

They added that Israel must allow freedom of movement for Palestinians and the development of Area C of the West Bank.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry welcomed the condemnations as "a step in the right direction, but is not sufficient" given Ben-Gvir's "absolute hatred" of Palestinians.

The ministry added that the U.S. administration in particular should pressure Netanyahu to dismiss Ben-Gvir, especially at a time when settler terrorism is rampant due to its support from the likes of the national security minister and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. 

The ministry added that it holds Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who appointed Ben-Gvir and Smotrich and leads the government in which they serve – as ultimately responsible. 

The Foreign Ministry held the Israeli government and its president, Netanyahu, directly and fully responsible for repeating these positions and statements.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir openly said on TV on Wednesday that he believes his family's own right to move around the West Bank without feeling threatened in the West Bank is more important than the right of Palestinians to freedom of movement, and that he believes that is "the reality." 

Speaking on a panel on Israel's Channel 12, Ben-Gvir said that it is "my right, my wife's right, my childrens' rights to freely move around the streets of Judea and Samaria [the Jewish biblical name for the West Bank] is more important than the freedom of movement of Arabs.""My right to life comes before the freedom of movement," he added.

Addressing Channel 12 journalist Mohammad Magadli directly, he said "sorry Mohammad, but that's the reality."

Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, said on Thursday evening that the Palestinian people will not surrender, nor do they intend to surrender, and they have never discussed the idea of surrender.

Al-Arouri added, in an interview with Al-Aqsa TV, that the occupation wants to eradicate our people from our land, history, present, future, and sanctities, and plant in their place this falsehood that they brought from all over the world, and therefore we have no intention of surrendering, and we have no intention of giving up.

And he continued: This Zionist government says either you accept to be our slaves, or we will uproot you from this country, and we say to them as long as this war is extirpating, the emergency in this country, the new, the occupier, and abnormal horizons coming from everywhere in the world are the ones who will uproot and go, as happened with others. From invaders and colonizers, this people remains. According to him.

He praised the renewed resistance of the West Bank, which affirms its adherence to the constants and its rights, indicating that the Palestinian people always have the ability to surprise the occupation, and among those surprises is the escalation of resistance in the West Bank in light of unprecedented challenges.

The Hamas leader said, "The occupation is the one that caused the escalation of this resistance by escalating unprecedented measures against our people and our sanctities, and by building settlements."

He added: Hamas is part of this people and in the heart of the resistance, and we do not disavow or embarrass ourselves from the resistance, and therefore we are present in the resistance, and we do not accept ourselves to be absent from the resistance of our people. like he said

And he continued: He sought in the Hamas movement to be the heart and weight of the resistance, and we do not consider this an accusation, but an honor for us and our duty to be at the forefront of the defenders of our people, our land and our sanctities. According to him.

He expressed his optimism about individual operations, saying: When there are individual resistance operations from people who are not involved in any organization, because we are all in one organization called the Palestinian people, this is our organization for which all the factions and the people work.

He added: The occupation forced all our people to join the resistance when it announced its plans publicly, and the Zionist government declared that it was working on settlement control in the West Bank, an irreversible control, and it would Judaize Jerusalem and seize Al-Aqsa Mosque. like he said.

He continued: The occupation government has taken settlement decisions, and has put all the tools in the hands of Finance Minister Smotrich, the most extremist and insane person, and he says that during the remaining period of this government, at least a million settlers will be transferred to the West Bank.

And he indicated that Hamas is clear in its positions, saying: We as the Palestinian people must fight our battle against settlements, and so far Hamas has focused its operations against settlements, because it is the heart of the occupation, and it is the most dangerous face of the occupation.

The deputy head of Hamas added: We are able as a people to confront the occupation, and every day we delay in igniting a comprehensive battle against settlements in the West Bank, we will fight this battle in more difficult and worse conditions.

He believed that there is an opportunity to expel the occupation and settlements from the West Bank instead of expelling us from it. There is no longer any escape from a comprehensive battle in the West Bank, either we expel them or they depart by themselves. like he said.

Regarding the threat to assassinate the leaders of Hamas, Al-Arouri said: It is not new to the occupation, as their project began with massacres, killings, displacement and torture, and indeed they assassinate martyrs from among our people every day, and we in the Hamas movement are part of this people.

He added: We in the Hamas movement are part of this people, and therefore we are martyred like our people, and we are arrested as they are arrested, and our homes are demolished and we are pursued and chased. Unfortunately, this is the normal situation under the occupation, but also we resist, chase and fight because we are right.

And he continued: Does the occupation expect that after its assassination threats, we will announce surrender?! These threats do not frighten us, and we as a Palestinian people do not have options, and therefore we will not stop resisting.

And he continued: One day a Minister of War named Lieberman came and said I will cut off the head of Ismail Haniyeh, and here he is in the dustbin of history, and Ismail Haniyeh is still serving the cause of our people, and they also tried to kill the leader Muhammad Al-Deif, and God willing, he will enter Jerusalem and they will be out of history. like he said.