Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system shot down a drone that flew over the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday.

According to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan, the drone  was on its way to the Eshkol settlement complex when it was spotted and shot down.

Palestinian factions praised the the shooting attack that saw two Israelis killed in the West Bank town of Hawara on Saturday evening. 

In a statement, Hamas described the shooting as "a response to the crimes of the occupation, and protect to Al-Aqsa Mosque from the danger of division and Judaization."

The Islamist group added that acts of resistance "will continue and extend to the hit the occupation army and settlers, and to thwart the plans of its fascist government."

Palestinian Islamic Jihad also framed the killing as a response to the crimes of the occupation, and stressed "that the resistance will continue to confront the policy of the occupation and will continue to fight until the land is liberated."

They added that the occupation will continue to "pay a heavy price."

The attack also drew praise from the Democratic and Popular Fronts for the Liberation of Palestine.

The Supreme National Emergency Committee of the Palestinian captive movement announced on Friday evening that it would suspend its strike against the mistreatment of detainees by Israel Prison Administration after their talks with the authorities reached "satisfactory" results.

The movement said it would follow up on the implementation of the agreement, and confirmed that it would be ready to strike again if necessary.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced on Thursday that it would suspend all its services, including schools, inside the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon in protest over the continued activities of militants.

“This is a grave violation of the inviolability of UN premises under international law, which compromises the neutrality of UNRWA installations and undermines the safety and security of our staff and Palestine Refugees," a statement by the agency said. 

They added that their schools in the camp serve around 3,200 children – and that fighting in the camps had caused damage to the buildings and thrown the readiness for the upcoming academic year into doubt. 

UNRWA again called on the armed forces to "immediately vacate its premises so that the Agency can restore critical services and the delivery of assistance to Palestine Refugees in need.”

Over a dozen Palestinians were killed in factional infighting in the refugee camp earlier this month. 

Several Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated bullets and tear gas during clashes that erupted with the Israeli occupation forces during protests against the occupation across the West Bank. 

According to local sources, Palestinians were suffocated by tear gas during an Israeli crackdown on the weekly anti-settlement march in Beit Dajan, east of Nablus.

Six Palestinian civilians were also injured by rubber-coated metal bullets and dozens of others suffocated with tear gas in an anti-settlement protest in Kafr Qaddum. 

Demonstrators were also dispersed after setting rubber tyres alight during clashes on the lands of Jabal Sabih in the town of Beita, south of Nablus.

The European Union said on Friday that it was "appalled" by the Israeli demolition of a Palestinian school in Ein Samiya in the occupied West Bank.

The EU called on Israel in a tweet "to respect Palestinian children’s right to education and to compensate EU for the funding lost."

In the last year, three schools were demolished by the Israeli occupation authorities, affecting 78 students. 

Fifty-eight other schools remain under the threat of demolition.

Benjamin Netanyahu's government will advance new laws and provide additional funding for strengthening Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Israel's far-right government will move to recognize several settler outposts, making them eligible for funding, infrastructure, and education, according to Haaretz.

Many settlements in and around Jerusalem, as well as some areas in the West Bank, will be eligible to submit requests for recognition – while some others will receive status as part of neighborhoods of pre-existing settlements.

Another Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, also reported that around one billion shekels ($2.6 billion) will be transferred to the settlements and outposts in Area C.

According to the report, 672 million shekels for these funds will be taken directly from the 2023-2024 annual state budget. 

The move is being spearheaded by the settlement minister Orit Strook, who announced the allocation of a third of the amount from her office's budget. The aim of the project is to prevent the "Palestinian takeover of Area C" and to prevent "terrorism," she noted. 

The source of the remaining funds has not yet been decided, but will involve a combination of money from the interior and finance ministries, as well as the army. 

Welcome to Meow Cat Cafe, the first cat cafe in the Gaza Strip, and perhaps in the whole of Palestine.

Established by 53-year-old Naima Ma`bad on Thursday, the cafe has already been flooded by cat-lovers from across the Strip. 

In conversation with Al-Quds, Ma'bad said she has always had a passion for raising cats, and has had cats of her own for nine years. When the idea came to her, her family and friends were supportive, despite her commitments to her household. 

The cafe, she says, aims to attract those who love pets but who are unable to raise them in their own home.

She describes her own pet cats as "children that never grow up".

On top of the standard selection of drinks at any other cafe, cats roam freely around the cafe, interacting with the customers. 

Of course, this means that there are certain rules for the visitors, including washing their hands before and after playing with the cats.

Israeli occupation forces detained two Palestinian men from the towns of Fahma and Faqqua, in the greater Jenin area. 

Local sources said that one of the young men, Ahmed Fahmawi, was detained as he passed through a military checkpoint in the area, while the other – Moamen Sa’abneh – was detained while inside Israel. 

Also on Friday, Israeli occupation forces arrested five Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem. 

Four were detained in the Bab Hutta neighborhood of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, and were taken for interrogations. 

The other Palestinian Uday Ghaith, the son of the governor of Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith, was arrested in front of his house in Silwan.

A Palestinian woman sustained bruises after being hit by a settler on a electric bike in Tel Rumeida, near Hebron.

According to local sources, the Israeli settler intentionally drove into the woman.

Medical staff who were present at the scene provided her with first aid. 

Eyewitnesses said that Israeli settlers in the area had attacked several Palestinians homes, and that occupation forces raided and searched the same houses.

Two Palestinian Bedouin men were injured in crime-related shooting attack on Thursday near the city of Be'er Sheva in the Negev desert.

The 20-year-old is in a serious condition, while the 26-year-old is a moderate condition. They both received first aid at the scene of the shooting before they were transferred to hospital. 

This comes after another Palestinian in his fifties, The'eb Jarban, who is in his fifties, was shot dead in the beachside town of Jisr al-Zarqa.

Violent homicides among Palestinian citizens of Israel have become commonplace in recent years, with the community finding itself hostage to organized crime.

Israel's Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf unveiled a new budget on Thursday of 115 million shekels ($30 million) to provide security to Jewish settlements in the Mount of Olives and east of Jerusalem.

The ultra-Orthodox politician said that the decision will add "hundreds" of security guard to the settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

The budget will be added to the general state budget for the forthcoming year.

Avraham Lubinsky, the head of the International Committee for the Mount of Olives, said that "the budget will give us the ability to raise the level of security and safety that we need here so that there is no fear."

Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967, later annexing the Palestinian half of city in 1980. 

Israel announced on Thursday that the United States had given it the green light it to conclude a "historic" military deal with Germany worth $3.5 billion.

In the largest military agreement in Israel's history, Germany will buy the "Arrow 3" anti-missile system – jointly developed between Israel Aerospace Industry and the American aerospace giant Boeing to shoot down ballistic missiles above the atmosphere. 

According to Israel's Defense Ministry, Germany will make an initial payment of $600 million, and the deal will be signed by the end of the year, subject to approval from both parliaments. 

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described the deal as an "important step that will contribute to strengthening Israel's strength and economy."

"It is especially important for every Jew that Germany possesses Israeli defense capabilities," he added in a statement

The missile defense system was first deployed in 2017 at an Israeli air base to protext from possible attacks from Iran and Syria.

Berlin expects the defense system to be delivered in the last quarter of 2025.

The German government led a campaign to bolster NATO's air defenses in Europe in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, urging its allies to buy defense systems. So far, 12 countries in Europe have signed on to the program.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh called on the International Criminal Court to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people. 

Shtayyeh issued a statement on Thursday saying that "the absence of punishment encourages the occupation to continue committing other crimes."

His comment referred to the killing of 32-year-old Mustafa al-Kastouni and the wounding of a female employee of the Palestinian Health Ministry by Israeli occupation forces in Jenin earlier on Thursday.  

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, condemned the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to close the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to Muslim worshipers over the Jewish holidays.

In a press statement on Thursday, the Mufti said described the steps as "an aggression and heinous crime that deprives Muslim worshippers from performing their religious rituals, sounding the call to prayer, and praying in this important mosque, and instead leaves it open for settlers to perform their religious rituals."

He added that both monotheistic faith and international law do not permit harm to places of worship. 

The Mufti also stressed the importance of making the journey to Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, especially in light of settler activity at the compound, under the auspices of the Israeli authorities.

Nine Palestinian prisoners are continuing their hunger strike in Israeli occupation prisons to protest their administrative detention.

Last Monday, four other Palestinians who were detained without trial suspended their strike after 16 days. 

The striking prisoners are: Kayed Al-Fasfous and Sultan Khalouf, who have been on hunger strike for 14 days, in addition to Osama Daqrouq, who began his strike 10 days ago. The other hunger strikers are Anas Ahmed Kamil, Abd al-Rahman Iyad Baraka, Muhammad Bassem Akhmees, and Zuhdi Talal Abido.

Israeli authorities also continue to detain four brothers of Kayed from the Al-Fasfus family: 37-year-old Hassan, 35-year-old Khaled, 39-year-old Akram, and 40-year-old Hafez.

The current number of administrative detainees is more than 1,200 – and the highest since the Second Intifafa.

Israeli occupation forces shot dead a Palestinian man on Thursday morning during an arrest raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

According to the Health Ministry, 32-year-old Mustafa al-Kastouni died after he was shot with live ammunition in the head, chest and abdomen. Later in the day, thousands gathered in Jenin to mourn al-Kastouni.

The occupation forces arrested two citizens: Al-Kastouni's brother and Hassan Hussais.

A 34-year-old Health Ministry employee was wounded by two bullets in the abdomen and chest.

Another Palestinian was wounded and is in a moderate condition. 

The Israeli occupation army said that one soldier was lightly injured in the operation.

It said that the men targeted in the raid belonged to Islamic Jihad. 

Israeli occupation forces arrested four Palestinian men in two separate operations in the West Bank.

According to local sources, Israeli forces detained Amir al-Ja'bari and Layth Samoudi from al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, as they passed by Salem military base.

In a separate operation, Israeli occupation forces shuttered a main street to the village of Al-Auja, north of Jericho and arrested two other Palestinians as they passed through a flying checkpoint.

Their identities have not yet been confirmed, and local sources say that Israel has ramped up its military presence in the area.

Washington D.C. – A top U.S. general, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, will visit Israel next week amid growing concerns in the Biden administration about the impact of Benjamin Netanyahu's government's judicial overhaul on the military, two Israeli sources told the news site Axios.

Since the passage of the first law from the legislative package last month, thousands of Israeli reservists have suspended their service in opposition to the reforms. 

Milley's visit will help Biden's administration discern the depth of the crisis – and its implications for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Among those who are refusing to serve are Israel Air Force pilots, cyber-operations and military intelligence.

The Pentagon appears to be concerned that the crisis facing the Israeli army "could have negative implications for Israel's deterrence strategy and may encourage Iran or Hezbollah to conduct military provocations that could escalate the situation in the region," a U.S. official told Axios several weeks ago.

The Government of the People’s Republic of China has provided $1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in support of the Agency’s education program to ensure that school-age Palestine refugee children receive quality, equitable and comprehensive basic education.

UNRWA said in a statement today, Wednesday, that it will use this generous donation from the Government of China to ensure that approximately 5,300 male and female students receive basic education in five UNRWA schools in Gaza.

She indicated that over the decades, she was a pioneer in the field of education in emergencies, as she showed resilience and innovation in the face of conflict, occupation, siege, displacement, and, more recently, the global pandemic, and the UNRWA educational program has made great progress in ensuring that all students, regardless of gender, receive abilities, disabilities, socioeconomic status, health and psychosocial needs, have an equal opportunity to learn and support them to reach their full potential.

“For more than 70 years, UNRWA has played a vital and indispensable role in alleviating the humanitarian plight of Palestine refugees by providing them with essential relief and protection services,” said Ambassador Zeng Jixin, Head of the Office of the People's Republic of China to the State of Palestine.

He added, "China fully appreciates UNRWA's work and commends it greatly, and it has always provided assistance within its ability to support UNRWA in fulfilling the tasks of its mandate. This year, China donated $1 million to UNRWA, which is a concrete measure to implement President Xi Jinping's proposal, which consists of Three points to settle the Palestinian issue.

Jixin affirmed his country's readiness to work with the international community and make positive contributions to the early achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue and the achievement of lasting peace, global security and common prosperity in the Middle East.

Karim Amer, Director of Partnerships in the UNRWA External Relations and Communications Department, said: “The People’s Republic of China is a very valuable partner and growing donor to UNRWA, and thanks to the constant support of donors such as the Government of China, UNRWA is able to provide vital services to Palestine refugees across the Middle East.” in the face of continuing challenges.

Since making its first contribution to UNRWA in 1964, the People's Republic of China has provided financial and political support to UNRWA. In recognition of this important partnership, UNRWA is keen to strengthen its cooperation with China in providing assistance to millions of Palestine refugees in the region.

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that the Israeli authorities must immediately release Walid Daqqa, a terminally ill Palestinian prisoner. 

Daqqa, 62, suffers from chronic lung disease and bone marrow cancer, and the clinic in the Ayalon Prison is not sufficiently equipped to provide him the treatment that he needs. 

After his cancer diagnosis last year, Israel Prison Service prevented him from undergoing a potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant after refusing to transfer him to a civilian hospital.

”Walid Daqqah’s case illustrates the Israeli justice system’s cruelty towards Palestinians, including those who are seriously ill or dying. Walid’s health conditions have already been exacerbated by medical neglect on the part of the Israeli Prison Service – when he had a stroke earlier this year, the IPS refused to transfer him to a proper hospital for 11 days, a delay which led to life-threatening complications. Now, Walid Daqqah faces the prospect of a painful death behind bars,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.  

“Denying prisoners access to adequate medical care violates international standards on the treatment of detainees, and may constitute torture. Israeli authorities must release Walid Daqqah on humanitarian grounds as soon as possible, and ensure that he is provided with the medical care he urgently needs," she added.

The decision to keep Daqqa in jail directly contradicts an expert medical opinion to transfer him to a hygienic environemnt from earlier this year. 

Daqqa served a 37-year prison sentence for his involvement with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine when it abducted and killed an Israeli soldier in 1984, but was sentenced to an additional two years for attempting to smuggle phones to other Palestinian prisoners. 

His current release date is March 2025, but his condition means he may not live until this point.

In June, a special committee rejected Walid Daqqa's request for an early release in light of his health condition, and the petition against this decision later turned down in August. 

The highest number of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip crossed Erez checkpoint into Israel, according to the United Nations.

The number reached 67,769 Palestinians, the highest number recorded since 2004.

This is mainly due to the record number of work permits – 17,000 – granted by Israel to Palestinians from Gaza.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and HRH Crown Prince have appointed Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairi, Ambassador to Jordan, as on-resident ambassador to the Palestinian Authority and Consul General in Jerusalem consul-general in Jerusalem.

The step was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority as reaffirming Saudi commitment to support founding a state in the territories occupied by Israel in a 1967 war, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Saudi Arabia, Islam's birthplace, has championed the Palestinian cause and shunned official ties with Israel but the U.S. is seeking to promote what could be a historic Middle East deal that would include normalizing Israeli-Saudi relations in return for major Israeli concessions to the Palestinians.

Riyadh has previously conditioned recognition of Israel on Palestinians' statehood goal being addressed.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to honour all of the governors that he fired from several areas of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip with immediate effect. 

In a major reshuffle of leadership, Abbas removed the governors of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jericho. In the Gaza Strip, the governors from Gaza City, Khan Younes and Rafah were also dismissed. 

The decision sparked mixed reactions among the governors, some of whom told Palestinian radio that they were not informed in advance.

According the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Abbas will hold a ceremony in the coming days to express his gratitude for their work in advancing the Palestinian national project.  

The president also announced the establishment on Thursday of a committee to select new candidates to put forward for the positions. 

Thousands of worshipers performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, despite the stationing of Israeli occupation forces in the area. 

The Waqf in Jerusalem estimated that about 50,000 worshipers performed the Friday prayers.

Local sources said that Israel deployed forces in the streets of the city and the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, where it checked the ID cards of worshippers. 

The European Union condemned the death sentences issued by Hamas last week against seven Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which have taken the total number of the death penalty in the enclave to 20 this year. 

These include 12 new sentences and eight confirmations of past sentences. 

In a statement released on Friday, the EU called on "the de facto authorities in Gaza to comply with the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified by Palestine in 2019, which aims at the abolition of the death penalty."

The EU Missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah added that this is part of the bodies "firm opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and in all countries," describing it as an "unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity."

Israeli occupation forces closed the Dotan checkpoint – located on the lands of the town of Ya`bad, southwest of Jenin – after Palestinian resistance fighters opened fire at the checkpoint on Friday.

Eyewitnesses Palestinian vehicle opened fire at the checkpoint and clashed with the Israeli forces, then fled.

The occupation army announced that it would close the checkpoint, and called in military reinforcements to the entrance of Ya`bad to search or the shooters. 

Israeli occupation forces shot dead a Palestinian man and wounded eight others, including a woman, during clashes that erupted in a dawn raid of Tulkarm refugee camp on Friday. 

The victim was identified as 23-year-old Mahmoud Jihad Al-Jarad.

Local sources said that one of the injured is in a serious condition. 

Dozens of Palestinians resisted the Israeli raid on the refugee camp – including with explosive devices and gunfire. 

The funeral procession for Al-Jarad took place on Friday afternoon in front of the Martyr Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarm, where the crowd chanted slogans against the occupation. He was later buried in the western cemetery in the city. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on Thursday that dismisses governors of several areas of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip with immediate effect. 

In a major reshuffle of leadership, Abbas removed the governors of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jericho.

In the Gaza Strip, the governors from Gaza City, Khan Younes and Rafah were also dismissed. 

The president also established a committee to select new candidates to put forward for the positions. 

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it is preparing a file a case to the International Criminal Court over the killing of 19-year-old Qosai Jammal Mi'tan by Israeli settlers.

Mi'tan was shot dead on Friday when a group of armed settlers entered the lands of the West Bank village of Burqa, near Ramallah.

One of the main suspects was released to house arrest by Israeli court on Wednesday, citing a lack of evidence, while the other remains in custody until Friday. According to legal sources who spoke to Israeli media, the likelihood of the settlers facing prosecution for murder is low. 

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, which is collaborating with partners on the matter, noted that Israeli institutions are protecting the killers. It took the examples as proof of "the existence of two and contradictory judicial system applied by the occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territory."