PALESTINE

Thu 22 Jun 2023 8:28 am - Jerusalem Time

Haaretz: Differences and different estimates regarding a military operation in the West Bank

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported, on Thursday, that the pressure exerted by some ministers and members of the Knesset from the right on the Israeli security services to initiate a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank is creating a state of severe tension among senior officials in those agencies, especially the army.


The Israeli security establishment believes that the behavior of some government ministers regarding sensitive security issues lacks responsibility and does not allow for an in-depth preliminary discussion before decisions are taken, and believes that the decisions taken by the government with regard to promoting construction in settlements and allowing settlers to enter the evacuated outposts do not Contributes to restoring calm to the West Bank.


After the Eli settlement operation, in which 4 settlers were killed, I heard voices from ministers in the Israeli government, including Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, calling for a large-scale operation, amid the fear of the Israeli security establishment that these ministers would find it difficult to retract their emotional statements after attack.


Senior security officials said that there is no broad consensus in the Israeli army regarding the need for a military operation, noting that the army leadership in the West Bank supports launching a large-scale operation, but Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi supports the intelligence and operations position that launching such an operation would be a mistake, and that There is a high possibility that it will move to other fronts, with a focus on the Gaza Strip.


According to the Hebrew newspaper, the Israeli army leadership in the West Bank wants such an operation under pressure from the Israeli government, and they want to act out of the need to provide an immediate tactical response against militants who carry out shooting attacks, while the intelligence division is looking for a strategic solution.


Officials in the Israeli security establishment, who oppose a full-scale operation, believe that action must be taken against Palestinian militants based on accurate intelligence and in a specific manner, as was done in order to dismantle the "lion's den" in Nablus, and to avoid harm to the rest of the population.


The newspaper says: In the case of the "Lions' Den", the Shin Bet, the Israeli army and the police worked in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, and the Palestinian Authority was able to recruit some members of the organization in its security services, and others were arrested and imprisoned in Israel and the West Bank, while a number of others were liquidated.


The same security sources say that, with the exception of the Jenin camp and a few other places in the West Bank that are known to the security establishment, the Palestinian Authority controls most of the cities in the West Bank, and there is relative calm in terms of security. Therefore, the intensive military operation will inevitably lead to the fact that the residents of the cities The other throughout the West Bank will enter the line of conflict, and carry out attacks on its roads and settlements.


In intelligence assessments in recent days, senior security officials said that launching a large-scale military operation would be a significant achievement for Hamas.


Intelligence estimates show that Hamas will find it difficult to avoid responding to a major operation of the Israeli army in the West Bank, and the security establishment fears that Hamas will take advantage of the fighting in West Bank cities to strengthen its power against the Palestinian Authority, and will try to weaken Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and increase support for the organization in order to reach Authority, as happened in the Gaza Strip. As the newspaper states.

PALESTINE

Thu 22 Jun 2023 8:10 am - Jerusalem Time

Israeli army failed to learn lessons from first Hawara pogrom, Haaretz reports

Israeli army and police failed to prevent violent settler attacks that took place across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, despite clear knowledge of the plans, Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported. 


Security forces faced criticism from some quarters in Israeli society over their handling of the pogrom in Hawara that took place in February, yet Wednesday's events showed a repeated failure to take preventative action. 


Some ministers and lawmaker from Israel's far-right government directly incited for vengeance against Palestinians following the deadly shooting attack at the settlement of Eli, Haaretz reported 


According to the report, the Israeli army deployed additional troops to protect settler movement, rather than responding to the threat of the settler violence toward Palestinians. 






PALESTINE

Thu 22 Jun 2023 7:52 am - Jerusalem Time

Hebrew site: No settlers who attacked Palestinians were arrested

The Hebrew website Ynet reported, on Thursday, that the Israeli security forces had not arrested any settlers who participated in the attacks on Palestinian villages and towns yesterday.


According to the site, if the Israeli police did not make any arrests, the security establishment may resort to issuing administrative detention orders against some settlers who are active in the area.


He pointed out that there are real fears that these actions may increase the reactions of the Palestinians, and increase the escalation.


He pointed out that 20 attacks by settlers against Palestinians have been recorded since the implementation of the Eli settlement operation, in which 4 settlers were killed.

PALESTINE

Thu 22 Jun 2023 7:36 am - Jerusalem Time

Dozens of injuries.. The occupation blows up the house of the prisoner Kamal Jouri in Nablus

The occupation forces blew up, at dawn today, Thursday, the house of the prisoner Kamal Jouri, whom they accuse of carrying out the "Shafi Shomron" operation that took place on the eleventh of last October, in which a soldier in the occupation army was killed, and it was claimed at that time by the "Lions' Den" group.


A week ago, the occupation forces blew up the home of the prisoner Osama Al-Taweel, whom they also accuse of participating in the operation.


Juri and Al-Taweel, two members of the "Black's Den", were arrested on the thirteenth of last February, after they were injured during the occupation forces' raid on an apartment where they were hiding.


After midnight, the occupation forces surrounded the house of the Jouri family (a residential apartment on the second floor of a residential building consisting of six floors), and deployed sniper teams at the site and on the rooftops of the overlooking buildings, and then evacuated the building from its residents, before booby-trapping the house and detonating it before five o'clock. At dawn, damage was caused to nearby shops and apartments.


Confrontations and armed clashes took place with the occupation forces in more than one location inside the city, in conjunction with the implementation of the house bombing, and dozens of citizens were suffocated by the tear gas canisters fired by the occupation forces.


Commenting on the demolition of her house, the prisoner Jouri's mother said: "The demolition of the house is for your shoes, Kamal and O Muhammad (her second son in the occupation prisons)." And she added: "They demolished the house, but we did not get upset and not a single hair shook us. What Kamal did is something that raises the head, and the money is compensated, and relief is close, God willing."

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 10:07 pm - Jerusalem Time

Crowds mourn the body of the martyr Omar Jabara in Turmusaya

Large Palestinian crowds in the town of Turmusaya and the neighboring villages, east of Ramallah, mourned the body of the martyr Omar Jabara, "Abu Al-Qatin", who was martyred this afternoon, Wednesday, by the occupation's bullets, after the residents responded to the settlers' attack on the town.


The funeral ceremonies for the martyr took place from the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, where they roamed the streets of the city. Then, he was transported by ambulance to Turmusaya, where he was buried after Maghrib prayer.


The participants chanted slogans condemning the attacks of the occupation and its settlers.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 10:00 pm - Jerusalem Time

3 martyrs in an assassination, the first of its kind in the West Bank since the second intifada

3 civilians were killed, on Wednesday evening, as a result of an Israeli air strike that targeted a vehicle in an area near the border, north of Jenin.


According to an Israeli military spokesman, the bombing targeted a vehicle after intelligence information about the involvement of its occupants in a series of shooting operations recently, indicating that its 3 personnel were killed, after they opened fire at the Al-Jalama checkpoint this evening.


This is the first assassination operation carried out in the West Bank using Israeli aircraft, since the end of the second intifada, specifically in 2005.


This is also the first time that drones have been used in attacks in the West Bank, as the Israeli army used to use helicopters or warplanes, but very rarely.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 9:39 pm - Jerusalem Time

3 injuries were reported during the settlers' attack on the town of 'Urif

3 civilians were injured, this evening, Wednesday, during a settler attack on the town of Urif, south of Nablus.


According to local sources, about 200 settlers from the "Yitzhar" settlement attacked the eastern area of ​​the town of Orif, and threw incendiary materials at the school, without causing damage to it.


While the Red Crescent reported that a citizen suffered a broken foot and a head wound, and another was hit with a stone in the head, while a sixty-year-old woman was shot in the hand by the occupation, and they were all transferred to Ibn Sina Hospital.


Clashes erupted in the area, with the Israeli occupation forces, when the residents responded to the settlers' attack.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 9:13 pm - Jerusalem Time

Washington condemns settler "violence" in the West Bank

Vedant Patil, the official spokesperson for the US State Department, expressed, on Wednesday evening, the US administration's concern about the "rising violence in the West Bank and Israel" and the repeated settler attacks on Palestinian towns in the West Bank, and their setting fire to Palestinian property and vehicles.


Patel, in response to a question from Al-Quds.com correspondent, condemned settler violence throughout the occupied West Bank, which "led to indiscriminate and unacceptable acts of violence against Palestinian civilians and the destruction of their property."


It is noteworthy that a large number of citizens in the town of Turmusaya, which was subjected to attacks by herds of fierce settlers, and the burning of property under the protection of the Israeli occupation army, hold American citizenship, which was raised by the Jerusalem correspondent with Nitaqa Patel, who demanded compensation for the Palestinian citizens for their losses.


Patel reiterated the US State Department's condemnation of the operation in which four settlers died on Tuesday, saying: "The United States condemns the terrorist attack on Israelis near Eli (settlement) in the West Bank yesterday, and we express our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and wish the injured a speedy recovery."


Patel added, "As we are concerned about the continuing violence in Israel and the West Bank in recent weeks, which has resulted in the killing and wounding of Palestinian and Israeli civilians, we will continue to work with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to enhance steps towards de-escalation." He also expressed the US administration's concern about settlement projects.


It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation army escalated its fierce attacks this week in the occupied West Bank, killing six Palestinians, including children, in a raid by Apache helicopters, and Palestinian resistance fighters were killed in Jenin camp.


The Israeli occupation army's escalation in its attacks on the Palestinians coincided with the visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Lev, the chief diplomat at the US State Department for Middle East affairs, to both Israel and the occupied West Bank.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 7:27 pm - Jerusalem Time

The occupation forces arrested 3 young men from Jenin and Jericho

This evening, Wednesday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested 3 young men from Jenin and Jericho.


According to local sources, the occupation forces arrested the two young men, Ibrahim Al-Shaer and Ahmed Rahhal, after they stormed the town of Arraba, south of Jenin.


The occupation forces also stormed the town of Ya`bad and the village of Bir al-Basha, and set up a military checkpoint near the village of Zibda. The soldiers stopped and searched the vehicles.


Meanwhile, similar forces arrested the young Abdullah Allan from Aqabat Jabr camp in Jericho.


ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 21 Jun 2023 7:07 pm - Jerusalem Time

Three civilians were killed in artillery shelling by the regime forces in Syria

Three civilians, including a child, were killed, on Wednesday, in artillery shelling by the regime forces in northwestern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.


An AFP correspondent in northwestern Syria reported heavy artillery shelling targeting several villages and towns controlled by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) in the neighboring governorates of Idlib and Aleppo, pointing out that Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham targeted areas controlled by the regime forces with missiles.


And the Syrian Observatory reported that "three civilians, including a child, were killed, and two others were injured of varying degrees as a result of shelling carried out by the regime forces with heavy artillery on the town of Kafr Nuran in the western countryside of Aleppo."


An AFP correspondent and the Syrian Observatory indicated that the mutual shelling continued between the two sides, especially in the western countryside of Aleppo.


In the town of Kafr Nouran, an AFP correspondent reported damage to a house, and residents said that the strike occurred in a neighborhood while residents were on the street, some of whom were buying fruit.


In the morning, a member of the regime forces was killed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fire in the eastern countryside of Idlib, according to the Observatory.


Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham controls about half of Idlib's area and limited adjacent areas from the governorates of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia. The region is home to three million people, about half of whom are displaced.


Since March 2020, a cease-fire has been in force declared by Moscow, an ally of Damascus, and Turkey, which supports the fighting factions, after a massive attack by the regime forces, during which they managed to control half of Idlib.


The region witnesses from time to time mutual shelling by several parties, as well as raids by the regime forces and Russia, although the ceasefire is still holding to a large extent.


Since 2011, Syria has been witnessing a bloody conflict that has killed about half a million people, caused massive destruction to infrastructure and productive sectors, and led to the displacement of millions of people inside and outside the country.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 6:51 pm - Jerusalem Time

President Abbas: Our people have the right to defend themselves against Israeli crimes

President Mahmoud Abbas said this evening, Wednesday, "Our people have the right to defend themselves against the brutal and continuous crimes and attacks of the settlers and the Israeli occupation army."


This came during a phone call with the mayor of Turmusaya, north of Ramallah, Lafi Theeb, who offered condolences on the martyrdom of the young man, Omar Jabara, in the town.


President Abbas confirmed that he directed the government to provide all needs to strengthen the steadfastness of the people of Turmusaya in the face of settler attacks.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 4:09 pm - Jerusalem Time

Shtayyeh: What happened in Turmusaya, the occupation will pay for it

Today, Wednesday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said, "The barbaric attacks carried out by settlers on peaceful citizens and the destruction of their homes and properties in Turmusaya reflect the mentality of burning and killing that rules in Israel."


Shtayyeh added, "Opening the way for settlers to riot under the protection and eyes of the occupation army is a recipe for destruction, for which everyone will pay, and the Israeli government with all its components bears responsibility for terrorizing settlers and the army."


He stressed that the Palestinian people and their leadership are in one line to confront this continuous aggression, which began in Al-Aqsa and extended to Gaza, Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Hawara, Al-Laban, and today, Turmusaya.


Shtayyeh contacted the mayor of Turmusaya, Lafi Adeeb, to see the situation in the village and check on the citizens.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 4:02 pm - Jerusalem Time

One Palestinian killed, several injured in major settler attack on West Bank town

One Palestinian was killed and several others were injured on Wednesday in a major attack by Israeli settlers, under the protection of the occupation army, on the West Bank town of Turmus 'Ayya,


The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 27-year-old Omar Qateen died from a bullet wound in the chest, though it was not immediately clear whether this came from the army or settlers. 


Three others were injured by bullet wounds to their lower bodies. 


Local sources reported that there were other injuries as a result of settlers throwing stones at houses. 


Israeli settlers set ablaze some 30 houses and 60 vehicles. Some were completely burned down, while others were only partially damaged.






PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 3:55 pm - Jerusalem Time

Israeli gov't agrees to build 1,000 settlement units after shooting attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed on Wednesday to advance the construction of 1,000 settlement units in the Eli settlement near Ramallah.


Netanyahu's office said that the decisions comes in response to Monday's shooting attack, where two Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis. 


In his statement, Netanyahu's office said: "Our response to terrorism is to strike it will force, and build to up our country." 


Several ministers and lawmakers from the ruling coalition, as well as settler leaders, praised the decision.



PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 3:49 pm - Jerusalem Time

208 violations of the occupation against Palestinian journalists

The Ministry of Information has monitored 208 violations of the Israeli occupation army targeting journalists since the beginning of this year.


The ministry said in a statement that this June witnessed a significant escalation in the number of attacks carried out by the occupation army and groups of settlers, especially in the governorates of Jenin, Ramallah and Al-Bireh.


According to a brief report prepared by the Ministry, on June 20, groups of settlers, under the protection of the occupation army, attacked the correspondent of Al-Ghad TV, Diaa Houshieh, and its cameraman Munther Al-Khatib, and prevented them from covering near the village of Al-Laban Al-Sharqiya, and the journalist Khaled Taha was injured during an attack by settlers with stones on his vehicle between the Zatara checkpoint. occupation and the town of Yatma, south of Nablus.


On June 19, the occupation soldiers attacked media crews in Jenin and its camp, broadcast live in front of Ibn Sina Hospital, during the storming and bombing of the city and its camp. The journalist Hazem Nasser was also wounded by live bullets in the side after he was surrounded while he was working, while the journalist Hafez Abu Sabra’s vehicle was shot at Al-Awda Square near the entrance to the camp, which damaged it. The occupation fired directly at them, and the journalist, Raneen Sawafta, was besieged in front of the agency's building in the city.


On June 15, the occupation renewed the house arrest for the eighth time against the Jerusalemite journalist, Lama Ghosheh.


According to the report, on June 7, the photographer, Rabih Al-Munir, was wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets in the abdomen, and the journalist, Moamen Samreen, by a metal bullet in the head, while they were covering the storming of Ramallah.


The ministry considered that the occupation targeted journalists during the coverage of the aggression on Jenin and its camp, seeking to repeat the assassination of the martyr Sherine Abu Aqleh, and in the same place.


And she emphasized that shooting at journalists and targeting and damaging their vehicles proves that the occupation is trying to prevent the truth guards from spreading aggression against our people in Jenin and other governorates.


The Ministry launched an urgent appeal to international institutions to protect media professionals and their institutions, and to take measures to ensure the implementation of the Security Council resolution to hold accountable those who attack journalists and ensure that they do not go unpunished.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 3:10 pm - Jerusalem Time

PLO chair calls to set up popular committees to combat 'settler terrorism'

The Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Hussein Al-Sheikh, called on Palestinians to form popular committees to protect themselves from "terrorism" by Israeli settlers.


Speaking on Wednesday, Al-Sheikh said that he held the Israeli government fully responsibly for "settler terrorism" that has been running riot. He specified that the attacks have targeted homes, agriculture and vehicles of Palestinian citizens, and that these have occurred under the protection of the occupation army.


He also called on the U.S. administration and the international community to intervene to stop the occupation government from committing further "crimes against our people."

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 1:44 pm - Jerusalem Time

Funerals take place for six martyrs across West Bank

Large crowds mourned six Palestinians martyrs across different areas of the occupied West Bank.


Two Palestinians were laid to rest in Jenin: 15-year-old Sadil Ghassan Naghniyeh, who succumbed to wounds sustained in Israel's assault on the city on Monday; and 55-year-old Nasser Saleh Sinan, who also died after sustaining a head woung in a different Israeli raid on Jenin last month. 


Dozens of classmates and friends of Naghniyeh participated in her funeral. Many also chanted slogans against the Israeli occupation. 


The mourners performed the funeral prayer over the bodies at the Great Mosque in Jenin Refugee Camp, before they were buried in the martyrs' cemetery.


In Nablus, large crowds mourned the bodies of the two martyrs, Muhammad Hashash and Alaa Hafnawi, who were killed in an accidental explosion on Tuesday night in the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus.


The funeral procession departed from Rafidia Hospital to the camp, where the participants performed the funeral prayers. The two teenagers were buried in the camp's cemetery.


On Tuesday night, Palestinian from the town of Orif mourned Khaled Sabah, one of the gunmen who carried out the shooting attack at Eli settlement, killing three settlers and one other Israeli.


In Al-Bireh, in the Ramallah Governorate, Palestinians had a belated funeral procession for 29-year-old Mahdi Bayadsa, whose body was returned by the occupation authorities two weeks after he was killed at Rantis checkpoint. 


PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 12:22 pm - Jerusalem Time

Dozens of Druze protesters injured in clashes with Israeli occupation forces in Golan Heights

Dozens of residents of the occupied Syrian Golan were injured by Israeli occupation forces in a protest against land confiscations on Wednesday. 


Clashes erupted between the residents and the occupation forces in light of a dispute over the construction of wind turbines in the Golan Heights. 


Eight people were detained, eyewitnesses said, including Sheikh Salman Faris Shams. 


They also said that occupation forces prevented ambulances from reaching the wounded, forcing many to use private vehicles to evacuate the injured. 


The Israeli army had prevented landowners from entering their lands since Tuesday, when representatives from the company responsible from the project, and continued to do so with horses and planes.


After the clashes, a general strike was announced in the villages of Majdal Shams, Baqatha, Masada and Ain Qinya, in response to the "arbitrary and criminal" practices of the occupation authorities.


The activists stressed in a statement that the occupation's "arbitrary and criminal measures against us and the right of our lands make us determined on our right decision and our firm position." 


The decision to install wind turbines by the government recently gained approval from Israeli planning authorities.


Local residents assert that the move will impede the cultivation of their land, as well as an environmental hazard, though Israeli courts have previously rejected the residents' petition.


The first attempt to began installing wind turbines in December 2020 was met with resistance from the residents of the Golan Heights, who described it as a "declaration of war" on their villages.

OPINIONS

Wed 21 Jun 2023 12:15 pm - Jerusalem Time

A military operation in the West Bank to perpetuate the occupation

Moustafa Ibrahim

Moustafa Ibrahim

Opinion Writer

In the occupying state, there is nothing more sacred than military logic, everyone is mobilizing for the next battle, and at the peak of time, no journalist or political or military commentator dares to ask, will the large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank turn into the ignition of all of Palestine.


The occupying state is no longer able to bear another surprise and a new shock that shakes the occupying state and its political and security system.


In the occupying state, anger increases among the settlers, and Israeli threats to strike the Palestinians increase. Whether from the political and security level, even from the media, journalists, and political and military analysts, the idea of ​​revenge for the dead settlers dominates.


There was talk of disagreements, sessions, and security discussions and the need to carry out some kind of bloody action in the northern West Bank. And incitement against the Palestinian leaders abroad and at home, and the threats are varied and bloody.


It seems that the Israeli society and the Zionist movement and more than 100 years of continuous bloody surprise, and that the Palestinians defend their dignity and seek freedom and self-determination.


The state of denial and disregard is that the four settlers killed near the village of Silwad were settlers, that the settlements are a war crime, and that apartheid is a crime against humanity.


And those who demand a harsh response against the Palestinians, and a massive military operation in the West Bank. And that the journalists, military analysts and all the generals who are already waiting for an opportunity for another bloody military operation and a new massacre on the backs of the murdered Palestinian victims, and the blood that is spilled.


All those settlers and politicians refuse to accept the racist and fascist axiom of the occupying state, and that the occupation and settlements are war crimes, and the occupying state practices war crimes, and apartheid is a crime against humanity.


The price of Palestinian blood is expensive and is worth more than other blood. The value of Palestinian blood is great, and it deserves sacrifice for the sake of national dignity, pain, justice and protection.


In light of the resumption of talk about the military operation in the northern West Bank, and in view of the occupying state and its terrorist criminal context, it has no options but to use more force and aggression, and it realizes that the wider the aggression and a large-scale military operation, it will be more bloody than what is existing, and the resistance will escalate and the Palestinian lands will ignite occupied.


I would like to mention that there has been a barbaric military operation since March of last year, called Breaking Waves, and more than 20 battalions of the Israeli army were deployed, the aim of which was, in fact, to fill gaps in the fence and achieve more deterrence through killings, arrests and home demolitions.

The Israeli army did not stop its incursions all the time in all areas of the West Bank, including the Palestinian cities classified as Area A.

Is the talk here about the broad military operation to restore cities, and the government's lack of conviction that it no longer has clear boundaries for such an operation and is continuing its aggression?


The ongoing aggression in the West Bank, and every Palestinian is a legitimate and legal target for the occupation, and the false claim that there are no losses and uninvolved parties? This is assuming that every Palestinian, even if he is 5 or 14 years old, is a target?

Settler terror and the daily crimes of the occupation, the storming of Jenin a few days ago, the special forces, tanks and helicopter gunships.


House demolitions, assassinations, and arrests are taking place against the background of popular resistance, and for more than a year, more and more organized and intensive military operations have been carried out by the Israeli army, with all forces armed with all capabilities, and using all the force it can use.


Civilians were killed, destruction was sown, and not even all "terror suspects" were arrested, all for the sake of the continuation of the occupation in the West Bank and the authority over the Palestinians and their oppression.

In Jenin, a number of soldiers of the occupation army were wounded, and four Palestinians were killed and dozens were injured. In fact, what happens to the Israeli army begins with what happens to the settlers, because this is, in fact, the essence of the occupation, which ignores the relationship between actions and results.


Most Israelis are convinced that the occupation is necessary, and claim that they have no choice but to continue the occupation. The truth is that, in fact, it is a continuous, harsh military rule that imposes the tools of control and controls all aspects of the lives of millions of Palestinians.


The occupation produces terrorism, killing, destruction and fear, and the Israeli army, one of the most powerful armies in the world, and of course the strongest in the Middle East, requires more and more killing and destruction, to complete the settlement colonial project and protect the settlers.


When the Israeli army carries out its daily criminal operations in Jenin, Nablus and the rest of the Palestinian cities, it does so as a foreign occupation army.


How should it be viewed, and accordingly what would be the normal human reaction when a foreign army invades your country and your city?


What happened yesterday in Silwad should have happened because there is a brutal military occupation and terrorist settlers who spread death and fear. And what will happen is justified, which is the Palestinian right and self-defense.

OPINIONS

Wed 21 Jun 2023 12:00 pm - Jerusalem Time

against the Apache

Hamada Pharaohs

Hamada Pharaohs

Opinion Writer

The colony's leaders, apparatuses, and masters who planted it in the heart of the Arab world, with the aim of tearing it apart, draining it, and making it in a state of tension, backwardness, and inferiority, are delusional through the colonial, intelligence, destructive, occupying, and functional role that the colony plays in service of the colonial, imperialist, capitalist countries of the West. They are delusional if they guess that it will eventually win .


The colony works to achieve its goal, to transform Palestine into a Zionist, Hebrew, Israeli, Jewish colony, by achieving two objectives:
The first: the occupation of the entire map of Palestine, and this was done in three stages: 1- Employing foreign Jews and transferring them to Palestine during the British colonial mandate from the end of World War I until the end of World War II 1917-1948, 2- The declaration of the establishment of the colony on 5/15/1948 On two-thirds of the map of Palestine, 3- The occupation of the rest of Palestine in 1967, and thus they achieved their program in this first goal.


The second: the displacement, expulsion, and expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland, which they have no homeland other than, but they strategically failed to achieve this goal, as half of the Palestinian people were displaced and displaced from their homeland, but the other half remained in the first occupation zones in 1948, and the second occupation zone in 1967, and today The number of steadfast Palestinians residing in Palestine exceeds seven million. They are the tool of rejection and struggle against the entire Israeli colonial and expansionist project.


The colony, its tools and leaders are under the illusion that they will not be the same as the foreign European colonialists in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and that they will not leave defeated and defeated as the Europeans left their colonies, despite their military, security, political and economic superiority.


The colony is superior to the Palestinian people with its available tools, capabilities, alliances, and capabilities, in the face of the weakness of the limited capabilities of the Palestinians, their alliances that are incapable of action, and the absence of serious levers that contribute to their steadfastness and struggle. Therefore, they have no choice but to continue working with steadfastness and sacrifice through the struggle.

The Battle of Jenin, and the attack of the colonizing forces, by continuing the Israeli policy of isolating cities, neighborhoods, villages, organizations, or individuals, each of them separately from the other, to make it easier to pounce on it. And this is what it does with Jenin, on its own, and then Nablus, and so on. It seems that the resistance learned the lesson and understood what is required of it, and so it was accompanied by vigilance, despite the rise of the martyrs, victims of the confrontation. Their enemy taught them a lesson, which led to the development of its actions for the first time through the intervention of aviation, to save the siege in which its aggressor forces fell.


The resistance pays the price with sacrifices, but its role is strengthened and its popular support is expanding, because betting on coexistence with the occupation and reaching political formulas is no longer possible, and that security coordination between Ramallah and Tel Aviv, and the security calm between Gaza and Tel Aviv have become unacceptable, for both sides of the total number of Palestinians, whether in bank or sector.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 11:30 am - Jerusalem Time

Israel's Defense Minister cancels work permits for relatives of Palestinian gunmen

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant cancelled the permits for the relatives of the perpetrators of Monday's shooting attack at the Eli settlement near Ramallah. 


According to Kan, Israel's public broadcaster, the permits of dozens of workers who are relatives of the perpetrators of the attack will be revoked as a punitive measure.


On Monday, two Hamas activists, Muhannad Shehadeh and Khaled Sabah, killed four Israelis and seriously wounded three others in a shooting attack outside a gas station.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 10:46 am - Jerusalem Time

Monitoring the most prominent news that was reported in the Hebrew newspapers after Operation "Holy Vengeance" yesterday

The Hebrew newspapers, published on Wednesday, focused on the shooting attack that took place yesterday at Eli settlement, killing 4 settlers, and killing two of its perpetrators, Hamas activists in Nablus, in an operation dubbed by the Palestinians as "holy revenge."


The Hebrew newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, said in a report by its correspondent and military analyst, Yossi Yehoshua, that yesterday's attack requires focusing on the West Bank front and understanding the extent of the complexities there, and not just focusing on the Iranian issue.


She indicated that this is the second worst attack since the beginning of this year, after 7 Israelis were killed in a shooting attack in Jerusalem at the beginning of last January, bringing the death toll since then to 28, compared to 20 in the same period last year. Warnings about more attacks are also high compared to last year, although the numbers still do not mention the days of the second intifada, but it is clear that the armed cells are working with increasing self-confidence and greater daring, and this was what appeared in Jenin the day before yesterday, and in Hamas’s response to the attack What happened yesterday at the settlement of Eli, in a planned operation, and not as it was before through operations carried out individually or by small groups such as the "Lions' Den". as you say.


Yehoshua says that what happened yesterday is just a wake-up call, and it should not surprise Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his army minister, Yoav Gallant, especially since it has been a long time since the army presented its assessment of the situation in the West Bank to the political level.


And he adds: These developments oblige Israel to make a renewed assessment of the situation in the policy pursued in particular towards Hamas in Gaza, especially since Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad al-Deif feed "terrorism" in the West Bank, and enjoy calm in Gaza, in light of the wealth of Israeli concessions that are offered to them.


He continued: Although it is in Israel's interest to improve the economic situation in the Gaza Strip, bring in more workers, and establish an internal pressure mechanism on Hamas that prevents it from entering into rounds of fighting, Hamas, in the meantime, is preoccupied with encouraging "terrorism" in the West Bank while it enjoys Peace and benefits in Gaza, and trying to cause an Israeli operation aimed at overthrowing the Palestinian Authority, and therefore the Israeli position must be different.


He pointed out that this assessment was presented at the political level, but this does not absolve the army and the Shin Bet, the main supporters of the plan to buy calm in Gaza, from responsibility for the current situation.


Yehoshua touched on the demands for the implementation of a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, pointing out that there are plans available in the army command related to a limited and short operation in a limited area, and there cannot be a "Defensive Wall 2" operation, and such an option must be forgotten, as well. The army and the Shin Bet are convinced that the perpetrators of the attacks are only in the camps of Nablus and Jenin, while 3 million Palestinians do not care about war, but seek to improve their economic and social conditions. like he said.


He pointed out that Netanyahu and Gallant agree with the military echelon not to carry out a large-scale operation, noting that there is American pressure exerted to avoid such a step, and there are efforts being made to try to find a temporary solution that helps buy peace and calm the region, through economic solutions such as increasing the number of people entering the country. workers to Israel, but it is not certain that this will be sufficient and meet the necessary needs in order to restore security.


He pointed out that the focus of the Israeli army, at the present time, will be on more arrests, the deployment of more forces, and obtaining more intelligence information than it is today, in order to thwart more attacks and prevent an attempt to harm the forces that storm Jenin and Nablus through the use of explosive devices, as happened in the first place. yesterday.


And Joshua concludes: In the end, everything comes back to what the army says over and over again, and the political level can no longer turn a blind eye to the disintegration of the Palestinian Authority, which has become weaker than ever, and the bad news is that the end of Abu Mazen's rule is approaching, and on the Israeli side that prepare for it. like he said.


In another report in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the newspaper stated that the meeting that Netanyahu held yesterday with senior ministers and officers, with the exception of the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, discussed all options, including a large-scale operation in Jenin, but it seems that this option will not be soon due to Netanyahu's desire. And Gallant not to act out of reaction, and above all to maintain the element of surprise.


The newspaper quoted senior Israeli government officials as saying: "Everything will be at the right time and place and at the time of our choosing."


In response to Ben Gvir's statements from the scene of the attack, which called for carrying out a large-scale operation and bombing buildings in the West Bank from the air, the same sources said: "There are international political considerations here and there, as well as there is a significance for the element of surprise."


And the same Israeli government sources added in response to Ben Gvir's statements: "Just as they did not listen to him about Gaza, they will not listen to him about what is going on in the West Bank... We are working for professional and relevant considerations only, and all options are on the table."


The newspaper indicates that the political level is facing a dilemma related to reaching an escalation at a time when the level of international legitimacy for any large-scale military action is very low, and it is expected that any large-scale operation that exposes Palestinian civilians to harm and in light of the policy of building in settlements, will face severe criticism in the world.


At the end of its report, the newspaper says: On the other hand, Netanyahu's coalition partners are running out of patience, especially Ben Gvir and Smotrich, as well as within the Likud, especially since this is a complete right-wing government and one of its main promises is to restore governance and personal security for the Israelis, while the Israeli public expects a particularly sharp response, militarily and settlement. .


For its part, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz saw in a report by its correspondent and military analyst, Amos Harel, that yesterday's operation may accelerate preparations for a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, and if it takes place, it will be subject to international political pressure, indicating that the security establishment wants to suffice with a limited operation in order to Get a temporary calm in the area.


The newspaper pointed out that the Palestinian attacks have recently focused on settlement roads, which are open areas, and the armed cells do not find any difficulty in determining their targets for implementation, noting that the perpetrators of yesterday's operation showed greater courage and chose a dense and fixed target to increase the death toll.


The newspaper says that most of the operations carried out this year were carried out by Palestinians individually or belonging to local cells such as the Lions' Den in Nablus, and the Jenin Brigade, but these groups receive funding from Hamas and sometimes Hezbollah and Iran, but this time the attack was carried out by Hamas itself.


Harel considered that yesterday's operation is a success recorded by Hamas in the aftermath of the events in Jenin, and the operation may lead to attempts to imitate it, while pressure will increase on the Israeli army to provide clear solutions to confront these attacks, after previously convincing the current and previous government that the arrests and their intensification will lead to preventing the spread of terrorist attacks. Attacks, but in light of the ongoing tensions, he may look for another solution, which may be a limited operation to kill, arrest and collect weapons, and what he hopes for is a temporary respite.


Harel says: The current mix of circumstances, with an extreme right-wing government that relies on settlers, and the weakness of the Palestinian Authority, especially in the northern West Bank, cannot lead to stability.. Maintaining the occupation becomes a more difficult and bloody task after a long period, and since the end of the second intifada it seemed In it, in general, Israel can maintain the general situation at the lowest cost, referring to Smotrich's previous statements in this regard about his desire to settle a million Jews in the West Bank, overthrow the PA's rule, and restore control over the entire West Bank, which may not be separate from this reality. as he says.


He adds: Netanyahu has his own considerations, chief among them the desire to evade trial by stopping criminal proceedings against him, but his partners on the right have other calculations, and the aim of weakening the judicial system was to be able to expand settlements and perpetuate the occupation, and what happens in the Green Line areas is inseparable from what is happening. In the West Bank, these are two complementary aspects of the same dangerous plan.


For its part, the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom said that the option of carrying out a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank has been under consideration for several months, especially in light of the increase in Palestinian attacks and with the presence of an insane amount of weapons and explosive devices and the incitement to more attacks and the absence of control of the Palestinian Authority. led to chaos. as you say.


And the newspaper adds: All of these things will eventually lead to the Israeli army carrying out a large-scale operation in the northern West Bank, and this operation could have two catalysts: the first, an unusual attack, as happened yesterday, and the second is the accumulation of high-quality and focused intelligence that would lead to Causing deep systemic damage to the infrastructure of the armed cells.


And she pointed out that the political level may give the green light to such an operation in the event that accurate intelligence information is available to implement a wide and rapid operation, with an understanding of the risks that in the absence of such information it may lead to a prolongation of the process and its results may not be all, and that it will be exposed to international criticism. , and perhaps damage to the Palestinian arena in front of the field entanglement between Gaza and the West Bank, and these are matters that must be taken into account in advance, and Israel must build international legitimacy for such an operation.


The newspaper believed that Israel should study the mechanism of responding to the double game that Hamas leads in the West Bank while maintaining calm in Gaza, noting that Israel attacked the Islamic Jihad in Gaza for the same reasons, and therefore it must ask itself how it will take tactical action against Hamas even if It was at the cost of a renewed escalation from the south.


The newspaper says: There is an urgent need for the immediate restoration of security in the West Bank, but the security deterioration in the past months on all fronts shows that the decline in the level of deterrence in the West Bank encourages more attacks, and will give other fronts, including Hamas in Gaza, to accept any challenge.


In another report by the same newspaper, it indicated that the issue of the large-scale operation in the West Bank has been on the table for weeks, but there are disagreements about it even within the security establishment about its necessity and effectiveness, while some believe that it is important and that in the end it is inevitable to prevent more Israeli deaths.


She pointed out that the Israeli army is examining whether the attack was carried out yesterday at the direction of the Hamas leadership in Gaza, pointing out that the security establishment has been discussing for a long time whether to respond to Hamas's game of encouraging attacks in the West Bank and buying calm in Gaza.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 10:45 am - Jerusalem Time

Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in Hebron, Bethlehem

Armed settlers attacked Palestinians in two separate locations in the West Bank on Wednesday, following a night of violent incidents across the occupied territory.


Israeli settlers severely beat a Palestinian in the village of Birin, southeast of Hebron, and stole his wallet, identity card and 750 shekels. According to local sources, a group from the Bnei Hefer settlement assaulted 41-year-old Ibrahim Musa Azzameh while he was at the entrance to the village.


In a separate incident, a settler chased away shepherds with a gun to prevent them from grazing their sheep in the village of Kisan, east of Bethlehem.


Sources from the area said that settlers were grazing a flock of sheep on lands belonging to Hussein Abdullah Obayat, adjacent to the Ibei HaNahal outpost, which is located on Palestinian lands.


Shepherds in the village of Kisan have long been subjected to attacks from settlers, under the protection of occupation forces. 


The settler violence has prevented the Palestinian shepherds from grazing their sheep, and has caused financial distress to many in the area. They have also experienced direct violence, including injuries, as well as arrests from the occupation forces.


PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 10:32 am - Jerusalem Time

Hamas: Israeli settler attacks are 'Nazi behavior'

Hamas slammed the widespread attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as "Nazi behavior" and "collective terrorism."


Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem also accused the Israeli occupation army and government for providing cover for these attacks. 


"These attacks confirm that terrorism and brutality span all parts of the Zionist entity and its institutions," he added.


On Monday, settlers carried out several attacks across the occupied West Bank after two Hamas militants shot four Israelis dead near Ramallah. 


PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 10:27 am - Jerusalem Time

This is what Ben Gvir asked Netanyahu after he was excluded yesterday!

The Hebrew newspaper Maariv reported, on Wednesday, that the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, made contacts last night with the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after he was excluded from the security discussion that the latter held yesterday in the wake of the shooting attack near Ramallah that killed 4 settlers. .


According to the newspaper, Ben Gvir said in a letter to Netanyahu through the latter's office: "The situation in the West Bank has changed intolerably, and the residents and soldiers feel abandoned. I demand a discussion about the possibility of launching a large-scale operation."


Ben Gvir added, "Approving the establishment of a new settlement in the West Bank is a vital need today, and important for the future of Zionism in general. I have worked for many years with my friends to establish settlements and extensive construction works in the West Bank, and the current government is the best to implement such an option. At the same time, we must Carrying out a broad military operation to eliminate the nests of terrorism, eliminate terrorists, erect barriers and return to assassination operations in order to restore security to the West Bank.


Netanyahu had excluded Ben Gvir and his ally, Bezalel Smotrich, from the security discussions after they arrived at the scene of the operation yesterday, especially after Ben Gvir’s statements, which demanded the collapse of buildings on the heads of their residents by bombing them from the air and the start of a large-scale military operation and the assassination of Hamas leaders.

ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 21 Jun 2023 10:02 am - Jerusalem Time

The US President describes his Chinese counterpart as a dictator

US President Joe Biden equated his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with "dictatorial" leaders as he spoke Tuesday at a Democratic Party fundraiser in the presence of the press.


Biden told participants at the ceremony, which was held in Northern California, that the incident in February of the United States shooting down a Chinese balloon, believed to be for espionage, angered the Chinese president.


"The reason Xi Jinping was so upset when I dropped the balloon that contained two boxes full of spying equipment was because he didn't know it was there," the US president added.


"I'm talking seriously. This is the great embarrassment of dictators, when they don't know what's going on."


Biden indicated that the balloon "was not supposed to go where it was (...) and he (Xi) did not know anything about it," adding, "When it was shot down, he felt very embarrassed and denied being there."


The 80-year-old Biden, who is running for a second term, also played down concerns about the Asian giant, telling donors that "China is facing real economic difficulties."


These statements are likely to raise strong objections from Beijing, which US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited just days ago in an attempt to reduce tensions between the two world powers.

OPINIONS

Wed 21 Jun 2023 9:46 am - Jerusalem Time

The West Bank... is on fire and the future is ours!!

Jerusalem Hadith

Jerusalem Hadith

Opinion Writer

For a long time, the West Bank did not revolt as it is today, starting from Jenin in the north, passing through Nablus and Hawara, all the way to Ramallah, Al-Bireh and Jerusalem in the foreground, and from there to the south in Hebron and its governorate.


The people rose up and revolted against the occupation with all its practices and attacks on the land and its people, and the Israelis began to remember the previous uprisings and how the citizens responded to the attacks carried out by the occupation and efforts to control the land and people, and every day the blood of the martyrs is spilled as the occupation pays the price for what it does, and it seems The situation in the occupied West Bank is in its infancy, despite the increasing Israeli violence and practices.


In the heart of all these developments, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque appears to be at the heart of all these developments. Large forces of the occupation police and its special forces stormed the courtyards of the Haram and the Qibla prayer hall and expelled the seclusions, the guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the endowment employees, with the aim of preventing the seclusion of the first ten of Dhul-Hijjah, and they also arrested a number of them. The settlers did not stop continuing their attacks, just as the occupation authorities did not stop the practices of house demolitions, notifications and measures that are contrary to all moral and human laws.


In the face of these practices, the Council of Ministers instructed all ministries to provide what is necessary to citizens in the Jenin governorate as a result of the crimes committed by the occupation, the demolitions and all the practices they carry out.. This is a duty and part of the responsibility that the authority must carry out, as confirmed by more than one official in the organizations. Palestinians on this fact and due responsibility.


The occupation is mistaken if it believes that it can carry out all kinds of expansion, confiscation of land and displacement of citizens without any resistance or rejection in all its forms to these actions. The occupation may be the broadest force and military capacity, but the national resistance and bearing the historical responsibility of this great people who adhere to their land, their future and their rights are the strongest and the future for them in the end And it will have the last word whether the occupation is convinced of that or not, and it is more likely that as a whole arrogant force that feels the military power at this stage, it will in the end be among the losers, and the people will certainly be the victor, and the history that is crowded with many examples throughout the ages is the strongest witness that the last word is for the owners The land is a grandfather from a grandfather, and that every thinking other than that is evidence of short-sightedness and political blindness that afflicts all kinds of occupation and the arrogance of the power that blinds their eyes and they cannot see the reality and the future, and the bank that is on fire at this stage is the best evidence and the biggest proof that the future is ours and the people who adhere to their land And their rights and their future, and they must realize this despite the political blindness that they enjoy..!!

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 8:55 am - Jerusalem Time

Rajoub: Israel wants the collapse of the Palestinian Authority

Akram Rajoub, the governor of Jenin, said on Wednesday that Israel is working to weaken the Palestinian Authority to the point that it wants it to collapse completely.


Rajoub said in an interview with the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, asking: "Does Israel believe that its army can storm our regions, provoke the population, carry out arrests and raids, and leave behind martyrs and wounded, and that our people will sit idly by?"


Rajoub accused Israel of having caused this whole situation, and that it had weakened the authority to the point that it wanted its collapse, holding the far-right Israeli government responsible for what was going on.


He added, "They are building settlements, and they do not take into account the Palestinians, and they want to build and annex and do everything in their power ... It is a frustrating situation and it is natural for there to be such a situation to resist the grievances and ambitions of Israel."

He pointed out that there is a state of concern among the residents of Jenin about the possibility of Israel carrying out a large-scale operation.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 8:37 am - Jerusalem Time

The occupation deducts the visit to the dental clinic from the account of the prisoners’ canteen

The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported, this morning, Wednesday, that the occupation prison administration has started deducting money from the canteen accounts of prisoners who go to the dental clinic to overcome infections and damage to their teeth as a result of the policy of medical negligence.


In a statement, the authority stated that the prison administration set an amount of (175 shekels) for every hour of treatment in the dental clinic of the prison or detainee, provided that the period is determined by the treating doctor and follower of the prisoner’s condition, and the time value is deducted from his canteen in advance, and it is not allowed to the doctor by exceeding the specified time.


The Commission indicated that this measure comes in the context of a set of retaliatory policies issued by the far-right Israeli government to the prison administration, which is controlled by the leader of the settler gang, the extremist minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who calls for transforming the reality of prisoners and detainees into hell, after describing their harsh daily lives as including Lots of luxury.


The Commission called on international human rights and human rights institutions, led by the World Health Organization, to take immediate action to put an end to this immoral and inhumane extremism, and to work to force the Israeli occupation state to assume its responsibilities towards the Palestinian detainees, not to leave it alone with them, and to deny their life and health rights.

PALESTINE

Wed 21 Jun 2023 8:32 am - Jerusalem Time

Shooting at an Israeli military site near Ramallah

On Wednesday morning, resistance fighters opened fire at an Israeli military site near the village of Silwad, near Ramallah.


According to the Hebrew channel Reshet Kan, the Israeli soldiers responded by shooting at the perpetrators, who fled the scene in their vehicle, without any injuries.