A young man with disabilities was injured this Wednesday evening, as a result of Israeli occupation forces firing live bullets at him, east of Yatta, south of Hebron.

Eyewitnesses reported that the young man was injured in the lower extremities while he was on the side of the road near the Arab Al-Najada community in the Bedouin desert east of Yatta, where the occupation forces prevented citizens from reaching him.

Despite Israel's mass slaughter in Gaza, there are "no serious discussions" within the Biden administration about isolating Israel or placing any conditions on military aid, the New York Times reported earlier this week.

The report detailed President Biden's commitment to supporting the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has destroyed nearly 70% of the Strip so far, saying that "he has engaged in the conflict more intensely than almost any other issue during his three years in office."

American and Israeli media reported that US President Joe Biden held tense talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and made minimal efforts to get Israel to change its tactics, but he refuses to use any influence that the United States possesses to pressure Israel.

At the same time, Israel acknowledges that the United States is its main supporter and does not want to completely ignore President Biden's proposals. According to reports, Israel has agreed to some steps requested by the United States, including allowing limited aid to be delivered to Gaza, which the United Nations and other relief agencies say is completely out of proportion to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face it. Famine-like conditions.

The New York Times report said that Israeli officials “realize that President Biden is their most important ally amid growing global criticism and realize that he is the only thing preventing the United Nations from imposing sanctions” on Israel. Besides unconditional military support, the United States also provides Israel with political cover and has used its veto power on two separate occasions to reject calls for a ceasefire in the UN Security Council, or worked to water down several resolutions in the Security Council that called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the death toll in Gaza exceeded 22,000 on Tuesday, including more than 8,000 children. More than 57,000 Palestinians were injured, and nearly 90% of Gaza's population was displaced.

The Biden administration showed its commitment to supporting the Israeli offensive on Friday by bypassing Congress for the second time since October 7 to deliver more weapons to Israel. The most recent deal reached was the purchase of 155 mm artillery shells and related equipment worth $147.5 million.

IIn turn, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (from the state of Maine) said in a tweet on the X platform last week: “After more than 20,000 Palestinians were killed and more than 53,000 were injured. Congress must not provide a single additional penny to the extreme right-wing government of Netanyahu to continue its horrific war against men, women and children in Gaza,” but he did not demand a ceasefire.

Iranian television reported that an explosion occurred near the road leading to the grave of Qasem Soleimani in Kerman province.

Iranian television also reported that a second explosion was heard on the road leading to the shrine of Qassem Soleimani in Kerman Province, southern Iran.

The Iranian Emergency Authority announced that the death toll from the two explosions near the shrine of Qasem Soleimani in the Kerman province in the south of the country had risen to 73 dead and 170 wounded.

Police and medical aid went to the site after the two explosions occurred on the road leading to the Martyrs' Park in Kerman near Soleimani's grave in southern Iran, on the fourth anniversary of his assassination, according to what was reported by the French news agency AFP.

103 people were killed and at least 141 injured, as a result of two successive bombings that occurred near the grave of Qassem Soleimani in the city of Kerman, southern Iran, coinciding with the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of his assassination, today, Wednesday.

In detail, the dead and injured are among those participating in commemorating the anniversary of Soleimani’s death.

Two explosions were heard near the shrine of the late Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, according to official television in Tehran, coinciding with the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of his killing by an American air strike in Iraq.

A witness from the city of Kerman said, "The first explosion occurred at the entrance to the 'Kerman Martyrs' cemetery, while the second explosion occurred 20 minutes later in another place," noting that the second explosion was stronger than the first and left a greater number of victims.

He added, "The first explosion occurred before the inspection area through a bag loaded with a bomb, leaving between 20 and 30 people dead, while the rest of the victims were caused by the second explosion."

Iranian television quoted local authorities in Kerman as saying that “the two explosions were caused by a terrorist attack by planting bombs.” While an informed source said, "The two explosions were caused by the detonation of two devices remotely."

State television initially announced that an explosion had been heard near the Sahib al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman Province, where the former commander of the Quds Force in the Revolutionary Guard lies.

Later, television reported that “a second explosion was heard” in the same place.

The footage showed thousands of people on the road, before an explosion was heard from afar, causing panic among those present, many of whom began running to get away from the place.

Smoke could also be seen rising in the background, while members of the security forces imposed a cordon. Scenes on state television showed many ambulances and paramedics at the scene.

The crowds were commemorating the fourth anniversary of Soleimani’s killing by an American air strike at dawn on January 3, 2020, shortly after his departure from Baghdad airport. The deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, died with him.

Today's explosion comes in the midst of escalating regional tension against the backdrop of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

They also occurred days after Tehran accused Israel of killing the leader of the Revolutionary Guard, Radhi Mousavi, as a result of a strike near Damascus, where he was performing “advisory” tasks within the “Axis of Resistance” in Syria. The two bombings also came the day after the killing of the leader of the Hamas movement, Saleh Al-Arouri, as a result of an Israeli bombing by a drone in the southern suburb of Beirut.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced, on Wednesday, that the death toll of Palestinians as a result of the ongoing Israeli war since October 7 had risen to “22,313 dead and 57,296 injuries.”

The ministry said, in a brief statement on the Telegram platform: “The toll of the Israeli aggression has risen to 22,313 dead and 57,296 injuries since the seventh of last October.”

It added, "The Israeli occupation committed 10 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, claiming 128 dead, in addition to 261 injuries during the past 24 hours."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said that there are indications that Israel is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Turk expressed "real concerns" about Israel's compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law in its response to the October 7 attack.

He added that 70% of those affected by the violent Israeli bombing were women and minors.

Turk added, "It can be assumed that the majority of those affected are civilians." Moreover, he explained, collective punishment of Palestinians constitutes a war crime.

Turk indicated that there are indications that crimes against humanity may have been committed. “Given the heavy and disproportionate bombing, combined with the lack of effective humanitarian assistance, there are real concerns that need to be looked at more closely,” he said.

On the other hand, Turk referred to the resistance’s attack on Israel on October 7 as an illegal act, as it included “indiscriminate shooting at Israel and military action against civilian facilities.”

By Piere Haski 

By eliminating Salah al-Arouri, a senior Hamas leader, with a drone strike in Beirut, Israel took a calculated risk: that Lebanese Hezbollah and its Iranian allies would not go to war over the death of a member of Hamas. Risky bet.

Israel yesterday struck its strongest blow against the leadership of Hamas, the Islamist movement responsible for the October 7 massacre. But paradoxically, it was not in the Gaza Strip, which had been shelled incessantly for almost three months, that this blow was struck, but in Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

An Israeli drone eliminated the number two in the Hamas political bureau, Salah al-Arouri. He was in the organization's premises, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the stronghold of its ally, the pro-Iranian Hezbollah. It was Hezbollah which confirmed the death of the Hamas leader and five other people, and which accused Israel.

Salah al-Arouri was an important figure in the organization. Last month, the French-speaking Beirut daily, “L’Orient-le-Jour”, recalled that his installation in Lebanon, from 2018, had marked the rise of Hamas in the country. With political action towards the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, but also a discreet presence of its military branch which worried Israel.

Israeli leaders needed success in their drive to eradicate Hamas after the October 7 attack. They have not achieved it so far in the Gaza Strip, despite the colossal human cost inflicted on Palestinian civilians. The two main leaders of the movement in the territory, Yahya Sinouar, and Mohammed Deif, remain untraceable. The elimination of the number two from the Political Bureau serves a maligned Israeli Prime Minister.

But Israel also took a calculated risk by striking a Hamas leader abroad. This risk is that of pushing Hezbollah a little further on the path to generalized war with Israel, bringing with it a bloodless Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is giving a highly anticipated speech today.

For almost three months, the risk of opening a front in northern Israel has been omnipresent, with a slow but controlled escalation on both sides. Israel is betting that the assassination of a Hamas leader will not tip Hezbollah into a war which would then change in scale.

Does this risk exist? Everything will depend on Iran. Hezbollah would not take the initiative for such a considerable escalation without the green light from Tehran, which ensures its arming and financing.

Iran had already suffered the blow after the death, on December 25, of the highest ranking officer of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, General Razi Moussavi, during an Israeli strike in Syria. Tehran declared that Israel would pay “a high price” for this targeted assassination. This is therefore a second hard blow for Tehran, which has managed the escalation of the conflict to the millimeter for three months, without taking the risk of being drawn into it.

Strangely, this sudden rise in tension coincides with the American decision to withdraw the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford which had been in the Eastern Mediterranean since October. He played a deterrent role, and his departure is unexplained and can therefore be subject to contradictory interpretations.

Once again, the Middle East is at a decisive moment, not between peace and war, but between the Gaza war and a regional conflagration.

Source: (FRANCE INTER)

According to a new Israeli poll, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not remain in power after the end of the war in Gaza.

A report by Newsweek magazine - today, Wednesday - pointed out that Netanyahu's condemnation was resounding in the wake of the attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7, and the declaration of war on this Palestinian movement, which prompted Israel to launch the most violent air strikes ever on Gaza.

The poll - in which 605 men and women participated, from December 25 to 28, and was published by the Israel Democracy Institute yesterday - showed that 85% of Israelis want Netanyahu (74 years old, who has served as prime minister three different times since 1996) to hand over power to a new person when the war ends.

Benny Gantz (retired general and former defense minister who is currently serving with Netanyahu in the war government) received 23% of support. About 30.5% of participants did not present a preferred candidate.

Among the Israelis surveyed, more than 56% said that continuing the fight against Hamas was the best way to recover the hostages. Only 24% supported the release of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the release of all hostages, “even if that meant agreeing to Hamas’s demand to stop the fighting.”

Respondents also expressed their dislike of the United States' role in pushing for certain military conditions, including a ceasefire, due to the increasing numbers of civilian casualties, many of whom are children.

About 38.3% said that Israel “should never” respond to the demands of the United States and shift its military strategy to a “different phase” of the war to reduce violent bombing in densely populated areas. About 28% believe that Israel should not take this path.

The American magazine concluded that about 51% (of the Israeli respondents) want their army to take strong revenge on Hezbollah, saying that Israel “must strike a strong blow at Hezbollah now, even at the expense of opening another front in the north.”

Source: Newsweek +Aljazazera

Hebrew media reported on Wednesday that Israel is holding “secret talks” with the Democratic Republic of the Congo “to absorb (Palestinian) immigrants from the Gaza Strip.”

The Times of Israel news website said, “Israeli officials held secret talks with the State of Congo (Kinshasa) and several other countries to potentially accept (Palestinian) immigrants from Gaza.”

The website quoted an unnamed senior source in the Israeli mini-ministerial council: “Congo will be ready to receive the migrants, and we are holding talks with others.”

It pointed out that Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel said in the Knesset on Tuesday: “At the end of the war, Hamas’ rule will collapse, there will be no municipal authorities, and the civilian population will depend entirely on humanitarian aid.”

She went on to say: “There will be no work, and 60 percent of agricultural land in Gaza will turn into security buffer zones.”

She added: “The Gaza problem is not only our problem. The world must support humanitarian migration, because this is the only solution I know of.”

These moves come despite public American criticism of calls for displacement from Gaza.

In this regard, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday in a statement: “The United States rejects the recent statements issued by Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir calling for the settlement of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.”

Miller considered, “These are inflammatory and irresponsible statements,” adding that the Israeli government, including through its president, expressed to them “repeatedly and consistently that these statements do not reflect government policy.”

In recent weeks, Israeli calls have emerged to voluntarily displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich announced their support for the “voluntary displacement of Palestinians” from the Gaza Strip.

Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, which as of Tuesday left 22,185 dead and 57,35 injured, most of them children and women, massive infrastructure destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the Gaza Strip authorities and the United Nations.

The Israeli political analyst in the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Nahum Barnea, confirmed that the most worrying reaction to the assassination of Al-Arouri is the future of the occupation prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.

Barnea said in an article published by Yedioth today that the belief that the assassination of Al-Arouri might increase the pressure on Hamas and Yahya Sinwar to complete an exchange deal is “a ridiculous claim; the Israelis can laugh at themselves with it, because the reality says that the assassination of Al-Arouri will delay the completion of the deal or perhaps undermine all negotiations through mediators.

The Israeli analyst described Al-Arouri as "a man who was able to wear two hats: political and military, with great skill until he became a cruel, difficult and deadly enemy."

He added: "Al-Arouri honestly obtained his place on the list wanted for exclusion, and even if he was not personally involved in planning and implementing the events of October 7 (the Al-Aqsa flood battle), the rising wave of resistance in the West Bank bears his full name."

Barnea considered that the messages behind Al-Arouri’s assassination are represented by three basic points: “The assassination conveyed a message to Hamas leaders that the Israeli security establishment’s threats to return to assassinations are not just idle talk, but rather serious and possible threats.”

As for the second message, it was to Hezbollah that “Israel, despite the events of October 7, still knows how to enter deep into Hassan Nasrallah’s house in Beirut.”

The third message is to the Israeli insiders: “Revenge against those responsible for killing Israelis is uncompromising.”

Perhaps, according to Barnea, the fourth message is that “Israel understands well the only language in the Middle East: killing for killing.”

However, the political analyst believes that targeted assassinations are not measured only by the blow that the “enemy” receives, but rather the important question is, “What can this assassination do to Israel? What is the price or what is the cost that it will pay in exchange for the value of the assassination and the benefit from it?!”

Whoever decided to assassinate Al-Arouri in Beirut expected that there would be a violent reaction from Hamas and Hezbollah, but he did not think well about the fate of the detainees and the exchange deal. Although it is true that the chance of reaching an exchange deal was slim even before the assassination in Beirut, but with regard to the lives of the detainees “Any delay may be decisive, and any assassination may lead to a counter-assassination,” according to Barnea.

He continued: "It is not comfortable to admit, but the decision to assassinate was a bet on the lives of the detainees, and time will determine whether this bet was justified."

In addition to the impact of Al-Arouri’s assassination on the Israeli detainees, the other expected scenario is that Hamas will respond to the assassination through operations in the West Bank and Jerusalem and launching rockets from areas “under its control” in Gaza, according to the Israeli political analyst’s article.

He continued: "Even if the events of October 7 did not succeed in fulfilling Yahya Sinwar's hopes of dragging Israel into a war on three fronts, the assassination of Al-Arouri could revive Sinwar's hopes," according to Barnea's opinion.

The political analyst believes that Hezbollah will respond, sooner or later, to the assassination of Al-Arouri, pointing out that the party’s response space is greater than Hamas’ response space.

He explained: “It is possible that (Hezbollah) will violate the rules of the game currently followed in the exchange of fire in the north and risk an all-out war; it can also attack Israeli tourists or Jewish centers abroad. Hezbollah can expand the borders that allow the Palestinian resistance factions in Lebanon to retaliate.” Although all of the party’s options for responding are known, the extent and time that the party can wait before responding remains ambiguous and unknown.”

Barnea also confirms that the assassination of Al-Arouri is not in the interest of the negotiations that the Americans and French have been conducting in Lebanon since the past few weeks. There was hope of reaching a diplomatic settlement that would prevent the war from extending and allow the population to return to their homes on the border. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken intended to come to Tel Aviv at the end of the week to strengthen settlement negotiations, he announced, following the assassination, the cancellation of his visit.

In his article, Barnea concludes by confirming one thing, which is that the assassination of Al-Arouri and his assistants, Samir Fandi and Azzam Al-Aqra, “although it will harm the activities of the Hamas movement in Beirut in the short term, it will not change the reality.” Hamas is a greater resistance movement than it can be reduced to any of its dead leaders or are potential dead ones, including Yahya Sinwar.

Israeli media reported on Wednesday that concerned circles have estimates that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) will respond to the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of its political bureau, on the Lebanese side, with moderate participation from Hezbollah likely.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that estimates indicate that since those who were killed yesterday, Tuesday, in Beirut, are practically responsible on a daily basis for Hamas’ shooting from Lebanon, this means that the movement will prepare a response to the assassination, and this may take some time.

It added, "In Israel they estimate that there will be a response from Hamas from Lebanon in all forms and possibilities in response to yesterday's assassination. At least they will try."

Regarding the Hezbollah issue, the source continued, “The assessment in Israel at the moment is that despite the fact that the attack on Al-Arouri was in the heart of the suburb, they will most likely look for some kind of middle response that will show shooting, but will not lead to war or Large-scale event.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation warned that police officers in various police directorates were instructed to increase vigilance in anticipation of attacks after Al-Arouri's assassination.

It indicated that special preparations are being made throughout Israel.

On Tuesday, the Israeli Walla news website quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that Israel is preparing for a major retaliatory response by Hezbollah to the assassination of Al-Arouri, including launching long-range missiles at targets in Israel.

On Tuesday evening, the Lebanese News Agency said, “An air strike with three missiles from an Israeli drone targeted a Hamas headquarters in the southern suburb of Beirut, resulting in 7 killed and the injury of 11 others,” while Hamas mourned in a statement Al-Arouri and the leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Samir Effendi and Azzam Aqra’. And 4 other members of the movement.

The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that shortly after the assassination in Beirut, Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at the Moshav Margaliot area on the Lebanese border.

Last August 28, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that “any assassination on Lebanese soil that targets a Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, Iranian, or others will have a strong reaction, and we will not allow the Lebanese arena to be opened to assassinations.”

The assassination in Beirut comes at a time when Lebanon's southern border has witnessed daily confrontations and bombing between Hezbollah and the Israeli occupation army since last October 8, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries on both sides of the border.

Today, Wednesday, settlers erected a number of electricity poles in the Tuqua Wilderness, southeast of Bethlehem, in preparation for establishing a new colonial outpost.

According to the director of the Office of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, Hassan Barijiyah: Settlers, protected by the Israeli occupation forces, installed electricity poles in the “Fathura” area in the Tuqu’ Wilderness, in preparation for establishing a new settlement outpost, near the “Tekwa” settlement, which is located on citizens’ lands.

It is noteworthy that the occupation forces and settlers escalated their attacks in the Tuqu’ wilderness area, by pursuing farmers, demolishing their agricultural rooms and tents, and seizing their contents.

At dawn on Wednesday, the Israeli occupation forces launched a campaign of raids and arrests in various parts of the West Bank, which included confrontations.

Former Egyptian Vice President, Mohamed ElBaradei, said that the failure of Arab countries to support South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel in the International Court of Justice would be conclusive evidence that Arab regimes “do not represent their people, and are a stain that cannot be erased.”

ElBaradei indicated in a tweet on his account on the “X” website, Tuesday, January 2, 2024, that the International Court of Justice will hold its first session on the 11th and 12th of this month to consider South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel for committing the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people.

ElBaradei confirmed in a post on the “X” platform, “He believes that all Arab countries will participate effectively and through the best legal experts in supporting South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel,” and said: “In short, not participating will be conclusive evidence that the Arab regimes do not represent... its people, and a stain that cannot be erased.”

ElBaradei continued, “South Africa will ask the court to order preliminary measures to stop a ceasefire and any other military operations until the merits of the matter are decided.” He added, “All states parties to the Genocide Convention have the right to participate in the court’s deliberations and present written and oral arguments.” 

ElBaradei, who served as Vice President for months during the term of interim President Adly Mansour in 2013, added that any ruling issued by the International Court of Justice against Israel will have major political, economic and legal consequences.

South Africa's case against Israel

On Friday, December 29, 2023, South Africa submitted a request to the International Court of Justice to initiate proceedings against Israel for carrying out acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, as announced by the International Court.

South Africa's lawsuit against Israel asserted that Tel Aviv's "acts and omissions bear the character of genocide, because they are accompanied by the requisite specific intent to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza as part of the broader national, racial and ethnic group, that is, the Palestinians," the ICJ said in a statement.

For its part, Israel attacked South Africa after the latter filed a lawsuit before the International Court of Justice accusing Tel Aviv of committing "genocide crimes" in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Israel rejects (with disgust) what it described as “the blood conspiracy carried out by South Africa in its application submitted to the International Court of Justice.” It claimed that “South Africa’s argument lacks a factual and legal basis, and constitutes a cheap exploitation of the International Court of Justice.”

At dawn on Wednesday, the Israeli occupation forces carried out a massive raid campaign in various cities and towns of the occupied West Bank, and declared the Nour Shams camp in Tulkarm a closed military zone and imposed a curfew there.

The occupation forces completely prohibited movement in the camp and prevented entry and exit from it, even for humanitarian cases. The occupation forces also had the authority to shoot anyone wandering around the area.

This came after large forces of the occupation army, accompanied by a number of bulldozers, stormed the city of Tulkarm from its western and southern axes and the Nour Shams camp, east of the city, amid reconnaissance aircraft flying over the city, its suburbs, and its camps at a low altitude.

The occupation forces surrounded the entrances to the camp from its northern side after announcing the imposition of a curfew there until “further notice,” according to leaflets they dropped at the camp. They deployed their snipers on the roofs of a number of buildings in its vicinity. The occupation forces also searched several homes in the camp and subjected their residents to interrogation.

Surrounding a hospital

As a result of the siege imposed by the occupation, violent clashes took place between Palestinian resistance fighters and the occupation forces, and successive explosions were heard at the western axis of the camp.

Immediately after they stormed the city, the occupation forces besieged the Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in the city center and the Zakat Hospital west of Tulkarm.

The occupation soldiers prevented ambulances from heading to the camp, under the pretext that it was a “closed military zone,” and attacked citizens’ vehicles parked in the city’s streets.

In the same context, the occupation bulldozers demolished the memorial to the martyr Murad Al-Pasha in the suburb of Dhanaba, east of the city, on the way to the camp, while the occupation soldiers were deployed in the Al-Rashid neighborhood in the suburb, adjacent to the camp.

The occupation bulldozers destroyed the streets of Nour Shams camp, especially the main street, and the streets of a number of its neighborhoods and infrastructure, and destroyed public and private facilities.

It is noteworthy that the occupation forces stormed Nour Shams camp 4 days ago, and a number of roads and infrastructure were destroyed, and several homes were destroyed during that raid.

Storms and arrests

Israeli forces stormed the municipality suburb and the Tahrir roundabout in the city of Hebron, and arrested a citizen in the municipality suburb area.

In the same context, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a citizen from the town of Dura, south of Hebron, after storming the town and searching his family’s home.

The occupation forces stormed the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank from several directions.

An occupation force consisting of 15 military vehicles launched from the occupation camp in the town of Huwwara, south of Nablus, also stormed the area.

The invading forces were stationed in the Al-Makhfiyya area in Nablus, and returned citizens' vehicles that were trying to reach the area.

The occupation forces also arrested a young man from the town of Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit, after stopping him at an occupation soldiers’ checkpoint west of the city of Nablus.

In a related context, a number of Palestinian citizens suffered from suffocation during confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces in the town of Al-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem.

The occupation forces fired rubber-coated metal bullets, stun grenades, and toxic tear gas at the citizens, causing a number of them to suffer from suffocation.

Since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, the Israeli occupation army has intensified its military operations in the West Bank and increased the pace of incursions and raids into towns and camps, leaving dozens of victims and hundreds of detainees.

A state of anticipation prevails in Lebanon and the region, following the Israeli assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), two leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the movement’s military wing, and 4 others of its cadres, in an air strike targeting south of the capital, Beirut.

According to analysts, the assassination of Hamas leaders deep inside Lebanon, coinciding with the continuation of the war on Gaza and the confrontations in southern Lebanon, constitutes an unprecedented escalation and portends a major confrontation that may extend throughout the entire region, between the axis of resistance and Israel.

In an interview with Anatolia, Lebanese political analyst Qassem Kassir said that the assassination of Al-Arouri is a large and very dangerous operation, aiming to take the region towards a major confrontation. He added that there is no information about the nature of the response to the assassination yet, but he suggested that there will be an escalation in the confrontation regardless of the situation. Fronts.

For his part, the director of the Yabous Center for Studies, Suleiman Bisharat, said that the assassination puts the conflict at a crossroads, the first of which is the expansion and extension of the conflict to include all arenas, and the expansion of the scope of confrontation. The second, according to Bisharat, is that this assassination will be a price for Israeli acceptance at a high price. Political for Hezbollah and the resistance in Gaza.

Following the assassination, Hezbollah issued a statement in which it mourned Al-Arouri and his companions, threatening that this crime “will never pass without response and punishment.” The party considered the assassination a dangerous attack on Lebanon and its people, and a dangerous development in the course of the war between Israel and the axis of resistance. .

Late on Tuesday evening, Hezbollah fired 3 anti-tank missiles at the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, and said in a statement that its fighters targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Al-Marj site with appropriate weapons, killing and wounding its members.

Targeting the Lebanese depth

In turn, political analyst Tony Boulos said that the assassination of Al-Arouri is considered the most violent targeting in the Lebanese interior since the 2006 war, which means that Israel has dropped what was known as the rules of engagement, and no longer has red lines towards confronting Iran in the region, which portends greater targeting.

He stressed that the assassination of Al-Arouri in the southern suburb of Beirut put Hezbollah at a “very dangerous” crossroads, as it was forced to respond to save its face, but at the same time there is a problem that lies in the fact that it does not have an Iranian green light, given that Iran has not yet responded to the killing of the Revolutionary Guard leader, according to Paul.

Last August 28, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that “any assassination on Lebanese soil that targets a Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, Iranian, or others will have a strong reaction, and we will not allow the Lebanese arena to be opened to assassinations.”

The assassination in Beirut comes at a time when Lebanon's southern border has been witnessing daily confrontations and bombing between Hezbollah on the one hand and the Israeli army on the other since the eighth of last October, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries on both sides of the border.

The prominent Hamas leader spent more than 18 years in Israeli prisons, and was deported outside Palestine when he was released for the last time in 2010, where he was chosen as a member of the Hamas political bureau, then deputy head of its political bureau in October 2017, and a Hamas official in the West Bank.

Al-Arouri is considered one of the founders of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, where he began establishing the first nucleus of the movement’s military apparatus in the West Bank in the period between 1991 and 1992.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A number of citizens were injured this Wednesday morning during the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of the town of Jabal Mukaber, south of Jerusalem.

According to local sources, confrontations broke out in the town after the occupation forces stormed, accompanied by a bulldozer, to demolish a house and a commercial facility belonging to the Shaqrat family.

Video clips on social media showed occupation soldiers brutally assaulting a number of citizens when they tried to prevent the demolition process.

The occupation forces also arrested a number of young men.

On the eighty-ninth day of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the bombing and raids on the Gaza Strip continued, while responses continued to the assassination of the Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Saleh Al-Arouri, and other leaders in Beirut.

Four Palestinians were killed as a result of the occupation bombing a house in the Al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip at dawn today, while 3 others were killed and 10 were injured as a result of the occupation targeting a house in the Khirbet Al-Adas area, east of Rafah.

The occupation also bombed the Ain Goliath towers in the Nuseirat camp, and the Israeli bombing continued on the south of the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

While the confrontations continued in a number of areas, the Israeli army confirmed the killing of an officer with the rank of major from the elite forces in the Engineering Corps during the battles in the northern Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, responses continued to the assassination of the leader of the Hamas movement, along with the two leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Samir Fendi Abu Amer, Azzam Al-Aqraa, and others, with missiles launched by a drone in the southern suburb of Beirut.

Osama Hamdan, a member of the movement's political bureau, confirmed that all possibilities are open after the crime, stressing that what happened will be met with an appropriate response by the Palestinian people and the resistance.

For its part, the Elysee Palace said, following a phone call made by French President Emmanuel Macron to Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the Ministerial War Council, that the French President stressed that “any escalatory behavior should be avoided, especially in Lebanon, and that France will continue to deliver these messages to the actors directly or indirectly concerned in the region.”

While Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will deliver an expected speech this afternoon, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that instructions have been issued to the police to increase vigilance in all regions for fear of operations to respond to the assassination of Al-Arouri.

Hezbollah had confirmed in the evening that "the assassination of Al-Arouri in the heart of the southern suburb of Beirut is a dangerous attack on Lebanon, its people, its security, its sovereignty, and its resistance," stressing that "the crime will not go unanswered."

Today, Wednesday, a comprehensive strike spread across the West Bank governorates, denouncing the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri, and the occupation’s continuing crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The strike, called by the National Liberation Movement "Fatah" and the national and Islamic forces, paralyzed all aspects of life, and universities, banks, and shops were closed.

By Ibrahim Rayhan

The assassination of the deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau in Lebanon, Saleh Al-Arouri, yesterday evening became the biggest announcement of the intention of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare war on Lebanon by admitting that the air force had targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut for the first time since the July 2006 war. The eye now is on the party’s response. Which is likely to be nothing less than targeting Tel Aviv based on the Beirut versus Tel Aviv equation that was drawn up by the party and has not been implemented until now.

Events have continued in recent days, indicating an increase in the level of escalation on the southern border between the Israeli army and the party. The belt of fire launched by Israeli occupation aircraft on Kafr Kila and Maroun al-Ras was not the first, and it will not be the last.

In a broader look at the region’s seas, two prominent events emerged:

The first: was the announcement of the withdrawal of the US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford from the Mediterranean Sea.

As for the second: Iran announced the arrival of the destroyer “Alborz,” equipped with long-range cruise missiles, to the waters of the Red Sea and its settlement near “Bab al-Mandab,” where Washington is gathering an international force to stop Houthi operations there.

Events are moving at a speed that rivals the scenes of Egyptian-Qatari diplomacy, which is trying to extinguish the fire in Gaza before it rages throughout the entire region. The two parties to the war, Hamas and Israel, are still clinging to mutual demands that can only be described as a “sounding defeat” for the party that accepts them.

Events have continued in recent days, indicating an increase in the level of escalation on the southern border between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.

The last chapter of the negotiations was when the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Al-Sanwar, sent a list of demands that were met with Israeli rejection. Al-Sanwar called for a three-stage negotiation:

1- In the first phase, Israeli forces withdraw from the incursion into the Gaza Strip in exchange for the movement’s release of 40 Israeli prisoners (the remaining women and men over the age of 60 who suffer from critical health conditions).

2- In the second stage, launching negotiations to exchange military prisoners in exchange for “zeroing in Israeli prisons.”

3- The third stage is entitled to establish a permanent ceasefire.

Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea discussed Sinwar's offer with the "War Cabinet," which rejected the demands.

The Qatari negotiators consider that the negotiations are still ongoing even if Tel Aviv rejects these demands, albeit slowly and with difficulty, and that the coming days will witness mutual offers from Tel Aviv and Hamas, and they may reach common ground on which they can build to stop the war as quickly as possible, and try to prevent the fire from escalating throughout the entire region, starting with Lebanon.

Biden to Netanyahu: The call is over...

But what is happening in the region? Is Lebanon in the eye of Netanyahu's storm?

To answer this question, we must return to the recent call between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Axios website, which is close to US national security circles, reported that the communication was stormy, and the disagreement between the two sides was over the “day after” the war, and over Biden’s objection to Netanyahu’s refusal to transfer tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority. The divergence of views between the master of the White House and the prime minister in crisis at war prompted the former to cut off the call, saying: “The conversation is over,” in an unprecedented step between the decision-makers in Washington and Tel Aviv.

But another reason that was not announced was a major point of disagreement between the two sides. According to an official source in the US National Security Office, Lebanon was present in the call. Netanyahu was insisting on the necessity of “dealing a joint strike against the party in Lebanon.” As for Biden, it was clear that his administration remains committed to its position of rejecting expanding the scope of the war and dragging it towards a direct confrontation with Iran.

The Qatari negotiators consider that the negotiations are still ongoing even if Tel Aviv rejects these demands, albeit slowly and with difficulty, and that the coming days will witness mutual offers from Tel Aviv and Hamas.

Why did Biden withdraw the aircraft carrier?

Netanyahu's intransigence towards Lebanon prompted Washington to leak the news of the "aircraft carrier withdrawal" from the Mediterranean. The explanation for this step is as follows:

First: Washington announced that it is not satisfied with any offensive step taken by Netanyahu against Lebanon. This was after Gerald Ford's arrival in the region was a message of deterrence to Iran and Hezbollah, according to what US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on the eve of the start of the war on the Gaza Strip.

Second: Biden is trying to pressure Netanyahu internally and on the ground to submit to the White House’s requests regarding “the day after the war” and “not expanding its scope.”

Third and most important: All joint maneuvers in recent years between the American and Israeli armies simulated that America defends and Israel attacks. This withdrawal puts Tel Aviv in a difficult field position, especially if Iran exploits it to increase the level of its factions’ strikes against Israel, especially after the assassination of the commander of the Quds Force in Syria, Brigadier General Reza Mousavi, who has resided in Syria since 1987, and supervises the transfer of weapons to the party and the factions. Pro-Iranian. In addition to this, the almost daily targeting of Iranian bases in Syria.

The American source also indicates that Iran has delivered a message to America over the past few days stating that “the operations of the Axis of Resistance factions against American targets may not remain as they are if Israel launches an operation against the party, and that Tehran may find it difficult to deter the factions from Targeting American bases in the Gulf and Jordan.

Israel quickly responded to America's move. Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the presence of the aircraft carrier did not affect the course of the conflict in Gaza, and that the end of the war was not on the horizon.

I expected that "the United Kingdom and the United States would issue an unprecedented statement giving the Houthis a choice between stopping attacking commercial ships or confronting the military power of the West."

Displacement versus displacement

In the field, the Israeli Air Force launched violent strikes on the towns of Maroun al-Ras, Kafr Kila, Markaba, and Hula.

The raids were different this time. It targeted the heart of the towns, the most violent of which was the “ring of fire” in Kafr Kila, which led to the death of 3 party fighters from the town. Reading these raids does not mean that Israel wants to lure a violent response from the party against civilian targets, using it as a pretext to expand strikes on Lebanon. To this day, the party is still responding with the “classical geographic beam” to the same rhythm since October 8.

Tel Aviv is also implementing the “displacement for displacement” equation, after tens of thousands of Israelis were displaced from the settlements in the north. This explains the Israeli violence towards Lebanese towns.

These indicators were received by the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Lecornu, who visited the base of his forces operating within the UNIFIL forces in Deir Kifa, 10 km from the confrontation line between Israel and Hezbollah, where Lecornu announced to 700 soldiers before sharing the “New Year’s” dinner with them that “our mission can be achieved.” "It could become very dangerous." He added: "Our path will be strewn with doubts in the coming weeks and days, and all of this continues to plunge us into an abyss."

Le Drian and Hockstein on the line of "calm down"

The French minister anticipated two possible visits by the American presidential envoys, Amos Hochstein, and the Frenchman, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The two envoys, whose dates have not yet been set, are trying to defuse tension in southern Lebanon. The American carries with him a proposal about the land borders and Israel’s withdrawal from the northern part of the town of Ghajar, and the Lebanese establishment of the B1 point in Ras Naqoura, and in his belief that it may push the party to withdraw from the Gaza battle.

As for the Frenchman, it is likely that he will present a political proposal for the party, in coordination with the Americans, rather than the Five-Year Committee. It is not clear what the French offer is, unlike the American one.

However, the deputy secretary-general of the party, Sheikh Naeem Qassem, anticipated the two offers two days ago and said: “Israel is putting forward many proposals related to northern Palestine and southern Lebanon in order to carry out a performance that will help the settlers return to the north in a safe way, and to keep the party away from the south until they are reassured.”

Qassem added: “Israel cannot return the settlers to the north in the heart of the battle, and it cannot obtain any gain in this battle or at its end. It must first stop the war in Gaza in order to stop the war in Lebanon, and with the persistence in bombing civilians in Lebanon, this means that the response "It will be stronger and will be proportional to the Israeli aggression."

  The Red Sea.. Iran, America and Britain

No sooner had the media reported the news of the departure of the American aircraft carrier from the White Sea, than news came of Iran entering the Red Sea. What is happening there is no less dangerous than what is happening here. The British newspaper The Times reported that London is preparing, in coordination with Washington, to launch strikes against the Houthi militias in Yemen.

The newspaper quoted an official source as saying, “The British army will join the United States and perhaps another European country to launch a barrage of missiles against pre-specified targets either at sea or in Yemen itself, where the Houthis are based.” It quoted the source as saying, "Coordinated strikes could include, for the first time, carried out by British Royal Air Force aircraft or the destroyer HMS Diamond."

I expected that "the United Kingdom and the United States would issue an unprecedented statement giving the Houthis a choice between stopping attacking commercial ships or confronting the military power of the West." The source explained to the newspaper that the statement would be the “last warning” to the Houthis, adding: “If they do not respond, the response is likely to be limited but noticeable.”

The Iranian response to the British move came in two parts:

The first: Last Sunday, the Houthis attacked an American battleship with cruise missiles and attack boats. The US Navy was able to sink 4 boats and kill 10 of the attackers.

Second: Iran’s announcement of the arrival of the destroyer “Alborz” to Bab al-Mandab.

Thus, the region became ready for a fierce war. Diplomacy is trying to remove the burning fuse, which is now on the verge of gunpowder piled up inside the barrel. It is likely that Netanyahu will not leave the premiership before turning the tide, or at least trying to turn it. The Al-Aqsa flood changed the whole scene, and it became almost impossible to return to what was before October 7. As for the clarity of the scene, it requires the dust of many battles to settle, raids to break out, missiles and drones to fly, and more blood to flow, not least of which is the assassination of Al-Arouri, for his image to become clear.

Assas Media

By Muhammad Al-Sammak

Since Israel imposed its presence in 1948 by military force and international pressure, the Middle East has never known such a large number of Palestinian casualties and the number of Israeli deaths. The region has never been farther politically and psychologically from peace or settlement than it is now.

However, US President Joe Biden, who placed all his electoral bets on the Zionist-American authority, repeats with a lot of hope (not confidence) that all of this has once again opened the way to a political solution based on the basis of two states: Israel and Palestine. But Palestinian-Jewish sentiments are far from today the principle of living together within the framework of two neighboring states. The bloody trench that was bulldozed by Israeli forces in Gaza is too deep to be filled and too weak to be restored.

A project for a solution based on a “one state” between the Israelis and the Palestinians, similar to the Lebanese formula, was proposed, but this project, which was difficult in the past, has now become impossible.

There are two complementary factors in drawing a picture of the tragic situation of the post-war period in Gaza. The first factor is the unprecedented violence committed by Israeli forces with premeditation and design. And the Arab inability to take any action to repel this violence or even to mitigate it. Therefore, President Biden's statement about the two-state solution is seen as a mere fig leaf to cover up Israeli brutality on the one hand, and Arab impotence on the other hand, and American involvement in covering up both matters.

The two-state solution: an old proposal

Basically, the idea of a two-state solution is not new. She is now a full century old, 77 years old. The United Nations adopted it in 1947, stipulating that Jerusalem would be an international city (internationalization is primarily a Vatican proposal because the Vatican did not want the holy Christian sites to be under the supervision of Israel). But the Arab group rejected this solution at the time because it refused in principle to recognize Israel.

The two-state solution was proposed again at the Madrid Conference in 1991, but without reaching a practical result. It was re-introduced in the Oslo Agreement (Norway) in 1993, but also without results, even though the agreement set a time period, five years, to implement the agreement, which the current Netanyahu government (which includes a group of extreme religious extremists) made of it merely “toilet paper.” ".

Before that, a series of failures continued from Camp David to Taba to the “path to peace” drawn by President Bush and adopted by former US President Barack Obama. However, it collapsed completely in 2014. Can President Biden, a devout Catholic, bring it to light again on the anniversary of the birth of Christ, peace be upon him?

Since Israel imposed its presence in 1948 by military force and international pressure, the Middle East has never known such a large number of Palestinian casualties and the number of Israeli deaths.

The tables turned on October 7

If the miracle is achieved and a Palestinian state is established from Gaza and the West Bank, this will mean that this state is based on an area of only 22 percent of the historical Palestinian land. Under the current project, Israel has the right to maintain a number of large settlements in the West Bank in exchange for granting the proposed Palestinian state lands in other locations, which is called a land exchange. As for the Palestinian refugees, the project stipulates allowing a part of them to return to the new Palestinian state, or to return to their villages in Israel. But what return can be achieved after the torrents of blood that poured in Gaza and the West Bank, which made Palestinian-Israeli coexistence impossible?

Hence, the events that began on October 7 turned the situation upside down and made implementable proposals impossible, unless the nature of authority in Israel and Gaza both changed.

There was a project for a solution based on a “one state” between the Israelis and the Palestinians, similar to the Lebanese formula, but this project, which was difficult in the past, has now become impossible.

For this reason, the settlement projects are now being reconsidered on the basis of changing the Israeli (Netanyahu) and Palestinian (Hamas) political leaders, so that matters turn to elements that are more capable of dealing positively with the settlement proposals that require a retreat from the Israeli and Palestinian sides. As for how this is done, who is responsible for ensuring and implementing it, and who pays for it and bears its consequences, it is until now in the world of the unseen. Neither Hamas nor Netanyahu is willing to voluntarily give up authority or an alternative ruler. Therefore, after Gaza, it is expected that unrest and turmoil will explode in the institutions of power in both Israel and Palestine, and the results resulting from these “programmed” oscillations are supposed to open the way to a settlement that will not be a speck of ash in the eyes, as happened with previous settlement projects.

Extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said in a post on his page on the “X” platform on Tuesday that Israel is not a star on the American flag.

Itamar Ben Gvir added: “I respect the United States, as it is our best ally, but Israel is not a star on the American flag.”

The extremist Israeli Minister of National Security continued, saying, "We must do what is in Israel's interest."

Ben Gvir pointed out in his blog post that the migration of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip will allow the residents of the Gaza Strip to return to their homes and live in security, explaining that this will preserve the lives of the Israeli army forces.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Ben Gvir has made such a statement, as he had previously said in March 2023 in response to US President Joe Biden’s criticism of the Israeli government’s handling of the crisis of protests against the so-called “judicial reform” law, that Israel is independent from The United States is not just another star on the American flag.

Ben Gvir's post came after an American statement condemning statements made by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir regarding the return of Jewish settlers to the Gaza Strip after the current war while encouraging the Palestinian population to emigrate from the Strip.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller described Smotrich and Ben Gvir's statements as "irresponsible."

Moreover, clashes continue in the Gaza Strip for the 89th day in light of the continued intense Israeli bombing of various cities in the Strip, amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, and increasing escalation in the region.

The New York Times reported, citing two American officials, that Israel bears responsibility for the air strike on Beirut that led to the assassination of the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri.

One official noted that the raid “was likely the first of many secret attacks carried out by Israel against Hamas leaders.”

Al-Arouri and two leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades were assassinated in an explosion on Tuesday evening, in the Al-Musharafiyeh area in the southern suburb of Beirut, as a result of an Israeli march targeting a Hamas office there.

The Wall Street Journal, citing Israeli officials, reported early last month that Israeli intelligence services are preparing to hunt down and kill Hamas leaders all over the world, especially Qatar, Lebanon and Turkey.

Israeli officials said that, on the orders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, intelligence is developing plans to pursue Hamas leaders, especially in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar.

The newspaper confirmed that this is likely the beginning of a decade of Israeli secret operations around the world.

The French President stressed that “any escalatory behavior should be avoided, especially in Lebanon, and that France will continue to deliver these messages to all actors directly or indirectly concerned in the region.”

On Tuesday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to “avoid any escalatory behavior, especially in Lebanon,” following the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri, with an Israeli missile strike that targeted an office of the Palestinian movement in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The Elysee Palace said, following a phone call Macron made with the minister in the Israeli “war cabinet,” Benny Gantz, that the French president stressed that “any escalatory behavior should be avoided, especially in Lebanon, and that France will continue to deliver these messages to all actors, particularly concerned.” directly or indirectly in the region.

Al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas's political bureau, was assassinated in an Israeli strike on Tuesday evening that targeted an office of the Palestinian movement in the southern suburb of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Following the raid, Hezbollah said that this assassination is a “dangerous attack on Lebanon” and “will never pass without response and punishment.”

In its statement, the French presidency said that Macron repeated to the Israeli minister the call to “work to reach a permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas “with the help of all regional and international partners.”

Macron also reiterated his "very deep concern about the very high number of civilian deaths and the extremely urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza."

At the same time, the French President stressed, according to the Elysee statement, “France’s commitment to Israel’s security.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, “The United States rejects the recent statements by Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir calling for the resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza.”

The United States condemned statements made by two Israeli government ministers, in which they called for the return of Jewish settlers to Gaza after the end of the current war and “encouraged” Palestinians to emigrate from the Strip.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Tuesday, “The United States rejects the recent statements by Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir calling for the resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza.”

He added that these statements were "irresponsible."

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said, "Promoting a solution that encourages the exodus of Gazans is necessary. It is a correct, just, moral and humane solution."

He stressed that the exit of the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would also open the way for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands.

In 2005, Israel withdrew its army and about eight thousand settlers from the Gaza Strip, which it had occupied since 1967, as part of a unilateral withdrawal plan presented by then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Ben Gvir considered that "encouraging the migration of Gazans will allow us to return the residents of the border areas and the former Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip."

Ben Gvir's call came the day after a similar call made by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in which he said that Jewish settlers must return to the Gaza Strip after the end of the war, and the Palestinians of the Strip must be "encouraged" to immigrate to other countries.

Commenting on what the two Israeli ministers made, Miller said, “These statements are inflammatory and irresponsible.”

The US State Department spokesman added, "The Israeli government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly informed us that these statements do not reflect the position of the Israeli government."

The American spokesman stressed that the United States considers "Gaza to be Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land."

On Tuesday morning, an Israeli drone launched two air strikes on the town of Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon.

Two anti-tank missiles were fired towards the town of Shlomi in the Western Galilee, one of which exploded next to a building. Material damage was recorded, but no casualties were recorded, according to Israeli reports. The Israeli army responded with artillery shelling at the source of the shooting.

The Lebanese News Agency indicated that "hostile artillery shelling targeted the Sedana Hills area between Shebaa and Kafar Shuba."

Marches were launched in a number of West Bank governorates, Tuesday evening, amid calls for a comprehensive strike in the West Bank, following the assassination by the Israeli occupation of the Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Saleh Al-Arouri, in the southern suburb of Beirut.

The march toured the streets of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank, and young men gathered in front of the house of the martyr Saleh Al-Arouri in his birthplace in the village of Aroura, north of Ramallah. The voices of takbirs and chants denouncing the crime of assassination rose amid calls for the resistance brigades to respond to this crime.

The march began tonight from the Jenin camp, denouncing the crime of assassinating Al-Arouri and his companions in Beirut, while confrontations broke out between young men and the occupation forces in the Al-Aroub camp, north of Hebron, following a march denouncing the assassination, after the march reached the entrance to the camp.

On the other hand, the Fatah movement’s regions in the West Bank announced a comprehensive strike tomorrow, Wednesday, to denounce the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri, and the national and Islamic forces in several governorates announced a comprehensive strike and a day of general anger and rebellion, in response to the assassination of Al-Arouri.

The Committee of National and Islamic Forces and Institutions in Nablus, through the loudspeakers of the mosques, mourned Al-Arouri, declaring that tomorrow, Wednesday, is a day of comprehensive strike for all aspects of life, and it is a “day of escalation.”

Palestinian sources reported that the Hamas movement decided to freeze any talks with mediators about a ceasefire in Gaza and to reach a prisoner exchange deal with the Israeli occupation authorities, following the assassination of the movement’s leader, Saleh Al-Arouri.

An informed Palestinian source said, on Tuesday evening, that the Hamas movement informed the mediators of its decision to freeze all discussions about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip or a prisoner exchange deal with Israel. This came in a brief statement reported by Anadolu Agency.

This decision came a few hours after Israel assassinated the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, and two leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades, in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Before the assassination on Tuesday afternoon, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a recorded speech that his movement responded positively to the offers made by Egypt and Qatar regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, and conveyed to them its vision in this regard.

Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, are sponsoring efforts to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and the occupation authorities.

Earlier, Israel assassinated Al-Arouri and two leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades in a bombing in the southern suburb of the capital, Beirut.

The official Lebanese news agency reported that “a hostile Israeli drone targeted a Hamas office in the Musharrafieh area, resulting in the death of 6 persons.”

Hamas confirmed the assassination of Al-Arouri and two leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades (it did not name them), the armed wing of the movement. Sources close to the movement reported that the two Al-Qassam leaders who were killed with Al-Arouri were Samir Fandi and Azzam Al-Aqra’.

Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq denounced “the cowardly assassinations carried out by the Zionist occupation against the leaders and symbols of our Palestinian people inside and outside Palestine,” according to the movement’s website.

Before the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials and media accused Al-Arouri of being involved in planning operations against the army and settlers in the West Bank, calling for his assassination.

On October 31, the Israeli occupation army blew up Al-Arouri’s house in the town of Aroura near Ramallah, in the West Bank, days after a large-scale operation against Hamas in the village and turning the house into an interrogation center for them.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned this Tuesday evening the explosion that occurred in the southern suburbs of Beirut and led to a number of killed and wounded.

Mikati said: “This explosion is a new Israeli crime that definitely aims to bring Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations, after the ongoing daily attacks in the south, which lead to a large number of martyrs and wounded.”

Mikati added: “This explosion clearly implicates Lebanon and is a clear response to the efforts we are making to remove the specter of the ongoing war in Gaza from Lebanon. We call on the concerned countries to put pressure on Israel to stop its targeting. We also warn against the Israeli political level resorting to exporting its failures in Gaza towards the southern border to impose new facts and rules of engagement.

He stressed: “Lebanon is committed, as it has always been, to the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, especially Resolution 1701, but the one being asked for its breach and transgression is Israel, which has not yet had enough of killing and destruction, and it has become clear to far and near that the decision to go to war is in the hands of Israel, and what is required is Deter it and stop its aggression.”

Today, Tuesday, Israeli aircraft continued their raids on various areas in Khan Yunis Governorate, while Israeli artillery renewed its bombing of residential squares in the Al-Maghazi and Al-Nuseirat camps, targeting the vicinity of the displaced camps, resulting in dozens of dead and hundreds of injuries.

Israeli naval boats renewed their shelling of Deir al-Balah beach in the middle of the Gaza Strip, and the gunboats fired heavy shells towards the beach of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

On the 88th day of the Israeli war on Gaza, Palestinian resistance factions continued to confront the Israeli army forces, and violent clashes and fierce battles took place in various axes of the incursion.

This comes as the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced people doubled due to the cold and rainy weather in the Gaza Strip, where rain and winds destroyed and drowned the tents of the displaced in the Jabalia camp.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army committed 13 massacres in the Gaza Strip, leaving 156 dead and 246 injured, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.

Thus, the death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to 21,978 dead,and  56,697 wounded in the ongoing Israeli war since October 7, 2023.

Prime Minister Dr. condemned Muhammad Shtayyeh The assassination that took place in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital this Tuesday evening, and the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, and two of his companions were killed.

Shtayyeh described the operation as a crime that bears the identity of its perpetrators, warning of the risks and repercussions that may result from this crime.

Shtayyeh offered the Palestinian people, the Hamas movement, and the martyr’s family their deepest condolences and sincere feelings of sympathy, asking the Almighty God to cover him with His vast mercy and dwell him in His spacious Paradise.