A medical source reported that more than 40 dead, including 10 children, arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours.

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that 4 dead bodies and a number of injuries arrived at Nasser Hospital as a result of the targeting of a house for the Al-Najjar family in the Qizan Al-Najjar area, south of Khan Yunis. Among them were two children, one of whom was an infant. Two children, one of them an infant, were killed and 7 were injured in a bombing that targeted a house for the Al-Amoudi family in Han Yunis camp.

Nine citizens, including children, were also killed when the occupation targeted a house for the Miqdad family in the Al-Amal neighborhood, west of Khan Yunis. Two killed and a number of injuries arrived at Nasser Hospital as a result of the military aircraft’s bombing of a house belonging to the Amer family in the Khan Yunis camp.

The Israeli occupation aircraft renewed artillery bombardment in the areas east and center of Khan Yunis, coinciding with the continuation of air strikes.

In Deir al-Balah, two children were killed and a number of wounded arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as a result of the occupation targeting a house belonging to the Fatayer family in Deir al-Balah.

The occupation artillery also bombed several areas in the central region of the Gaza Strip, and the Al-Tuffah and Al-Daraj neighborhoods.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden commented on reports that Israel had begun flooding some tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater to destroy the tunnel network, which it claimed was being used by Hamas.

During a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden explained: “Although I heard assurances that there are no hostages currently being held in those tunnels, the administration has not been able to confirm this beyond a reasonable doubt...but I know that every death of a civilian "It is an absolute tragedy."

Biden noted that he held talks with Netanyahu “to focus on protecting civilian lives when possible, even in the wake of the atrocities committed in the October 7 Hamas attack.”

He added: “I think we have made the matter clear to the Israelis and they realize that the measures they take must be consistent with trying to do everything possible to prevent innocent Palestinian civilians from being harmed, killed, lost, etc.,” pointing to “a set of efforts made by his administration to ensure the delivery of aid.” humanitarian aid to Gaza," he also praised Israel and the Arab countries involved in providing aid, including food and fuel.

Biden confirmed that two senior American officials will travel to Israel this week to hold important meetings, namely National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, where he will meet with the Israeli War Cabinet “to reaffirm our commitment to Israel as well as the need to protect civilian lives and ensure the flow of more humanitarian aid and its arrival in Gaza.” for Palestinian civilians,” and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also travel to the region to “intensify international efforts to protect the free flow of trade through the Red Sea.”

CNN had quoted an American official as saying that “the Israelis informed the United States that they had begun conducting “meticulous tests” to flood some tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater “on a limited scale” to see if that would deteriorate the tunnel network on the ground. Wider scope.”

The official continued: The Israelis are still not sure whether this plan will succeed or not, but they have assured the United States that they are keen to test it only in tunnels in which they do not believe there are hostages being held.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated earlier that it is believed that 135 hostages are still being held by Hamas.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military claimed to have “destroyed at least 500 tunnel openings in Gaza and located more than 800 of them around the Strip.”

The war on Gaza has entered its 67th day amid violent clashes and international fears about the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli forces continue to bomb cities and governorates north and south of the Strip.

As the Israeli war on Gaza entered its third month, and the battles intensified, the obstacles to the war began to become clearer in Israel, despite the attempts of the political and security leaders, with the help of the army and its media machine, and the support of a large section of analysts in Israeli channels, to market claims of military achievements on the ground, and signs of the collapse of the movement. agitation.

The dilemmas facing decision makers currently are many. Among the most prominent of these are the scarcity of strategic achievements on the battlefield, the increasing human losses of the Israeli army, despite the massive destruction of infrastructure and life in the Gaza Strip, the increasing differences between political decision-makers in Israel, the deepening of the economic crisis, and the beginning of the political and diplomatic clock turning against the clock. Israel's desires, and the failure of Israeli deterrence attempts on the northern front against Hezbollah.

Military obstacles

At the beginning of the third month of the war on Gaza, the official number of Israeli army deaths since the beginning of the ground battle was approximately 110 dead, and thousands were wounded, including two thousand disabled, according to unofficial reports.

The Israeli military establishment is making a special effort in an attempt to promote the narrative of achievements on the battlefield, and claims that the capabilities of the Hamas movement are declining. In fact, Defense Minister Yoav Galant stated that there are initial indicators indicating the beginning of Hamas’ collapse.

In an attempt to search for images of victory, even if they were fabricated, the Israeli media vigorously promoted images of groups of civilians in Gaza, almost naked, and claimed that they were scenes of mass surrender of Hamas fighters, and bragged about this achievement. But the army quickly retracted this claim, explaining that the majority of these people had no connection to Hamas, and that they were citizens who were in shelters.

This obsession with images of victory or achievements indicates the beginnings of frustration in the media and society, which may turn into a state of pressure on decision-makers in Israel. The failure to achieve strategic military achievements on the ground prompted a number of military analysts to begin asking difficult questions that the army, government, and society have tried to ignore until now, the most important of which are the possibility of defeating Hamas, achieving the declared war goals, and the time frame of the war.

|| When the limitations of Israeli power become clear, the consensus on war will begin to erode

Israeli analysts doubted the possibility of Israel achieving its goals in the war it is waging against Gaza. Some analysts believed that the Hamas movement is still far from being broken, and that there is no possibility of its surrender at present. In fact, a number of analysts are warning that the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip is heading towards failure, pointing to the lack of political solutions, and considering that the goals seem far-fetched.

Some hinted that the military and political establishment does not tell the whole truth. In recent days, the Israeli media published estimates by the army in which it is expected that the year 2024 will be a “year of combat,” as it will continue its military operations within the framework of its war on Gaza, military alert, and widespread deployment on the northern front, amid expectations that all battalions affiliated with the reserve forces will be required to continue  military service over the next year. These estimates are very important, and dispel Israel's illusions of achieving real achievements in the short term on the battlefield.

These estimates indicate that the state of reserve force recruitment will continue during the next year, with continued human losses, and the issue of Israeli prisoners and kidnapped persons held by Hamas not being resolved.

It also means that a large portion of the population of the settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip and the border with Lebanon will remain outside it, and that there will be no relief for the economic crisis soon, which means more political rifts within the Israeli government, especially within the War Administration Council, and the real possibility of a clash between the goals of the Israeli government and the goals of the American administration. .

Political rifts under the management of the war

Currently, there are not minor rifts between decision-makers in Israel, especially between the Prime Minister, the Minister of Security, and the military establishment. It is a continuation of the state of mistrust between them since the protests against the government plan to restrict the judiciary, and the continuation of Netanyahu’s attempt to pin the accusation of the major failure of last October 7 on the military institution.

Netanyahu and Gallant do not hide the existing tension between them and the scarcity of bilateral meetings, despite the lack of serious public disagreement about the goals of the war and the method of its management. It is clear that the source of the differences is political, and their dimensions and goals are essentially political.

Economic obstacle

The economic situation in Israel is heading towards further deterioration, and this will put serious pressure on the decision-maker and on Israeli society, as there is a need for more budgets for the army and shelter for residents who have left their homes and towns in the south and north.

According to estimates, income and domestic product will decline in 2024, tax collection will decline, and there will be a need to adjust the government budget, raise the deficit, and perhaps raise taxes. Currently, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich continues to distribute special budgets to partners in the government coalition, to sectors that do not contribute to economic growth or to the war effort, not caring about the criticism or voices saying that the government’s management of finances will lead to dire results.

|| Israel is trying through diplomacy and threats to remove Hezbollah forces from the border

Until now, the general economic situation in the country, and the economic decline in the case of individuals and families, have not caused any dissatisfaction or protest. Israeli society prioritizes the need for military decisiveness, and everyone enlists in the war effort. But this does not mean that the situation will remain this way, especially among the business sector and families whose incomes have declined. If the war continues for a longer period, or the approach of the Minister of Finance continues as it is, the economic axis will be a pressure factor and a serious obstacle for decision-makers.

Fear of expansion of the northern front

One of the factors that have become urgent in recent days for security and military decision-makers in Israel is the state of the northern front facing Hezbollah, as the severity and frequency of Israeli threats to the party and Lebanon are increasing.

It is important to point out here that the threatening messages between Israel and Hezbollah did not begin only after the war on Gaza, but rather began, albeit at a low pace and intensity, several months before that. At the beginning of this year, the Minister of Security threatened the party with returning Lebanon to the Stone Age, and Hezbollah responded in the same language.

It has become clear that the question of the situation on the northern border has gone beyond the Israeli question of the war on Gaza, so that Israel declares that the issue now relates to the question of the presence of "Hezbollah" forces on the northern border without any relation to the war on Gaza. The residents of the north made it clear that the status quo could not continue, and that they would not return to their towns as long as there was a presence of Hezbollah forces, for fear of a new version of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, which would be more difficult and severe. Not to mention that the Israeli military doctrine based on the principle of deterrence no longer works against Hezbollah in the manner required by Israel.

Israel is faced with the dilemma of how to deal with this reality, between its limited capabilities and the need to restore its deterrence capacity, while it is engaged in the war on Gaza, and faces an American refusal to open the northern front. Israel is trying to find solutions through diplomacy and threats to push Hezbollah forces away from the border all the way to the Litani River in the north, and it knows that there is no possibility of this succeeding.

The possibility of expanding and deepening the northern front constitutes another obstacle to the continuation of the war on Gaza, because any expansion of the northern front will force Israel to transfer forces from the southern front to the north, as it has so far relied primarily on reserve forces that cannot confront Hezbollah forces alone, and of course directing Air capabilities towards the north.

As the ground battles continue, and the human cost to the Israeli army rises, the obstacles to the continuation of the war in its current form are revealed. Israel has so far acted as if it is the only effective force in the region, and that it has the necessary tools to continue the war and resolve it without deterrence.

The course of events indicates a different reality. Israel is discovering the difficulty of achieving military goals, its economic and diplomatic costs, and the erosion of its image globally. In parallel, Israel fears the expansion of the war northward and its greater costs. When the limitations of Israeli power and capabilities become clear, the Israeli consensus and absolute support for the war of revenge will begin to erode, and the rifts will widen. This may lead to shortening the war without ending it.

Source: Alaraby Aljadeed

Its institutions and values have decomposed, and its viability and ability to survive have been undermined.

This is what the international system looked like in the Gaza test.

The helplessness was almost absolute in the face of the most heinous crimes against humanity in modern times.

Within four years, three tests followed, revealing the extent of its deterioration and its inability to meet its requirements.

The “Covid-19” pandemic was a serious test of the efficiency of the international health system and the ability of the international system to provide humanitarian support in the face of mass death, which mercilessly struck large areas of the world, including Europe and the United States.

During the pandemic, disintegration struck the structure of the European Union, which was unable to show the minimum level of solidarity among its members.

At the same time, the United States did not show any willingness to extend a helping hand to the supposed allies, and there was no significant role for the United Nations.

This was an indication of the imminent collapse of the international system, in which Washington has held the reins of power alone since the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Then the international order was subjected to a second test in the Ukrainian war.

The question has been widely asked: Whose leadership belongs and what are the nature of the calculations and balances of power within it? But he remained suspended in the space of war, which expanded and its repercussions exhausted the entire world.

Neither the United States won its bets on humiliating Moscow, nor did Russia raise the white flags despite the harsh sanctions imposed on its exhausted economy.

In the Ukraine test, the United States brandished the weapon of sanctions against Beijing, as well as displays of force in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in order to deter any potential Chinese intervention, economically and militarily, that supports Moscow.

In the Gaza test, similar messages were sent to prevent any regional party from “exploiting the situation” after the shock of October 7th.

In both tests, the United States, despite the superior power elements it invested in planning, financing, and armament, did not succeed in achieving the goals it sought.

In Gaza, its image in the Middle East was damaged as never before.

This was a strategic loss that had consequences for its interests in the region.

To a similar extent, its actual leadership of the international organization was damaged, keeping it in a state of paralysis and impotence.

The resort of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to the use of Article 99 of its Charter, which authorizes him to alert the Security Council to any matter that he deems may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security, was nothing but a protest against the obstruction of the powers of the international organization with all its institutions to stop genocide, or to alleviate from the weight of the horrific human tragedy.

The step itself is a historical precedent, and it means that things have gone wrong and the powers of the United Nations system have been suspended.

The United States was blamed before any other international party by virtue of its leadership of the entire international system.

The most serious thing is the collapse of the founding values of the United Nations in preserving freedoms and human rights and ensuring the right of peoples to self-determination.

The targeting of journalists in Gaza and southern Lebanon called for widespread human and professional outrage without it being possible to open any international investigation that would hold accountable and deter.

The tragedy culminated in the disruption of specialized United Nations agencies from performing their duties, especially the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Criminal Court.

Hospitals were besieged and bombed, the war of starvation expanded to unprecedented limits, and any human rights were completely undermined without an influential voice being raised by the international organization to lend it credibility and respect.

The offices and schools of UNRWA, which was established specifically to provide relief to Palestinian refugees after the 1948 Nakba, were bombed, without a cry of protest indicating punishment.

With the power of the American veto and its influence, the Security Council failed to issue a resolution to stop the war.

Despite all this, after more than two months, Israel has not been able to achieve a single sign of victory.

It did not succeed in uprooting Hamas and freeing Israeli prisoners and hostages by force without paying heavy political prices.

It negotiated with them through mediators before breaking off the truces and returning to war.

With every failure in direct confrontations, the ferocity of targeting civilians increases.

The world can no longer tolerate an extension of the war, which has left tens of thousands of civilian victims dead, injured, and missing under the rubble.

According to US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, Israeli leaders must end the war within weeks, not months.

The political burdens of the war on Gaza have undermined the standing of the United States and Joe Biden’s chances of extending his term for a second term in the 2024 elections.

In answer to the question: What next? Ideas were put forward for circulation, some of which were a flight of illusions, such as the safe exit of the resistance, similar to what happened in 1982 after the occupation of Beirut and the deportation of the Palestine Liberation Organization to Tunisia.

The situation this time is completely different, as the resistance is fighting on its own land, not on any other land.

The scene of civilians being stripped naked to humiliate them under the pretext of belonging to Hamas and the expansion of indiscriminate, cold-blooded killing in the West Bank carried the opposite message: Fighting until the last martyr.

With the power of images, the vast differences between the treatment of Israeli prisoners and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons have disappeared.

This was a complete moral defeat.

Asking the question “the next day” seemed somewhat hasty: Who will fill the security and political vacuum in Gaza?

The war proved that the matter would not be as easy as previously imagined. Resistance is an original idea and is not imposed on Palestinian society.

Neither the re-occupation of Gaza is acceptable to the Americans, Europe, nor the Arabs, nor is the establishment of buffer zones acceptable to the American sponsor, nor is the exclusion of the Palestinian Authority and the replacement of Mahmoud Abbas with another man according to the specifications of the occupation that the Palestinian people can accept despite any broad objections to the performance of the Authority.

The demonstrations that took place in major Western capitals and cities, and within the United States itself, in support of and support for the Palestinian cause, confirmed the huge contradiction between the institutions of its countries and public opinion in them.

It is a signal of change under the political skin.

In other words, it is a new and warning sign of a crack in the international system.

Undermining that system without clarifying what comes after it.

China has no intention of filling the leadership role vacuum, nor does it have any foreseeable estimate of its costs and costs. The Chinese are content with monitoring roles from afar and positions of solidarity without getting involved in the Ukrainian and Palestinian wars.

Nor is Russia ready to open a new conflict front, even though it is one of the most strategic beneficiaries of the decline in the Ukrainian war, medially and politically, after the war on Gaza.

We are facing a complete disintegration of the structure of the international system that indicates widespread chaos to come, without any sign of a new birth to any foreseeable extent.

Source: Sama News

The Palestinian Information Center reported today (Wednesday) that 11 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of two homes in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

The center explained on its Telegram account that Israel bombed a house in the Al-Amal neighborhood, west of Khan Yunis, killing 9 people, according to what the Arab World News Agency reported.

He added that two Palestinians were killed and 7 were injured in an Israeli targeting of a house in Khan Yunis camp.

UN General Assembly which includes all 193 member states of the United Nations, voted by a majority of 153 votes in favor of the resolution; The resolution responds to an unprecedented call made by Guterres to the Security Council, to express his fear of “a complete and imminent collapse of public order” in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza, which the UN Security Council failed to achieve, increasing pressure on Israel and Washington.

Ten countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against the resolution, while 23 countries abstained from voting.

The General Assembly resolution calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” the protection of civilians, humanitarian access, and the “immediate and unconditional release” of all hostages.

However, like the text adopted by the General Assembly at the end of October, which called for “an immediate, permanent and sustainable humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities,” the current draft resolution does not condemn Hamas, a provision that Israel and the United States systematically criticize.

The US Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, asked, “Why is it difficult to say without ambiguity that killing infants and killing families in front of their children is a terrible thing?”

The Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, described the decision as “historic.”

Mansour told reporters after the issuance of the resolution, “Today was a historic day in terms of the strong message sent by the General Assembly. It is our collective duty to continue on this path until we see an end to this aggression against our people.”

The Americans had requested that the draft resolution be amended to include a condemnation of the “hateful terrorist attacks launched by Hamas” on October 7, but their request was rejected.

A request to amend a draft resolution to include a similar condemnation was also rejected at the end of October. Austria prepared another amendment aimed at indicating that the hostages in Gaza are being held by “Hamas and other groups.”

Arab countries had requested a special meeting of the General Assembly, after the United States used its veto on Friday against a draft Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”

Several countries and organizations defending human rights expressed their regret at the failure of the UN Security Council on Friday.

The Security Council needed more than a month after the start of the war to speak with one voice, and in mid-November, after rejecting four texts, it contented itself with requesting humanitarian “truces.”

More than two months after the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on October 7, Israel is still bombing the Gaza Strip and launching a ground attack in the Strip.

The United Nations constantly warns of a catastrophic situation in Gaza, where the humanitarian system is “on the verge of collapse.”

During his presentation of the draft resolution, Egyptian Ambassador Osama Mahmoud Abdel Khaleq Mahmoud denounced the delay in putting an end to “this war machine,” denouncing the efforts of a minority of countries and their opposition to international public opinion that supports the ceasefire.

A joint statement by the heads of government of Australia, Canada and New Zealand after they voted in favor of the resolution said: “The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians.”

But even with overwhelming support for a non-binding text, “no one imagines that the General Assembly can persuade Israel to cease fire, just as it cannot order Putin to leave Ukraine,” according to Richard Gowan, a researcher at the International Crisis Group.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate confirmed, today, Tuesday, the continued state of chaos and terrorism by the Israeli occupation army against the Palestinian media without any exception, as part of targeting the Palestinian people in its unjust aggression.

A statement issued by the union’s Freedoms Committee stated that the systematic destruction of media institutions continues by the occupation army, which is now targeting Palestinian printing presses licensed by the Palestinian Ministry of Information and operating in the West Bank.

The statement stated: The Freedoms Committee monitored and documented the occupation’s closure of 8 media printing presses, and the seizure and destruction of their equipment following their storming in the governorates of Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Al-Bireh, since the start of its comprehensive aggression against our people on the seventh of last October.

The head of the union’s freedoms committee, Muhammad al-Laham, said, “The occupation uses a bandit policy to destroy all media property, steal it, and cause the greatest damage to it,” noting that the occupation forces refused to hand over to the owners of the printing presses any book or document with the printing presses and the contents they seized, in a clear legislation for theft without even a decision from an occupying moot court. It also deliberately destroyed devices and contents.

Al-Laham estimated the value of the losses to the printing presses that were initially targeted by the occupation at about one million US dollars.

The Commission for Prisoners' and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said on Tuesday that the Israeli occupation authorities transferred three female detainees from Hebron to administrative detention, while extending the detention of a fourth to issue an administrative detention order against her.

The authority and the club stated in a joint statement that the occupation issued administrative detention orders for a period of four months against the female detainees: Jenin Muhammad Amr (21 years old), Angham Yousef Asafra (21 years old), and Shahad Muhammad Asafra (20 years old). Meanwhile, the detention of Baraa Jamal Karama (18 years old) was extended to examine the possibility of issuing an administrative detention order against her.

It is noteworthy that the occupation forces arrested the four girls on December 3, after storming their family homes in Hebron Governorate.

It is worth noting that the occupation continues to escalate the crime of detention, as the number of administrative detainees as of the end of last November reached more than 2,870 administrative detainees, noting that the number of administrative detainees before October 7 was about 1,320.

On Tuesday evening, Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Ya`bad, southwest of Jenin.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces stormed the town of Ya'bad, deployed an infantry squad on the western side of the town and set up ambushes between the houses. They also deployed infantry among the olive groves at the entrance to the town.

The storming of the town of Ya'bad comes in conjunction with the continuation of the Israeli aggression against the city of Jenin and its camp since dawn today, which resulted in the martyrdom of 7 citizens, the injury of others, and the arrest of more than 100 citizens.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced today, Tuesday, that the Israeli army stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and detained the hospital director, Ahmed Al-Kahlot, and all the medical staff, before taking dozens of health personnel “to an unknown destination outside the hospital.”

The ministry said this evening that “the Israeli occupation forces arrested the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital and took him to an unknown destination outside the hospital,” adding that “the occupation forces released 5 doctors as well as women health personnel, and took more than 70 health personnel outside the hospital to a destination.” "Unknown."

It stated, "The occupation forces asked the remaining cadres to gather all patients and staff in one building, and to evacuate the other buildings."

It added that "in addition to medical personnel, there are 65 wounded and 12 sick children in children's care, without electricity, water, or food."

The ministry added: "We fear that the Israeli occupation will create a new lie and narrative, which it will use as a pretext to commit crimes and destroy the hospital."

The Hamas movement said, "The Zionist occupation army's storming of Kamal Adwan Hospital is a desperate attempt to force our people to leave the north after its repeated failure."

“The occupation arrested a group of men from the medical staff.”

A nurse at the hospital said in statements she made to Al Jazeera, “The occupation arrested a group of men from the medical staff and is detaining them in the hospital courtyard.”

It stated that "only 8 nurses deal with the hospital's 65 patients, in addition to 12 children and 5 premature infants." The nurse pointed out that "the occupation is surrounding the hospital from all sides and tanks are at the doors."

It stressed that "there is no Palestinian gunman in the hospital, and we only deal with patients."

On December 5, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the Israeli forces penetrating the northern Gaza Strip had taken Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service “by force, terrorism, and tank nozzles.”

Palestinian medical sources reported on the same day that the Israeli army bombed with artillery and drones the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital, which led to “the fall of martyrs and the outage of its electricity,” according to the official Wafa news agency.

The Israeli army is escalating its targeting of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip, coinciding with a devastating war it is waging on Gaza, which, as of Tuesday evening, has left 18,412 dead, 50,100 injured, most of them children and women, massive destruction of infrastructure, and an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to the statement. Palestinian official sources.

The Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand said in a statement that they support urgent international efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The prime ministers stressed that the continued suffering of civilians in Gaza cannot be the price for the defeat of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), as they put it.

They stressed their opposition to any reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, reducing its area, or imposing forced displacement of Palestinians, and affirmed their support for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

They added that the ceasefire in Gaza should not be unilateral, and Hamas should release all its detainees, according to the statement.

White House officials told the Washington Post that US President Joe Biden does not show enough sympathy for Palestinian civilians, despite his sympathy for many people.

The United States says that photos of civilians being arrested in Gaza while they are almost naked are “deeply disturbing.”

At a fundraising event in Boston last week, Biden spoke passionately as he recounted the events of the attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7.

“There are reports of women being repeatedly raped, their bodies mutilated while they were alive, women's bodies being desecrated, and Hamas terrorists inflicting as much pain and suffering on women and girls as possible, then killing them,” Biden said.

The US President has repeatedly expressed his "sympathy and sadness for the suffering of Israelis" and "the concerns of Jews" around the world after the October 7 attacks.

But many Arab and Muslim Americans, as well as young voters and anti-war liberals, say the same empathy and conviction were often missing in Biden's rhetoric about the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, even as the death toll there rose to more than 17,000, including children.

Shibli Telhami, a researcher in Middle East affairs at the University of Maryland, said: “The president, other than his graphic description of Hamas’ horrific attack on Israeli victims... rarely spoke about Palestinian children torn apart, or hundreds of thousands of people without water or food,” adding: He talks about (the Palestinians) as if they were victims of an earthquake or a natural disaster, without linking them to what the Israeli government is doing thanks to his support and support.”

Muslims and Arab Americans feel that Biden's emotional tone and expressions of sympathy are starkly different when he talks about Israelis and Palestinians, especially with the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, where about 80% of Gaza's population has been displaced, and an increasing number of them lack basic necessities.

Some were particularly upset by the president's questioning several weeks ago of casualty figures provided by the Ministry of Health in Gaza. In response to a journalist's question about the rising death toll, the president replied, "I have no idea that the Palestinians are telling the truth about the death toll."

However, the Department of Health's numbers closely match the internal U.S. census.

According to US government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, in late November, the ministry estimated the death toll at more than 15,000.

The US said: “Officials presented the same number to Congress, saying it matched the latest assessment of US numbers.”

Many Arab and Muslim Americans felt that Biden was denying this by ignoring up to thousands of lives lost.

The next day, Biden apologized to a group of American Muslim leaders and promised to do better, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A White House official said that Biden's comment stems from the fact that the US government does not have anyone on the ground in Gaza to verify the numbers, and the fact that the Ministry of Health's numbers do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

When he talks about suffering and death in Gaza, Biden shows a reluctance to criticize Israel directly, which creates a growing disagreement with some of his employees, as many senior officials in the Biden administration have become more willing to point out Israel’s guilt, and to speak sympathetically with the Palestinians, since Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza struck the south with the same ferocity with which it struck the north.

On a recent trip to the Middle East, Vice President Kamala Harris declared that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” adding: “Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming out of Gaza are devastating.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking Dec. 2 at the Reagan National Defense Forum, also warned Israel that when it comes to civilians, “if it pushes them into the arms of the enemy, it is trading tactical victory for strategic defeat.”

During a recent visit to Tel Aviv, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recalled images of Palestinian children being pulled from under the rubble, saying: “When I look into their eyes through the television screen, I see my children.” Blinken also recently said that there is a “gap” between Israel’s stated intention to protect civilians and what is actually happening in Gaza.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said that Biden and his aides "continuously pressed our Israeli counterparts to do everything in their power to avoid civilian casualties."

US officials say this has led Israel to reduce the size of its ground forces in Gaza and allow in significantly more humanitarian aid.

But officials acknowledged that American warnings to Israel about casualties in southern Gaza were not heeded. The Biden team does not support imposing conditions on US aid to Israel or any other punitive moves that might increase pressure on its ally in the Middle East.

Source: RT

Reuters quoted US President Joe Biden as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must change his hard-line government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Biden stressed that the current government is the most extremist government in the history of Israel and does not want a two-state solution.

He added that the Israeli government began to lose support from the international community due to the indiscriminate bombing in the Gaza Strip that led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, and that he spent hours speaking with Qatari and Egyptian mediators to secure the release of more than 100 detainees held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

During his speech at a fundraising event in Washington, Biden said that the safety of the Jewish people is currently at stake, as he put it.

In addition, Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted the American President calls on the Prime Minister to change his government and says that Netanyahu cannot say no to a Palestinian state in the future.

Biden: Israel is starting to lose support around the world

Biden: Netanyahu must strengthen and change the Israeli government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Biden: The safety of the Jewish people is literally at stake

Yesterday, in an interview with the foreign press, government spokesman Elon Levy denied that Israel intends to transfer Palestinian residents from the Gaza Strip, and said that all this talk is “a lie and a scandal.” Levy's words came in response to a question directed to him, and to the accusations of the Jordanian Foreign Minister that Israel has "an intentional policy of expelling the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip during the war."

In fact, the words of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi intersect with concerns expressed by diplomats of other countries regarding Israel's attempt to expel the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, or encourage them to immigrate to other countries. The Israeli Embassy in Washington was forced to issue a clarification last month regarding an article published by Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, in which she proposed a “voluntary transfer” of Gaza residents. The embassy said that the article did not represent government policy.

Three diplomats from Western countries that have supported Israel since the beginning of the war confirmed to Haaretz that the issue was raised in talks with senior Israeli officials in recent weeks, and the Israeli minister’s words were not the only reason. Fear has emerged among more than one Western government that the Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Drimmer, who is close to Netanyahu, is studying the possibility of encouraging immigration. In response to a question asked by these governments about this matter, Dreamer completely denied the matter.

Egypt also expressed its concern about Israel's attempt to push the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip towards its borders. The issue was raised in talks between Egyptian officials and the American administration in light of the expansion of the Israeli military operation southward, and near the Gaza Strip’s borders with Egypt. Vice President Kamala Harris also confirmed in her meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi her opposition to any attempt to expel citizens from the Gaza Strip or encourage immigration to other countries. This is in addition to the United States’ opposition to establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza, changing the border line in the Strip, or permanently occupying it by Israel.

Levy's denial was categorical, and he considered the Jordanian warnings of the consequences of expelling the Palestinian population from Gaza as "false and scandalous accusations." He added that Israel encourages the population to move to safe areas and stay away from combat zones, and it does not encourage them to move to another country.

One diplomat familiar with the matter told Haaretz that Levy's words were "encouraging and important, but if Israel wants to reassure its friends in the world, it must say it through higher-ranking people and in Hebrew."

An investigation conducted by the French newspaper “Liberation”, published on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, revealed that the allegations issued by Israel regarding the occurrence of atrocities in the “Operation Flood Al-Aqsa” attack, on the seventh of last October, were false, and their aim was to mobilize Israeli and international public opinion for violent retaliation against Gaza.

The newspaper’s investigation revealed that “no heads were cut off, no children were placed in ovens, no pregnant women’s stomachs were cut open, or no children’s hands were tied behind their backs.”

The newspaper also revealed that "during the October 7 attack, only one infant was killed out of 40 minors killed in the attack."

The investigation conducted by the newspaper's "Investigation Department" noted the inconsistency of a number of testimonies given by Israeli parties, in addition to the fact that many of them were false, according to data collected over the course of two months after the attack.

The newspaper concluded that “these false atrocities claimed by Israel were part of Israeli propaganda aimed at mobilizing international support,” stressing that this propaganda campaign involved soldiers from the occupation forces and members of the Civil Defense, along with senior political officials. Then the newspaper asked: “Did Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, and the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, participate in spreading these lies?”

It is not the only investigation

The French newspaper’s investigation was not the only one that refuted the occupation’s allegations. Rather, the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” refuted, in an investigation published on Sunday, December 3, 2023, what Tel Aviv promoted about allegations of beheading Israeli children and burning their bodies during the Hamas attack on settlements around the Gaza Strip on October 7, stressing that this narrative is “incorrect and has no basis in reality.”

The newspaper said that what happened that day led to the spread of "horror stories, none of which happened in reality." Israel relied largely in justifying its devastating war on the Gaza Strip on these allegations, which the investigative investigation revealed to be untrue.

Spreading lies

The newspaper indicated that the alleged stories about “committed atrocities,” some of which were based on details provided by Israeli officials, soldiers in the occupation army, and volunteers in search and rescue teams.

The newspaper revealed that some of these allegations were found to be unfounded, and the occupation army also acknowledged that one of these false stories was spread based on allegations made by at least one Israeli soldier.

The Israeli non-governmental organization ZAKA, which works in the field of relief and rescue and volunteered to work at the sites of the attacks, said that some of its members “may have misunderstood” what they saw; Because they are not forensic specialists.” The newspaper notes that workers in the organization gave testimonies to the media.

The newspaper points out that one of the most prominent stories that people circulated about the events based on unreliable testimonies and misleading information is the story of the killing of some Israeli children and infants.

False testimonies of soldiers

The newspaper drew attention to a report published by the Israeli "i24" news channel a few days after the attack, which claimed that the attackers beheaded 30 children, and this alleged news quickly made headlines around the world.

The newspaper adds, “Despite growing doubts about the veracity of this story, other unreliable testimonies began to appear about alleged atrocities committed against children and infants, the most prominent of which was testimony given by Colonel (res.) Golan Fach, head of the Israeli military search and rescue unit, who claimed he saw the burned bodies of infants.”

Then, last week, an Israeli reporter published an interview with a soldier who claimed to have seen a group of “children and infants hanging on a clothesline,” according to the British website Middle East Eye.

Haaretz confirmed that these allegations are false, and information collected by the Israeli National Insurance Institute and investigations by police and kibbutz leaders revealed that these bodies are almost finished identifying the Israelis killed on October 7, yet they have only identified an infant. One of the dead so far.

The newspaper explains, "The children who were killed that day included a 4-year-old child, two 6-year-old children, and two 5-year-old children. The majority of the children killed were between 12 and 17 years old, and some of them were killed by missiles."

Haaretz also quoted an Israeli military spokesman - whose name was not mentioned - as saying that the soldier who claimed to have seen “children hanging on a clothesline” was a reservist and did not speak in an official capacity, and the Israeli army denied his allegations.

When the Israeli military spokesman was asked about what Colonel Fach, who claimed to have seen burned infants, said, the spokesman said he made a mistake and said “infants,” but he meant “children.”

“American public opinion is boiling, but the press does not see the steam,” as Biden’s popularity declines significantly among his most loyal base, so that the American president appears to be at risk of an electoral disaster due to the loss of youth votes, but what is strange is that the main American media monitors the decline in his popularity, but they underestimate The effect of the Gaza war on the elections seems deliberate.

Reports on opinion poll numbers show that the current US President, Joe Biden, is facing an unprecedented problem, which is the decline in his popularity among young voters, leftists and minorities, especially Muslims, which are the groups that contributed to his victory over former US President Donald Trump, according to a report by the website. the American Real News.

In the 2020 election, Biden's popularity with young voters was about 20 points higher than Trump's; But now, Biden is effectively on par with Trump when it comes to support from young voters in 5 key swing states.

Biden's popularity is declining... This is agreed upon

The headlines are not looking good for the president. The New York Times warned that “Trump is leading in 5 critical states where voters are critical of Biden, as the Times/Siena poll showed.”

The headline of another article published in Politico read: “Biden’s Big Hole, and How to Get Out of It.” Voters' malaise predates Biden's issuance of a blank check for Israel's current war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas-led surprise attack on October 7, and escalated dramatically with Israel's subsequent blockade, invasion and brutal bombing campaign. But the situation has become much worse recently, which has raised alarm bells among donors and party leaders.

But the American media does not ask why

The Real News website says, “Recent reports on bad Biden polls in The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, ABC News, New York Magazine, and the Financial Times completely ignore the role of Biden’s support for the Gaza bombing.

None of the surveys mentioned specifically asked respondents about Biden's role in Israel's scorched-earth bombing and Gaza blockade.

This decline in support for the incumbent president is certainly newsworthy in itself, but what could cause so many potential voters to become dissatisfied with Biden?

It tries to focus on broad, traditional issues

The vast majority of mainstream reporting attempts to answer this question by pointing to broader indicators of voter concerns such as election integrity and voting rights, gun policy, crime, immigration, abortion, climate change, and, most vaguely, foreign policy.

What most of these same reports miss is an explanation of the specific role that Joe Biden's support for the massacre in Gaza almost certainly plays in this free fall in support given to him by young voters, progressive voters, and Muslim and Arab voters, according to the American site report.

He ignores that the main reason is the Gaza war, in light of indications of democratic anger

None of the above polls specifically asked respondents how much Biden's popularity with them was affected by his role in Israel's bombing of Gaza, the scorched earth policy, and the blockade of the Strip. Instead, they focused on general issues such as economic distress and perpetual “swinging” issues. These are all impressive enough, but they may not be enough to explain how poorly the president has performed, especially among young voters.

And all this, despite the fact that major indicators indicate that there are real shifts taking place in the base of the Democratic Party.

A March Gallup poll found that “Middle East Democrats now sympathize more with the Palestinians than with the Israelis, 49% to 38%.” A separate Data for Progress poll conducted on October 18-19 found that 80% of Democrats either “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” with the following statement: “The United States should call for a ceasefire and stop escalating violence in Gaza. The United States must take advantage of its close diplomatic relationship with Israel to prevent further violence and civilian deaths.

However, Biden — and the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Congress — are blatantly not keeping pace with these shifts among their base.

Muslims vowed not to vote for Biden

As NBC News noted, “Muslim and Arab Americans, who overwhelmingly supported Biden in 2020, have threatened not to vote for him next year because of what they say is a lack of US action to stop the killing of Palestinian civilians.”

A new survey of Democrats in Michigan found that his support is declining among Arab Americans, and the state is considered a stronghold for them, and at the same time it is a swing state, and it may play a pivotal role in deciding the elections.

But most reports in the mainstream US media leave one with only a partial picture of what could lead to this “deteriorating” support, but Al Jazeera recently produced a clip depicting the anger and disgust among the Arab Democratic voting base. And Muslims in the swing state of Michigan. It's definitely worth watching, according to the American site.

In a powerful op-ed published in In These Times on October 25, Saqib Bhatti, co-executive director of the Action Center on Race and the Economy, declared unequivocally: “I will not vote for Joe Biden in 2024.” “There are few things as dehumanizing as when a politician you voted for gives the green light to the genocide and deliberate starvation of children who could be your children,” Bhatti wrote. “For many, like me, Gaza is the last straw.”

Even if statisticians and pollsters are not sure that Biden's decline in popularity is due to his policy regarding the Gaza war, and that it is a major factor in the decline in his approval ratings, it is certainly at least a possible factor that deserves some mention, according to the American website.

Ignoring this fact weakens the pressure on the White House to stop the war

The site says that the absence of these points of view from popular media discourse is not an easy matter; It has enormous political consequences.

That the mainstream US media has ignored the fact that Biden's popularity has been damaged by his role in the destruction of Gaza - and his continued support for the killing of thousands of civilians, including large numbers of children - is astonishing, especially when this downside is so easily inferred by almost every poll.

This reduces pressure on the White House, and those in power can view the status quo as politically sustainable.

The American public is deprived of having its voice heard

The problem is that the American public is denied the opportunity to express its opinion about the large-scale massacre that the United States supports while it is taking place. Voting, with all its flaws, can serve as a useful accountability mechanism, and popularity (or lack thereof) can drive public policy decisions.

But it is impossible to record popular anger over Gaza when pollsters do not ask about it, and the American media ignores this when they try to solve the mystery of Biden’s declining popularity among an electoral base that was loyal to him and furthest from Republicans.

The Real News website says that it is unfortunate that politicians are more affected by electoral consequences than by convincing moral arguments or defamation.

The position of the mainstream American media has become untenable, according to the American website, especially since it ignores the escalation of anger led by American youth, and tries to avoid the media monitoring the reality of genocide, denying and discussing the death toll as bodies pile up in the thousands, and in addition to ignoring the attempt to ban the proposed TikTok application. Claiming his support for the Palestinians.

There is a dearth of coverage that takes the anger of an influential segment of the American public seriously as a political force, even as tens of thousands take to the streets, and creative acts of protest are spreading on an astonishing scale across the United States, with landmarks from New York's Grand Central Terminal to downtown Chicago. To the Statue of Liberty, to arms manufacturers, to ports, and to the offices and homes of members of Congress.

The website says that we are witnessing a huge surge in anti-war mobilization, in the United States and abroad, that is difficult to track.

The matter has reached a boiling point and threatens to cause Democrats to lose their base

For those who are paying attention, it is clear that liberal and progressive despair over the rising rate of death and suffering in Gaza has reached a boiling point. The problem is that the powers that be are not listening, and much of the media is working to ensure that the scale of this despair is reduced to zero.

The website adds that any party, organization, or class of political power brokers who do not pay attention to this reality is bound to lose a large portion of their base (referring to the Democratic Party).

As for the press, by insulating the broader public from this apparent emerging dynamic that is driving, at least in part, polls showing Biden's declining popularity, it not only helps mask the political downside of supporting mass killing in Gaza, but potentially prevents any course correction. 

Source: Arabic Post

Today, Tuesday, dozens of settlers stormed Tel Ma'in in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, and held their Talmudic prayers, while the occupation closed the roads between the population centers.

Local sources said that dozens of settlers stormed Tel Ma'in, set up a "menorah" in the place, and performed their Talmudic rituals, while the occupation forces set up military barriers on the main roads and entrances to the population centers in Al-Musafer, and prevented the people from moving.

The settlers continue their provocative tours in all the ruins and communities in Masafer Yatta, and their pursuit of sheep herders and farmers.

The official spokesman for the Palestinian Presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said that the statements made by Netanyahu, in which he said that the occupation army is preparing for a possible confrontation with the Palestinian Authority security services in the West Bank, clearly express his premeditated intentions, and the existence of an Israeli decision to ignite the West Bank, in order to complete the war. The comprehensive attacks launched by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people, their land, and their sanctities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem.

Abu Rudeina added that Netanyahu’s statements in which he referred to the establishment of a civilian authority affiliated with the occupation in the Gaza Strip are condemned and rejected, and constitute a challenge to the international community as a whole, and to the declared positions of the American administration, which announced its refusal to reoccupy Gaza or cut off any part of it.

He stressed the position of President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he affirmed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the land of the State of Palestine, and that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

He pointed out that these statements come within the context of the ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, including killings and arrests of Palestinian citizens, raids into cities, villages and camps, forced displacement of residents, especially in the Jordan Valley, and withholding of Palestinian clearing funds.

The official presidential spokesman said that the Israeli occupation authorities will drag the region into endless wars and threaten international peace and security.

Abu Rudeina called on the American administration to assume its responsibilities and oblige the Israeli occupation authorities to stop their escalating crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, because they are the only party capable of stopping the aggression.

He pointed out that the use of the United States of America's veto power was what gave the Israeli occupation the green light to continue the war, aggression, and crimes, which exceeded all the prohibitions of international law, stressing that the decision to stop the war is in the hands of the American President first and foremost.

- -

For its part, the Hamas movement said, “Netanyahu’s statements, in which he indicated the readiness of the occupation army to attack the Palestinian Authority and its security services in the West Bank, confirm the occupation’s intentions to target our Palestinian people, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, and that it does not even care about those who accepted a political settlement with them.” He seeks to consolidate the occupation in our occupied territories, especially Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

In a statement, Hamas called on the Palestinian Authority and its security services to “overcome the effects of the Oslo Accords, stop all forms of security coordination with the occupation, and move to the square of comprehensive resistance and mobilize all energies to confront the occupation and its herds of settlers until the land and holy sites are liberated and the aspirations of our people are fulfilled by extracting our full national rights from the occupation.” He only understands the language of force."

5 young men and a child were dead and at least 5 people were injured, including seriously, in Jenin, as a result of being bombed by an occupation drone and gunfire from the invading forces on Tuesday morning.

The last killed was Fouad Imad Abahra (36 years old) after the occupation prevented the ambulance from transporting him to the hospital for half an hour after he was injured in the thigh and left without treatment until he died. A sick child Ahmed Muhammad Samar (13 years old) was obstructed by Israeli army to reach the hospital to receive treatment. 

This comes after the occupation army stormed Jenin and its camp from the dawn hours of Tuesday until this afternoon, amid an exchange of gunfire with Palestinian youths and the arrest of a number of young men.

The Israeli occupation army, the Shin Bet, and the Border Guard issued a statement this afternoon, Tuesday, saying, “Tonight we began an operation against terrorism in the Jenin camp and city. A drone attacked a cell of terrorists that threw explosive devices toward our forces. So far, we have detected weapons ammunition and an explosives manufacturing workshop were destroyed.

The army indicated in its statement that so far dozens of suspects have been arrested.

The director of Jenin Hospital, Wissam Bakr, reported earlier that four young men arrived at the hospital as a result of being directly targeted by a drone. Among them were Rafiq al-Dabbous, Mahmoud Abu Srour, Bakr Siddiq Zakarneh, and Thaer Abu al-Tin.

Washington expects that the most intense phase of the Israeli war on Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip will be reduced in early next January, to become more targeted, according to what American officials confirmed to the British newspaper “Financial Times” on Tuesday.

Officials say that Israel still has what they described as “legitimate military targets” in southern Gaza, justifying its ongoing attack around Khan Yunis and other areas where senior Hamas activists are believed to be hiding, but Washington expects a shift in tactics away from a full-scale ground attack. Most likely in January, there will be successive raids to pursue senior Hamas leaders and other high-value targets, according to what officials who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity confirm.

A senior US administration official says: “Now is the most intense phase,” stressing that at some point, the approach will be different, with fewer forces on the ground.

In addition, a senior Israeli official says that there is no disagreement between the United States and Israel regarding the objectives of the operation, which are to eliminate Hamas, end its ability to rule the Gaza Strip or attack Israel. He adds: “There is a high level of understanding of what we are doing,” stressing that Israeli officials inform their American counterparts about the operations they are carrying out several times a week.

While American officials stress that they do not want to see Israel occupy Gaza, they acknowledge that a temporary occupation may be necessary until long-term arrangements are reached with Arab countries and other partners.

Israel said it expects security control over the Gaza Strip indefinitely, but American officials stress that this does not mean a long-term occupation.

The Financial Times quotes a senior American official as saying that the Israelis understand that controlling Gaza does not mean being there, but rather retaining the right to enter it.

Expectations that Israel will change its tactics come at a time when US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is preparing to visit the region again this week to hold discussions about the war and preparations for the period that follows. He is expected to urge the occupation government to be more precise in its military operations, and to allow greater humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

It seems that the war in Gaza will soon witness a new humanitarian truce, and a deal to exchange detainees and prisoners between Israel and Hamas, in light of what informed Egyptian sources spoke to “Sky News Arabia” about Tel Aviv’s request for Cairo’s mediation in order to complete a new deal for the detainees.

Farag notes in a statement to "Sky News Arabia" that Egypt is working on a ceasefire project that it will present to the Security Council in the coming hours, and is mobilizing extensively for it internationally until it is passed. Egypt is leading the political and diplomatic movements in order to establish calm and a ceasefire within Gaza Strip, and these efforts face many difficulties and challenges, perhaps the most prominent of which is that the Hamas movement was the one who started it, and there was a determination on the part of Israel to respond and preserve the army’s position that was lost during this war, according to Faraj.

But Egypt is making every effort today, in communication with all international and regional parties and in continuous communication with the American administration, as well as security and intelligence efforts, in order to reach a permanent ceasefire.

Egyptian moves for new mediation

Sky News Arabia learned from informed Egyptian sources that Israel requested the mediation of Egypt and Qatar to conclude a prisoner exchange deal within the framework of a new humanitarian truce.

The sources explained that the Egyptian side has already engaged in new mediation with the Qatari and American sides to implement a new prisoner exchange deal soon between Hamas and Israel.

The sources indicated expected meetings between Israel, Egypt, and Qatar, under American sponsorship, soon in this context.

A humanitarian truce between Hamas and Israel that lasted for a week and ended on December 1 witnessed the release of 105 hostages from Gaza, including 80 Israelis, in exchange for Israel releasing 240 Palestinian prisoners.

But efforts to extend the truce have faltered, and Israel says at least 137 hostages are believed to still be held by Hamas.

The nature of Egyptian movements

Egyptian journalist specializing in Arab affairs, Ahmed Gomaa, says that Cairo is continuing its intensive contacts and movements to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allow the entry of more urgent humanitarian aid and the fuel necessary to operate hospitals and important government facilities inside Gaza.

Egyptian efforts, according to Gomaa, are taking place in parallel with political and diplomatic movements that believe that the only way to resolve this conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis will not be resolved by force. On the contrary, the only way will be to return to the negotiating table to discuss ways to activate the two-state solution and establish an independent Palestinian state on 4 borders. June 1967.

A new prisoner exchange deal

Egypt is working at an accelerated pace to convince the Palestinian and Israeli sides of the necessity of engaging in a prisoner exchange deal between the two parties to resolve this issue, which will push towards a truce between the Palestinian factions and the Israeli side during the coming period.

The Palestinian leadership and citizens in the Gaza Strip are counting on the success of the Egyptian mediation in stopping the war on Gaza as quickly as possible, in light of the major collapse in all vital facilities and infrastructure, with Israel imposing a policy of siege, starvation and starvation of the residents of Gaza to force them to migrate and forcibly move out of their land.

There are great fears of the outbreak of a regional war as a result of the continued American support for the war waged by Israel on Gaza, which could push towards a state of instability for a long period. Perhaps the escalation against American facilities and interests in Iraq and Syria is conclusive evidence and a dangerous indicator of the possibility of the outbreak of an armed conflict led by Regional parties whose fuel is the Palestinian factions in Gaza or armed entities in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Source: Sky News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged today, Tuesday, that there are differences between his government and the administration of US President Joe Biden over what he described as “the day after Hamas” in the besieged Gaza Strip, in reference to who might be entrusted with managing the Gaza Strip  after the genocidal war waged by Israel against the besieged Strip.

Netanyahu reiterated his assertion that Tel Aviv, under his leadership, will not “repeat the Oslo mistake,” as he put it, and will work to prevent the administration of the Gaza Strip by a Palestinian party, considering that the Gaza Strip will not turn into “Hamastan or Fatehistan, after the enormous sacrifices made by our citizens and fighters” according to his expression.

Netanyahu stressed that his government would not allow “those who teach terrorism, support terrorism, and finance terrorism to be brought into Gaza,” referring to the Palestinian Authority, and said: “Yes, there are disagreements with Washington about ‘the day after Hamas,’ and I hope that we will reach an agreement.” There was also an understanding on this issue.”

This came in a video speech issued by Netanyahu’s office, in which he expressed his “appreciation for the support provided by the United States to Israel to destroy Hamas and return the Israeli hostages” in the Gaza Strip, and added, “After intensive talks with President Biden and officials in his administration, we obtained full support for ground entry.” And reduce the international pressure we are subjected to, to end the war.”

On Tuesday, the government media office in Gaza accused the Israeli army of “deliberately” assassinating 86 journalists during the war on the Strip, in an attempt to obscure the truth, and called on press unions to pressure Israel to release the detained journalists.

The office said in a statement published on the Telegram platform: “The Israeli occupation army deliberately assassinated 86 journalists and newspapers during the brutal war on the Gaza Strip with the aim of assassinating the Palestinian narrative and an attempt to obscure the truth and prevent information and news from reaching regional and global public opinion.”

It considered that this represents "an attempt to intimidate journalists in the field and force them to remain silent, but Palestinian journalists have contributed in an unprecedented way to exposing the crimes of the occupation against civilians, children and women with all courage, boldness and heroism."

It continued, "As part of the fight against Palestinian journalists, the Israeli occupation army arrested 6 journalists during the war on Gaza, whose identities have not yet been known, in clear and flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions that grant journalists legal immunity while covering field events."

The office sent "a tribute of respect, admiration and appreciation to the journalists, media figures and activists who succeeded greatly in exporting the Palestinian narrative, breaking the occupation's narrative, and exposing its crimes against civilians, children and women, and now the whole world knows the truth."

We also denounce and condemn "in the strongest terms the occupation's crimes against Palestinian journalists, whether male or female, by assassinating, arresting, targeting, or injuring them."

It called on press and media unions and organizations around the world to “condemn the crimes of the Israeli occupation against Palestinian journalists, and to pressure it to release detained journalists who are subjected to investigation, torture, and psychological pressure inside prisons and detention centers.”

Yesterday, the government media office in the Gaza Strip announced, on Monday, that the number of journalists killed during the Israeli war had risen to 86 journalists since October 7, the last of whom was Muhammad Abu Samra, who was killed on Sunday by Israeli targeting.

I remember that I have taken a particular interest in recent years in the question of the extent to which governments and parties need a spokesperson. Over time, with the expansion of the debate and the accumulation of practices, many in the Arab world have begun to seriously pose a more radical question: why do we need ministries of information in the first place?Here, before going back to the models we had seen in the Arab world before the “setback of” 1967, or “Pravda” and “Izvestia” of the former Soviet Union, I would venture to say that what we have been hearing and seeing in many press conferences held in Western democracies... is not at all better than what we had heard from the “media” in the sixties.

In the Cold War era, audiences understood that the media they were consuming was controlled by totalitarian authorities and that everything they read or heard was more “a point of view” or “justification for a political position” than it was objective reporting or solid analysis. Today, however, the audience finds itself facing a whole host of problems, the most prominent of which are...Firstly, strategic political interests, especially those of the major powers, have not changed and are not expected to fundamentally change, despite the development of media technologies and the challenges of “packaging” and “falsifying” them. Thus, justifying these interests and 'polishing' and promoting them - even with a considerable fabrication - is not as different today than it had been in the past as we might assume.Secondly, Western political culture, which many of us have had the opportunity to experience and whose benefits many of us have enjoyed, is not as absolutely perfect as we may have imagined as we stood before it in awe. 

While it appears civilized, sophisticated, and tolerant under normal circumstances, it sheds these layers of civilization, sophistication, and tolerance when tensions escalate and hostility intensifies. This is exactly what we are seeing today, not only in the atrocities committed against civilians, hospitals, schools, and places of worship in the occupied Palestinian territories, but also in blatantly government crackdowns on freedom of speech in US universities, the British media, and the shameless advertising boycotts aimed at silencing dissent.Thirdly, the blackmail and censorship (even criminalization) referred to above were a natural outcome of a series of developments following the end of the Cold War and the rise of the US as a “unipolar” power after the fall of the Soviet Union. In the past, Washington's pretext for building Israel's military arsenal was “maintaining the balance of power in the Middle East.” 

Since Moscow's fall, however, Washington has begun to openly talk about “the need to maintain Israel’s superiority,” completely disregarding the ”power balance” narrative. Moreover, in the fall of 1975, before Washington became a unipolar power, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 3379, which labeled Zionism a form of racism, and called on every country in the world to resist Zionist ideology, which the Resolution asserted was a threat to global peace and security.

However, after the collapse of the Soviet challenge, Washington forced the repeal of this resolution in 1991. From then on, we have seen a shift in the opposite direction, with criticism of Zionism being seen as racist. This push has gained so much momentum that today, any criticism of the Israeli government, regardless of the politics behind it, is seen as an 'anti-Semitic' offense that should be criminalized.Fourthly, the events of October 7th have been exploited to launch a war that has led to unprecedented levels of destruction and displacement, though most of the Arab world sincerely condemned it at the time and it became clear that Hamas officials had not been informed about it.Indeed, the killing and displacement have yet to stop... despite several lies and rumors about the operation being exposed, as well as intelligence reports presenting findings that turned out to be inaccurate or false. Some of these reports referred to the fact that some of Gaza's tunnels had been dug by Israel during its occupation of the Strip, as former Prime Minister Ehud Barak has admitted, and the intelligence narrative relocating Hamas’s alleged command center from the Al-Shifa Hospital to Khan Yunis!Fifthly, defying the global public and a substantial segment of the US public, Washington insisted on using its veto to prevent an end to the exacerbating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza after nearly 18,000 people were killed in two months. 

The justification given by Washington for its veto against the Arab project premised purely on humanitarian grounds, was that it was “politically unbalanced” because it did not condemn Hamas... and thus “paves the way for another war”!In any case, even though the “pretext” of the US representative was an insult to the intelligence of everyone who heard it, it remains far less problematic than the statements of White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, John Kirby, who said at press conference, without batting an eye: “Tell me — name me one more nation, any other nation, that’s doing as much as the United States to alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Gaza? You can’t. You just can’t.”

After all this, do we still need official spokespeople, responsible media, and respect for logic... let alone humanity and international law??

The “next day” is an expression that has been haunting us for weeks. While it is still general and ambiguous, its features will most likely consist of a number of elements.Those will be determined by the questions raised by the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by Hamas on October 7th; by the results of the Iron Swords that Israel unleashed in response to the unprecedented attack in the history of confrontations between Israel and the Palestinian organizations; and by the conclusions that the major powers have drawn from this war, which is taking place on the verge of a widespread regional collapse.The expression is ambiguous because the war is still open; because expanding the killing for additional weeks may change its current features or consolidate them.

The Arab ministers have so far refused to talk about the “next day”, considering that the priority must be an immediate cessation of the war. This does not negate the fact that the phrase is raised in official meetings and repeated in diplomatic corridors. The “next day” is coming, no matter how late.Washington is trying to chart the features of that day. 

It intervened to prevent the Gaza war from turning into a regional war. It provided Israel with unlimited military support. It also offered it political and diplomatic backing, reaching a provocative position by thwarting a draft ceasefire resolution in the Security Council despite the massacre of civilians and children. Washington is moving to revive the two-state solution and exclude Hamas from the scene of the “next day.”Positions and remarks showed that no one has a detailed and clear vision of the stage that will follow the cessation of the war in Gaza. 

There are those who believe that the phrase clearly means another Gaza, in which Hamas is neither armed nor in leadership position. But the expression becomes more ambiguous when talking about alternatives.Will Israel return to occupying the Gaza Strip and installing a civil administration there? It is an option that the major powers oppose and consider a kind of return to experimenting with what has been tried. In addition, the position of President Mahmoud Abbas is clear and categorical: the Palestinian Authority will neither intervene on board Israeli tanks, nor will it assume any role in a scenario that separates the fate of Gaza from that of the West Bank, without a practical mechanism for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Authority is unwilling to play an incomplete and dangerous role, and is also incapable of it. Moreover, it is clear that there is no room for an Arab role on the land of Gaza the “next day”, unless in the context of the establishment of an independent state. As for resorting to an international force to administer Gaza, Israel will reject it in light of its experience in South Lebanon.Among the informed diplomats are those who believe that the “next day” will begin with disappointments and bitterness. 

Israel’s success in destroying Gaza will not exempt it from the painful hour of obligations. Successive Israeli governments conducted a series of wars to assassinate the project of an independent Palestinian state before it was born. It contributed to the marginalization of the Authority and the launching of settlements to devour Palestinian land.Israel acted on the basis that the Palestinian state was like a massive explosive device that would be planted in its side. Today, it is evident that Washington, which supports Israel in shaping the features of the next phase, requires opening the political horizon by supporting the option of an independent Palestinian state.

This option necessitates an Israeli partner, who does not resemble Netanyahu and his government. This means that the “next day” will inevitably see a change in Israel that goes beyond names and parties to strategic choices. But can new Israeli elections produce a government capable of drinking the poison of an independent Palestinian state away from the greed of confiscating lands in what Israel calls “Judea and Samaria”?The rifts that “the next day” will raise in Israeli street will also be acutely felt in Palestinian society, especially in Gaza. 

In 2017, Hamas agreed to the principle of establishing an independent Palestinian state on the lands of 1967, but refrained from recognizing the other state. Anyone who observes international positions will easily conclude that the establishment of a Palestinian state will certainly be conditional on its recognition of the State of Israel and its abandonment of anything that could constitute a threat to the Hebrew state, that is, weapons or some of their types.

Can Hamas, in light of its nature and ideologies, accept a state with these conditions? Did the group unleash the Al-Aqsa Flood in order to later disappear from the scene? What about its solid nucleus? What about its allies?Some people believe that Hamas will find itself facing painful choices the next day. One diplomat reminded me of what happened in 2009 after one of Israel’s rounds of destruction in Gaza. The late Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held an international conference in Sharm El-Sheikh to rebuild what was destroyed. Billions of dollars were promised at the conference. The diplomat said that the billions did not arrive because Hamas stipulated that it maintain its presence at the Gaza crossings and supervise the reconstruction process. He added: “The reconstruction of Gaza will be impossible the next day if Hamas remains the dominant force in the Strip.”The next day will raise big questions. Can Israel be a normal state with final borders away from old claims? Can it live near an independent Palestinian state? Political blindness prompted Israeli governments to assassinate two opportunities for a settlement. The first is the Oslo Accords, and the second, the Arab Peace Initiative. 

This political blindness has encircled Israel with an explosive belt that is beginning to explode here and there. “The next day” will pose difficult questions for the Palestinians themselves.One day, the late great poet Mahmoud Darwish was recalling his sorrows in Paris. I asked him about Oslo, and he replied that the settlement “is like descending from the tree of dreams into the coldness of reality and the balance of power.” “It also means less dreams and less land.” He added: “We offered the other to accept him and share the country, but he insists on expelling us from it.”How difficult it is to compromise when it comes to dreams and land! For this reason, the “next day” journey will not be easy, but rather burdened with pain and tears. That day will reveal the horror of the massacre committed on the land of Gaza. The expression remains ambiguous, and the war is still open.

Today, Tuesday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested a journalist, after raiding his home in the town of Jabal Mukaber, south of occupied Jerusalem.

According to local sources, the occupation forces arrested the journalist Rasem Obaidat, after raiding and searching his house, tampering with its contents, and took him to the “Al-Mascobiyya Investigation Center.”

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Monday that the war in Gaza could stop when “Hamas surrenders,” leaving Israel to determine the time it needs to stop the fighting.

He then revealed that his country will take whatever other actions are necessary to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea.

Blinken was commenting on a letter sent by five Democratic senators this week calling for increased accountability for Israel’s use of American weapons and the possible sale of 13,000 rounds of tank ammunition for Israel, bypassing congressional review generally required for foreign arms sales. He said the administration of President Joe Biden is trying to make sure that civilians are protected to the maximum extent possible in Gaza and that humanitarian assistance gets in to the maximum extent possible.

Blinken admitted “the terrible human toll” that this conflict is taking on innocent men, women, and children. He claimed that when it comes to the weapons that the US transfers, and the rules that go along with them, “those rules apply to Israel as they do to any other country, including the way they are used and the need, the imperative of respecting international humanitarian law.”

The US top diplomat stated that the war is against “Hamas” that attacked Israel on October 7th, and therefore, he said Washington is sending weapons to Israel to make sure that it has what it needs to defend itself against Hamas.

In an interview with Martha Raddatz of ABC This Week, Blinken said, “Look, this could be over tomorrow. This could be over tomorrow if Hamas got out of the way of civilians instead of hiding behind them, if it put down its weapons, if it surrendered.”Asked about the US being the only country to vote against a UN ceasefire resolution last week, Blinken said the Biden administration has been a strong proponent of humanitarian pauses.“In fact, because of our advocacy, because of the work we did, we got pauses, we got pauses on a daily basis, to make sure that people could get out of the way, that humanitarian supplies could get in,” he said.

Later, when CNN asked him whether the US will continue to back Israel if the war continues for months and months, the US Secretary of State said, “Again, Israel has to make these decisions.”He added, “Everyone wants to see this campaign come to a close as quickly as possible,” adding that “when the major military operation is over... we have to have a durable, sustainable peace, and we have to make sure that we’re on the path to a durable, sustainable peace.”

Today, Tuesday, Israeli occupation forces stormed the Martyr Kamal Adwan Hospital, in Beit Lahia, north of Gaza, after besieging and bombing it for several days.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra, said in a press statement: The occupation forces began to gather the males, including the medical staff, in the hospital courtyard, expressing his fear that they and the medical staff would be arrested or liquidated.

He called on the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross to act immediately to save and protect the lives of those in the hospital.

Yesterday evening, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital announced that the occupation forces directly bombed the maternity ward, killing two women and their two children, and amputating the feet of a third woman.

Kamal Adwan Hospital Director said: We have 65 injured, 12 children in intensive care, 6 premature babies, 3,000 displaced people, and 100 medical personnel.

He confirmed that the occupation forces are besieging and targeting Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.

The occupation forces had previously stormed most of the hospitals in Gaza and its north, abused medical staff, the displaced, the sick and the injured, and arrested 34 medical staff.

New York City witnessed a protest in front of the US Mission to the United Nations building, today, Tuesday, in protest against Washington's use of its veto power a few days ago against a draft resolution in the Security Council calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Protesters, including American liberals and Orthodox Jews, gathered in front of the US mission building to the international organization.

The protesters raised Palestinian flags and banners with slogans such as “Stop the occupation,” “Ceasefire now,” and “Resist the occupation.”

The protesters chanted slogans such as “Free Palestine,” “Stop the occupation completely,” “Give back the Palestinians their land,” “Yes to Judaism, no to Zionism,” and “Palestine will be liberated.”

The participants protested the United States' support for Israel and its use of its veto power in the UN Security Council against a draft resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

Some demonstrators prayed in front of the headquarters of the US Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

The protest, which took place under tight security measures, continued in the streets of Manhattan.

On Friday, the United States used its veto in the UN Security Council against a draft resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons” in the Gaza Strip.

By Nikita Smagin

Events in the Middle East have helped the Kremlin convince itself that Russia’s foreign policy in recent years has been the right one.

The conflict in the Middle East is the perfect crisis for Russia, which is reaping a whole host of political benefits. The confrontation between Israel and Hamas has not only boosted the Kremlin’s hopes of changing the mood around the war in Ukraine, but also strengthened its belief that the Western-centric system of international relations is breaking down. 

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 put an end to most internal Western disagreements when it came to Russia, uniting countries on both sides of the Atlantic. But the Israel-Hamas war has seen divisions resurface at a state level: while the United States insists Israel has a right to self-defense, there have been bitter disagreements between European countries about what position the European Union should take. There are also societal divides, with protests by opponents and supporters of Israel taking place regularly from Washington to Stockholm. Even state agencies are not immune to these differing views, with media reports of widespread discontent among U.S. officials with the White House’s pro-Israel stance. Against this backdrop, the war in Ukraine has slipped down the agenda. The United States has said it will provide help to both Israel and Ukraine. But how long can it really be fully engaged in two major conflicts? Moscow’s hopes that the West will eventually tire of providing open-ended support for Kyiv have never looked so justified. In addition, Washington’s pro-Israel stance undermines the legitimacy of the West’s broader reasons for supporting Ukraine in the eyes of many in the Global South. The moral argument against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now looks like empty words, particularly in Middle East nations. 

Photos of the ruins in Gaza, reports of thousands of dead children, and the outrage of humanitarian organizations have made a deep impression on people in the developing world. People can argue endlessly about the reasons for the war in Ukraine, or Israel’s operation in Gaza, but for many the conclusion is obvious: the United States was critical of Russia when it killed innocent civilians in Ukraine, and now it is silent when its ally Israel does the same thing in Gaza. A vision of the world in which morals and ideologies are irrelevant—and the only thing that counts are state interests—has long been the dominant one in the Kremlin. And this logic dictates that there is no better outcome for Moscow than the continuation of the Middle East conflict, which is destroying the West’s strategy toward Russia. Moscow does not even have to lift a finger: Israel’s ground operation in Gaza looks unlikely to end anytime soon. When it does, intractable issues will remain. True, the escalation in Gaza is not without risks for Russia, and if pro-Iranian forces get sucked in, it could become a major headache for the Kremlin. Moscow’s ties with Iran mean it has been drifting toward a pro-Tehran position in the Middle East for the last couple of years, but that does not mean it is ready to support Iran in a war with Israel. Such a development would oblige Russia to pick a side, and would have consequences for Russia’s intervention in Syria.

For now, however, a broader military conflagration in the Middle East looks unlikely. Iran and its proxies have stayed out of the Gaza conflict so far, which means they are less likely to intervene further down the line. 

The Israel-Hamas war also poses some domestic dilemmas for the Kremlin. Judging by statements from officials, October’s anti-Semitic pogrom in Dagestan sent shockwaves through the Russian leadership. Nationalism and Russia’s ethnic republics are issues that previously worried the Kremlin. Now, Middle East policy will need to be made with half an eye on public opinion.

At the same time, minimizing these risks should be straightforward. It would be enough to tone down the anti-Israel rhetoric while maintaining some moderate criticism of the country’s actions. Indeed, the pogrom in Dagestan likely convinced the Kremlin that it’s less dangerous to remain on the sidelines in the Israel-Hamas war than to take an active role. 

Finally, events in the Middle East have helped the Kremlin convince itself that Russia’s foreign policy in recent years has been the right one. A charismatic leader should be able to make those around him believe that he is lucky, and that success comes naturally. Whatever the difficulties, President Vladimir Putin apparently believes that every cloud has a silver lining—and he communicates this confidence to his subordinates. Any successes, particularly if they seem to come from nowhere, strengthen both Putin’s fatalism and belief in Putin’s infallibility. Everything is in God’s hands, and God, of course, is on the side of Russia. There are also more rational arguments. Moscow’s bet on the disintegration of a Western-oriented international order appears to be paying off. Today it’s Israel and Palestine; tomorrow, it could be Taiwan and China. As such, the Middle East conflict confirms the hypothesis that Russia cannot be isolated. 

The Global South no longer trusts the West, and that means new opportunities for Moscow. The conflict also shores up the Kremlin’s hope that the difficulties caused by the war in Ukraine will—with time—dissipate on their own. This approach has been tried and tested by Russia many times. Even if the invasion did not go as planned, the logic runs, everything will resolve itself. 

Taken together, all of this means that Russia will remain a passive actor in the Israel-Hamas war. Moscow had no role in triggering the crisis, and couldn’t resolve it even if it wanted to. Russia cannot even play the role of an intermediary, because Israel is nervous of its closeness to Tehran. The only option left is to watch events unfold from a distance and repeat empty phrases about a two-state solution. In the meantime, the benefits the Kremlin is reaping from events in the Middle East only serve to convince the Russian elite that they have chosen the right path.