Participants in the demonstration called by the Indonesian People's Alliance to Support Palestine raised slogans demanding the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip, the entry of humanitarian aid and an end to the war.

The Indonesian capital, Jakarta, witnessed massive demonstrations denouncing the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and demanding a ceasefire. The American capital, Washington, also witnessed the largest demonstration in its history to demand an end to the Israeli war on Gaza.

Government ministers, party leaders, parliamentarians and leaders of Indonesian Islamic organizations participated in the demonstration.

The organizers estimated the number of participants in the demonstration at more than one million people, noting that Indonesia had witnessed many demonstrations in support of Gaza and denouncing the Israeli war on it during the past weeks.

Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said that his country's government is ready to send its medical ship to the waters near Gaza to provide medical treatment to victims of Israeli attacks, the Indonesian news agency "Antara" reported.

Subianto revealed that the Indonesian government plans to coordinate with countries neighboring the Gaza Strip, including Egypt, to obtain approval to send the medical ship.

He said during his visit to the Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Base in Jakarta, yesterday, Saturday, "The Indonesian Defense Forces are ready to send a medical ship, and will be ready there to provide more assistance."

The popular movement in support of Gaza is escalating around the world, as thousands participated in a massive demonstration in the American capital, Washington, to demand an end to the Israeli war on Gaza, denouncing the policies supporting Israel and the role of President Joe Biden, whom demonstrators described as “an accomplice in genocide.”

The demonstrators marched through the streets of Washington, waving Palestinian flags, and chanting slogans including: “Biden, Biden, you cannot hide. You participated in genocide.” Then they gathered at Freedom Square, steps away from the White House.

According to what was reported by Agence France-Presse, this demonstration is the largest demonstration in the American capital since the start of the war on Gaza. Many supporters spent long hours arriving in Washington to participate.

Armed confrontations and clashes broke out in more than one area in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, at dawn on Sunday, coinciding with the occupation forces storming a number of cities, villages and camps, which witnessed violent confrontations in response to the invading forces.

4 young Palestinians were killed this Sunday morning, by Israeli army. The young man, Ahmed Habis Dababsa, was martyred by occupation bullets in the town of Nuba, Hebron district, while in the town of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, 3 young men were killed  by Israeli army. They are: Nabil Halabiya, Muhannad Afaneh, and Musa Zaarour. 

This Sunday morning, three citizens, one of whom was killed, and six others were injured, three of them in critical condition, by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets in the towns of Abu Dis and Al-Eizariya, east of occupied Jerusalem.

Eyewitnesses said that large forces from the occupation army stormed the town of Abu Dis, surrounded a house, and violent confrontations broke out in the place.

They added that the occupation forces brought a military bulldozer and demolished parts of the besieged house, before firing an “Energa” shell at it, which led to the death of the young man trapped inside the house, Nabil Abdel Raouf Halabiya (20 years old).

A video clip showed the occupation forces carrying the body of the martyr Halabiya, who was killed inside the besieged house, using a bulldozer.

Later, the Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of the two young men, Musa Diya Musa Zaarour (22 years old) and Muhannad Ahmed Afana (20 years old), as a result of their wounds sustained during confrontations with the occupation forces in the town, while six others were injured, including three with critical injuries. Two were transferred to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital.

The child Rami Ezz Musa Odeh (17 years old) also died from his wounds shot by the Israeli occupation, in the town of Al-Eizariya a few days ago.

The Abu Dis girls’ schools and the Arab Institute announced the suspension of face-to-face work in the town and its conversion to remote work, in order to ensure the safety of the students and to mourn the souls of the two martyrs.

In Hebron, a young man died as a result of his wounds, and his brother was injured by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets during their storming of the town of Nuba, northwest of Hebron.

Local sources reported that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Nuba, and as a result, confrontations broke out, during which live bullets and poison gas bombs were fired at the citizens, which led to the injury of the young man, Ahmed Habes Dababsa (22 years old), with a bullet in the abdomen, and his brother Mahmoud, and they were taken to the hospital. Ahmed's martyrdom was later announced.

Not an escape of talking about the Gaza crisis and its dangerous war, its beginnings and developments, but there is an aspect in which there is ambiguity: how will it end, who will surrender, and in exchange for what? The ongoing Israeli military attack, which did not exclude civilians and services, is in fact greater than a reaction to Hamas attacks. Its size confirms that it is a project to change the political reality.

At the beginning of the attack, Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, had previously said: The region after October 7 will not be the same as before? Its echo was echoed in Western capitals, which clearly supported it and declared that the goal was to remove Hamas from Gaza.

We are facing a terrible humanitarian crisis, the middle of a military battle, and the beginning of a different political project. The Israelis may succeed in achieving their goal, which will mean the end of the armed organization as we know it, but the departure of Hamas from the equation will not eliminate the Palestinian cause and its rights, nor will it stop the danger to Israel, as evidenced by the October attacks themselves, which were larger than all previous operations, despite the fact that Israel besieged Gaza and has monitored Hamas' activities for years.

The irony is that the two enemies, Hamas and Netanyahu, are the two groups most closely allied against the peace project, and they worked to obstruct it. The second paradox is that Hamas and Netanyahu are the losers in the war. Hamas may lose Gaza, and Netanyahu, due to the defeat of the October attack, will lose the presidency of the government, and may end up in prison on pre-war corruption charges. The third paradox is that it is the deadly war that will breathe life into the train of peace, and not the other way around.

We remember how the expulsion of Yasser Arafat and his fighters from Lebanon at that time actually ended Fatah as a military organization, but Arafat positioned himself politically and succeeded in returning to Palestine as an authority, through the Oslo Accords. History may repeat itself, even in light of this humanitarian catastrophe, the worst in the history of the Israeli conflict in half a century.

The war will stop after a few weeks, and everyone will be forced to activate political action. Ismail Haniyeh surprised everyone. At the height of the fighting, he expressed Hamas' readiness to accept peace based on a two-state solution, because he was aware of the possibilities following war. Hamas is not strong enough to repel US-backed Israel, especially since it has been left to fight alone by its allies. Haniyeh wants the movement to have a political face, not just a military one, and a role in reaping the fruits of the October 7 attacks. The problem facing Haniyeh and Meshaal is that Hamas inside does not recognize any role for its leaders abroad, and it was leaked that their men were removed from leadership positions in 2017. The movement has been managed since then by its military leaders, specifically Yahya Sinwar. Because of the movement's besieged situation and what will follow, its leaders abroad may have a seat at the table for possible peace negotiations later, which they launched their attacks to crush.

Among the challenges is that the Americans have previously classified Hamas as a terrorist organization, and they will be forced to back down at the next moment if they adopt the peace project. They banned Arafat from entering the United States, prevented US officials from meeting him, and sought to invent alternative leaders for him, Abdel Shafi and Ashrawi, to negotiate at the Madrid Conference. Then the Americans later agreed to sit with Arafat because it was not possible to negotiate and make peace without him. The extremist Hamas is not Fatah. However, it remains a difficult number that cannot be ignored. If it agrees, it will strengthen the position of the Palestinian Authority in potential negotiations.

Until then, there is a road map full of traps. Hamas has a force of 35 thousand, and Israel considers getting rid of them a goal, and this is an almost impossible task militarily without massive losses on both sides and horrific civilians losses. Will Hamas accept the exit in order to reduce losses among civilians and its members? If it agrees to give up its weapons, the second challenge is that no Arab country is ready to host them for fear of the accompanying dangers. In this impasse, the warring parties may be convinced of a compromise solution. Here comes the role of the Palestinian Authority in managing Gaza. Here we see a light in Gaza's dark tunnels.

The talk continues on options of peace and weapons.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat

Kuwaiti National Assembly (Parliament) adopted a recommendation to refer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country’s military and political leaders as “war criminals” in international forums, the International Criminal Court and in the world’s parliaments, and to assign the Parliamentary Division to lead legal, political and media efforts in this regard.

The Council also called on Arab and Muslim governments and parliaments “to take steps to break the siege and reject normalization,” and called on chambers of commerce and businessmen to activate the boycott of Israel.

The National Assembly approved a set of recommendations, most notably the prosecution of Israel’s leaders as “war criminals” in international forums, and the establishment of “Kuwait Humanitarian City” in Gaza. The recommendations called on the Kuwaiti government, the private sector, and development funds to establish a "Gaza Reconstruction Fund and to support  its steadfastness."

It called for 13 recommendations; To close Kuwaiti airspace and its lands to any use in any operation against the Palestinians, and to pursue any cases of communication with the occupation.

The recommendations also called on the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health to arrange the reception of infected people, especially children and women to treat them in Kuwait.

Parliamentary condemnation

During the session devoted to discussing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip, representatives of the Kuwaiti National Assembly affirmed their condemnation of the Israeli practices in the Gaza Strip for weeks, which resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries, most of them civilian children and women.

While they affirmed their rejection of normalization with Israel, the representatives noted Kuwait’s official position “in support of the Palestinian cause, which expresses the popular position towards the genocide and massacres practiced by the occupation against the Palestinian people, calling on government agencies to continue humanitarian support for Gaza.”

The representatives denounced “the international silence that revealed the contradictions of Western countries and their reversal of human rights principles and the failure of the United Nations agreements that claimed to implement justice and support the oppressed.”

The representatives stressed “the importance of initiative and coordination to launch international campaigns to implement the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to cease fire and allow the entry of humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip.”

On Saturday, on the sidelines of the Arab-American meeting in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Foreign Minister, discussed with his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, ways to support efforts aimed at stopping the escalation of military operations in Gaza and its environs, in addition to the efforts made towards introducing humanitarian and relief aid. And medical, in order to prevent the worsening of the humanitarian crisis.

During the meeting, Prince Faisal bin Farhan stressed the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of the forced displacement of Gaza’s residents, stressing the Kingdom’s condemnation of targeting civilians in any way, or disrupting infrastructure and vital interests that affect their daily lives.

The Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) said that an Israeli bombing of the Maghazi camp in central Gaza City had claimed the lives of 51 people, after a new announcement of the arrival of nearly 20 more bodies.

The agency reported that the bombing targeted the home of the Semaan family in the camp, and that the majority of those killed were women and children. And added that Israeli air strikes and ground and sea shelling targeted various areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, according to what the Arab World News Agency reported.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Saturday evening that the death toll from Israeli attacks on the Strip had risen to 9,488, including 3,900 children, since October 7.

Spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra added that 70 percent of the victims of the Israeli bombing are children, women and the elderly, and that there were more than a thousand massacres committed against Palestinian families.

In turn, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday that it had received 30 trucks loaded with aid through the Rafah crossing, raising the number of aid that had arrived in the Gaza Strip since October 21 to 451 trucks.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement that the International Committee of the Red Cross received three trucks sent to it, while 19 trucks went to the UN agency UNRWA, in addition to eight trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The statement said that the new batch of aid contains four trucks containing medical supplies and medicines, while the rest of the trucks carried food, water, and relief aid.

The American website "Axios" revealed that Israel has a detailed plan to allow fuel into Gaza, which it reported to the United States.

The plan, according to Axios, says that this can be done under international monitoring and in the event that hospitals run out of more fuel, as two Israeli officials told the site.

Humanitarian organizations have been demanding for weeks to allow fuel to enter the Strip, noting that hospitals that have closed their doors or are at risk have done so due to the severe fuel shortage.

The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, General Herzi Halevy, said yesterday that Israel will transport fuel to hospitals, with monitoring, when needed.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, Friday, after his meeting with Secretary of State Tony Blinken, that Israel will not allow any fuel to enter Gaza.

However, the sources said that the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories is preparing to find a way to provide fuel to Gaza if Israel deems it needed.

Israeli officials, in cooperation with experts from international relief organizations, calculated the amount of fuel required to operate hospitals and other vital facilities.

According to the plan submitted to the United States, which requires Cabinet approval, fuel tankers from Egypt will enter the Gaza Strip with a specific amount of fuel sufficient to operate hospitals and other humanitarian facilities for a specific period of time. Each fuel tanker will be accompanied by a United Nations team that will closely monitor it and ensure that the fuel is delivered to hospitals for its intended purpose.

Israeli officials said that when fuel runs out again, the operation will take place again for another short and limited period of time.

A spokesman for the Office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories declined to comment. The United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli officials claim that there is currently enough fuel in Gaza to run generators in hospitals and other humanitarian facilities.

The Al-Qassam Brigades announced in a statement today that, “Since October 7 until now, the barbaric Zionist bombing of Gaza has caused the loss of more than 60 enemy prisoners in Gaza.”

The statement added, "After the search operations, 23 bodies of them are still missing under the rubble until now, and it seems that we will never be able to reach them due to the continued brutal aggression of the occupation against Gaza."

While Israel says that the ceasefire can only be in exchange for the release of the kidnapped people, Hamas refuses to cooperate, and continues to prevent visits to prisoners even after a month has passed since the war.

The Hebrew channel "Kan" reported today that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed Israeli officials that the ceasefire is "important for the sake of world public opinion."

Other media outlets also quoted Blinken as saying in the “cabinet” war council that “there is great damage to those not involved in the war,” and that “Israel must move more to prevent such damage.”

Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy responded to Blinken, according to two sources who commented on the details of the discussion: “If we had listened to the generals you sent here, our plans would have been more aggressive.”

A number of demonstrators gathered in front of Netanyahu’s residence and on Shaul HaMelech Street in Tel Aviv, and demanded his “immediate” resignation.

The families of the prisoners held by Hamas also joined them and clashed with the police and chanted slogans demanding the "immediate return" of the prisoners.

Suspension of the evacuation of foreigners and holders of dual citizenship

In addition, the Hamas government suspended the evacuation of foreigners and those holding dual citizenship to Egypt due to Israel’s refusal to facilitate the transfer of wounded Palestinians to Egyptian hospitals.

The government source told the French press: “No foreign passport holders will travel from the Gaza Strip until the wounded are coordinated and exited from hospitals in Gaza and the north towards the Rafah crossing between the besieged Strip and Egyptian territory.”

An Egyptian security source confirmed to Agence France-Presse that “no injured person or holder of a foreign passport arrived at the Egyptian Rafah crossing” on Saturday.

He added that the movement stopped "after the bombing of ambulances that were transporting the injured to the crossing."

Hamas sources indicated that Israel refused to allow the departure of many of the wounded to Egypt, whose names were included in the list sent to the Egyptian authorities.

Since Wednesday, hundreds of foreigners and dual nationals have been evacuated from Gaza, which has been subjected to relentless Israeli bombing since the attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, which left more than 1,400 dead, most of them civilians, according to the Israeli authorities.

A march was launched in downtown Ramallah this Saturday evening, denouncing the ongoing Israeli occupation aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The march moved through the streets of the city, amid chanting of slogans demanding that the occupation stop its aggression against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and that the occupation be held accountable for the crimes it commits against our people.

Earlier, a vigil and march was organized for children in the center of the city, in which they raised banners calling for the protection of their peers in Gaza and all of our people from the crimes committed by the occupation against them, and for the occupation to be held accountable for its crimes and for an end to its continuing aggression for the 29th day in a row.

American and Israeli interests in the conflict in the Middle East differ in the short and long term, which hinders the path to ending the war in the Gaza Strip, according to the American newspaper “The Wall Street Journal”.

In the first place, Israel views the Hamas movement as an existential threat and sees its elimination as a decisive goal. If it does not achieve this, it will have failed in its war.

The United States has committed to helping Israel defeat Hamas, but for US President Joe Biden, the threat goes beyond Hamas. His administration is trying to keep its allies united against Iran, Russia and China. Israel and the United States want to avoid a larger regional war, but Israel is willing to face more risks as it seeks to defeat Hamas.

Cease-fire

Following the movement's October 7 attack on Israel, Biden made clear his strong support for Israel, embracing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a rare visit to Tel Aviv for a war zone. But in the days that followed, Biden repeatedly stressed in phone calls with Netanyahu, under pressure from critics in his own party, that Israel must conduct its military campaign in accordance with international humanitarian law. The United States is increasingly calling for a halt to the fighting to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza and remove the hostages safely, despite resisting calls for a complete ceasefire.

At a fundraiser on Wednesday, one attendee shouted: “As a rabbi, I want you to call for an immediate ceasefire.” “I think we need to,” Biden responded.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he discussed the issue and logistics of the truce with Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet at a meeting in Tel Aviv on Friday.

In response to these pressures, Netanyahu said on Friday that he opposes a temporary ceasefire that is not matched by the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. American officials say that Israel previously stopped the fighting when two American hostages were released. Israel did not admit that it had agreed to a truce at that time.

The Biden administration is also pressuring Israel to reduce civilian casualties and launch strikes targeting Hamas leaders. But even as the number of casualties in Gaza rose and the humanitarian crisis worsened, Israel continued its massive strikes, targeting the largest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

The White House declined to comment on whether the strike was appropriate, but administration officials were frustrated by the widespread casualties.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that only Israel can manage its operations, noting that Washington's role is to ensure that Israel obtains the tools and capabilities.

Netanyahu said on Friday that he would continue his military campaign in Gaza, adding that he would not allow fuel, which the United States and humanitarian groups say is needed to run electricity generators for hospitals and water facilities, into the Gaza Strip.

An unknown future in Gaza

In the longer term, Biden calls for a two-state solution, and Blinken has consulted with the Israeli government about what comes after the military campaign for Israel and Gaza.

“We continue to have discussions with partners across the region and beyond about what should happen once Hamas is defeated... and the best path, or perhaps the only path, is a two-state solution,” Blinken said on Friday.

The Israelis have no clear idea about Gaza's future. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that the goal is to destroy Hamas' military capabilities and ability to rule, but he added that Israel has no interest in reoccupying Gaza permanently.

Some on the Israeli far right have supported the long-term occupation of Gaza or pushing Gazans into Egypt's Sinai region, which Egyptian leaders oppose.

Israeli internal pressures

As the conflict continues without a clear end, Biden and Netanyahu face increasing political pressure at home.

Today, Biden faces criticism from members of his party, especially from young voters, Muslims and Arab Americans, who are concerned about the increasing death toll in Gaza and are urging the administration to call a ceasefire.

Even members of Congress who were supportive of Israel and supported giving it military aid said this week that they wanted more restraint in its military campaign against Hamas.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee's Middle East Subcommittee, said on Thursday that the current rate of civilian deaths inside Gaza is unacceptable, calling on Israel to immediately reconsider its approach and shift to a targeted campaign.

Indeed, Netanyahu, who is unpopular among Israelis due to his pursuit of controversial judicial reform, is today dealing with criticism over how the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation was carried out, his refusal to take responsibility, as well as questions about whether he should resign.

It seems that Netanyahu's internal crisis and Biden's internal crisis, in addition to the hostage issue and the heavy losses incurred by the Israeli army during its advance into the heart of Gaza, constitute decisive factors in getting off the tree of impossible goals set by the Israeli and American leaderships for the war.

Whenever the war progresses or comes closer to achieving a military solution, as they imagine, the political question that stands behind it becomes the issue of a people who were displaced, killed, uprooted, and whose national entity was destroyed and torn apart for 75 years. The destruction in Gaza becomes clear as part and continuation of the war of extermination to which the Palestinian people are subjected, with the aim of concealing it from the eyes of the Palestinian people. The geopolitical map as a condition for expanding and stabilizing the Zionist colonial project in Palestine, as well as the organic relationship that links it to the colonial West, which has lined up its leaders and fleets, and whose generals are even leading a war of extermination against this “rebellious” part of the Palestinian people with the aim of subjugating it.

In an article published by Haaretz, Abraham Burg sheds light on the official and popular Israeli discourse accompanying the war. He says that victory in the past was represented by bringing the enemy’s severed head and displaying it in the squares, or bringing the king in chains in a procession of humiliation and rape of his women in front of the people and the sale of his subjects in the slave market. As long as we listen to the voice of the Israeli public and its echo in the government, we do not find it far from the ancient Torah, “Erase the mention of Amalek - the Palestinian, from under the sky,” “Raising Gaza to the ground and turning its ruins into parks,” “Next year in level Gaza,” “Let us expel the Palestinians and settle.” “In their place,” “to cauterize their consciousness with rivers of blood,” all of this in a way of completing the tasks of the Nakba that we were unable to complete in 1948, as he put it.

Burg says that this discourse, which ignores the Palestinians, began with the saying “a people without a land for a land without a people,” and was continued by the majority of prime ministers, all the way to Ariel Sharon and the unilateral exit from Gaza, and the bypass street network and the walls separating the Israelis from reality, but all of that did not change From the reality and fact that they are here.

It is clear that with all the Israeli aggressions and wars against the Palestinians, especially those that ended with a military victory over them, who are the majority, Israel was unable to erase their existence and their political cause, so they would bury their dead and rise from under the rubble of war, so that the banner of their cause would rise again and become louder. This is what happened after The Lebanon War, the siege of Beirut, after the Second Intifada, the “Defensive Wall” War, and the repeated aggressions against the Gaza Strip, which Rabin wished would sink into the sea, and which Sharon was unable to erase from existence, so he was forced to withdraw from it, but it continued to resist to regain a homeland that constitutes 1% of its area.

Poll: An Israeli majority holds Netanyahu responsible for the security failure and demands that he resign

We say this regardless of the results of the “global war” that Israel is waging against Gaza, knowing that Israeli military analysts themselves talk about valiant resistance and fierce battles that hinder the progress of the Israeli army and are likely to prevent it from achieving its military goals as well, as military analyst Alon Ben David says, “Hamas fighters show a stubborn fighting spirit. They did not surrender in any location and fought to the death, which means that the challenge facing our forces will be more difficult in the heart of Gaza,” he said.

Despite his reference to the difficulty of ending the battle by eliminating the military and political leadership of Hamas, the weakest link on the Israeli front is represented, in the opinion of the political analyst in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Nahum Barnea, by Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not want a resolution in Gaza because after him the investigation committee will come. The process of dismissing him, and for this reason he prefers a long and inconclusive process that will be halted by the Americans at a certain stage.

In the meantime, talking about the next day after the war, in Israeli terms, is too early because Hamas is very far from surrender, says military analyst Amir Rappaport, who believes that the idea of removing Hamas leaders from the Gaza Strip in exchange for the liberation of the Israeli hostages is nothing more than a desire. Israeli, because the end of the war does not seem to be on the horizon, while Israel loses on the three important criteria: time, money and credibility, according to Nahum Barnea, who believes that the first stage of the war required freedom from the shock and the rain of fire on top of Gaza from the air, land and sea, while it was The ground operation in Gaza is the second stage, and the third stage is supposed to be settling the issue of authority in Gaza, for which the Israeli government does not have a crystallized plan, nor is it able to explain the path by which the second stage leads to the third stage.

This is despite the emergence of many indicators indicating that the duration of the green light that America and the West are giving to Israel to end its military operation to eliminate Hamas at any cost is approaching exhaustion, especially since the Jewish communities in the world are concerned that the spread of images of Israeli killing and destruction from Gaza has begun to take on the character of genocide. Collectively, it will make Jewish community centers legitimate targets, says journalist Orly Azoulay of Yedioth Ahronoth.

Azoulay points to a decline in Biden's popularity within his party, after the liberal left wing became angry at him because of his absolute support for Israel and his disregard for Gaza's distress, which prompted the White House to prepare a political plan in cooperation with Europe and with the participation of Saudi Arabia, which seeks to conclude a joint defense treaty with the United States.

This plan, according to the Israeli journalist, includes in its first phase a ceasefire to facilitate a prisoner exchange, after which comes the phase of a temporary political solution in which the administration of Gaza will transfer to a multi-factional Palestinian body, as Washington hopes, which constitutes the basis for a future solution based on two states and being implemented. Within its framework, Gaza will be linked by air bridge to the West Bank.

In summary, it appears that Netanyahu's internal crisis and Biden's internal crisis, in addition to the hostage issue and the heavy losses incurred by the Israeli army during its advance into the heart of Gaza, constitute decisive factors in getting off the tree of impossible goals set by the Israeli and American leaderships for the war.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken did not come to the meeting with Arab foreign ministers, in Amman on Saturday, with “decisive American commitments” towards stopping the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and bringing in urgent relief aid.

Blinken’s statements from Amman reflected what could be described as “disappointment,” despite Jordan’s attempts officially and in Arab partnership to pressure by raising the ceiling on positions during the seven-party meeting of foreign ministers, according to informed Jordanian political sources who told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Jordanian king King Abdullah II “held the responsibility of the Arab ministers for unifying Arab demands to immediately stop the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip,” to obtain an American commitment.

Al-Safadi

During a press conference, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi spoke about the discrepancy between the Arab and American positions. He said: “Our conversation today was frank and in-depth, reflecting different Arab and American positions regarding what must be done immediately to end this disaster,” but he also stressed “the keenness to continue engaging intensively to stop what we can only describe as a disaster whose effects will haunt the region for generations, and that We want a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution as a way to guarantee the security of the region and all its peoples.”

Al-Safadi summarized the meeting points during the meetings, which “included the necessity of delivering adequate, immediate and sustainable humanitarian support to Gaza, resuming the provision of basic services, protecting civilians, the necessity of adhering to international law and international humanitarian law, releasing civilians, and rejecting the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland,” stressing that “any Attempting to do so, for Jordan, Egypt and all Arab countries, is another war crime that we will confront with all our capabilities.”

He stressed the necessity of “an immediate ceasefire and an end to this war,” rejecting “the characterization of the war as self-defense,” noting that Arab positions emphasized the necessity of immediately delivering adequate aid to the Gaza Strip and stopping the displacement of Palestinians.

Al-Safadi expressed his concern about the situation in the West Bank, where settlers are allowed to kill innocent Palestinians. He said, "Everyone must stop this madness and put an end to the loss of millions of lives."

He stressed that “murder and war crimes must stop, and Israel’s protection from international law must end... This war will not bring security to Israel and will not bring stability to the region.”

Al-Safadi stressed that the killing of children and women must stop, the war crimes committed by Israel must stop, and that Israel’s immunity from international law must end.

Blinken

Blinken, who came from Israel carrying a rejection of American proposals for a humanitarian truce, provided only brief indications regarding the existence of reasons calling for a temporary halt to military actions to deliver aid, saying: “We agreed with Israel on how to achieve this.”

The US Secretary of State pointed out that joint efforts are necessary to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, but at the same time he pointed out that “reaching a ceasefire now will enable the Hamas movement to gather its forces and repeat what it did on October 7.” the past".

Blinken insisted on saying that “the need to protect Palestinian civilians will not come at the expense of Washington’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself against the Hamas movement,” but “Israel must take every precaution to reduce the number of civilian casualties and conveyed to the Israelis on Friday additional steps to take in this regard.”

While Blinken spoke about the focus on providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the need for a temporary halt to military actions to deliver relief materials, he said that he spent a lot of time consulting with the Israeli government, Egypt, and the United Nations to develop a channel to deliver aid to Gaza, and noted that 100 trucks are entering daily to the Gaza Strip, and that is not enough, stressing the work to expand access to humanitarian aid and ensure that it reaches those who need it and establish the necessary infrastructure to absorb, use and distribute aid.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said, “The unfortunate killing events we are witnessing in the Gaza Strip cannot be justified, and we will not accept entering into a useless controversy to justify the condemned practices as self-defense.”

He called for an immediate ceasefire and for Israel to stop obstructing the entry of humanitarian aid and ensure safe and rapid access to it, calling on the international community to reach a ceasefire and prevent the continuation of violence.

Extended meeting

On Saturday, the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, held a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in which they discussed the repercussions and ways to end the dangerous deterioration in Gaza, which threatens the security of the entire region.

During the meeting, the ministers affirmed the Arab position calling for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and the necessity of intensifying targeted efforts to launch immediate and effective international action to stop the war, ensure the protection of civilians, respect the rules of international law and international humanitarian law, and ensure the delivery of immediate humanitarian aid. And urgently for the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip.

The ministers stressed the need for Israel to adhere to international legitimacy resolutions, especially the resolution presented by Jordan on behalf of the Arab Group, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, last week, which calls for stopping the war, ensuring the protection of civilians, and adhering to legal and humanitarian obligations.

The Ministers condemned the irresponsible actions committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, which constitute war crimes that violate all human and moral values and international laws, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention.

King Abdullah

For his part, during his meeting with Blinken on Saturday evening, Jordanian King Abdullah II stressed the need to stop the war on Gaza and impose a humanitarian truce to sustain the arrival of aid to the Strip and ensure that the work of international humanitarian organizations is not obstructed.

King Abdullah II called for intensifying international efforts to deliver food, water, medicine and fuel to Gaza without interruption, and to support relief organizations working in the Strip, noting that the only way to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to work towards a political horizon to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, warning. That military or security solutions will not succeed.

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat

On Saturday, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman described Turkey’s decision to recall its ambassador as “another step by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stand alongside the Hamas movement.” According to Haaretz newspaper.

Today (Saturday), the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the recall of its ambassador to Israel in protest against the current bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Foreign Ministry added that the Turkish ambassador in Tel Aviv was summoned to Ankara “to hold consultations” amid “a humanitarian tragedy in Gaza resulting from continued attacks by Israel on civilians” in the Strip.

In the statement, the ministry cited “Israel’s refusal” to listen to “calls for a ceasefire and the continuous and smooth flow of humanitarian aid” to justify its decision.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that maternal and newborn deaths in the Gaza Strip are likely to rise due to “lack of access to adequate care.”

UNRWA said in a series of posts on its account on the “X” platform, today, Saturday, that “women, children and newborns across Gaza bear the disproportionate burden of the escalation of hostilities.”

It added: We expect maternal and newborn deaths in Gaza to rise due to “lack of access to adequate care.”

UNRWA stressed that the number of Palestinian martyrs in Gaza "has become staggering, while the tragedy continues."

It pointed out that the lack of supplies, the ongoing Israeli bombing, and the interruption of communications make humanitarian relief very difficult.

UNRWA confirmed that "queuing up to get bread has become worrying and unsafe after the Israeli occupation bombed" about 10 bakeries in Gaza.

The Russian newspaper Pravda said in a report that Israel's brutal response to Hamas' attacks shocked the Islamic world and public opinion around the world, as thousands of civilian casualties and the targeting of residential buildings prompted people to ask the question: Is such destruction possible in this country? Time?

The report added that the number of victims of Israeli attacks has so far exceeded 8,000 people as a result of the Israeli army’s strikes on Gaza, half of whom are children, highlighting that the indifference shown by the Israeli side toward the fate of ordinary civilians has inflamed public opinion within Islamic countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and in Germany, France, and Britain. .

This is evident in the organization of marches and demonstrations in which thousands participated, even in Russia.

Dim picture

The report asked: Do the Israeli authorities realize that, through their indiscriminate attacks on residential areas in Gaza, they create a negative image of Israel and turn a large part of the global community against it?

It stated that Tel Aviv is working to recreate the old ideological foundation on which the ideology of hatred of Jews was formed for centuries. While anti-Semitism in ancient times was formed on the basis of tales and legends, today it captures clear images from the scene of events.

The report explains that from ancient times until the end of the 19th century, any suspicious death of a Christian child near the Jewish community became grounds for prosecution or even Jewish pogroms.

It added that against the backdrop of the massive human losses of Gaza children due to the Israeli bombing, the idea of “child killers” is gaining great momentum. In light of this situation, the instigators do not need to invent new stories to oppose Israel.

Biblical dimensions

A vivid example of this is the events that took place at Makhachkala Airport, when an angry crowd boarded a plane from Israel, raising slogans: “Child killers have no place in Dagestan,” knowing that most of these people do not care about ancient myths and tales and are familiar with the horrific images of children’s corpses. Their number is approximately thousands.

Pravda concluded its report by saying that there is no need today to invent frightening stories about the torture of a Christian child on the cross for ritual purposes, because the image of exploding high-rise residential buildings in Gaza dispenses with that and reflects a disaster of biblical proportions. According to the newspaper, Israel commits these massacres on its own initiative, which serves its opponents.

Palestinian human rights organizations have condemned, in the strongest terms, the Israeli occupation forces’ deliberate targeting of hospitals, ambulances, and shelter centers, and the systematic destruction of what remains of the necessities of life in the Gaza Strip, as part of the crime of genocide, which is entering its twenty-ninth consecutive day, amid the inability of the international community to put an end to it. military or even mitigate its effects.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Al Mezan Center, and Al-Haq said in a joint statement: They view with very serious seriousness the direction taken by the military attacks launched by the occupation forces in recent hours, which clearly demonstrated Israel’s intention to destroy what remains of the basics of survival throughout the Gaza Strip. With a focus on northern Gaza and Gaza City, these are unprecedented crimes that devastate humanity.

It confirmed that the occupation forces deliberately bombed and targeted hospitals, the shelter center, medical staff, and electricity generators, which exacerbates the catastrophic situation 29 days after the military attack on the Gaza Strip.

It referred to the crimes of bombing the entrance to Al-Nasr Hospital and the electricity generator of Al-Wafa Hospital, after bombing the entrance to Al-Shifa Medical Complex and targeting ambulances, and the vicinity of Al-Quds and Indonesian Hospitals.

Human rights organizations expressed their concern about the Israeli bombing focusing on solar energy projects and electricity generators supplying institutions or residents’ homes, especially in Gaza City, by targeting the roofs of buildings and residential buildings, as well as above the Al Amal Institute for Orphans and other civil institutions.

It pointed out that the targeted places were contributing to securing the minimum requirements for survival after the complete blackout of electricity in the Strip, which indicates the occupation’s attempt to kill thousands, whether by bombing or the lack of the necessities of life, such as food, water, and health, and to force those who remain to be forcibly displaced along a specific path that it controls. Those forces are upon him.

It also indicated that the occupation forces continue to commit mass murders, without any prohibitions, and to destroy homes and shelter centers on the heads of their residents, most notably in the last hours, the bombing by occupation aircraft on the morning of November 4, 2023, of Al-Fakhoura School in northern Gaza, which houses thousands of displaced people. Which led to the death and injury of at least 150 Palestinians.

On the evening of November 3, 2023, occupation aircraft also bombed the Osama Bin Zaid School yard in the middle of the Al-Saftawi neighborhood in Jabalia, a shelter center where hundreds of residents took refuge. This resulted in the death of 15 Palestinians, the injury of 54 others, and severe damage to the school.

It stressed that the ongoing crime of genocide requires immediate intervention to stop the military attack on the Gaza Strip, reach a ceasefire, prevent any Israeli attempt to displace Palestinians, and put an end to the grave violations committed by Israel.

It called for taking serious steps to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and to impose political and economic sanctions.

It stressed that this urgent international intervention must be accompanied by the unimpeded entry of fuel and humanitarian aid, including water, food and medical supplies, to be distributed throughout the entire Gaza Strip to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe resulting from Israel’s policy of collective punishment against the civilian population in Gaza.

It said: We affirm our position that these crimes and atrocities must end immediately and not be repeated, and that the international community must ensure the dismantling of the Israeli settler-colonial apartheid system.

By Muhammad Al-Awdat

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to reshape the Middle East after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by the Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas - on October 7.

Netanyahu's statements indicate that Israel wants to exploit American and Western support and support to the maximum possible extent in order to preserve and maximize its gains from the war.

The events of October 7th have consequences, as they will reshape the Middle East in the future, according to the rules of conflict between the major projects in the region, the American-Western-Israeli project, the Iranian project, and the Turkish project.

Operation quality

The same planning used by the late Egyptian President Mohamed Anwar Sadat in the October 6 War of 1973. On Yom Kippur or Yom Kippur, “the day of purification from sins,” the Egyptian forces surprised the Israeli army and achieved a major victory in which they regained the occupied Egyptian land.

On the same days of Yom Kippur, on the 7th of last October, the Hamas movement repeated the same sudden qualitative attack on Israeli settlements and military sites around the Gaza Strip.

The quality of this resistance operation comes from several aspects:

- The size of the great loss inflicted on Israel: It is the second largest loss inflicted on the Israeli forces after the 1973 war, as the Palestinian resistance killed more than 1,400, wounded more than 5,132 others, and captured more than 250, most of them military personnel, some of whom were high-ranking officers in the army.

- The resistance operation struck Jewish immigration with a death toll: The promises of security, well-being, and comfortable living that were promoted to immigrants to Israel were dissipated after the operation, and there is no security after the resistance succeeded in storming the settlements and military sites in this way that the whole world witnessed.

The operation constituted a major blow to Israel's intelligence image: After the operation took Israel by surprise without any leak or prior expectation, the operation was a witness to a miserable failure of Israeli intelligence.

- The operation demonstrated Israel's military fragility. The country that offered itself to normalize relations with the Arab regimes through security and military superiority showed that it was incapable of protecting itself, and that when it sensed the real danger, it turned to the Western ally to protect it in the region. Whoever presented himself as the protector of the region and the allied regimes today is asking for protection from America and the West.

- The operation restored confidence in the idea of resistance and its usefulness in the Palestinian liberation process. This confidence had collapsed due to the Naksa War and the perpetuation of the idea of an invincible Israeli army for more than half a century, especially after the settlement option that the Palestinian Authority had followed for 30 years had failed to achieve anything. Mention of the Palestinians.

Current war scenarios

First scenario:

An overwhelming Israeli victory over the Palestinian resistance: The victory that Israel wants is to completely eradicate Hamas, make Gaza demilitarized, and recover the prisoners. Any talk about Hamas staying or keeping weapons in Gaza and negotiating over the prisoners means for Israel an abject defeat. The victory that Israel wants is a zero-sum victory and that the opponent It must surrender and end completely, and this is the declared Israeli and American goal.

This goal has what supports it and serves its realization on the ground, including the presence of an American and Western green light to use force against Gaza without any red lines, the airlift of advanced American weapons, the deterrent battleships that prevent the expansion of the war in the region, and the large financial support that the West provides to Israel until it reaches... In US President Joe Biden's latest calls for Congress to agree to allocate $14 billion in military support to Israel.

Behind this is a Western media machine that is sympathetic and supportive of Israel, conditions that the Israeli political and military leadership will not leave without seeking to end Hamas, the resistance, and Gaza’s weapons forever. This is an opportunity that will not be repeated for Israel from the point of view of the Israeli leadership.

Second scenario:

The survival of the resistance, the leadership of the resistance, the weapons of the resistance, and the survival of the prisoners under the hands of the resistance, whether they are alive or dead. The mere survival of the resistance, whether with or without Israeli ground losses, will represent a failure and defeat for the Israeli campaign. Everything short of uprooting the resistance and its weapons is a Palestinian victory.

This scenario is supported by previous experiences in Israel's ground wars. The 2006 war in Lebanon surprised everyone, Hezbollah withstood, and Israel eventually submitted to a prisoner exchange deal and suffered losses it had not expected.

The Lebanese model can be repeated in the ground war on Gaza, but this depends on how much the Palestinian resistance has prepared for the ground war, and this is what the first weeks of the ground war will be judged on.

Post-war

If Israel achieves the first scenario and achieves an overwhelming victory and is able to occupy Gaza again and end the presence of the resistance and disarm it, the military and political scene in favor of Israel in the region will be as follows:

- Netanyahu emerging victorious from the war means tightening the grip of the Israeli right on the reins of government in any future elections and for many years.

- Netanyahu will intend to capitalize on the victory and seek another war and repeat the same victory in southern Lebanon over Hezbollah, benefiting from unlimited Western and American support, especially after southern Lebanon entered the war, albeit in a limited way so far.

- Consolidating and deepening Israel's policy of deterrence and the policy of managing military brutality that it has pursued in its wars with the Arab armies and Palestinian resistance movements throughout the history of the Palestinian cause.

- Weakening any chance for a third Palestinian intifada in the West Bank, and going to the most important plan of the Israeli right by dividing the spatial location of Al-Aqsa Mosque, expanding the temporal division of Jewish extremists, and accelerating the plan to Judaize Al-Aqsa Mosque.

- Israel's victory will most likely mean handing over Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and working quickly to implement the provisions of the Deal of the Century by force and by imposing a fait accompli, by annexing the Jordan Valley and the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which occupy more than 43% of the West Bank's lands for Israel, and establishing Palestinian self-rule with geographically unlimited cantons. Connected with work to start a soft displacement policy.

- A leaked study revealed the Israeli plan to settle two million Palestinians in Egypt at a value of $8 billion, to build cities for Palestinians in Sinai, and to pay compensation that could reach $30 billion to the Egyptian state, provided that Gaza is completely bulldozed and Israeli settlements are built on it.

- The Iranian project in the region has declined, the so-called axis of resistance has declined, and the American-Western-Israeli project has advanced and excelled. This means accelerating the rotation of the wheel of Arab normalization with the Zionist entity, making Israel the major power in the region, and returning the Turkish project to the square of understandings with the American-Israeli project, not contradicting and competing with it.

However, if a victory is achieved for the resistance, and by victory I mean “the resistance and its weapons remaining in Gaza and negotiating over the prisoners,” the political scene in the region will be completely different, as follows:

- The victory of the resistance means entrenching Hamas to be the primary force in the Palestinian cause, and the international community and Israel must deal with it as the most important player in determining the fate of the Palestinian cause and the decline of the role of the Palestinian Authority, which has become a structure without substance or content.

- The decline of the Israeli right and the end of Netanyahu’s political career, forcing the United States of America and the less right-wing movement in Israel to re-engage with the Jordanian story, narrative and perception, which is still adhering to and defending the option of the Arab initiative for a two-state solution and reproducing the idea of establishing a viable Palestinian state on the June 7 borders. In 1967, a Palestinian state was established on the entire territory of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the Jordan Valley.

- The rearrangement of the Middle East and the stronger rise of Iran in many issues in the region, which will create Arab-Iranian understandings and expand the trend opposing the American project, with the possibility of a greater Turkish-Iranian rapprochement supported by Russia, a rapprochement that will strengthen Russia’s position and influence in the region.

- Greater satisfaction for the encirclement countries, especially Jordan and Egypt, by getting rid of the displacement project, even if those countries accept that political Islam will benefit temporarily as a symptom of the victory of the resistance in Gaza, with their ability to keep political Islam under control and weakening in exchange for getting rid of the obsession with displacement and resettlement in Egypt and Jordan, with what it represents. A strategic threat to the national security of the cordon countries.

- The wave of Arab-Israeli normalization has receded, as normalization was driven by the motivation of Israeli military and security superiority. The Israeli loss will show Israel’s strength in its true size, far from what Israel promotes itself as a strong and superior security and military ally, with whom the Arab countries can cooperate in confronting the Iranian project.

A different war

No one can predict the results of the war. American-Western support for Israel is unlimited and unconditional, and no time limit has been set for it, and there is no Western popular pressure yet sufficient to stop it, which makes this war completely different from its counterparts from 2008 to 2023 on Gaza.

At the same time, no one can estimate the strength of the ground resistance, as Hamas is a highly secretive organization and the size and quality of weapons flowing to it cannot be estimated by anyone, which makes all possibilities of war open.

It is certain that before October 7th is not like what comes after it, and that we are heading towards major political events and developments that will make all parties affected by the Palestinian issue vigilant, anxious and fearful and do not want the solution of the Palestinian issue to be in Israel’s favor at their expense.

Everything that has happened so far in the Israeli war and the aerial bombardment does not change anything on the ground, and only the results of the ground war will reshape the region, strengthen axes, weaken others, advance projects and retreat others. The Al-Aqsa Flood land war may be the biggest event of the twenty-first century in the Middle East and the Palestinian issue.

Source: Al Jazeera

The writer considered that the leaders of the United States showed that they lack the wisdom and objectivity to achieve positive results (French)

An article in the American magazine Foreign Policy criticized the United States as a major cause of the war currently taking place between Israel and Palestine. Writer Stephen Walt began his article by saying that at a time when Israelis and Palestinians are mourning their dead and awaiting news of the missing now, the tendency to search for someone to blame is impossible for many to resist.

The Israelis and their supporters want to blame the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for everything. Those sympathetic to the Palestinian cause see the tragedy as the inevitable result of Israel's decades of occupation and prolonged cruel treatment of Palestinians. Others insist that there is too much blame, and that anyone who sees one side as completely innocent and the other solely responsible has lost any capacity for fair judgment.

The writer Walt believes that it is inevitable that the debate over which of the direct parties is most responsible will obscure other important causes that are not closely related to the long conflict between Zionist Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. However, we should not lose sight of these other factors even during the current crisis, because their effects may continue to reverberate long after the current fighting has stopped.

Walt focused on 5 of the critical events that he believed helped lead to the tragic events of the past two weeks.

Gulf War

He considered the Gulf War in 1991 to be the beginning, in addition to its repercussions represented by the Madrid Peace Conference, when the United States emerged as an undisputed external power in the affairs of the Middle East, and began trying to build a regional system that served its interests.

Although Madrid did not produce tangible results, let alone a final peace agreement, it laid the foundation for a serious attempt to build a peaceful regional order. But it also contained an ominous flaw that sowed the seeds of much trouble in the future.

Iran was not invited to participate in the conference, and responded to its exclusion by organizing a meeting of “rejection” forces and communicating with Palestinian groups - including Hamas and Islamic Jihad - that it had previously ignored. This is what I consider a strategic response on Tehran’s part, not an ideological one, meaning that it sought to prove to the United States and others that it can obstruct their efforts to create a new regional order, if its interests are not taken into account.

The second critical event was the fateful combination of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent US invasion of Iraq in 2003, where the decision to invade was only tangentially related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite Baath Party-era Iraq supporting the Palestinian cause in several ways.

The “Abraham” normalization agreement was signed in the White House Government Press Office and circulated to the media for publication

The writer saw that the signing of the “Abraham” normalization agreement in the White House had unfortunate effects (Al Jazeera)

What resulted, unfortunately, was a costly quagmire in Iraq and a significant improvement in Iran's strategic position. This shift in the balance of power in the Gulf alarmed Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, and perceptions of the shared threat from Iran began to reshape regional relations in important ways, including by changing the relations of some Arab countries with Israel.

In hindsight, the third major event at the time was US President Donald Trump's fateful abandonment of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the nuclear issue with Iran and his adoption of a "maximum pressure" policy instead.

Abraham Accords

This foolish decision, according to the writer, had many unfortunate effects, as abandoning the Joint Plan of Action allowed Iran to restart its nuclear program, and the “maximum pressure” campaign led to Iran attacking oil shipments and facilities in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia, which exacerbated the problem.

The fourth development was what was called the “Abraham Accords,” which critics pointed out did relatively little to advance the cause of peace because none of the participating Arab governments were hostile to Israel or capable of harming it. Others warned that regional peace would remain elusive as long as the fate of 7 million Palestinians living under Israeli control remained unresolved.

The fifth factor is not a single event, but rather the constant failure of the United States to successfully end the so-called “peace process.” Washington has monopolized oversight of the peace process since the Oslo Accords, and its various efforts have led nowhere in the end.

The writer commented that, unfortunately for the United States, these five events and their impact on the region provide powerful ammunition for an opportunist stance (as Russian President Vladimir Putin was quick to point out last week).

He concluded his article by saying that there is no security for Israel and no security or justice for the Palestinians. This is what we gain when we let Washington run everything. Whatever their intentions, US leaders have shown us time and again that they lack the wisdom and objectivity to achieve positive results, not even for themselves.

Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated this evening, Saturday, in more than one location, including in front of the homes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Caesarea and Jerusalem, in addition to a central demonstration organized in Tel Aviv, to demand the release of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The website of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper (Ynet) indicated that hundreds of demonstrators in front of Netanyahu's home in Caesarea demanded that he resign, and chanted, "We have been abandoned," in reference to the military and political failure to thwart the Qassam attack on October 7.

According to "Ynet", the Israeli police arrested at least three demonstrators in front of Netanyahu's residence in the city of Jerusalem, where dozens of demonstrators gathered who demanded his "resignation" and accused him of "failing" to manage the war on the Gaza Strip, and trying to prolong the war in anticipation. Of the danger to his political future.

Thousands also gathered to demonstrate in Tel Aviv in what became known as “Kidnapped and Missing Persons Square,” in reference to the Israeli prisoners and hostages held by the resistance factions in the Gaza Strip, in order to demand that the Israeli “war cabinet” work diligently to release the bet and the prisoners before getting more involved in the ground operation. occupation in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The demonstrators in Tel Aviv raised banners reading, “Return the kidnapped ones.” The call to the demonstration for “solidarity with the families of the hostages and prisoners” stated, “More and more days pass and the kidnapped ones are not with us. We go out to demand their return. We do not leave the kidnapped ones behind us, and we will not leave the families.” "On their own."

The newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" said that hundreds of Israelis demonstrated near Tel Aviv, at the "Emek Hefer" junction, to demand that the government work to release the prisoners detained in the Gaza Strip. Dozens also demonstrated in front of the home of the former Israeli representative to the United Nations and a member of the Knesset for Likud, Danny. Danon, in Raanana.

Thousands of Israelis demonstrate almost daily, across the country, to pressure the government to take the necessary measures to release prisoners detained in Gaza, noting that there are at least 242 Israelis who were captured by resistance factions in Gaza during the attack of last October 7.

High-level political sources in Jerusalem said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed during his visit to Israel yesterday (Friday), where he held meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials, Washington’s desire to see what he described as periods of humanitarian truce in The ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip, but at the same time, he admitted that there is a challenge facing Israel, which is to prevent the Hamas movement from using this temporary truce to its advantage.

These sources added that the Israeli Prime Minister expressed his opposition to such a temporary truce, and said that he rejects any temporary cessation of the fighting against Hamas that does not include the release of prisoners, and Blinken informed him of this.

According to these same sources, Blinken called for supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip, along with other humanitarian aid, indicating that mechanisms could be put in place to ensure its access to Gaza hospitals. He also noted that there were shared concerns with Israel about Hamas using fuel for its own purposes, but Netanyahu insisted that Israel would not allow fuel to enter Gaza.

Blinken himself said in statements he made to the media that Israel will not remain standing alone as long as the United States exists, and he stressed that this position is what he most expressed during his meetings with Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and the war cabinet.

Blinken reiterated that Israel has every right to defend itself and do everything in its power to ensure that what happened last October 7 will never happen again. He stressed that the way Israel deals with this is important, and that more effort is needed to protect the Palestinian civilian population.

“No country should tolerate the slaughter of its innocents, and that applies to Israel,” Blinken said. “I was shown additional images and footage collected by the Israeli government from video cameras [of the Hamas attack], some of which no human ability could have imagined.” What is shocking is that the brutality of these events quickly receded in the memory of many, but this is not the case, and it will not be the case in Israel and the United States.”

Blinken added that protecting the Palestinian civilian population while Israel wages its war is the right thing to do, and that failure to do so is in the interest of the Hamas movement. He said that he discussed with Israel the steps that must be taken to fight under these circumstances. He stressed the need to increase the flow of aid to civilians and take further steps to help remove additional numbers of foreign nationals. He said that he spoke with Israeli leaders about concrete steps to meet the needs of food, water, medicine, fuel and other basic needs.

Blinken acknowledged that there were legitimate questions raised in his conversations with Israeli officials about how to best use any humanitarian truce to allow more aid in and help secure the release of hostages, while preventing Hamas from using truce times to its advantage. He also stressed that refusing to allow such aid to arrive would anger potential peace partners and alienate them.

Blinken urged periods of humanitarian truce, describing them as possible to enhance security for civilians in Gaza and provide more effective aid. He said he discussed with Israeli leaders how, when and where these truce periods could occur. He pointed out that preparation and coordination for it will take time, and there are legitimate questions about how to link these truce periods to the release of hostages and how to avoid Hamas exploiting them.

Blinken pointed out that the Hamas movement does not care about the Palestinians, and uses them “brutally as human shields, and places its infrastructure and fighters in residential buildings, schools, mosques, and hospitals, but despite this, civilians should not bear the consequences of these brutal acts.”

Blinken did not give any indication that the United States was seeking to put a time limit on the war in the Gaza Strip. However, he spoke about the post-war era and said that the goal of the war could not only be to defeat Hamas, but also to create a brighter future that includes... The two-state solution. He said that the vision of a two-state solution can give hope to people, and that there is a broad and strong coalition throughout the Middle East that supports it. He promised to hold discussions with partners across the region and beyond about what should happen once Hamas is defeated.

This was Blinken's third visit since the beginning of the war.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he appreciates this visit and appreciates the support of US President Joe Biden and the United States for Israel. He added that he informed Blinken that Israel rejects a temporary ceasefire, which does not include the release of prisoners. He also informed him that Israel would not allow fuel to enter Gaza, and was opposed to sending money to the Strip.

Palestinian-American Representative Rashida Tlaib (Democrat from Michigan) accused President Joe Biden of supporting “genocide” of Palestinians, warning of the repercussions of this in next year’s elections.

Tlaib renewed her calls for Biden to support a ceasefire in the conflict that has been ongoing for nearly a month between Israel and Hamas.

This came in a video recording she posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) late on Friday evening.

Tlaib said in the recording, which showed pictures of the dead and wounded from the bombing in Gaza, pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the United States, Biden’s declaration of support for Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s thanks to the US president, that “Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

The Israeli occupation forces launched an air, artillery and ground attack on the besieged Gaza Strip, killing more than 9,400 people and wounding 23,000 citizens so far.

The besieged Gaza Strip is witnessing a scarcity of foodstuffs, and its residents resort to drinking salt water, while medical services there collapse.

Washington maintains strong military and political support for Israel while calling on Israel to take steps to avoid civilian deaths and address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to no avail.

Tlaib said, "The American people will not forget. Biden, support the ceasefire now or do not depend on us in 2024... Mr. President, the American people are not with you on this matter. We will remember that in 2024."

Several cities and international capitals witnessed demonstrations this Saturday evening, denouncing the continued aggression of the Israeli occupation and its continuing crimes against our people.

Thousands of Britons gather in London in solidarity with our people

In Britain, the capital, London, witnessed a massive demonstration in solidarity with our people and denouncing the ongoing Israeli aggression against our people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Thousands of British supporters of Palestine gathered in central London, raising Palestinian flags and chanting the slogan “Freedom for Palestine,” until the demonstration ended outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

Demonstrator Camille Revuelta said: “The superpowers are not doing enough at the moment. That is why we are here: we are calling for a ceasefire and demanding that the Palestinians be given their rights to exist and live, human rights and all the rights that we enjoy.”

Tens of thousands demonstrate in Paris

In France, tens of thousands demonstrated in the capital, Paris, to denounce the ongoing Israeli aggression against our people.

Thousands of people set off during the demonstrations, called for by left-wing organizations, associations and parties, from the Place de la République in central Paris. They denounced the continued aggression and massacres against civilians. They also expressed their anger at the difficult humanitarian situation experienced by citizens in the Gaza Strip, and denounced the French political position biased towards the occupying state.

The cities of Toulouse and Strasbourg also witnessed mass demonstrations denouncing the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Thousands demonstrated in Berlin in solidarity with our people

In Germany, thousands demonstrated in Berlin in solidarity with our people in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to continuous Israeli bombing since the seventh of last October.

According to Agence France-Presse, many families participated with their children in the demonstration, raising banners reading “Save Gaza,” “Stop the genocide,” and “Ceasefire.”

Many demonstrators wore the Palestinian keffiyeh, and the demonstrators gathered in Alexanderplatz Square in central Berlin, shaded by Palestinian flags, and chanting, “Liberate Palestine.”

Thousands demonstrated in Milan in support of Palestine

In Italy, thousands demonstrated in the city of Milan in support of Palestine and in rejection of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Participants in the march chanted slogans in support of Palestine, demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, calling for an end to the killing of civilians, and an end to the massacres committed against them.

Participants in the march, which was organized by several youth organizations, raised banners demanding an end to Israeli military operations against the Gaza Strip, and denouncing genocide and the bombing of children and civilians.

Thousands demonstrate in Denmark in solidarity with our people

Today, Saturday, thousands participated in a demonstration organized in Denmark, in solidarity with our people, and denouncing the continuing Israeli aggression against our people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The demonstrators gathered in the city hall square in the center of the capital, Copenhagen, and waved Palestinian flags and banners reading “Stop the siege on Gaza,” “Stop Israel now,” and slogans supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people and affirming their national rights to build their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return of refugees as approved by international resolutions. .

The participants called on the world to stop the genocide carried out by the occupying state in the Gaza Strip.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday that the continued aggression on the Gaza Strip complicates its efforts to mediate the release of prisoners held by Hamas.

She added in a statement, "Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated during a meeting in the Jordanian capital, Amman, with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that the continuation of the bombing doubles the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip and complicates securing the release of prisoners."

He also stressed "the necessity of concerted regional and international diplomatic efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire, and to permanently open the Rafah crossing to ensure the flow of relief convoys and humanitarian aid to Gaza."

The Ministry reiterated that the expansion of Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip "is considered a dangerous escalation in the course of confrontations, and portends dire consequences for the security and stability of the region."

Warning against expanding the circle of war

It also warned that "the international community's complicity, sometimes through silence and other times through selectivity, regarding war crimes and crimes against humanity, increases the state of tension and expands the cycle of violence," according to what was reported by the Qatari QNA agency.

The Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, called for an end to the war in Gaza, “which has exceeded all limits,” and for blood to be spared, and for civilians to be spared the consequences of the war.

In his speech at the opening of the 52nd session of the Qatari Shura Council, the Emir of the State of Qatar said, “It is not permissible for Israel to be given an unconditional green light and an unrestricted license to kill, and it is not permissible to continue to ignore the reality of occupation, siege and settlement, and it is not supposed to be allowed in our time to use water cuts and prevent medicine and food.” Weapons against an entire people.

The Emir of Qatar called for a serious regional and international stand in the face of this dangerous escalation that threatens the security of the region and the world, stressing that “it is not permissible to remain silent about the unprecedented barbaric bombing that civilians are being subjected to in the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, nor to ignore the enormous numbers of civilians.” "His innocent victims are children and women."

He said, "What is happening is very dangerous, including trampling on all religious and worldly values, customs and laws, not just international law, and Israel's public declaration of illegal intentions such as displacement and others."

Republican US House of Representatives member Ryan Zinke has prepared a bill that would prevent Palestinians from obtaining visas to the United States, and could pave the way for the deportation of Palestinians from the country.

Citing security reasons, Zinke submitted the bill to the House of Representatives, which would prevent Palestinian passport holders from entering the United States, and could lead to the deportation of Palestinians on entry visas.

Zinke - who served as Secretary of the Department of the Interior under former US President Donald Trump - claimed that he prepared the draft law - which he called the “Protection from Extremism Act” - to preserve the safety of American citizens.

Zinke said of the bill, which was signed by 10 Republican members of Congress, “Given the conditions and threats to our immigration system, and the past of terrorists abusing asylum and visa procedures around the world, the requirements in this bill are necessary to preserve "Safety of Americans."

If the law is enacted, the US Department of Homeland Security will prevent granting asylum to those who hold Palestinian passports.

The Arab Parliament submitted an official letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council to form an international investigation committee, to investigate “the war crime committed by Israel against defenseless civilians, including children, women and the elderly, with the backing and backing of major countries, and to hold them accountable for the genocidal war that is being practiced against them day and night.”

The Arab Parliament said that the number of victims since “the start of this bloody war has reached ten thousand, and more than thirty-two thousand wounded, in a full-fledged war crime and a crime against humanity that is criminalized and forbidden by international and humanitarian law and all human rights treaties, and a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions related to the treatment of civilians in times of war.” ".

The Arab Parliament added that what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially the Gaza Strip, is a genocidal war against civilians, including children, women and the elderly, “in blatant defiance of all international and humanitarian conventions, customs and laws.”

The Arab Parliament called on the international community and the Security Council to break their silence and assume their responsibilities, by applying the rules of international law and international legitimacy resolutions, holding Israel accountable, providing international protection to the defenseless Palestinian people, and putting pressure to stop the bloodshed.

The Arab Parliament renewed its support for the just struggle of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, including their right to return and establish their independent state with the city of Jerusalem as its capital.

IDF forces refused to engage militants at Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 and left kibbutz security personnel to fight the militants alone, members of the kibbutz's civilian security team recounted.

“What I remember most, and what was most shocking to me from this ordeal, was arriving at the entrance to the kibbutz and seeing 500 soldiers positioned in an organized and orderly manner standing and looking at us,” Yair Avital, a survivor of the kibbutz’s security team, told Channel 12 in a report broadcast on Wednesday. .

Be'eri was one of the communities most affected by the attack. More than 10% of the kibbutz's 1,200 residents were killed when about 3,000 Hamas gunmen stormed the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,400 people in southern towns, army bases and at a music festival, wounding more than 5,400 others and detaining at least About 240 hostages and transporting them to Gaza.

Speaking to Channel 12 from the charred ruins of the kibbutz, Avital and other surviving members of the security team recounted their ordeal and the way they say the Israeli army abandoned them.

By 7:30 a.m., less than an hour after gunmen entered the kibbutz through its main entrance and through gaps in the fence, two members of the security team were killed and three others wounded, Avital recalled.

At that moment, five police officers arrived at the scene for the first time with only their pistols. Realizing they were ill-equipped, they withdrew to get more weapons. But as the scenes from Beeri were repeated across the Gaza border towns, they were transferred to other locations and did not return.

“You see it with your own eyes, you see the terrorists flocking into the kibbutz,” said Elam Maor, a survivor. Truck after truck drives here, probably under the influence of drugs. “They were an army with endless ammunition.”

(Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

IDF forces refused to engage militants at Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 and left kibbutz security personnel to fight the militants alone, members of the kibbutz's civilian security team recounted.

“What I remember most, and what was most shocking to me from this ordeal, was arriving at the entrance to the kibbutz and seeing 500 soldiers positioned in an organized and orderly manner standing and looking at us,” Yair Avital, a survivor of the kibbutz’s security team, told Channel 12 in a report broadcast on Wednesday. .

Be'eri was one of the communities most affected by the attack. More than 10% of the kibbutz's 1,200 residents were killed when about 3,000 Hamas gunmen stormed the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,400 people in southern towns, army bases and at a music festival, wounding more than 5,400 others and detaining at least About 240 hostages and transporting them to Gaza.

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Speaking to Channel 12 from the charred ruins of the kibbutz, Avital and other surviving members of the security team recounted their ordeal and the way they say the Israeli army abandoned them.

By 7:30 a.m., less than an hour after gunmen entered the kibbutz through its main entrance and through gaps in the fence, two members of the security team were killed and three others wounded, Avital recalled.

At that moment, five police officers arrived at the scene for the first time with only their pistols. Realizing they were ill-equipped, they withdrew to get more weapons. But as the scenes from Beeri were repeated across the Gaza border towns, they were transferred to other locations and did not return.

“You see it with your own eyes, you see the terrorists flocking into the kibbutz,” said Elam Maor, a survivor. Truck after truck drives here, probably under the influence of drugs. “They were an army with endless ammunition.”

Israeli soldiers walk past homes destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri, October 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

At 9 a.m., the first team of IDF soldiers arrived at the kibbutz, more than two hours after the first gunmen stormed the entry gate. But the soldiers, a team of 14 members from the elite Shaldag unit, quickly retreated to the entrance to the kibbutz.

On Wednesday, as he toured the dental clinic where medics treated the wounded and a security team fought until they ran out of bullets on October 7, Avital recounted to Channel 12 what he saw there that morning.

“At this point, Shahar and Eitan [from the security team] were fighting and we felt like we were winning,” he recounted. “Everyone who passed by (the gunmen), the men here killed him.”

But outside the clinic, fighting raged, and the exhausted security team continued to appeal to the IDF to send fighter jets and reinforcements.

Only at one o'clock in the afternoon, the squad of soldiers from the Shaldag unit returned, this time accompanied by a team from the elite Sayeret Matkal unit.

“They were able to make an impact for the first time; They were finally able to turn the tide a little in the areas where they were stationed,” said Yuval Weiss, a member of the security team.

By 2 p.m., the feeling inside the clinic had changed. As fighting raged outside, the clinic was surrounded by a squad of Hamas gunmen, while the pilot of a combat helicopter told the security team that he did not have permission to fire inside the kibbutz.

“At least eight grenades exploded here and we have already run out of ammunition,” Avital said as he walked through the destroyed and blood-stained clinic.

He continued, saying: “Shahar shouted at the terrorists in English, ‘I am not your enemy, please, I am not your enemy.’ Another hand grenade was thrown, and Shahar was no longer with us.”

Trapped in the clinic, surrounded by corpses and his own blood, Avital played death, holding his breath while the gunmen examined each body and executed anyone they thought might be alive.

At 6:30 p.m., IDF forces finally arrived at the clinic, where Avital and kibbutz nurse Nirit were the only survivors.

When he was evacuated from the kibbutz on a stretcher, Avital realized he could no longer put his trust in the army, he told Channel 12.

He said: “There were five hundred soldiers outside, organized, with dogs, equipment, weapons and armored vehicles; They stood outside and none of them moved a muscle.”

“I remember screaming at them from the stretcher: ‘They are slaughtering us!’ Come in! “Save us.’ None of them looked at me, and none of them said anything.”

“They kept repeating: ‘The field is not sterile, the square is not sterile,’” he continued, explaining that the insistence that the area needed to be “sterile” before the soldiers could enter it was a sign that none of them understood what was happening inside the kibbutz.

“No one understood that the well-known and familiar doctrine of the IDF no longer existed. People were bleeding every minute, and the army was not there and did not understand what was happening, and this broke my heart.”

It took the Israeli army two days to complete the evacuation of Kibbutz Be'eri and ensure that no militants remained there. Before the October 7 attack, the kibbutz was the largest population center among the 25 communities that make up the Eshkol Regional Council.

The militants recorded multiple scenes in Be'eri that day, including scenes of civilians pleading not to be killed.

The kibbutz, whose establishment preceded the establishment of the State of Israel by two years, emerged as a symbol of the attack due to its size and the volume and level of documentation of the killings committed there.

It has been almost a month since October 7, and Avital still cannot sleep, he told Channel 12 as he sat with other survivors from the Civil Security team.

“Once you close your eyes, many things appear,” he said. There is no bush or rock that I cannot imagine. What if we had gone in this direction or perhaps that direction? Perhaps we could have changed things and saved another family.”

Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh called on the European Union to call for a ceasefire and the occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and to allow the entry of relief, medical and fuel aid and to restore electricity and water to the Strip.

This came during his meeting today, Saturday, in Ramallah, with the European Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process, Sven Koopmans.

Shtayyeh reiterated his rejection of the ongoing Israeli attempts to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, the latest of which is deducting the funds allocated to the Gaza Strip from the clearance funds.

He stressed that providing humanitarian and relief support to our people is important, but what is more important is that there be a comprehensive and just political solution to the Palestinian issue, by ending the occupation and embodying the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.

Shtayyeh said: “Israel, in addition to its aggression against the Gaza Strip, is carrying out its aggression against the West Bank and making it a killing field, where more than 340 martyrs have risen since the beginning of the year, including more than 140 martyrs since the beginning of the recent events at the hands of the occupation army and its settlers.”

Democratic members of the US Senate called in a statement, on Friday, for “a short-term cessation of hostilities that pose a significant risk to civilians, relief workers, or the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza.”

The 13 senators stated in a statement issued by the office of Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey that, “As senators, we are closely monitoring the war in Gaza and believe that more must be done to protect civilian lives,” according to what was reported by CNN. ".

The senators stressed that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, but stressed that it must "minimize harm to civilians and allow humanitarian aid to reach those suffering."

According to the statement, the members hope to achieve “three goals through a short-term cessation of hostilities,” namely: “successfully delivering the necessary humanitarian aid to civilians under strict and necessary supervision, additional focus on the release of all kidnapped hostages, and providing an opportunity for a broader discussion among the leadership.” Israeli and Palestinian governments, together with regional and global partners, on long-term strategies to reduce the decades-long conflict in the region.

The statement coincides with the arrival of US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, in Israel, on Friday, to pressure the Israeli government regarding its ongoing attack on Gaza.

US President Joe Biden and his senior advisors warned Israel that it will become increasingly difficult for it to pursue its military goals in Gaza as global anger intensifies over the extent of human suffering there, according to what CNN reported Thursday.

The network reported, on Thursday, that “there is an American warning to Israeli officials that time is running out before support erodes,” in the continuation of the intense bombing of Gaza, which has claimed the lives of more than 9,000 people, most of them civilians.

The report stated, “US President Joe Biden and his senior advisors are increasingly warning Israel that “it will become difficult for it to achieve its military goals in Gaza, as global anger intensifies over the scale of human suffering in the Strip.”

Alhurra

The Israeli police forcefully dispersed a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the Mea Shearim neighborhood in East Jerusalem during a solidarity protest with Gaza, and the police lowered Palestinian flags and banners showing solidarity with Gaza on Wednesday, the first of this November.

Mea Shearim is a neighborhood inhabited by Haredi Jews who oppose Zionism and some of whom do not recognize the Israeli state according to their religious belief.