A new ceasefire entered into force on Thursday evening in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, where 17 people were killed and about 100 others injured during a week of confrontations.

On September 7, clashes broke out between the Fatah movement and extremist Islamic groups in the camp located on the outskirts of the coastal city of Sidon, which is considered the largest for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

The ceasefire was announced after separate talks between Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and high-ranking officials from the Fatah and Hamas movements, who were sent to Lebanon to try to calm the situation.

The official in the camp, Fouad Othman, said that a meeting took place between Berri and a member of the Executive Committees of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, Azzam al-Ahmad. Berri also met with a member of the Hamas political bureau, Musa Abu Marzouk, and “it was agreed with the two parties to implement a ceasefire... starting today.” (Thursday) at 18:00 (15:00 GMT).

After the new ceasefire entered into force on Thursday, the sound of gunfire stopped being heard, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent.

Othman said that Hamas is not participating in the fighting, but "is in a relationship with the other party."

Since the fighting began on September 7, 17 people have been killed and about 100 others wounded, according to Imad Hallaq, an official with the Palestinian Red Crescent in Lebanon.

An Agence France-Presse correspondent reported that five Fatah fighters were buried on Thursday.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that hundreds of families have fled the camp since the fighting began.

On Thursday, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun inspected the 1st Infantry Brigade, deployed in the vicinity of the camp, where he visited the brigade’s leadership at the Muhammad Zgheib barracks in Sidon, met with officers and soldiers, and listened to a briefing on the missions carried out in light of the clashes taking place inside the Ain al-Hilweh camp.

At the end of July and the beginning of August, similar confrontations resulted in the killing of 13 people, including a Fatah leader, in an ambush. They continued for five days before calming down after a series of contacts between Palestinian factions and Lebanese officials and parties.

The Lebanese security forces do not enter the Palestinian camps according to an implicit agreement between the PLO and the Lebanese authorities. The Palestinian factions undertake a kind of self-security inside the camps through a joint security force.

Ain al-Hilweh camp is known for harboring extremist Islamic groups and outlaws. It is home to more than 54,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations, joined during the past years by thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria.

It often witnesses assassinations and sometimes clashes, especially between Palestinian factions and extremist Islamic groups.

The Fatah movement is the most prominent faction in the camp, where Hamas is also present. Extremist Islamic groups take several neighborhoods as their stronghold, one of which is the area that mainly witnessed the recent clashes with the Fatah movement.

The United States on Thursday denounced Moscow's "unjustified" decision to expel two of its diplomats working in the Russian capital, pledging to "respond" in a timely manner.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, "This unjustified expulsion of our diplomatic staff is completely baseless."

Al-Quds University hosted on its main campus the Al-Quds International Conference on Applications of Sustainable Development in the Charitable Work Sector, which is organized by the Al-Quds Fund and Endowment in partnership with the university and the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, in the presence of leaders and ambassadors of charitable and humanitarian work at the Arab, Islamic and international levels, and a number of prominent Arab and Islamic figures in Palestine, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Tunisia, Turkey, Jordan, Oman, Algeria.

In its four sessions, the conference discussed the role of Arab and international partnerships in supporting charitable organizations in the city of Jerusalem to achieve sustainable development, the development priorities of the city of Jerusalem, the reality of development work and its role in the city of Jerusalem to enhance the sustainable impact between challenges and requirements, innovation and its tools in enhancing sustainable returns and employing technology, digitization and artificial intelligence in Philanthropy, tools to measure the impact of charitable sector projects to enhance the institutionalization of sustainability applications.

In the speech of the conference’s honorary guest, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Islamic Charitable Organization, Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq stressed that the State of Kuwait, with its various positions, will remain loyal to the people throughout the land of Palestine, especially Al-Quds Al-Sharif, as it spares no effort in launching various humanitarian initiatives in the Blessed Land, indicating that the humanitarian situation in Palestine occupies the utmost importance in the Charitable Organization’s work agenda. Education is also one of the most important programs it works on to provide high-quality educational opportunities.

The Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Al-Maatouq stressed the importance of charitable and humanitarian work in helping the needy and the weak, and the role of charitable institutions and associations as a basic pillar for building sustainable societies and achieving comprehensive well-being by directing efforts to serve communities in education, health, etc., and Arab and international partnerships in the field have led to enhancing understanding between different peoples, adding, “We are making Our efforts to strengthen partnerships and achieve sustainable development, and reaching beneficiaries has become faster and easier as a result of these important partnerships.”

For his part, the President of Al-Quds University, Prof. Dr. Imad Abu Kishk greeted the conference guests from the sisterly Arab countries, the Jerusalem Endowment Fund, its governorate, and all the conference guests, continuing, “We meet today in Jerusalem, the blessed land, the first of the two qiblahs, the second of the two mosques, and the third of the two holy mosques... I am pleased and honored to welcome you to Al-Quds University, the capital’s university, science, scholars, excellence, creativity, and innovation.” The first Palestinian in teaching and scientific research and the first Arab in social responsibility.”

The price of Prof. Abu Kishk The participants in the conference are distinguished Arab elites and figures in charitable work, community development and humanitarian relief, in order to enhance the sustainable impact of charitable sector projects to empower the Jerusalemite community, as the conference topics come within the university’s vision and action plan within the framework of its social responsibility towards the people of Jerusalem. Being the only Arab university in the city, and in turn believing in the development of Jerusalemite society through the academic, development and scientific research programs it provides, in addition to community programs and various partnerships to support development and charitable work in Jerusalem and Palestine in general.

Prof. Dr. touched on Abu Kishk, due to the university’s keenness to pay attention to creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship through its various centers spread across Jerusalem in its various locations, such as the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center, the Professional Development Center, and the Skills, Simulation, and Skill Building Center, to its work to strengthen the health sector in Jerusalem through its health facilities in the city and its contribution to supporting Economy and coordination with Arab and Islamic supporting bodies and the Jerusalem Endowment Fund to support and develop the Jerusalem community, stressing the importance of participation, transparency, accountability, effectiveness, fairness and justice in community development work, and involving everyone in decision-making in the charitable sector in order to achieve the goals of sustainable and human development, empowerment and security, creating opportunities and advancing society.

The Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, said that he is attending with the participation of Jerusalem, its people, and the Arab brothers in attendance, stressing the strategic depth of the blessed city and the necessity of supporting it as a trust in all of our necks, based on its religious, Islamic, doctrinal, historical, and civilizational status, as well as Al-Aqsa Mosque, in the face of attempts to dominate and control it, matched by the steadfastness of the Jerusalemites who protect the city. Against Judaization, so that Al-Aqsa remains full of Almoravids and the support of Arab and Islamic countries, which is what this conference represents as it embodies the virtue of charitable and volunteer work in Palestine and Jerusalem in particular.

In turn, Jordanian MP Muhammad Al-Dhahrawi said, “At every moment we must be present with our words to defend the homeland and Palestine, and that Amman is the sister of Palestine and its cause is a central issue for every Jordanian,” expressing his happiness at his presence on the land of Palestine. He also praised the role of the endowment and the Arab peoples and their positions in support of Palestine. Because defending Jerusalem is the duty of every Arab.

For his part, Deputy Governor of Jerusalem, Abdullah Siam, spoke on behalf of Governor Adnan Ghaith, conveying the greetings of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen to the honorable audience at this conference in the presence of Jerusalem, where the partners extend a helping hand and goodness to support the Palestinian position and the reality of the city. He also addressed the occupation’s ongoing targeting procedures. For the city and the importance of containing and confronting this siege in order to preserve the identity of the targeted Jerusalem and its institutions and to show responsibility towards it from the entire Arab and Islamic world, and the role of endowments in caring for Jerusalem and the steadfastness of its people and institutions in order to remain steadfast and confront plans and procedures.

In a speech from the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, Dr. emphasized: Saeed Yaqeen, the importance of standing against ethnic cleansing, genocide, and falsification, and activating international law, which must protect those standing in the face of these crimes to falsify the Arabism of Jerusalem and the identity of the place, speaking about the project to support education, health, and services to support civil society and its institutions in Jerusalem, the capital, from all Arabs.

The guest of honor of the conference, the envoy of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Her Excellency Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Thani, expressed via Zoom technology the importance of relief and development affairs as a priority, especially in the issue of Jerusalem, and international regional cooperation is a great responsibility in view of the historical, cultural, Arab and international status of the city, so It is imperative to improve the quality of education and institutions and preserve heritage and basic needs that require joint efforts in Arab and international cooperation and solidarity to support the development of Jerusalem and the residents of the region and achieve development, economic well-being and societal progress through multilateral partnerships, knowledge exchange and capacity building between international and local experts, urban planning and infrastructure, education. Skills development, cultural tourism development, solidarity and social solidarity.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed Thursday his concern about increasing indicators warning of further fragmentation in the years-long war in Syria, calling for dialogue to avoid a “new catastrophic dimension” to the conflict.

A statement by Turk said that the clashes that broke out in Deir ez-Zor Governorate in late August resulted in the killing of at least 23 civilians.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said, “The indicators that warn of the fragmentation of the conflict in Syria are very worrying.”

He continued, "We can never be satisfied with watching the country slide further and further into an endless conflict, a conflict that has already left indelible scars on the lives of many civilians."

The clashes broke out on August 27 after the Syrian Democratic Forces arrested Ahmed Al-Khubail, known as “Abu Khawla,” the leader of its Deir ez-Zor Military Council. It later announced his dismissal, accusing him of involvement in “criminal crimes, drug trafficking, and mismanagement of the security situation,” and of communicating with the regime.

This prompted fighters loyal to Al-Khubail to carry out attacks that quickly developed into clashes in a number of villages and towns, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Last week, the Observatory reported that 90 people were killed in violence, the majority of them fighters.
Turk said that in addition to the 23 civilian deaths, the Syrian Democratic Forces arrested dozens of people “for their alleged involvement in hostilities,” and noted that “as a result, thousands of civilians fled their homes.”

He stressed that "the attacks affected populated areas, including camps for the displaced, markets, water treatment facilities, and health centers," adding, "The curfew and roadblocks also undermined freedom of movement and raised the prices of food and fuel."

He pointed out that the conflict was initially confined to Deir ez-Zor, but it soon spread to Al-Hasakah and the eastern countryside of Aleppo, and other armed groups became involved.

The UN High Commissioner continued, "I express my deep concern about other parties exploiting the tensions and hostilities in Deir ez-Zor and the neighborhood, in an attempt to extend their authority over the region."

He added, "All parties concerned with this latest escalation must immediately end the clashes and work to resolve differences through dialogue, with the aim of avoiding launching a new catastrophic dimension to the conflict in Syria."
The war in Syria claimed the lives of about 500,000 people, left millions displaced and refugees, and destroyed the country's infrastructure and industries.

The conflict began with popular protests that were suppressed by the regime, and branched out with the involvement of external parties, armed men, and jihadist organizations.

In recent years, there has been calm on the front lines, but vast parts of the north of the country are still outside government control.

The Prisoners' Club said that a new deterioration occurred in the health condition of prisoner Assef Al-Rifai, who suffers from cancer, and he was transferred since yesterday from the Ramla prison clinic to the Israeli "Assaf Harofeh" Hospital.

The Prisoner's Club explained that the occupation continues its crime against the prisoner Al-Rifai (21 years old), from the town of Kafr Ain / Ramallah, by arresting him and detaining him in what is called the Ramla Prison Clinic, despite the continuing risks to his life, and his urgent need for his family, especially since the CT scans that were conducted on him Recently, there has been no improvement in his health condition.

The Prisoner's Club pointed out that the prisoner, Al-Rifai, began receiving treatment (chemical and biological) in March of this year, that is, about seven months after the date of his arrest on September 24, 2022, despite medical reports confirming the level of danger that he was in. He was facing it while he was under arrest.

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A delegation from the Houthi group, which controls the capital, Sanaa, and other regions in Yemen, is preparing to make a rare visit to Saudi Arabia, which supports the government, in a move aimed at pushing forward the political solution, according to diplomatic and political sources reported Thursday.

This comes as the first public visit by a Houthi delegation to the Kingdom since Riyadh launched a military campaign at the head of a coalition to stop the advance of the Iran-allied group in the poor country in 2015, about five months after the visit of a Saudi delegation to Sanaa.

Yemen has been mired in an armed conflict over power between the Houthis and the government since mid-2014, which has caused the death and injury of hundreds of thousands, and the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to United Nations estimates.

A Yemeni government official familiar with the content of the talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis told Agence France-Presse, "There are preparations for a Houthi delegation to move to Riyadh within the next 72 hours."

He added that the purpose of the visit is “to hold a round of negotiations with Saudi Arabia and reach a final agreement on the details of the humanitarian and economic files.”

He continued that the talks focus on the issue of paying the salaries of employees of the Houthi government, which is not internationally recognized, through the authority, which is a sticking point, and the launch of new destinations from Sanaa Airport, which remained closed for years before the coalition last year allowed its airspace to be opened for planes to Jordan and Egypt.

A Western diplomat in Yemen confirmed the Houthi delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia, saying that it may take place "today", Thursday, or within the next two days.

Saudi officials did not immediately respond to questions from Agence France-Presse about the visit.

For his part, member of the “Political Bureau” Ali Al-Qahum, the highest political authority for the Houthis, wrote on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter) that the Houthi delegation will leave Sanaa “on an Omani plane to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to complete the previous meetings that took place in Muscat for more than Once with the Saudi delegation.”

He added, "Optimism exists and still exists in the success of the mediation and the Omani efforts to achieve peace in Yemen."

Oman plays the role of mediator in the conflict. Saba News Agency, the spokesperson for the Yemeni capital authorities, reported on Thursday evening that an Omani delegation had arrived in Sanaa, accompanied by the official spokesman for the Houthis, Mohammed Abdel Salam, residing in the Sultanate.

It is noteworthy that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the Sultanate of Oman a few days ago.

The visit of the Saudi delegation to Sanaa in April, and the recent rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, have raised hopes for a political solution to the bloody conflict in the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula.

The head of the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, Majed Al-Madhaji, told AFP that the Houthi delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia "is like moving the relationship between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia from the back rooms to the hall of the house, that is, legitimizing this relationship and giving it an additional impetus."

He continued, "On the political level, it is an advanced step to end Saudi Arabia's direct role in Yemen and for the Houthis to acknowledge its role as a mediator," in addition to being one of the parties to the conflict.

The intensity of fighting in Yemen decreased significantly after the UN-brokered ceasefire that entered into force in April 2022, and it continues to a large extent even after the agreement expired in October 2022.

But the humanitarian crisis in the poor country continues to worsen, with humanitarian aid declining due to lack of funding.

On Thursday, 98 international and local bodies, including United Nations organizations, called in a statement to increase funding to continue helping “more than 21.6 million people, or 75 percent of the population of Yemen.”

These authorities indicated that “17 million people suffer from food insecurity” in Yemen, and this number includes 6.1 million people who have already entered “a dangerous stage of food shortages and acute malnutrition.”

Despite the scale of these humanitarian needs, by August 2023, the Humanitarian Response Plan had received only “31.2 percent of the total needs of $4.34 billion” for 2023, leading to “drastic and alarming reductions in aid,” according to the report. For the statement.

In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross recently warned that Yemen is suffering from one of the highest rates of contamination with mines and other explosive remnants of war in the world, nine years after the start of the conflict in the country.

The committee's Middle East operations director, Fabrizio Carbone, said in an interview with Agence France-Presse that the poorest countries in the Arabian Peninsula have become among the three countries most affected by explosives.

He warned that the spread of explosives "is so large that it would not be possible to remove" all mines and remnants of war if the conflict ended today.

The Trades Union Confederation (TUC) in England and Wales, which has 5.5 million members from 48 unions, has issued a resolution affirming its commitment to supporting the Palestinian struggle for freedom, including supporting the right to boycott.

The resolution stressed the necessity of rejecting any attempt to delegitimize the Palestinian call to boycott Israel, withdraw investments from it, and impose sanctions on it (BDS), and deprive the Palestinians of the right to appeal to people of conscience around the world for support.

According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, the US “monopolization” of brokerage functions should give way to collective impartial mediation

Moscow is called upon to unite the efforts of all participants in the process of peaceful resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. This is stated in the commentary of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova in connection with the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Measures between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

“We stand for intensifying collective steps aimed at creating the necessary preconditions for resuming the peace process. We note the key role of regional players - Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Algeria, Turkey, the League of Arab States (LAS), - said Zakharova. - "The time has come to join forces. The Russian initiative, which was the focus of the meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on July 18 in Moscow with the heads of diplomatic missions of Arab countries, Turkey and the Arab League, was aimed at developing consolidated approaches to the Middle East settlement - TASS note."

As the diplomat indicated, Russia intends to closely engage in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement and other conflict situations in the region, maintaining close contact with its Middle Eastern partners, including Palestine and Israel, and relying on such an important and proven asset as trust in the Middle East to Russian foreign policy.

In addition, she noted that it is extremely important to learn lessons from the Oslo Accords (Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements). “Such an analysis is necessary to build a solid architecture for the second-tier settlement and resume peace negotiations on the entire range of final status issues,” added the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Today, Thursday, Finance Minister Shukri Bishara revealed the value of Palestinian funds held by “Israel” since 2019, which currently amounts to about 800 million dollars.

This came during his discussion with Norwegian Foreign Minister Ankin Huitfeldt, preparations for the donor meeting (AHLC) scheduled to be held next week in New York, in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly.

During the meeting, which took place in Ramallah, Bishara discussed ways to strengthen the financial and economic conditions of the Palestinian National Authority, with the continued Israeli deductions from clearance funds and the decline in external support, pointing out the need to mobilize financial support to enable the National Authority to fulfill its obligations and responsibilities and develop its work in a sustainable manner.

He stressed the need for the donor meeting to produce serious results and work mechanisms that would put pressure on the occupation government.

Bishara appreciated the Norwegian government’s position in support of Palestine, its commitment to international law, the values of justice, and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state.

The head of the Prisoners' and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs Authority, Qaddoura Fares, discussed with the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wensland, the latest developments related to the issue of male and female prisoners, and the seriousness of the Israeli occupation prison administration's procedures against them.

During the meeting held in the city of Ramallah, today, Thursday, Fares informed Wensland of the life and health conditions that our male and female prisoners live in, which are constantly worsening as a result of systematic Israeli policies aimed at undermining their steadfastness and determination, by complicating their daily lives and depriving them of their health rights. .

Fares spoke about the issue of prisoners as a whole and the dangers that threaten their lives, focusing on the fascism of the extremist minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who seeks to impose decisions on the prisoners that affect their privacy and rights, such as demanding that visits be reduced to once every two months, the reduction of food supplies in the “cantina,” and the withdrawal of cleaning supplies. Bathing shampoos, abolishing the representation of prisoners, reducing outbursts and other retaliatory decisions.

He affirmed the categorical rejection of “our male and female prisoners being turned into a tool in Israeli public policy, or for electoral propaganda and material for partisan competitions to gain votes and supporters. This is what exposes the composition of the current occupation government, which was formed with bets of revenge on the prisoners, and with the acquiescence of Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose government is in a state of crisis.” Confusion and open confusion.”

He added: "We have thousands of humanitarian and human rights cases for our male and female prisoners. Today, a number of them are on an open hunger strike against their administrative detention, some of them approaching 50 days in a row. Ahmed Manasra has also been exposed and is being exposed to a comprehensive crime in which the entire occupation system participated, and medical crimes occur every day." It results in casualties among the ranks of our freedom fighters and women, and the detention of the bodies of martyred prisoners and the resulting lack of respect for their human and religious privacy, in addition to the torment and pain it causes to their families and families. All of the above are crimes for which the occupation leaders must be held accountable.”

Fares called on the United Nations to assume all its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people, especially male and female prisoners in the occupation prisons, and to have the courage to intervene with the prison administration to stop the attacks and violations, to stop singling out our freedom fighters, and to force the occupying state to adhere to international agreements and covenants, so that the situation develops. The General International, to be able to confront the escalating Israeli crime, and for the United Nations, with all its organs, to be effective and bold in confronting Israeli fascism and extremism.

He stressed "the need to deal with our prisoners on purely humanitarian grounds, far from political gains and disputes, and to allow them to manage their lives calmly, far from any annoyances or racist vindictive tendencies, because the reality they are living in is difficult and cannot bear further pressure."

Fares warned of the general international silence regarding the practices of the occupation leaders in dealing with our prisoners, “because the situation is imminent to explode inside and outside the prisons, and this time the confrontation will be open and fierce and no one will be spared from it, and the Palestinian street will be loyal, sacrificial and supportive of its prisoners in any upcoming battle, and will not be stingy.” In his resistance and confrontation of this occupation.”

Today, Thursday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh discussed with the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Ankin Huitfeldt, the arrangements for the donor meeting scheduled to be held next week in New York, in her capacity as chair of the meeting, in addition to the latest developments in the situation in Palestine.

During his meeting with Huitfeldt in his office in Ramallah, the Prime Minister called on donor countries to pressure Israel to adhere to the signed agreements and fulfill its pledges made during previous meetings, and to stop all unilateral measures and allow elections to be held in all Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, in addition to stopping all unfair deductions from... Clearing funds.

Shtayyeh praised Norway's steadfast and continuous support for Palestine, calling on it to recognize the State of Palestine as a sponsor of peace and the Oslo Accords, in order to protect the two-state solution in light of all the destructive Israeli measures to it.

The meeting was attended by the Norwegian envoy to the Middle East peace process, Hilda Haraldstad, the Norwegian representative to Palestine, Toren Veste, and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amal Jado.

The Prisoner's Club confirmed that prisoner Maher Al-Akhras suspended his open hunger strike, which lasted for (23) days, in order to give his lawyer an opportunity to negotiate until the date of the next session on October 26, as the occupation recently filed an indictment against him, including charges. (About incitement and providing services).

It is noteworthy that the detainee Maher Al-Akhras (52 years old) from the town of Silat Al-Dhahr / Jenin, had announced his strike at the moment of his arrest on August 23 of last year. He is a former prisoner who spent five years in the occupation prisons, and in 2020 he went on strike to reject his administrative detention, which lasted for 103 days. He is married and the father of six children, noting that he is detained in the cells of Al-Jalama detention center.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a precautionary order against Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, demanding that he and the government explain the reasons for not immediately holding a meeting of the Judicial Appointment Committee.

The Supreme Court's decision comes in the wake of Levin's attack against the Israeli government's judicial advisor, Gali Beharav Meara, and he considered that his decision to convene a committee to appoint judges should not be interfered with.

Although the Supreme Court's decision does not obligate Levin to hold a meeting of the committee appointing judges, the decision means, on the other hand, that the Supreme Court will consider at least once the petitions against not convening the committee, after which the court will issue a decision.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation authorities renewed the solitary confinement order against prisoner Wael Al-Jagoub, for a new month.

The Prisoner's Club pointed out that prisoner Al-Jagoub was transferred to solitary confinement on the 8th of last August, and today he is in isolation in "Megiddo" prison.

The Prisoners' Club held the occupation prison administration fully responsible for the fate of the prisoner, Commander Wael Al-Jagoub, knowing that he suffers from several health problems.

It is noteworthy that since the beginning of this year, the prison administration has intensified isolation operations against the leaders of the prisoner movement, as well as investigations against them.

Today, Thursday, huge crowds in Gaza City mourned the bodies of the five martyrs who were killed in an accidental explosion in the Malka area on the eastern border of the city.

The funeral procession for the five martyrs started from Al-Shifa Governmental Hospital, reaching the homes of the families of the martyrs, each according to their region.

The last farewell was given to the martyrs in the homes of their families, before they were buried.

The Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of 5 citizens: Muhammad Omar Fahmi Qaddum, Al-Baraa Wael Mohieddin Al-Zard, Raed Rawhi Yahya Ramadan, Abdel Nasser Rami Ahmed Nofal, Ali Jumah Ali Ayyad, while 25 were injured.

25 others sustained various injuries.

Today, Thursday, the prisoner movement called on all concerned and responsible authorities to intervene and open a dialogue with the striking prisoners to fulfill their demands and end their strike as soon as possible.

In a statement, the Prisoner Movement expressed its extreme anger and denunciation of the criminal behavior in the way the prisoners on hunger strike were treated and continued to threaten them that their fate would be the same as the fate of the martyr Sheikh Khader Adnan.

The prisoner movement affirmed its determination to support the strikers and not leave them facing their fate alone, as part of its tireless effort to establish a new situation that prevents the implementation of the occupation’s plans to single out any prisoner.

The Prisoner Movement held the Israeli occupation and all its criminal and repressive institutions fully responsible for the lives and safety of the striking prisoners, stressing that the martyrdom of any striking brother would be treated as a direct assassination by the occupation.

The coming year – the worst is yet to come, unless….

I imagine that the average Israeli sees very little of the content that I see every day in my Twitter (X) feed, from the Palestinian media, from Israeli, Palestinian, and international human rights organizations. Those who see that content are witnesses to horrendous acts of humiliation, violence, and Israeli state sponsored terrorism against Palestinians of all ages - men, women and children all over the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Every day ethnic cleansing is happening from the far north in the Jordan Valley to the south Hebron Hills. Arrests of tens of Palestinians, men, women, and children – boys and girls, occur every night in the wee hours of the morning. Beatings, vandalism against property, homes, vehicles, cutting and burning of olive trees, and stealing of sheep and goats is a daily occurrence by settlers whose goal is to make life for Palestinians a living hell for those who live on land that the settlers covet. Palestinian shepherds are violently harassed by settlers living mostly in outposts that are even considered illegal by Israeli law. Those so-called illegal or unauthorized outposts are connected to Israeli infrastructure, while many of the Palestinians living there for decades and sometimes hundreds of years have no infrastructure at all. These Palestinians, if they try to construct a home with a roof or add a room, or dig a water well, or even use water from an existing water well, the Israeli army will come with its massive bulldozers and destroy the source of livelihood of these human beings.  The violent settlers are protected by the Israeli army and Israeli Border Police on their rampages against people whose only crime is they are Palestinians living on their own land and want to be free. Sometimes brave Israelis are there to try to protect the Palestinians, but they too are the victims of violence and the military who see them as allies of their enemy. 

The recent demands by the extremist, racist, anti-Arab so-called Minister of National Security to harshen the conditions of Palestinians in Israeli prisons is the next step towards the inevitable explosion that will very likely happen in the coming year. More than one million Palestinians have been in Israeli prisons since 1967. There are tens of radio programs on all Palestinian radio stations in which Palestinians send messages to their loved ones in prison. It’s just like the program “The Voice of Mother” from the Israeli army radio station that was broadcasted for years in Israel. There are no legal telephones for prisoners to use to speak to their families. Family visits are few and far apart. Most prisoners from Gaza are not allowed any family visits at all. For almost all Palestinians, their loved ones in Israeli prisons are heroes of the Palestinian struggle for freedom. But more important that the struggle for liberation is the fact that the prisoners are sons, fathers, brothers, uncles, grandfathers and sometimes also daughters, sisters, aunts, and mothers. Every Israeli should be able to identify with the pain of missing a loved one who is so close yet so far and unreachable.  The reality of prison life is well known to every Palestinian family and if the conditions of the prisoners is made much worse (it is already unbearable) the explosion across the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza will come from within the prisons.  

There is a limit to the amount of suffering that any people is capable of bearing. I am not Palestinian, I am Israeli, I am Jewish, and I cannot bear to watch the daily videos that I see in my social media feed. I can envision myself in those situations as the victim. I have witnessed it with my own eyes during the many years that I have traveled across the West Bank and Gaza (before 2007). I have traveled with Palestinian friends and colleagues and have seen it all through their eyes as well. I have stayed overnight in refugee camps with Palestinian friends. I have sat in Israeli military courts and have witnessed trials that have no resemblance to justice. I have seen with my own eyes the demolished home of a close friend who was ordered to demolish his own home that he was building, while illegal settlers are encroaching on the land of his village where his family has lived for hundreds of years. These illegal settlers have closed off a road leading to land that my friend owns and farms. They cut the water pipeline to his small piece of land and now he has large barrels of water with a small pump to irrigate his land. I have been to the Muqataa in Ramallah on the evenings when Palestinian prisoners were released and saw the joy and celebration of masses of Palestinians – families and friends. I have seen the human side of our neighbors. I have seen their pain and suffering and I have seen their joy and celebration. 

When I listen to Minister Bezalel Smotrich without shame illuminate his vision and plans, it is clear that all of the humiliation, violence, and destruction along with the massive settlement expansion is all part of a well thought out strategy. When Smotrich declared in the Knesset that it is a pity that Ben Gurion did not finish the job, he was referring to the Nakba and the expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine. Smotrich, Ben Gvir and the other members of their political parties of hate have plans to finish the job.  All they need is the next explosion, the next intifada, the next colossal and catastrophic round of violence to enable the Israeli army with support from the home front to force more Palestinians off of their land, and to systematically demolish their homes and villages.  

Israeli Supreme Court Justice Yitzhak Amit said this past week that democracy is destroyed in small steps, not one big blow. The Nakba which started in 1948 has been continuing since then in small steps. Those small steps have increased in their speed and their intensity. These small steps are leading to the annexation of all of the West Bank while pushing the Palestinian people off of their land. The way to stop this is for the Israeli public to understand what is happening and what it means for the existence of Israel, for their own existence within their own state. The fight for Israel’s democracy is now in the Israeli Supreme Court and in the streets with massive protesters. The Israeli Supreme Court, with all due respect, is the body of governance in Israel which has granted license to the occupation, to settlement building, and to the continued unchecked violence and impunity of Israeli settlers and Israeli soldiers. We are coming closer to the day when Israelis will have to face the reality that the nature of Israel being democratic or not is not on the “reasonableness law” now facing the Court’s decision, but on the reality of occupation and all of its consequences being played out on a daily basis by our own soldiers and police, our children, ourselves and in our name. 

The above scenario does not have to happen. It can all be changed, and that is up to us – to each and every one of us who live on this land.  

Today, Thursday, the Commission for Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene immediately and urgently to stop the suffering of the Palestinian youth who have been detained in the “Etzion” detention center since the beginning of their detention.

The Commission explained in a statement that the living conditions that detainees live in contradict all humanitarian laws, as the prisoners are held in rooms that are not suitable for human living, and the food provided to them is extremely poor in terms of quality and quantity, in addition to depriving them of the hour of relief.

The Commission stated that the Etzion detention center is considered a temporary station for detaining prisoners until they are transferred to prisons, and the occupation army is responsible for its management, and the prisoners are subjected to harsh and brutal treatment and many types of torture and inhuman and degrading practices are practiced against them.

It is noteworthy that the prisoners who were recently visited by the Commission’s lawyer, Jacqueline Fararja, are: Saeed Nakhla, Dirar Ikhmis, Mahmoud Deeb Al-Amour, Mahran Ammar Humaidan, Muhammad Hussein Abayat, Muhammad Khaled Salim Al-Amour.

Muhammad Nader Khalaf Hamid, Osama Fadl Jaber, Iyad Yassin Daloul, Amer Ahmed Daraghmeh, Wissam Abdel Rahman Attia, Suleiman Haitham Mazhar, Faisal Ali Shahrour.

On Thursday, the Israeli Central Court in occupied Jerusalem sentenced the young man Nazir Dar Ahmed (19 years old) from the village of Abwein, north of Ramallah, to 20 years in prison, on charges of carrying out a stabbing attack against an Israeli policeman about a year and a half ago in the Bab al-Amoud area in occupied Jerusalem.

Ahmed was accused of arriving in Jerusalem without a permit on May 8, 2022, and attempting to stab an Israeli policeman, who slightly injured him in the shoulder, which was denied by the young man’s family.

The occupation police officers fired more than 20 bullets at the young man, seriously wounding him. He was brought before the courts more than once while in a wheelchair due to his health condition.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation authorities summoned the Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, to investigate the so-called “Rooms 4”.

On August 4, 2022, the occupation court issued a decision imposing house arrest on Governor Ghaith without specifying a time period for the decision.

The Ministry of Agriculture announced today, Thursday, that this year’s olive harvest season will begin on the twelfth of next October, in all governorates of the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture explained in a press statement that the agricultural directorates in the governorates may delay the announced date according to the public interest and the specificity of the region.

It pointed out that the harvesting of olive fruits for pickles begins on the fifteenth of this month of September, while the date of harvesting olive fruits for the improved Nabali variety and the irrigated varieties will be delayed until the fifth of November, to obtain the best quantity and quality of oil.

It added that the operation of olive presses in all governorates of the country will begin on the ninth of next month, with the aim of carrying out the necessary maintenance for them and ensuring the efficiency of their work after obtaining permission for operation from the agricultural directorates in the governorates.

The clashes in the Ain al-Hilweh camp, in their current round, have ended their first week in the absence of solutions and the failure of all attempts to stop the bloody events and their continuation in light of the repercussions of the crisis that Sidon and the entire region are experiencing.

The climax of these clashes was yesterday afternoon, with the fighting fronts and axes intensifying all at once, lasting until after midnight, stopping on the Hattin-Jabal al-Halib neighborhood front from the south-eastern side of the camp, and continuing intermittently on the other side of the camp from the northern side, in the Al-Baraksat-Emergency axis. According to what was reported by the official Lebanese News Agency.

In the clashes, flare bombs were used for the first time in the skies of the camp, and new types of artillery and rocket shells were introduced, the sound of their explosions being heard in distant places in the depths of the south, which led to the ignition of fires inside the houses located in the fighting axes and the targeted places, and a massive wave of displacement of people, which included neighbourhoods. New ones as a result of the intensification of the indiscriminate bombing that affected them.

Since its outbreak last Thursday, the toll has reached 15 dead and more than 150 wounded.

Today, Thursday, the Commission for the Affairs of Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners published details of the health status of the sick prisoner, Qasim Marouf Muslim (52 years old), from the town of Talfit/Nablus, after the Commission’s lawyer, Sherine Iraqi, visited him in Shata prison.

Muslim has been suffering from diabetes since 2014, but his condition has worsened recently, as the blood sugar level reached 450, which is considered a very high level, which led to him being injected with 3 insulin needles daily. In addition, the prisoner has been suffering from high blood pressure since 2008, and has become... Recently, he has been complaining of a pinched nerve, spasms, and severe pain in his legs and hands, such that he cannot move his limbs. When he visited the prison clinic, they told him that this might be the result of blood pressure and diabetes, but the prisoner needs to be taken to a specialist doctor as soon as possible, as his health condition is deteriorating. .

Note that the prisoner has been detained since November 15, 2000, and has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, of which he has 7 years remaining.

The State of Palestine’s Emergency Intervention and Response Team, headed by the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency (PICA), began its humanitarian mission today, Thursday, to participate in the search for survivors and missing persons, as a result of the torrents and floods that struck eastern Libya.

The State of Palestine team was received upon its arrival at Tripoli Airport by the Libyan Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muhammad Zidane, the Director of the Arab Administration, Ambassador Osama Baghani, and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in addition to representatives of the Crisis Cell, the Palestinian Ambassador to Libya, Muhammad Rahal, and the embassy staff.

The State of Palestine’s urgent intervention and response team left yesterday, Wednesday, under the directives of President Mahmoud Abbas, for Libya, in order to stand by the brotherly Libyan people in the face of the repercussions of the devastating Hurricane “Daniel.”

The team includes 34 participants from the Civil Defense, the Ministry of Health, and the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency (PICA), with extensive experience in rescue operations, and will participate with Libyan and international rescue teams in rescue operations and providing aid and assistance.

President Mahmoud Abbas had telephoned the head of the Libyan Presidential Council, Muhammad Younis al-Manfi, offering his condolences to the victims of the hurricane. He stressed the support of the State of Palestine and the solidarity of its people with the brotherly Libyan people, and its readiness to provide all forms of support to the brothers in Libya according to the available capabilities.

It is noteworthy that the State of Palestine's Emergency Intervention and Response Team participated in rescue operations for those afflicted in Turkey and Syria, after the devastating earthquake that struck the two countries on February 6 of this year.

Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is considered a model of racism and fanaticism, and he took an immoral and inhumane measure when he reduced family visits to their imprisoned children, so that families and relatives could now visit these prisoners behind bars once every two months instead of monthly visits.

The big and strange question is: What would harm this arrogant minister if the families visited their prisoner children every month or every week instead of raising that to two months?!

Parent visits do not cost the Israeli government anything, but they mean a lot to these people who suffer from the suffering of their children behind bars and long to see them and enjoy talking to them, even from behind bars.

Our prisoners have declared a strike in protest against this behavior, in the hope that the conscience will awaken, even if only partially, among those who decided to do so, namely Ben Gvir, and withdraw from this unjust decision that is contrary to all human rights and meanings. The response of the prisoners was certainly strong, according to the capabilities and means they have to respond, and they are the ones who They lie steadfast and strong behind bars and amidst the walls of narrow rooms that do not have any moral or humanitarian specifications..!

Morocco with the earthquake and Libya with floods.. and we are under occupation!!

Floods swept through Libya, leading to the death of thousands, and a strong earthquake shook Morocco, which also led to the death of thousands. We have been suffering for years from this hateful occupation, which plans to build (3,500) settlement units on the land of Sur Baher, and has confiscated about 700 dunams of the land of the town. Hizma, north of Jerusalem, was notified of the demolition of 17 homes in the village of Al-Duyouk Al-Tahta, west of Jericho, and these attacks do not stop.

Our people, who suffer greatly from these calamities caused by the occupation, feel very much with the brothers in Libya and Morocco.

The responsible authorities took the initiative to expedite the provision of aid and needs that the Libyan and Moroccan brothers are suffering from, and this step was necessary and positive and is surpassed by nothing except our feeling, who suffer from the occupation, of the suffering to which the brothers are exposed in these two dear countries, with prayers and hope that the catastrophe will be saved. The earthquake in Morocco and the floods in Libya as quickly as possible and with the least losses and suffering, in the hope of saving us from the catastrophe of the occupation that seems to be expanding and arrogant over our land and with the rights and future of our people, and the future is ours despite the seeming power and control of this occupation, and history will be the best witness to this.

The last day of October of the current year witnesses comprehensive municipal elections for all cities in the entity, including many Arab municipalities inside the country, through the proportional representation method and in accordance with applicable Israeli law. The occupied Jerusalem municipality is also witnessing similar elections on the same date.

Given that these municipal elections have been boycotted by the Palestinian Jerusalemite public for decades, despite calls for encouragement and intimidation from the ruling authority, a group claiming to be concerned for the rights of Palestinian Jerusalemite citizens and exploiting their tragic conditions has called for participation in these upcoming municipal elections to remove the injustices that have been done to them. them, even though they are residents and not citizens according to Israeli law,

This group did not forget to use all the injustice and injustice that occurred to the citizens of East Jerusalem by the bodies of the ruling authorities, whether municipal, political, security, economic, social, or insurance, and in all service sectors, as a justification for their new and old invitation to participate in the upcoming Jerusalem municipal elections. Rather, they went far in pouring blood into this crippled call, and they praised and attracted the print, audio and visual media for this step, as if it were the unique means of saving the suffering people of Jerusalem from their hardships and needs and through which all their problems would be solved.

First, this group ignored that the root of the affliction is the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, its annexation to the entity, and the application of Israeli law to it in clear and gross violation of the rules of international law, and successive UN Security Council resolutions starting with Resolution No. 252 of 1968, and the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly starting with Resolution 2253. of 1967, and the decisions of the International Court of Justice in its fatwa opinion in 2004.

And the decisions of the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Civil Aviation Organization. Rather, the first resolution that the Israeli authorities violated since the beginning of the 1950s was Resolution No. 181 regarding the partition of Palestine in 1947.

Despite the importance of legal rules in resolving any international dispute, it will take a long time to explain these international rules, so I will just point out them, as they definitely prevent participation or even the thought of participating in municipal elections. I will not list the rules of Palestinian sovereignty over Jerusalem, and not to neglect them. By participating in municipal elections.

I will not suggest that there are no foreign embassies in Jerusalem due to its refusal to be recognized by the international community, and that the electoral participation of the residents of East Jerusalem is a justification for them to move their country’s embassies to Jerusalem. I will not allow Israeli municipal elections because this would mean the end of the Israeli military occupation of the city of Jerusalem. I will not give up the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Fourth Hague Convention of 1907 to Jerusalem, despite the leniency and complacency of the Red Cross in this area. I will not acknowledge the Israeli annexation of Jerusalem with seventy thousand dunams of its lands on which settlement colonies were built. I will not recognize the Entry into Israel Law of 1954, which applied to the people of Jerusalem and took away their right and the right of their families to live in dignity in their homeland. I will not deny the Palestinians' right to self-determination in Jerusalem and their right to control their wealth and natural resources. I will only find an affirmation of Muslim ownership of Al-Aqsa Mosque, a denial of the Temple and lost religious freedom for Muslims and Christians throughout Jerusalem, and a continuous Arabism over Jerusalem throughout history without interruption except for two invasions, one Crusader and the other Zionist.

This group calling for participation in the Jerusalem municipal elections proposes nonsense, illusions, safety and dreams to entice and titillate the simple people who love a decent life and make them believe that they are close to achieving that. It announces to them that the population in East Jerusalem has reached forty percent, and that this percentage can stop the demolition of homes with the stroke of a pen, and that it can grant permits in the blink of an eye, and they use this percentage as if it were the push of a button, and thus they deceive the Jerusalemite public with an impossible-to-achieve proposition and for special purposes.

Praise be to God, the number of Palestinians in East Jerusalem has doubled, reaching nearly four hundred thousand today, more than five times their population in 1967 according to the first Israeli census, despite all the Israeli obstacles and impediments. However, the Jerusalem Municipality and the relevant Israeli agencies provide minimal services to its residents and collect much of their money and spend it on the rich western part, in a remarkable paradox. Indeed, fines for violating construction in East Jerusalem are not spent on construction in East Jerusalem, but on West Jerusalem. It demolishes their homes, takes away their identities, prevents them from reuniting with their families, prohibits them from building, cars, municipality, and Arnonah, and does not provide the slightest services that are appropriate for them: no organization, streets, schools, cleanliness, gardens, cultural centers, or parking places. Rather, it closes associations, activities, and unions, and confiscates lands. Private property, as if there was a surplus of it, for alleged biblical gardens, to further seize real estate, displace citizens, and raise the prices of building permits. Indeed, if we take a superficial, passing look at Palestinian cities that were attached to the Jerusalem Governorate, such as Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Jericho, we will find much greater progress than Jerusalem with all its neighborhoods in all sectors, and with much lower fees.

If we dropped all those legal, practical, and political arguments against municipal elections, and accepted, theoretically and dialectically, heading for municipal elections. What will be the case, especially if the percentage of participants does not exceed five percent, as it was in previous years, but is much less, or at its maximum, ten percent? The Israelis will certainly take advantage of the consensual Palestinian Jerusalemite participation in the municipal elections, and they are skilled at it, to theorize that the Palestinians will give up their legal defenses regarding the Israeli occupation and Jerusalem. They will repeat in international forums that they gave up their right to self-determination and willingly accepted without being forced to live and live under the occupation of the Israeli occupation.

Let us pause and take a look at what happened inside the occupied territories in the elections for the so-called Knesset. Arab society was divided between those who rejected and accepted political participation. Even the Islamic movement was divided between itself, rejecting and supporting, and the national movement was also divided and scattered. That is, the Palestinian citizens are not of one heart - and I apologize - on the political issue. Will the same thing happen here in East Jerusalem, and if not, what is the expected percentage of participants?

If the percentage of participants in the municipal elections is less than ten percent, or even less than that, which is what is expected, and under one list and without dividing or dispersing the Palestinian vote, under an electoral system that relies on proportionality, and under a city controlled by right-wing religious extremists in their many different sects, what will be the share? Jerusalemites from the number of seats they will occupy. Nothing was mentioned, neither the dates of the Levant nor the grapes of Yemen were damaged, and they lost all their defenses. Then it will be said that we have not lost anything and why we have not tried, and they do not know that national rights are not an arena for experiments or games.

Let us take the impossible hypothesis, which is that the Palestine Liberation Organization will come, directly or indirectly, and issue a statement, declaration, or hint, allowing the people of Jerusalem and urging them to participate in the municipal elections. We were preparing a unified list with a high voter rate. Will the Israelis remain silent and accept this matter, especially since you are talking about the so-called “eternal capital of the Jewish people?” Will the elected Jerusalemite winners swear an oath of loyalty to the State of Israel? If we accept all these procedural formalities, how, for God’s sake, can a law like the “Cyminster” law regarding illegal construction be abolished, and we prevent the demolition of homes? Have you not heard and read about the demolition of homes in Arab and Druze towns? Rather, they were not provided with infrastructure services such as electricity and sewage. Look, there are dozens of Arab and Druze municipalities that are legally elected, have municipal councils, legal jurisdictions and budgets and are approved by the Ministry of the Interior, but they have not been able to change one iota of this unfair and discriminatory law in all of the entity’s territories and not limited to Jerusalem. That is, the great matter that you are promoting to enter the electoral arena has lost its meaning and has become impossible, and therefore you have lost the pretext and reason for engaging in it. So be rational and do not dance on the wounds of citizens and do not promote wrong ideas, but rather represent sin itself.

Arab municipalities at home were unable to stop the confiscation of Arab land, despite its scarcity and lack of surplus, and perhaps the events that took place on Land Day are the best expression of that. The Arab municipalities were not given land by the Israel Lands Authority or the Keren to be used to solve the housing crisis among young people, which led them to internal migration. Arab municipalities were not given funds or budgets to carry out municipal activities. Rather, fines were imposed on them and they were sometimes dissolved, and government employees were appointed to manage them. Rather, there are areas in the Negev that are not recognized and inhabited, and for which no municipalities or municipal services have been established. The Arab municipalities were not able to impose their residential sector regulatory plans, but are still fighting for a regulatory share, as all the relevant committees are Jewish through and through. Can the Arab municipalities, despite their knowledge of the secrets of Israeli law and society, impose an educational curriculum specific to the Arab community?

This is a Zionist state, and its pillar and foundation is a racist law based on the Jewishness of the state. After that, any faction can change the Arab reality existing in the entity. Racist laws by design and construction, and there is no hope of changing them. And all of these nonsense and dreams, even if you think well of my hopes for change, are nothing but hallucinations or superfluities negated by the established facts inside, or is there something behind the mound and you will return with hidden nostalgia because the issue has been consumed and consumed!!!

Although the conclusions have become completely clear, attempts to justify the signing 30 years ago are still present, either through the saying (it was not possible to be better than it was) or the saying (self-preservation after the changes of the early nineties). As for the sentence that gained a large presence in the defense propaganda Regarding the signature, it is (there is no alternative), knowing that the alternative was present strongly (the popular uprising in 1987) and was aborted by carrying the bags and heading to Madrid and then for the secret negotiations in Oslo. They aborted the alternative and then said: Where is the alternative? The aim of the article is not to discuss and refute these statements/sentences, but it can quickly be said: Self-preservation does not mean rejecting resistance, giving up 78% of our homeland, recognizing the legitimacy of the Zionist entity, and creating a rift in the unity of the people, because what will be left of (the self) after all of this? ? Unless what is meant by “themselves” is “themselves” of the dominant leadership elites who have come to fear for their existence, privileges, and political influence, especially with the rise of the power of the Islamic movement in the early 1990s.

However, those who follow the justification approach will have nothing to say about the results of the past thirty years because they are disastrous by all standards, and it is not possible to turn away from them and deny them as if they do not exist. In terms of the decline in the status of the national cause globally, which we achieved through the sacrifices of the resistance and our people, the massive increase in the number of settlers in Jerusalem and the West Bank until it exceeded 750 thousand settlers, the dull and unaccounted weight of the Palestinian leadership in the political movement, the (economy) subordinate and attached to the entity’s economy, the economic and political structures. The security created by Oslo, which has a functional role in serving the Zionist occupier, is the fragmentation of the Palestinian people, the official approval of the division of its unified political geography, the destruction of its unity, and many other things that cannot be denied.

Despite all this, the organisation’s institutions, which are supposed to represent it historically, such as the National and Central Councils and the Executive Committee, did not stop just to review this approach that brought our people to this position, even with minimal discussion. On the contrary, over the course of 30 years, despite the disastrous results, the same structures and the same approach were reproduced. That is, everything that led us to these results.

At the structural level
The negotiation was secret, carried out by five leaders behind the back of the organization’s institutions, and even behind the back of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement. Then, after preparing everything, including the signature, the National Council was called after (shuffling) its membership by adding hundreds of new members to ensure the result, and they were asked to Vote. After that, it can be said that the organization’s institutions have entered the stage of disintegration, to the point of non-existence. They are not actually present in the political decision, which continues to be the decision of a team that does not exceed the fingers of one hand, and even if any of the organization’s institutions takes a decision, it will throw ashes in the eyes to absorb popular anger. Of the type (withdrawal of recognition of Israel) or (cessation of security coordination), it has become known that it was ink on paper and was not implemented, as if it never existed in the first place. It is the same approach: say what you want and do what I want.

It can be said that in exchange for the Zionists' recognition of the organization as a legitimate representative, the organization in return effectively erased itself as a representative when it erased the National Charter, recognized the legitimacy of the Zionist entity, and renounced violence, so there is no problem then for the Zionists to officially recognize it and act with it as if it does not actually exist, which it is.

The most miserable result on this level is that the institution of authority has replaced the institution of the organization, and the institution of authority is formally and effectively, and in reality as expressed by the Oslo Accords: the authority of limited administrative self-rule, and it does not matter here what names the authority calls itself, what is important is who has the decision and the hand. The tallest in the end, and the story of the dispute over the title of President or (Chairman) is well known. The effects of this replacement can be felt in the marginalization of the 7 million Palestinians in the diaspora. With the disintegration of the organization’s institution, these millions no longer have an institution that expresses them, whether on the national, social, or daily service levels. The natural result was the initiative to establish national structures that would carry out this necessary task in the absence of the organization. However, the Oslo Authority institution is attacking these initiators and questioning their patriotism.

A pattern of substitution was achieved over the course of thirty years: the institution of limited administrative self-government replaced the institution of the organization, while a narrow team replaced the institution of the administrative government authority. They came into being as a narrow team and are now also leading the stage as a narrow team. Nothing has changed. The same team, and the same decision-making mechanisms, have been reproduced by reproducing the same dismantled structures, which indicates a clear approach to the desire to liquidate what expresses a phase that has passed and ended, according to the Oslo team.

In terms of approach
This is what the political approach based on negotiation has brought us to, and nothing but negotiation. As for talking about (popular resistance), it is only intended as a required Oslo-based alternative to armed resistance, knowing that the armed Palestinian resistance now is popular with the masses rallying around it, and the proponents of this approach do not hide it. Their position is explicitly declared (peaceful resistance).

It is not correct to consider that the negotiation approach did not achieve anything, as is sometimes said as a critical stance towards this approach. Rather, it achieved a lot: it destroyed the PLO and its institutions, gave the Zionist entity everything and only took power with a functional security role, and created the historical division between the ranks and forces of our people, and put the issue Nationalism is isolated from the agendas of international attention. This is what he achieved, and despite the negativity and disastrousness of what was achieved as a result of this approach, he succeeded, consciously or not, in achieving everything that the Zionist entity aspires to. It is no wonder that Peres considers the Oslo Accords to be the second historical achievement after the establishment of their state. He achieved their second historic achievement and a national catastrophe for us.

This leadership is still betting on the same approach after 30 years of failure, with a strange insistence that only reflects a lack of will. At one time, they bet on reviving the Arab initiative, which is considered a gateway to an Arab demarcation by recognizing the entity and public normalization with it, and at another time on the success of an Israeli team, such as Bild and Gantz, that recognizes it as a negotiating team, and this team responds that there is no Palestinian party, and at another time they bet on Trump’s departure and the arrival of Biden, and the latter responds to them. He licked all his promises before the elections: re-moving the embassy, opening the organization’s offices in America, reviving negotiations, and now all the betting, running, and counting is behind getting some crumbs from the Saudi-Israeli public normalization deal that America seeks, crumbs of the type: redisbursing the Saudi grant, disbursing the money. Detained from the Zionists, reviving political negotiations, transferring lands from Area C to Area B, and other demands that fall within the scope of pleading to a leadership that has lost any influence. However, the sources confirm the Americans’ position: Your demands are exaggerated and cannot be achieved, while the Zionist sources point to the slim hopes of reaching public normalization as a result of the Zionists’ rejection of Saudi demands for advanced weapons and a peaceful nuclear program.

For 30 years, this leadership has not given up its insistence on the same negotiating approach that achieved everything for them and caused catastrophic damage to our national cause, until, in detail, their negotiating approach became nothing more than a patronizing approach that reflects weakness and defeat, not the will to challenge and resist. Once again: nothing has changed. The same approach is reproduced repeatedly and achieves only the achievements it achieved for the Zionists and the disasters it achieved for us.

And yet, despite all of that, the alternative to all of this exists on the ground and inspires optimism and points to the right path. Unified structures of resistance are established on the ground, and the resistance is digging the road with strength and solidity, and with a mass rally that the Zionist occupation has not succeeded in dismantling, and the conflict is returning to its reality after it was distorted by the entire Oslo phase, and the world. He returned to see the spirit and determination of our people to resist. The negotiation approach in Oued, the resistance approach in Oued, the institution of the disintegrated organization in Oued, and the structures of resistance in Oued. 30 years after Oslo: Our people are exercising on the ground their alternative option to Oslo.

It is a grave mistake in the policy of the Zionist entity to underestimate its arrogance. Settlement is not only a temporary policy, but rather a plan that Smotrich is quietly implementing. It seems that Israel is rushing time to build more population units in the West Bank, especially in the areas adjacent to the city of Jerusalem. It was recently announced that approximately 600 housing units will be built in Abu Dis, in order to connect the American Street to the Abu Ghneim settlement, but it is also important not to underestimate the construction and paving of bypass roads as a primary goal, firstly, feeding the settlements, and secondly, and this is the most dangerous aspect of all, is dividing the West Bank. The West was divided into isolated areas and small cantons, to prevent communication between the Palestinian regions, and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. These roads, as a colonial structure, contributed to the perpetuation of the dismantling and separation of everything Palestinian, demographically and geographically, and perpetuated the dominance and continuity of Israeli colonialism, which exploited the bypass roads as a colonial tool that contributed to the process of Annexing Palestinian lands and wiping out the Palestinian population. To this day, the construction of Israeli bypass roads in the occupied West Bank (about 938 km in length) has resulted in the confiscation and destruction of thousands of Palestinian dunams, most of which are agricultural lands, for the same purpose.

At that dangerous juncture in the history of Palestine, it should be noted that during the years of Israeli occupation, successive Israeli governments relied on two goals, sometimes contradictory to each other, namely settlement expansion and geographical separation. What is clear from the establishment of settlements is to establish a border belt of settlements parallel to the armistice line, which is primarily a defensive strategic depth, in addition to absorbing and bringing in more Jewish immigrants from the world.

The most dangerous thing about this is that settlement is the cornerstone of Zionist thought, and the basis that the occupation authorities rely on to impose an occupation fait accompli on their successive military expansions. That is, Israeli settlement differs from the forms of colonial settlement that the world has known in the modern era because it is based in justifying its existence on a pragmatic philosophy and religious claim. It adopts a de facto policy supported by military force.

The security wall built by the occupation government in 1994 during the era of Yitzhak Rabin embodies the policy of apartheid pursued by successive Zionist governments. This wall caused great problems for the Palestinian people in terms of dispersing the Palestinian population to strike at their social fabric, in addition to confiscating more lands for the purpose of erecting the wall. Which was built after the outbreak of the second intifada to limit operations within the entity.

It is no exaggeration to say that, throughout the period of the conflict, the form, means and goal of settlement were described as Zionism in action. The construction of settlements is not limited to the function of work alone, but rather it prepares them for the establishment of Zionist settlements on the ruins of Palestinian cities and villages, and the displacement of the original population, as happened after the Nakba in 1948, but today settlement in the West Bank is completely different, as the occupation intends to confiscate agricultural lands and build on them, and build roads, And the establishment of parks and training camps, and this is also at the expense of pastures and agricultural fields from which the Palestinian lives in various areas of the West Bank. In the Jordan Valley, the occupation confiscated approximately 4,000 dunams, which are fertile lands that are considered the basket of the West Bank, and turned these lands into a source of income for the occupation government.

However, the great disease associated with settlement is through the Judaization of the West Bank, and the occupation aims to increase the size of settlements there and in Jerusalem, in order to create a pure environment, as they describe it, which is a homogeneous Jewish society, that is, the search for achieving the Jewish state, because the increasing pace of settlement in the recent period Especially after the formation of the largest extremist government during the era of the entity, which was to achieve what was stipulated in the Talmud and the Torah, the hope of finding a basis to stop settlement with this government remains slim, and this era is different from the previous governments that were formed before that, the difference is that the previous governments were evasive and frozen. Settlement and it was recorded that it evacuated some random settlement blocs, but this was like a show in front of the world.

It can be asserted that the establishment of settlements in all its branches of international law - in addition to the transfer of the population of occupied countries to the occupied territory - contradicts all international principles and the United Nations Charter (the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Laws of War in 1949). The Charter details a long series of prohibitions imposed on the occupying force.

The essence of the Charter in this case is: “The occupier is prohibited from settling his population in the occupied territories.” However, this does not fall on deaf ears among the occupier, and he still rejects all initiatives calling for the resumption of negotiations by various means. It is true that there is a difference between the Israeli government in style and method, but the settlement goal unites them, which is to control the West Bank and Judaize it.

The Palestinians did not achieve any of their aspirations without struggle and sacrifices. In the first phase of their struggle outside Palestine, they paid heavy prices until they: 1- They regained their national identity, which had been scattered, scattered with different sub-identities, 2- Recognition of their common representation through a unified representative institution, which is the PLO, 3- Recognition of their rights: the right of return in accordance with Resolution 194, and their right to a state in accordance with Resolution 181, and accordingly all decisions were issued that went beyond Resolution 302, which included the formation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

That is, the Palestinian struggle transformed the Palestinian issue from a humanitarian issue represented by caring for refugees, which was transformed into a political issue, related to a people looking towards return and a state, and that was the outcome of the struggle and its introduction outside Palestine.

After leaving Beirut, following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the attention and national program of the Palestinian leadership shifted towards work, organization and struggle inside Palestine, where this resulted in the explosion of the first popular uprising in 1987, which was mostly peaceful in nature through demonstrations and protests against the occupation, and clashes with the colonial forces. The activities of the first intifada and its sacrifices forced the Israeli-American acknowledgment and recognition of the three titles: 1- The Palestinian people, 2- The Liberation Organization, 3- The legitimate political rights of the Palestinian people, and accordingly a series of transformations took place on the ground and the transfer of the Palestinian issue from exile to the homeland, and a series of withdrawals. Israeli control of the majority of Palestinian cities, with the exception of Jerusalem and Hebron.

The Camp David negotiations under American auspices in July 2000 failed and did not achieve the completion of the required steps towards Israeli withdrawal and the removal of settlements. Following the failure of the negotiations with the Jews of Barak under the auspices of US President Clinton, the second intifada exploded in 2000, after President Yasser Arafat allied with Ahmed Yassin. The leader and founder of Hamas, and the implementation of painful operations against the Israelis, forced Sharon to leave the Gaza Strip and depart from it, after dismantling the settlements and removing the bases of the occupation army.

In the three struggle stations: 1- Outside Palestine, 2- The First Intifada, 3- The Second Intifada, the Palestinians did not achieve status or gain, due to the blackness of their eyes, the justice of their cause, or the good morals of the colony and its leaders, or from its masters and allies. Rather, the Palestinians achieved serious, real gains. Tangible as a result of their struggle and sacrifices.

The path of negotiations alone as a means of restoring the rights of the Palestinian people failed and failed, because the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations were not supported by combat levers that would force the Israelis to retreat and recede, or any new withdrawal. Rather, the absence of combative action led to a major and unprecedented settlement shift, which is the result of security coordination between Ramallah and Tel Aviv, and the security truce between Gaza and Tel Aviv, and the two wings of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, led by Fatah, and the Authority in Gaza, led by Hamas, turned into prisoners of the choices of the Israeli colony, and accept the financial crumbs and services that the colony provides to the two parties in Ramallah and Gaza.

The individual struggle, no matter how great its sacrifices and valor, will not give the desired benefit, without the real participation of Fatah, Hamas and the rest of the national factions, an end to the policy of security coordination by the Ramallah authority, and a security calm by the Gaza authority.

The Zionist entity incites Washington and the West against President Abu Mazen, accusing him of anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, and incitement to violence, after thirty years of partnership in a political settlement process under the title (Oslo Accords), which the president was the architect of and is still defending, even though it was not mentioned in the president’s speech before the council. Revolutionary or in any of his speeches, including Germany’s speech, there is evidence of this, and everything that the president mentioned are historical facts about the nature of the Jews and their relationship with the societies in which they lived, documented in all languages. Indeed, the entity state is the one that practices racism and terrorism, and the Jewish and Zionist doctrine is full of vocabulary. Racism, hatred of Gentiles, and incitement to kill them.

 Why does a right-wing racist government behave this way?

Although, in our opinion, it was not necessary for the president to address the Jewish issue in a conference dedicated to discussing the conditions of the Fatah movement and the great challenges facing the national issue, so that Israel would not exploit the matter and divert attention from its crimes and terrorism, and for him to abandon talking and writing about this important topic that exposes the falsity of all narratives and history. The alleged Jew of intellectuals, writers, Palestinian research centers, and the president’s advisors and those around him. However, since the issue has been opened, it is required of every Palestinian patriot to stand by the president in the face of the campaign of Zionist lies, which unfortunately has been accompanied by Western governments that know that President Abu Mazen speaks facts, but they Countries that do not want anyone to talk about their historical role in the tragedy of the Jews, even before the emergence of Nazism.

What worries Israel, arouses its anger, and pushes it to antagonize the president is the opposite of what it claims. What worries the entity state is the president’s insistence on peace, renunciation of violence, and his adherence to international legitimacy and its decisions. It is true that only emphasizing the discourse of international legitimacy and calling for peace will not restore our legitimate rights to us, but this discourse exposes racism. Israel and its hostility to peace and international legitimacy, a speech that began to influence global public opinion, which began to discover the truth about this entity and demanded its boycott.

What is happening with Abu Mazen happened with President Abu Ammar when Israel accused him of terrorism and incitement to violence, so it stormed the West Bank, besieged the president in the district, and then killed him with poison.

It is true that Abu Ammar wanted to combine diplomatic work with the armed resistance, but the entity state killed him not only because of his return to armed work, but also because of his insistence on peace, the political settlement, and the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions and the Oslo Accords. Zionism rejects all of that completely and in detail, and it is the one that assassinated Yitzhak Rabin, the most important leader. A Zionist politician and military man because he signed the Oslo Accords and searched for a formula for peace with the Palestinians, even if it was a maneuver imposed by American pressure.

What threatens and terrifies the Zionist entity is not only the Palestinian military action, despite its Palestinian importance if it is part of a comprehensive national strategy to preserve the vitality of the issue and keep the enemy in a state of tension and instability, nor the axis of resistance and the alleged Iranian nuclear program, but the exposure of the falsity of the Zionist narrative and the spread of the Palestinian narrative through... The world, exposing the terrorist and racist practices of a country that claims to be the oasis of democracy in the Middle East, and emphasizing a just peace that restores the Palestinians’ rights.

For the Jews, especially the Zionists and the extreme right, a good Palestinian is a dead Palestinian, while a living Palestinian is an enemy, whether he is a fighter, a mujahideen, or a pacifist. National, secular, or Islamic, as Israel assassinated leaders and members of all political orientations, all of them were Palestinian enemies to it, from Abu Youssef al-Najjar, Kamal Adwan, Abu Jihad, and Abu Ammar to Ghassan Kanafani, Abu Ali Mustafa, al-Shaqaqi, al-Rantisi, Siam, Sheikh Yassin, Abu al-Atta, etc.

Therefore, despite the differences between leader Abu Ammar and President Abu Mazen and the apparent difference between the Arafati approach and the Abbasid approach in dealing with the political settlement process, it is not unlikely that the fate of Abu Mazen will be the same as the fate of Abu Ammar, but in a different way. It will be a political liquidation, not a physical one.

Because the culture of suspicion and lack of trust in the political class is widespread in society, some may claim that the president’s aim was to include the Jewish issue in his speech to appear as a national hero and draw attention away from the criticisms directed at him, the authority, its approach, etc.

If we go back a little to the past, we will find the same approach of skepticism, and even accusations of treason and negligence, were directed at Commander Abu Ammar even while he was besieged in the district, and by almost the same parties that are now suspicious of President Mahmoud Abbas. Those who doubted Abu Ammar did not change their minds until after Israel assassinated him, so they were at the head of the They walked at his funeral and to this day they still commemorate his memory, perhaps because they were not able to do more for the national cause than Al-Ikhtiyar did, may God have mercy on him!