Thousands of worshipers performed Friday prayers in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid strict military measures imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the gates and entrances of the Old City in occupied Jerusalem.

The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem estimated that about 40,000 worshipers performed Friday prayers in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid the deployment of occupation forces in the streets of the city and the vicinity of the mosque, where they were stationed at its gates, stopped the worshipers and checked their personal cards.

On Friday, the Israeli occupation authorities decided to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing, the only commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip, to export traffic.

According to the Presidential Committee for Coordination of Goods, they were informed of the decision by the Israeli authorities, indicating that the implementation of the decision will begin next Sunday.

This comes at a time when the “Rebel Youth” announced the cancellation of the “Malika” event, as it was said, “due to what the resistance believes.”

The past few days witnessed hundreds of people participating in youth activities on the eastern border of Gaza City, including throwing stones, Molotov cocktails, explosives, and more.

This comes at a time when, after midnight on Wednesday-Thursday, the Qatari Ambassador, Mohammed Al-Emadi, arrived in the Gaza Strip through the Beit Hanoun “Erez” checkpoint.

Al-Emadi held meetings with Israeli officials before entering the Gaza Strip, as informed sources reported to Al-Quds.com at the time.

Al-Emadi is scheduled to meet with the leadership of the Hamas movement during his visit, which will last for several days in the Gaza Strip.

Despite what is rumored and written that there is a deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and that this deal does not exclude the Palestinian side, which presented its demands to Saudi Arabia and the American administration, the occupying state is continuing with its policy of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in its favor through what it is doing in the West Bank... This includes practices, violations and crimes in East Jerusalem, most notably cold-blooded murders, the continuation of settlement and ethnic cleansing operations in several areas of the West Bank, attacks by herds of settlers, and work to increase their number to reach one million settlers under the current government, which is one of the most extreme, racist and hostile occupation governments to everything that is Palestinian and Arab.

Yesterday, it was approved to transform three settlement outposts into settlements in the Hebron and Jericho regions, in addition to Israeli decisions to expand roads in the West Bank for the benefit of settlers at the expense of Palestinian land, and to besiege citizens and work to demonize them within the framework of the policy aimed at displacing them either voluntarily through attacks on them and confiscation  of their lands, destroying their crops and cutting down their trees, especially olive trees, to make them unable to bear life and emigrate of their own free will, or by carrying out the largest ethnic cleansing while waiting for the appropriate time and then the opportunity arises to empty the West Bank of its people and plant it with more settlements and settlers.

In addition to this matter, there are other things that the occupying state and the herds of settlers are doing to resolve the conflict in its favor, and that any agreements that may be concluded with the Saudi side through America and the provision of so-called concessions to the Palestinian side, as if the occupying state is the one that owns the country and is the one that is giving up, the occupying state will not abide by it. Thus, as is achieved by disavowing all agreements signed with the Palestinian side, even though these agreements detract from the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people to return, self-determination, and establishing an independent state with Holy Jerusalem as its capital. It is enough that these agreements recognized the occupying state on 78% of the Palestinian land, compared to 22%, which is the territories occupied in 1967. Despite this, the occupying state has violated and continues to violate this through settlement expansion and creeping annexation, especially in the Jordan Valley and other surrounding areas in Jerusalem and within the Holy City.

The Palestinian side must not continue to bet on the possibility that the occupying state will provide anything to the Palestinians. On the contrary, it will continue its procedures and policies based on ending and resolving the conflict in its favor by intensifying settlement and increasing the number of settlers, in addition to other violations and crimes, using force. Thinking that it can force our people to give up their inalienable national rights.

The time has come to unite ranks and restore national unity because it is the only way to force the occupation to recognize the rights of our people in full and without compromise. As for the situation remaining as it is, the only beneficiary is the occupation at the expense of the cause of our people.
The occupation does not trustful, and the one whose mind is tested by the tempter is ruined, as our popular proverb says, and as the noble Prophetic hadith says (A believer is not stung from the same hole twice).

Whether we agree or disagree with Mr. Abraham Burg, the former Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, we must admit that in recent years the man has begun to take positions that distinguish him from many of the leaders of the Israeli occupation state, who classify themselves as liberals or leftists in the Zionist camp. Recently, specifically on the third of this month, Burg wrote an article in the newspaper "Haaretz" in which he broke the silence. There is Jewish Nazism ruling in Israel, referring to the current Israeli government led by leaders who believe in the doctrine of the Jewish race and Jewish superiority, just like German Nazism.

According to Abraham Burg, Netanyahu leads a coalition of parties based on the same premise as the German Nazi Party, which glorified German nationalism as a supreme value that transcends all values and promoted the doctrine of the Aryan race and its superiority over other races, just as the leaders of the religious Zionist parties and a number of Likud leaders do with whom they share the leadership of the state.

In his article, Burg brought to mind those warnings issued by Yeshayahu Levovich in the 1980s, in which he warned of the presence of elites in Israel who adopted Nazi ideas based on the belief in Jewish racial superiority. He pointed out that the Israelis did not pay attention to those warnings at the time and treated them as coming from a person. He became delirious. The elites, which Levovich spoke about, were at that time a satanic plant in random planting beds, but they grew and developed over the years until they became a forest covering the coast, the mountains, and the valley in the occupying state and in the West Bank settlements with their settlement outposts and pastoral farms, in which an orgy of thugs, “hilltop youth,” and “Paying the price” and a wide audience that gathers around religious Zionism, directed and led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, and their crazy obsession with the myths of the past is fueled by rabbis who use religious schools in the West Bank settlements as rehabilitation centers for practicing various forms of violence and terrorism against Palestinian citizens in their towns and villages throughout the Palestinian countryside.

To learn more about the author of those early warnings, Levovich, this man was born in Riga, a part of the Russian Empire (currently Latvia), to a religious Zionist family. He studied chemistry and philosophy at the University of Berlin in Germany and continued his studies in Basel in Switzerland. He immigrated to Palestine in 1934 and remotely testified the crimes of German Nazism and its brutal practices, the most horrific of which was the “Holocaust,” which the Jews themselves were subjected to at the hands of the Nazi monster, was a harsh critic of Israeli society.

Abraham Burg was not the only one who admired Yeshayahu Levovich. Rather, some of them, in light of his warnings, called him the Prophet Yeshayahu (Levovich), as did the well-known Israeli journalist Ben Caspit in an article he published in the Israeli “Maariv” on April 6, 2016. Just as an analogy, there are many prophets in the heritage of classical Judaism. Samuel was also a hard-hearted prophet, perhaps the greatest of the prophets of “Israel.” He was the one who anointed Saul king over Israel without prior knowledge. Isaiah was also a prophet, but he put a distance between him and Samuel when he rebuked his people, saying: “When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you, and when you multiply.” "I do not hear you praying. Your hands are full of blood."

These days, there are many hands stained with blood, and many are thirsty for blood in Israel. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are examples of imaginary, false, and condescending nationalism, in the jungle of a racist movement that claims racial superiority, and around them are leaders of grass-level stature, men and women. The first is not satisfied with giving priority to the freedom of movement in the streets of the West Bank for the settlers over the right to freedom of movement and life for the Palestinians, but he goes further in his Nazism and arms the settlers and calls on them to pull the trigger against rioters and stone-throwers. The second is not satisfied with calling for the separation of Arab women from Jews during... Giving birth in hospitals, but he also goes further than that by calling for the town of Hawara to be wiped out of existence, or in the best case, putting the Palestinians before three options: either to live as Gentiles deprived of their rights in his state extending from the river to the sea, or to immigrate abroad with all the facilities, or the occupation army will be settling accounts with them forcefully. His wife, Fruitl Smotrich, was more clear than him in endorsing the Nazi image when she said in an interview with Rafi Reshef on Israeli Channel 10 that she was not prepared to be born by an Arab midwife. She believes that the moment of birth is a pure, Jewish moment, to the point that there is no justification for it being desecrated by Arab hands.  .

But is this new in the thought and practice of the Zionist movement, and was Levovich’s prophecy an orphan prophecy? The answer to that is a clear no. Israel Shahak had previously warned in his book, which was published in its first edition in Arabic in 1994 and was titled (The Jewish Religion and Its Position toward Non-Jews), of the satanic character of the Zionist movement. In this interesting book, Shahak presents examples of similarity in thought and belief between a number of leaders of the Zionist movement in the 1930s and the leaders of Hitler's Nazism. They shared commonalities: the glorification of nationalism as a supreme value devoid of its human dimensions that transcends all values, and the glorification of ethnic affiliation and superiority. We are reminded here of one of the prominent leaders of the Zionist movement and the Jewish Agency and his positions on the rise of Nazism to power in Germany. The most shocking example in this area was when prominent leaders in the Zionist movement celebrated the victory of Nazism over liberalism, as they put it, as was the case of Dr. Joachim Prince, the Jewish rabbi, who rose through the ranks of the World Jewish Congress to become vice president. He was close to Golda Meir and became one of the leaders. Prominent members of the international Zionist movement. Dr. Joachim Prince fell in love with the Nazi-style hysteria of racial superiority and wrote a book in German entitled (We the Jews - Wir Juden) in which he flattered to the point of obsession the Nazi ideology, saying: What the German Revolution means for the German nation (Adolf Hitler’s revolution) will become clear in the end to those who made it and painted its image. Liberalism has lost its favor. Liberalism is the formula for political life that helped the integration of the Jews. This liberalism is now being defeated. Liberalism according to Joachim Prince, and this is the tip of the iceberg. That book by Joachim Prince is suitable these days as a material for education and training in religious Zionist schools, and it is also suitable for it to be a material for education and training in defending the nation-state law and in promoting what they call the coup against democracy and the judicial system in Israel.

Consciousness engineering (also called cultural shaping or cultural hegemony) is a concept used to describe the process of colonial systems and colonial powers influencing the culture of colonized peoples for the purpose of changing, shaping and enslaving their mentalities, beliefs and values. Consciousness engineering is one of the methods used to mentally and culturally control colonized peoples.

Consciousness engineering includes several practices and tools used for this goal, including:

1. Control of education: The school curriculum is manipulated to spread specific concepts and opinions and to emphasize the cultural and intellectual superiority of the colonial culture.

2. Media and means of communication: The media and means of communication are used to spread and strengthen colonial culture.
3. Legislation and policies: Laws and policies are enacted to control and regulate the lives of colonized peoples, and to undermine and restrict their cultural identity.

4. Literature and Art: Literature and art are used to reinforce the image of colonial culture as superior and more advanced than local cultures, and local cultures are ignored or neglected.

5. History and collective memory: The narrative of history is changed and historical facts are distorted in order to justify and reinforce colonialism, and forgetfulness is promoted and the collective memory of the colonized peoples is neglected.

It is important to understand that the architecture of consciousness is not just manifestations that influence the cultural level, but is also an influence on the individual identity and social affiliation of individuals. This effect results in colonized peoples becoming increasingly assimilated into the colonial culture, reinforcing cultural control and threatening cultural diversity and cultural heritage.

Over time, colonized peoples resisted the engineering of consciousness. Consciousness is an important philosophical and scientific concept relating to the human ability to think, perceive, and self-direct. Consciousness can be described as the state in which an individual is aware of himself and the world around him. This includes understanding personal thoughts, feelings and experiences, as well as the ability to process and benefit from them.

There are many different aspects of consciousness that can be explored and discussed. For example, we can talk about self-awareness, which is the ability to reflect on ourselves and understand our interactions and influences on others. Self-awareness can be key to personal growth and professional development. In addition, we can also explore ideas of social and cultural awareness, and how external factors influence our awareness and perceptions of the world. This includes understanding our interactions with the society, culture and values around us.

It is important to understand that consciousness is not just a static state, but can evolve and grow over time. We can use awareness as a tool to improve our lives and achieve our personal and professional goals. Occupation can affect the individual and collective consciousness of occupied individuals and communities in multiple ways. Fundamental freedoms may be narrowed and freedom of expression, assembly and movement restricted, affecting the formation and development of individual consciousness and free thinking.

In addition, the occupation may seek to distort the image of the occupiers or occupied communities and promote negative ideas and beliefs about them. This type of influence can lead to a deterioration in awareness, self-confidence and cultural identity.

However, many examples of the strength and resilience of awareness in the face of occupation appear. Affected individuals and communities can develop strategies to resist and overcome the negative impacts associated with the occupation.

In general, restoring and strengthening cultural awareness and identity can contribute to the restoration of dignity and self-sovereignty. Achieving mental and cultural liberation may be an important goal for individuals and communities affected by occupation.

Examples of how awareness is affected by the occupation:

1. Restriction on freedom of expression: The occupation sometimes restricts freedom of expression by suppressing public opinion and silencing voices critical of the occupation policies. Peaceful activists may be arrested and websites or social media that express opposition opinion may be blocked.

2. Falsifying history and identity: The occupation sometimes uses changes in school curricula and media misinformation to falsify the history and cultural identity of occupied societies, thereby aiming to distort the image of the occupiers and attempt to remove the cultural affiliation and connection between individuals, their history, and their identity.

3. Residence and settlement expansion: The occupation practices building settlements and confiscating lands in the occupied areas. This leads to the dispersal of local communities and changes the demographic and geographic appearance of the region. This can affect the collective awareness of local communities, their heritage, and their ties to the land.

4. Violence and repression: The occupation follows repressive policies against the occupied population, including arbitrary arrests, forced interrogations, torture, and other forms of physical and psychological violence. This aims to weaken the will, break the spirit, and tame the occupied societies.

5. Isolation and siege: The occupation places the occupied areas under a permanent siege, affecting access to basic services such as water, electricity, and health care. This can lead to a deterioration in the economic, social and health condition of the occupied communities, affecting their awareness and vision of the future.
All the while, Israel practiced consciousness engineering on the Palestinian people. The tools of consciousness engineering were used to shape and influence Palestinian consciousness and distort their image before the world. This includes the Israeli media controlling the debate and influencing the media narrative regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and by allocating millions of dollars to raise awareness, such as the five-year plan for the city of Jerusalem.

The engineering of consciousness can be confronted in several ways, including:
- Educate: Increase your awareness and knowledge of different issues and contradictory narratives related to controversial conflicts and events, and use multiple, reliable sources to obtain accurate and balanced information.

-Communicate with others: Participate and interact with people who have different opinions and backgrounds, engage in open dialogue, listen to their points of view, and explain your point of view in a diplomatic and respectful way.

-Political participation: Participate in political and community work by participating in social movements and political activities that defend justice and equality. Influence local and international political decisions by voting and participating in discussions.

- Using alternative media: such as independent newspapers, blogs, and social networking sites to convey different points of view and highlight obscure issues.
- Organization and alliance: Join groups and organizations working to spread awareness and combat awareness engineering, and work with others to organize awareness events and campaigns and change ideas and practices.
Resisting the engineering of consciousness requires patience and endurance because immediate change will not occur, but your commitment and action will have an impact gradually.

From time to time, there is talk of a comprehensive war in the Middle East, as was reported in recent days by Palestinian and Israeli leaders. What is meant by a comprehensive war? Are the conditions really ripe for such a war, or is it just propaganda to achieve internal goals on both sides? Before digressing, we recall that all Palestinian leaders and all factions used to say that Israel’s continuation of its aggressive policy would lead to the explosion of the region and the outbreak of a comprehensive war. They said this when annexing Jerusalem, when storming Al-Aqsa Mosque, and after every crime committed by the occupation gangs against citizens, whether in Jerusalem, Jenin, or Nablus, and with Every settlement project, after every assassination of a Palestinian leader, etc., yet the enemy continues in its crimes, and the explosion and war did not occur. On the contrary, the region becomes increasingly subservient to Israel, and this is what we saw in the recent waves of normalization.

Years ago, the term “Arab-Israeli conflict” was ignored, as it became realistic and limited to the Palestinian front. In reality, the existence of the “axis of resistance” and the remnants of talk about the Arab-Israeli conflict or talk about Arab popular solidarity with Palestine do not change the reality. Even at this level, conflict and war It is not comprehensive and within the framework of a national strategy for the official political system with its two sides, the Gaza Authority and the Palestinian Authority, as the two parties committed themselves to agreements with Israel that limit the state of conflict, such as the Oslo Accords in the West Bank and the truce agreements with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which made the state of conflict and war at the official Palestinian level closer. For the equation (no war, no peace), but it is an open and continuous war for the Israelis who do not abide by any agreements or interpret them in accordance with their security doctrine and their concept of security. It is also an open conflict for the Palestinian people everywhere they are, especially in the West Bank.

The equation or situation (no war, no peace) does not last long and allows all parties to maximize their power and strengthen the internal front, waiting for the decisive moment to break this equation either by signing a peace agreement or by war, and since in the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict there are no indications of the possibility of a political settlement that ends the conflict, Despite some naive exaggeration that Saudi normalization will coincide with a political settlement and an end to the state of conflict, in this case the possibility of war is more likely, but the question is when will the war be? What is the form of war and its parties? Where do we place the talk of the Hamas leader Al-Arouri and the talk of the Prime Minister of the Zionist entity about a comprehensive war in this context?

On Friday, August 25, 2023, Deputy Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, spoke about the resistance’s readiness for all-out war. “The resistance is ready for all-out war, and Israel will suffer an unprecedented defeat,” he added, adding, “We are preparing for all-out war.”

These statements coincided with Israeli threats to assassinate the Vice-President of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri, accusing him of leading operations in the West Bank. Al-Arouri’s response was, “Anyone who thinks about assassinations knows that this may lead to a regional war,” suggesting that the occupation government is about to take a group. Steps that will lead to a comprehensive war in the region.” In an interview with Al-Mayadeen TV, he said, alluding to the state of coordination that exists among members of the resistance axis: “We are preparing for a comprehensive war, and we are discussing this in closed rooms with all parties and components that are related to this war.”

On the Israeli side, quoting the Hebrew Channel 13 on August 30, Netanyahu called for a meeting (the Cabinet) to discuss scenarios of the outbreak of a comprehensive war, and that “the Israeli Mini-Ministerial Council for Security and Political Affairs (the Cabinet) in its meeting at the beginning of September will discuss the Israeli military plans to deal with... A possible comprehensive battle on multiple fronts.” “The Israeli army is seeking to develop a plan for a possible scenario, including estimates of potential threats if a military confrontation with Hezbollah erupts and develops to include the Gaza Strip and the border areas with Syria, and Israeli preparations for such a scenario,” the channel reported. According to “informed” security sources, the Israeli army leadership will present to the cabinet, in a meeting scheduled in the coming weeks, the possible “reference scenario” for an emergency security event in the form of a comprehensive war on all fronts.

Despite all the indicators of tension and the heating up of discourse and fronts, talk about “total war” is nothing more than mere propaganda to deliver threatening messages to the outside and appear strong, and messages to the inside to reassure the home front, because the Israeli all-out war is not subject to a decision by Netanyahu and his government, especially in light of the internal division in the country. Israel, but it will also be an American decision, and we do not believe that Washington is ready for a comprehensive war, and even Israel is better for this entity to continue its aggressive approach or partial wars, whether against the Palestinians in the West Bank and the completion of settlement projects or in Gaza and to continue its siege and neutralization with financial and economic temptations, or on the front lines. Others, such as southern Lebanon and Syria, are achieving achievements in these wars, with the exception of the rising national resistance in the West Bank.

As for the other front, which is supposed to be the “resistance axis” and not just the Hamas movement, we believe that the situation of this axis is similar to the situation of the encirclement states and the Arab “front of steadfastness, confrontation, and challenge” in the sixties and seventies. How will there be a comprehensive war to respond to the assassination of Al-Arouri, in which Iran will participate, which did not respond to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, its most senior military leader, and did not respond after bombing vital centers inside Iran, and did not respond to the killing of dozens of Iranian soldiers by Israeli bombing of Syria? How will Iran participate in a comprehensive war when it is a partner of Washington in conspiring against Iraq and the Arab countries during the chaos of the Arab Spring? How does Iran participate in the war in defense of the Palestinians, when it is engaged in difficult negotiations with Washington and the West to lift sanctions in the context of the so-called nuclear file?

What war is waged by Hezbollah, which is engaged in a cold war with the majority of the Lebanese people and is busy defending its ally, Syria? The party and the Lebanese experienced war and its devastating results in 2006, when Hassan Nasrallah said that if he had known that the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers would have led to a round of violence that lasted 34 days, we certainly wouldn't have done it.

Is Syria ready for a comprehensive war, since it is exposed to wars from several parties, in addition to the almost daily Israeli bombing and its war against Turkey, the American army present on its territory, the Syrian Democratic Army (SDF), and dozens of religious terrorist groups, in addition to the deteriorating economic conditions?

As for the Hamas movement, it does not represent all of the Palestinian people, and Al-Arouri has no right to talk about readiness for a comprehensive war on behalf of the people. The resistance factions have previously agreed that the decision to go to war must be by national consensus, and the Hamas movement, which signed a truce with the occupation to maintain its authority. In Gaza, I do not think that it is serious in its talk about preparing for a comprehensive war, especially since the people of Gaza have experienced wars and their disastrous results and know very well the resistance’s victories in these wars.

So the discourse of total war, which means that there are preparations on both sides to fight it and win, is nothing but a propaganda discourse that each party seeks to employ for internal political purposes. Netanyahu wants to put an end to opposition demonstrations by insinuating an existential danger threatening the state. He also seeks to blackmail Washington and the West with more arms and money deals. He also wants to cover up his government’s crimes against the Palestinians and the rising criticism and opposition against Israel’s racist policy in the West, and to mislead local and international public opinion before launching an all-out war. On the Palestinians in the West Bank, and as for Al-Arouri, he seeks to establish his presence within the Hamas movement as a rising and promising leader in light of the decline in the status of the traditional leaders, most of whom have settled in Turkey and Qatar, and as a Palestinian as a national and regional leader who can challenge Israel. He also wants to cover up what happened in the Gaza Strip because of the authority of Hamas also gives credibility to what Hamas is doing in the West Bank and makes it appear as if it is part of a comprehensive confrontation with the occupation and not against the Authority and the PLO.

This does not mean that a war is not possible in the near term, but it will be a comprehensive war against the Palestinians, especially in the West Bank, and if there is any military reaction from the “axis of resistance,” and this is what we do not expect, Israel may expand its aggression unilaterally with a quick and lightning war on several fronts, as happened in The June 1967 war. Is the (Axis of Resistance) prepared for this war? We hope so! Even if you don't think so.

If the Hamas movement believes that a comprehensive war is imminent, then it is supposed to strengthen the internal front with national unity and coordination at the highest levels to develop a comprehensive strategy for confrontation, instead of betting on the “resistance axis”, as this axis, in light of the circumstances referred to above, will be nothing more than supportive, and the Palestinians are the ones who They will be at the forefront.

Finally, why does the Hamas movement talk about a comprehensive war in the event of the assassination of Hamas leaders and does not undertake it today in response to Zionist terrorist practices in the West Bank, in response to the Judaization of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and in response to the siege of the Gaza Strip? Are leaders more important than the nation?
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With the Democratic National Committee meeting next month, it will be the thirtieth anniversary of my membership in this body. As an Arab American and a long-serving member of the Democratic National Committee, I have a story to tell. Because I've been there so long, some people take my presence for granted. Because I have been a vocal critic of the party's spending priorities and lack of budget transparency, others wonder why I stay. After walking the hard path and facing repeated challenges, I have learned to never take anything for granted and the importance of staying the course.

In the early 1980s, when Arab Americans began to organize, some saw our political participation as a threat and tried to hinder our participation. Some candidates shied away from our contributions, refused to endorse us, or removed members of our community from their staff. It was a painful period of exclusion. When Jesse Jackson ran for president in 1984 and welcomed Arab Americans to his campaign, the Arab community responded enthusiastically. Building on this experience, we registered and mobilized Arab-American voters, supported Arab-American candidates, and established “Democratic” and “Republican” clubs for Arab-Americans in twenty American cities. After failing to secure a meeting with the leadership of the Democratic Party, we finally obtained a meeting with mid-level employees. His simple and direct message was: “The reason we do not publicly recognize your clubs or meet with you is that doing so might alienate other groups that are more important to us.” In 1988, we joined the Jackson bandwagon again, and elected more than 80 Arab-American delegates to the National Convention. As Jackson's representative, I took the conference stage to deliver the first-ever debate on Palestinian rights. Jackson was able to appoint eight at-large members to the Democratic National Committee, and I was one of them. Before the matter became public, one of the party leaders asked me to reject this appointment, warning that I would be in the crosshairs of the “Republicans” from day one.

If the Democrats lose the 1988 elections, I and my community may bear the consequences. It was a painful decision, but when I agreed to step down, the next party leader, Ron Brown, promised to compensate me and the Arab community.

After assuming the position of president, he invited me to be the first to meet him, and broadcast a message that the party’s door was open to Arab Americans. A few months later, he attended a meeting of the Arab American Institute, despite threats from some donors to withhold their contributions. Towards the end of his term, when a position became available at the Democratic National Committee, he appointed me to fill it. So far, I have been a member of this committee for 30 years.

For 16 of those years, I served on the Executive Committee, and for 11 years as Chairman of the Resolutions Committee. She also served on the party's Unity and Reform Committee and, for many years, as one of the chairs of the Ethnic Council, which represents 19 European and Mediterranean ethnic groups. Over the years, I learned that the Democratic Party, like its Republican counterpart, needed reform.

It lacks accountability and transparency, and fails to involve members of the Democratic National Committee in the “democratic” decision-making process. I have discovered that the problem with politics in our democracy is that it is not about politics. It's about money. There are hundreds of millions of dollars collected in each election from different party entities, and then transferred to consultants who raise more money and prepare expensive advertisements on television and on social media. Candidates may win or lose, but advisors never lose, because they never take responsibility for their work. When I raised this issue in the Unity and Reform Committee and called for accountability and transparency, I was dismissed from the Executive Committee. This was not my only defeat.

My efforts to get the party to oppose the Iraq War, honor our bylaws calling on Democratic National Committee members to review and evaluate the effectiveness of expenditures, and ban “dark money” tainting Democratic primaries have been in vain. In the face of these defeats, some asked why I remained a member of the party's national committee.

I remember how I was able to move forward after excluding my community for so many years, and it is what Jesse Jackson told me decades ago when faced with a similar challenge: “Don’t quit, because that is what your opponents want.” What they fear most is that you will stay and continue the struggle.” And so I will.

The occupation authorities issued an administrative detention order for a period of four months against detainee Fatima Abu Shalal (41 years old) from Al-Ain camp in Nablus.

The Prisoner's Club stated that the occupation forces arrested Abu Shalal on August 29, in front of the Huwwara military checkpoint, and she was transferred to administrative detention. She was also transferred to (Damoun) prison, where the majority of female prisoners are held.

The club added that the occupation forces arrested her only son, Ahmed Ayman Abu Shalal (24 years old), several days ago in front of the Zaatara checkpoint, and he was transferred to Hawara detention center.

The number of female prisoners in the occupation prisons is (35), including four female prisoners who are administratively detained, and they are: (Samah Awad, Raghad Al-Fanni, and Hanan Al-Barghouthi, in addition to Fatima Abu Shalal).

On Friday, the Hebrew newspaper, Israel Hayom, revealed training for veterans and reservists living in West Bank settlements, to confront any Palestinians who infiltrate them.

The training is mainly concentrated in an abandoned site in the Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron.

These exercises are led by former Israeli army officers.

A number of civilians suffocated, last night, during clashes that erupted with the Israeli occupation forces after they stormed the village of Bir al-Basha, south of Jenin.

Local sources reported that the occupation soldiers fired tear gas canisters at the citizens and their homes in the village of Bir al-Basha, as a result of which a number of citizens suffocated.

The sources added that clashes broke out between the youths and the occupation forces in the vicinity of the "Salem" camp and the "Dotan" and "Al-Jalameh" checkpoints, without any injuries being reported.

The occupation forces also stormed the village of Tura, and set up mobile military checkpoints on the road linking the towns of Ya`bad and Arraba, and at the intersection of the villages of Muthalath al-Shuhada and Taanak. They also stormed the villages of Faqu`ah, Jalboun and Beit Qad, east of the governorate, and intensified their military presence in the vicinity of the town of Ya`bad and villages west of Jenin.

At dawn on Friday, the Israeli occupation forces arrested the editor, Mahmoud Seris "Zagloul", a resident of Nur Shams camp in Tulkarm, on the Ramallah road.

According to local sources, those forces stopped a vehicle carrying a group of young men, and detained them for hours before arresting the editor, Serees.

Last night, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the Bab al-Rahma chapel in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The occupation forces deliberately tampered with the contents of the chapel, vandalizing many of them, and confiscating others.

From time to time, the occupation forces and their intelligence deliberately storm the Bab Al-Rahma chapel.

Gulf Cooperation Council ministers on Thursday affirmed their position for the establishment of an independent  Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, amid increasing illegal occupation by Israeli settlers of Palestinian territories.

In a statement issued at the close of its 57th session in the Saudi capital, the GCC Ministerial Council condemned Israel's continued construction of settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories, “in clear violation of international legitimacy resolutions, including UN Security Council Resolution No. 2334.”

The Ministerial Council welcomed the Australian government's announcement of its intention to use the term "occupied Palestinian territories" and called on the international community to follow suit by pressuring Israeli authorities to reverse their settlement decisions and “to resolve the conflict, in a way that fulfills all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”

The Council also denounced the “repeated incursions by Israeli officials and settlers into the courtyards of the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque.”

Such incursions were not only “a violation of the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and a provocation of the feelings of Muslims” but also a “serious violation of international law and the historical and legal status quo in Al Quds and its sanctities,” said the statement.

The Council commended Saudi Arabia’s decision to appoint a non-resident ambassador to the State of Palestine and Consul General in Al Quds, as a continuation of the stance of GCC states in protecting Islamic sanctities and supporting the Palestinian cause.

It likewise welcomed the final statement of the Egyptian-Jordanian-Palestinian tripartite summit, which was held in the city of El Alamein in the Egypt on August 14, 2023, and its discussion of the Palestinian cause in light of the current developments in the occupied territories.

It called on the GCC member countries and international community to continue supporting the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) until its mission until all Palestinian refugees return to their homes.

Israeli legal experts have warned that all Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers in the occupied West Bank will be at risk of arrest in European countries and elsewhere on war crimes charges following the government’s “judicial reform” plan to weaken the judiciary and the Supreme Court in particular, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Thursday.

The newspaper quoted an internal email at a major law firm in Tel Aviv: “To whom it may concern, following the harm done to the Supreme Court, there is a great possibility today that someone performing military service in the [occupied] territories, who is photographed with their face exposed, will be at risk of arrest in Europe and elsewhere for war crimes.”

If that happens, said the email, it will be very difficult to provide assistance. “As long as all the steps that harm the Supreme Court and the court system are not cancelled, this danger will be present, tangible, and real. Everyone is advised not to submit to the call to serve in the reserve.”

The email was written by lawyer Ronnie Berkman, who has prosecuted many international cases and is an expert on matters of international law regarding the trial of members of the armed forces of a particular country on charges of war crimes. Berkman opposes the Israeli government’s plan to weaken the judiciary. By preventing the Supreme Court from being able to have judicial oversight of the government’s decisions, as well statements and actions by ministers, there is a very serious danger to all regular Israeli army soldiers and in the country and the reserve.

Israeli military pilots in the reserve explained their refusal to turn up for reserve duty in recent months by saying that it is out of fear of investigations, lawsuits and judicial procedures in the International Criminal Court in The Hague or in other courts in other countries.

The newspaper noted that legal experts have confirmed that prosecutions would not only be against Israeli pilots, but against all Israeli soldiers, and that the danger is much higher for officers and soldiers who do not work in secret. Such personnel are exposed to cameras that are not controlled by military censors.

These concerns have led to secret deliberations in Israel, with the participation of the Military Advocate General, the General Staff, senior officials in the Ministry of Justice, and the Office of the Attorney General, Ghali Bhairav Mayara, in her capacity as being responsible for the Military Advocate. The military authorities described these risks as the “fourth hour” or “fourth dimension” that should be scrutinized in light of the political crisis in Israel and its internal and external consequences.

The former director of the international department in the Israeli Public Prosecution, Gal Lavartov, gave a statement to the Supreme Court recently, in which he said that, “In all the cases that we dealt with in which the central prosecution allowed the closure of the cases or stopping legal procedures relied on the independence of the Israeli court system, which can take criminal measures itself against citizens, no matter how high-ranking they are, including army commanders or officers, if they break the law.”

The Ynet website reported that, following the claim by the former Mossad chief, Tamir Pardo, that Israel is practicing apartheid in the West Bank, Israeli officials and experts in international law have expressed concern about racist statements made by former security officials and ministers like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. They warn that Israel is nearing the stage of facing criminal proceedings in international courts.

“As long as Israeli ministers speak publicly in a manner that can be construed as support for an established policy that includes inhumane acts of an oppressive and racist regime,” explained former defence attorney at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Nick Kaufman, “the road to the prosecution of Israeli leaders is clear.”

Anadolu Agency reports, Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on Thursday called on the international community to avoid confusion and discrimination in dealing with the conflict and human suffering in Palestine .

Addressing the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, Anwar said any form of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia cannot be accepted and should be condemned as strongly as possible.

The Malaysian Prime Minister is in Indonesia to attend the annual summit of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN).

On Palestine, Anwar, and ASEAN leaders expressed concern over the developments in the Middle East and reiterated the need for a comprehensive, just and sustainable solution to the crisis in order to achieve peace and stability in the region.

We fully support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people for an independent Palestinian State with the realization of two states, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Later, he met with UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to discuss the issues of Palestine and Myanmar.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the opening of Papua New Guinea's embassy in Jerusalem as an “aggression” and a “violation” of international law.  

In a statement, the ministry termed the embassy opening as "an aggression against the Palestinian people and their rights." It warned that the move would cause "great harm to the chances of achieving peace on the basis of a two-state solution."

On Tuesday, Papua New Guinea inaugurated its embassy to Israel in West Jerusalem, becoming the fifth country to maintain a diplomatic mission in the city.

In 2018, the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a move that was followed by Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo.

The Palestinian ministry said it will use all political, diplomatic and legal means to “pursue these countries over their unjustified aggression against the Palestinian people and their rights."

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East conflict, with Palestinians insisting that East Jerusalem – illegally occupied by Israel since 1967 – should serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden begins an Asian tour that will lead him to India to participate in the G20 summit, which appears relatively weak in the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping in particular, after which he will head to Vietnam.

The visit of the 80-year-old American president comes at a defining moment in the game of alliances against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, and at a time when China is rising in influence and increasingly challenging the American superpower.

Biden is scheduled to leave the White House at around 20:45 pm GMT, to head to the American base in Ramstein in Germany, before moving to New Delhi on Friday.

And the US presidency refused to disclose how to amend its program, in the event that it was confirmed that it had Covid-19, after the first lady contracted the disease on Monday with mild symptoms.

In the context, the White House reported that Biden underwent several tests this week, all of which were negative.

The US president will take center stage at the G-20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday, in the absence of the two leaders, China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Biden intends to use the summit, chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to prove that the bloc remains the main forum for global economic cooperation, despite its divisions.

This is a way to send a message to Beijing and to emerging rival alliances, including the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) alliance.

Joe Biden announced last week that he was "disappointed" that President Xi would miss the summit, where he will be represented by Prime Minister Li Qiang.

For his part, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that Biden will discuss "a series of joint efforts to address global problems," including climate change and "mitigating the economic and social consequences of the Russian war in Ukraine" affecting the poorest countries.

"He is committed to working with partners in emerging markets to achieve great things together. And that is what the world will see in New Delhi this weekend," Sullivan added.

It will also call for strengthening the financing capabilities of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Biden's program, upon his arrival in New Delhi on Friday, includes a bilateral meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, whom the US President received with great hospitality in June at the White House.

The United States is working to strengthen its relations with India to stand up to China at a time when New Delhi seeks to establish a leading international role.

This comes despite their differences over Russia, as India did not abide by the sanctions imposed on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine, and their differences over respect for human rights.

"If the United States begins to advance the cause of rights and democracy, it will jeopardize a very important relationship that the United States cannot afford to lose," said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Wilson Center in Washington.

On the other hand, Joe Biden will go to Vietnam on Sunday to meet the leader of the Communist Party that holds power in the country, Nguyen Phu Trong, in addition to other leaders, with the aim of confronting China's influence in the region as well.

Relations between the United States and Vietnam have strengthened in recent years, including in the military and economic spheres, as the two countries have largely reconciled despite the scars of war.

The US President's visit comes as part of a comprehensive diplomatic offensive targeting Asian countries, whether or not they are traditional allies of the United States.

Joe Biden had recently received the Prime Minister of Japan and the President of South Korea at an unprecedented summit.

The official spokesman for the Palestinian Presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said that what was published by President Mahmoud Abbas on a television program on the Jewish issue was a quotation from the writings of Jewish and American historians and writers and others, and is not considered a denial in any way of the Nazi Holocaust.

Abu Rudeineh emphasized that President Mahmoud Abbas' position on this issue is clear and documented, which is the complete condemnation of the Nazi Holocaust and the rejection of anti-Semitism.

He said, "We express our strong disapproval and condemnation of this frenzied campaign merely for quoting academic and historical writings."

Today, Thursday evening, the Israeli occupation forces arrested two young men from Tulkarm camp, while they were passing through a military checkpoint east of Tulkarm.

The Prisoner's Club in Tulkarm stated that the occupation forces arrested the two young men, Iyas Odeh and Hadi Abu Diab, while they were passing through the Enab military checkpoint.

The Israeli occupation authorities officially issued an administrative detention order for a period of four months against the detainee Hanan Saleh Al-Barghouti (59 years old), from the town of Kober in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, and she is the sister of the prisoner, Nael Al-Barghouti, who spent a total of 43 years in the occupation prisons.

The Prisoners Club stated, in a statement, this evening, Thursday, that Al-Barghouti was arrested on the fourth of September, after she had recently received several threats from the occupation, during the raids that took place on her house several times, indicating that she suffers from several health problems, including pressure and diabetes.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation authorities forced a Jerusalemite to demolish his shop in the town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to local sources, the occupation authorities forced the citizen, Nafez Zaytoun, to demolish his shop, under the pretext of building without a permit.

The occupation authorities had notified, earlier today, the demolition of three houses in the town of Silwan, belonging to the citizens: Khaled Zaytoun, Jumaa Odeh, and Shehdeh Qweider.

On Thursday evening, settlers forced a shepherd to leave the pastures in the northern Jordan Valley.

According to local sources, settlers forced the young man, Ahmed Hussein Daraghmeh, to leave the pastures while he was grazing his cattle in Al Farisiya, in the northern Jordan Valley.

Today, Thursday, Al Quds learned from an informed source that the US President Joe Biden's administration believes that the Palestinian demands presented in the Riyadh talks are the maximum demands, which makes it very difficult for the administration to meet them at the present time, and that it is more useful for the Palestinians to make "more Reasonable" demands that  serves to stop the escalation, reduce violence, improve the daily lives of the Palestinians, and freeze unilateral steps (by the Palestinian and Israeli sides) that complicate the possibilities of reaching a two-state solution, which is the goal of the United States to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

On Thursday, the British BBC revealed that among the Palestinian demands in the event of a tripartite agreement that includes the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel, includes more political and security control over the lands in the occupied West Bank and a financial increase of hundreds of millions of dollars to support The Palestinian Authority, which suffers from a significant shortage of financial resources.

A team of senior Palestinian officials in Riyadh — including Palestinian intelligence chief Majed Faraj and Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization — met Saudi national security adviser Musaed al-Aiban on Wednesday, according to Palestinian sources, to discuss Palestinian demands as part of any grand bargain. To reach it, and that was before any meeting with the American officials who went to Riyadh for the same purpose.

Multiple reports, statements and discussions have been reported in the American media and on the official press platforms in the White House and the US State Department since last July about the US efforts to reach a historic agreement to normalize Saudi-Israeli relations, in return for major security arrangements between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. and making Israeli concessions in the occupied Palestinian territories.

But the possibility of an agreement seems remote at the moment, as the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Tuesday: "We do not expect any announcements or imminent breakthroughs in the coming period."

There is speculation in Washington about a major American plan for the historic reorganization of relations in the Middle East, by resuming American shuttle diplomacy similar to the tours of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the seventies of the last century prior to reaching the Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel.

Experts believe that US President Joe Biden is likely to see the Saudi-Israeli agreement as a major foreign policy prize that he can present to voters before next year's elections.

In return for recognizing Israel, Saudi Arabia is said to be demanding US guarantees of access to advanced US weapons and a civilian nuclear program that includes uranium enrichment at home, which is controversial in Washington, where lawmakers from both parties oppose it.

According to experts, Israel, for its part, will benefit from trade and defense relations with the major Arab power, and more historical integration that it has always sought in the region, in the wake of other Arab normalization agreements reached in 2020.

Experts also believe that for any agreement to succeed, it must be seen as including major Israeli concessions to the Palestinians, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman needs to mollify his people — historically opposed to Israel and deeply sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.

At the same time, President Biden will also need to demonstrate that he has made significant gains for the Palestinians to gain support from his Democratic Party. Israel's current ultra-nationalist ruling coalition, which they see as exacerbating tensions in the West Bank and sparking unprecedented instability within Israel itself.

According to the BBC, a list of Palestinian demands in exchange for participation in the US-backed process was identified during a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf last week in Amman, and according to what a Palestinian official told the network, the demands include: Transferring parts of the West Bank currently under full Israeli control (known as Area C under the Oslo peace accords of the 1990s) to Palestinian Authority rule; a "complete halt" to Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank; Resuming Saudi financial support to the Palestinian Authority, which has slowed since 2016 and stopped completely three years ago, to about $200 million annually; the reopening of the US Consulate in Jerusalem — the diplomatic mission to the Palestinians — that was closed by President Donald Trump, and the resumption of US-brokered negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians from where they left off under then-Secretary of State John Kerry in 2014.

In turn, an American official, commenting on the alleged Palestinian demands, said that he was not aware of this, and that "the administration's record shows that we are not talking about the content of negotiations that take place behind closed doors, and I only say that McGurk and Leaf's visit was arranged in advance, and it deals with bilateral Saudi-American relations."

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces detained three young men at a military checkpoint near the town of Ya`bad, west of Jenin.

Local sources said that the occupation forces detained the young man, Majdi Faisal Abu Sariya, from the Jenin camp, and the two young men, Ahmed Khalil and Qais Muhammad Zakarneh, from Qabatiya, for hours as they passed the "Dotan" military checkpoint, which was established on the lands of the town of Ya`bad, west of Jenin.

The occupation forces released the two young men, Zakarneh, after detaining them for long hours, and transferred them to the "Mabu Dotan" settlement, while they are still holding the young man, Abu Sariya, since the morning hours.

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to expand settlement roads in the West Bank, as part of their plan to increase the number of settlers in the West Bank to more than one million.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli "Ynet" website said that an agreement was concluded between the Israeli Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev, and the so-called head of the "Samaria Settlement Council," Yossi Dagan, to start work on doubling Road No. 505, which connects the settlements of "Ariel" and "Tapuah" in The depth of the occupied West Bank, at a cost of half a billion shekels, next summer, and that Street No. 5, which starts in the Tel Aviv area to reach the Fasayel junction in the main road in the Jordan Valley, is doubled at a cost of 1.5 billion shekels, as part of the Israeli plan to increase the number of settlers in the West Bank. Occupied to more than a million.

The plan includes doubling Road No. 5 and widening it, according to the site, which will turn it into the most important cross road, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, in parallel with the legalization of dozens of random settlement outposts.

The website quoted Dagan as saying that "the road to a million in Samaria passes through construction, the preservation of national lands, and the most important is infrastructure and streets."

Today, Thursday, the Popular Front said, "The Israeli government's intention to 'legalize' three new settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, and to announce other plans, is a war crime that requires prosecution in all forums and the International Criminal Court."

The Popular Front added in a statement: "The occupation's continuation in building and legislating more settlement units on the lands of the West Bank and Jerusalem is a systematic policy aimed at seizing the land and isolating the cities and villages of the West Bank from each other through disjointed cantons that end the possibility of embodying Palestinian sovereignty over them."

The Popular Front considered that the occupying state is taking advantage of the official Arab normalization with it to continue this settlement policy and accelerate its procedures to impose the facts of its colonial occupation of Palestine.

It reaffirmed that confronting these Israeli policies is by adopting and strengthening the comprehensive resistance against the occupation, at the heart of which is the armed resistance that has proven its effectiveness and effectiveness in deterring it, leaving the path of negotiation with the occupation completely and resisting any calls to return to it.

Today, Thursday, violent clashes erupted between young men and the Israeli occupation forces in the town of Sebastia, in the city of Nablus.

According to local sources, these forces fired a barrage of poison gas bombs at the citizens.

Israeli security officials are calling for the exploitation of the ongoing contacts about a security-military deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia, which includes an agreement to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, in order to push for a security calm in the occupied West Bank, by offering “goodwill overtures and concessions” to the Palestinians, according to Haaretz newspaper. " today is Thursday.

Israeli security officials presented their position to ministers during deliberations on a possible normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, at a time when the Israeli government and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have increased, and consider that agreements to normalize relations with Arab countries should be separated from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Israeli security apparatus tried to absolve itself of responsibility for the security situation in the West Bank by repeating the claim that Netanyahu would have difficulty obtaining support from his government to advance a security calm, “as it is expected that ministers from the Otzma Yehudit and religious Zionist parties will oppose this, as well as a number of ministers from the Otzma Yehudit party.” Likud," according to the newspaper.

The newspaper quoted Israeli security officials as saying that at this time there are no understandings between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and that reaching an agreement between the two countries with the composition of the current Israeli government is almost impossible.

The newspaper added that Israel has not yet received clear Palestinian demands within the framework of US-Saudi-Israeli contacts, while the Palestinian Authority handed over a list of demands to Saudi Arabia, and requested that the latter present it to Israel in the framework of negotiations, and among the demands was the transfer of Area C in the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority, and a construction freeze. In the settlements, the opening of the US consulate in Jerusalem.

And the "Walla" website had mentioned that a Palestinian delegation consisting of the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, the Director of General Intelligence, Majed Faraj, and the Palestinian President's Advisor, Majdi Al-Khalidi, had met with the US President's envoy to the Middle East, Bert McGurk, in Riyadh, last Tuesday.

According to the newspaper, it was the United States that linked contacts with Saudi Arabia with Israeli concessions to the Palestinians. Israeli security sources said that the US administration considers that it missed an opportunity by not trying to advance steps between Israel and the Palestinian Authority upon signing the "Abraham Accords".

The Israeli security sources added that the United States and Saudi Arabia are close to reaching preliminary understandings about the details of the agreement between them, and that they will not sign a defense pact that obliges the United States to stand by Saudi Arabia if it is attacked, but rather they will sign an agreement that establishes the United States' commitment to grant Saudi Arabia security assistance.

The Israeli security sources suggested that the United States would agree to the Saudi demand for a civilian nuclear program, provided that it is subject to international monitoring.

The Israeli security apparatus opposes Saudi Arabia's enrichment of uranium on its territory. On the other hand, US President Joe Biden considers that an agreement with Saudi Arabia will be an achievement on the eve of the US presidential elections. However, such an agreement requires the approval of two-thirds of the US Senate, while it is expected that a number of Democratic members of the House will oppose it, if it does not include achievements in favor of the Palestinians.

The corridors of the Association of East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Jakarta on Thursday, which will bring together Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, provide an opportunity for rare talks amid tense relations between the three major countries.

The summit hosted by the Indonesian capital, Harris and Lee, gathers around the same table, a day after the Chinese prime minister warned the leaders of the 18 countries that the major powers should settle their differences to avoid a "new cold war".

The spotlight will be on the talks between officials of the world's two largest economic powers, in light of the tension between them on a range of issues, from the dispute over Taiwan to relations with Moscow, through the struggle for influence in the Pacific, days before the G20 summit in New Delhi.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared, "I ask... the leaders of the Southeast Asian Summit to make (from this meeting) a forum for strengthening cooperation and not for fueling rivalries."

For her part, Harris held private talks with Southeast Asian leaders during which they discussed "the importance of enforcing respect for international law in the South China Sea," according to a statement.

The ASEAN summit will be the first occasion for senior officials from the United States and Russia to gather, about two months after the last ASEAN meeting in July in Jakarta, which witnessed tension, during which Lavrov faced harsh Western criticism of his country over the invasion of Ukraine.

Joining the Southeast Asian leaders' meeting were Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yun Sok Yul, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Albanese met his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the summit and confirmed that he will make an official visit to China "later this year", as Canberra seeks to improve relations with Beijing.

Addressing his summit partners, Indian Prime Minister Modi stressed the importance of "building a post-Covid world order based on law," calling for collective efforts for a "free and open" region in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Lavrov is expected to stress the dangers of expanding NATO's influence in the Asian region, according to what the Russian Foreign Ministry said during a briefing this week.

Although the ASEAN summit brings together some of the major powers in the world, its ability to settle regional and global differences remains limited, according to experts.

The analyst at the "International Institute for Strategic Studies" Aaron Connelly said that the participation of the major powers "is an indication of ASEAN's ability to bring together the parties, but we can say recently that the East Asian Summit has weakened, turned into a discussion forum."

And if Thursday's meeting involved a geopolitical dimension more than others, the major powers took advantage of the previous summits in Jakarta to consolidate their alliances and put pressure on the Southeast Asian bloc.

On Wednesday, the Chinese Prime Minister boarded the high-speed train, whose project was funded by China and is still in the experimental stage, heading from Jakarta to Bandung in Java, accompanied by a senior Indonesian official.

Kamala Harris met successively Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on the sidelines of the summit.
"The Vice President reaffirmed the United States' unwavering commitment to the Philippines and emphasized the role the US-Philippine alliance plays in ensuring that the Indo-Pacific remains free, open and prosperous," a statement read.

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation authorities notified the demolition of three homes in the town of Silwan in occupied Jerusalem.

According to local sources, the occupation municipality delivered demolition orders for the homes of Jerusalemites: Khaled Zaytoun, Juma Odeh, and Shehdeh Qweider in the town of Silwan.