“NOT ON OUR DIME”: WHY DEMOCRATS ARE FINALLY CHALLENGING ISRAEL

MAY 25TH, 2023

Source

RAMZY BAROUD

Though the United States remains a strong supporter of Israel, there are some indications that the supposed ‘unbreakable bond’ with Tel Aviv is faltering, though more in language than in deeds.

Following the provocative ‘Flag March’ on May 18, which is carried out annually by Israeli Jewish extremists in the Occupied Palestinian city of East Jerusalem, the US joined other countries around the world in condemning the racism displayed at the event.

The language used by the US State Department was firm but also guarded. Spokesman Matthew Miller did not condemn the racist, provocative march – which involved leading Israeli officials – but the language used by the large crowds, most of whom are strong supporters of the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The United States unequivocally opposes racist language of any form,” Miller tweeted. “We condemn the hateful chants such as ‘Death to Arabs’ during today’s marches in Jerusalem.”

Carefully articulated not to appear as a condemnation of Israel itself, the US position is still more ‘balanced’ than previous positions, where Palestinians were often the ones associated with the US use of words such as “condemnation,” “incitement,” and the like.

On the other hand, during the Israeli bloody five-day war on Gaza, starting on May 9, Washington had resorted to the same old script, that of Israel having the ‘right to defend itself,’ thus entirely misrepresenting the events which led to the war in the first place.

This US position on Israel’s war on Gaza suggests that Netanyahu is the ‘defender’ of Israel against supposed Palestinian violence and ‘terrorism.’ But this purported champion of Israeli rights is yet to be invited to the White House five months after he returned to power at the helm of Israel’s most rightwing government in history.

Some want to believe that the decision by the Joe Biden administration to distance itself from Netanyahu was entirely altruistic. But that cannot be the case, as the US continues to back Israel militarily, financially, politically and in every other way.

The answer lies in Netanyahu’s major miscalculations of the past when he crossed a dangerous line by turning against the Democratic Party and allying his country entirely with Republicans. His tactics paid dividends during the term of Republican President Donald Trump but backfired when Trump left the White House.

Biden is unquestionably pro-Israel. Per his own repeated remarks, his support for Israel is not only political but ideological as well. “I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist,” he has repeated, and proudly so, on several occasions.

But the US President is also anti-Netanyahu, a dislike that even preceded the Trump-Netanyahu love affair. It mostly dates back to Barack Obama’s two terms in office, when Biden was the vice president.

Netanyahu’s political shenanigans and relentless attacks on the Obama Administration at the time taught Biden that Netanyahu simply could not be trusted.

Yet, Biden, with historically low ratings among ordinary Americans, cannot possibly, on his own, challenge Netanyahu and Israel’s stronghold on Washington through its influential lobby.

Something else is at work, namely, the fact that the Democratic Party as a whole had shifted allegiances from Israel to Palestine.

This assertion would have been unthinkable in the past, but the change is real, confirmed time and again by credible polling companies. The latest was in March.

“After a decade in which Democrats have shown increasing affinity toward the Palestinians, their sympathies … now lie more with the Palestinians than the Israelis, 49% versus 38%,” the Gallup poll concluded.

The fact that such growing ‘affinity’ with Palestine has been taking place for at least a decade suggests that the position of the Democrats was a generational one, not an outcome of a single event.

Indeed, numerous organizations and countless individuals are working on a daily basis to create a link between ‘affinity’ and policy.

Buoyed by the growing sympathies for Palestine, a long-time advocate of Palestinians’ rights in the US Congress, Rep. Betty McCollum reintroduced, on May 5, the ‘Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act’.

Co-sponsored by 16 other members of Congress, the legislation demands that Israel must be prohibited from using “US taxpayer dollars in the Occupied West Bank for the military detention, abuse or ill-treatment of Palestinian children.”

Two years earlier, the Intercept had reported that McCollum and her supporters were pushing towards barring US aid to Israel from “subsidizing a wider array of Israeli occupation tactics.”

Alex Kane wrote this is “an indication of just how far the debate over the US aid to Israel has come in the past six years,” a reference to 2015 when McCollum introduced the first legislation on the matter.

Since then, things have moved forward at an even more accelerated speed. The effort to hold Israel accountable has now reached the New York state assembly.

On May 16, The New York Post reported that legislation was introduced by several Democratic lawmakers aimed at blocking registered US charities from funneling money to fund illegal Israeli Jewish settlements.

The legislation, “Not on Our Dime!: Ending New York Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act,” dares to challenge Israel on multiple fronts: the traditional power of the pro-Israel lobby, questioning US funding of Israel and confronting the channeling of funds to illegal settlements in the name of charity work.

Several reasons compel us to believe that the shift in US policy on Palestine and Israel, though slow, nuanced and, at times, symbolic, will likely continue.

One is the fact that Israel is turning towards far-right nationalism, which is increasingly difficult to defend by US liberal government and media.

Two, the steadfastness of Palestinians and their ability to overcome mainstream media restrictions and censorship that had prevented them from having any fair representation.

And finally, the dedication of numerous civil society organizations and the widening network of support for Palestinians throughout the US, which allowed courageous lawmakers to push for substantive change in policy.

Time will tell what direction Washington will take in the future. But, considering the current evidence, support for Israel is dwindling at rates that are unprecedented

Israeli Oppression in Palestine Proceeds as Resistance Affirms Readiness

 May 24, 2023

Israeli occupation forces during a raid in the West Bank (photo from December 2022).

Early Wednesday morning, Israeli occupation forces initiated a widespread campaign of arrests in various areas throughout the occupied West Bank. The campaign, which included confrontations, clashes, and arrests, targeted multiple towns and neighborhoods.

In the town of Jaba, south of Jenin, the occupation forces arrested brothers, Karam and Hakim Al-Hodhod, after storming their family home. In the same area, they also arrested Ahmed Abu Aziz and his father, Muhammad Abu Aziz. Clashes between resistance fighters and the occupation forces occurred during the raid

Further arrests were made in occupied Al-Quds, where Adam Ghaith, Saleh al-Hadra, Aysar Abu Sbeitan from Al-Tur, and Ayham al-Salaymeh from Ras al-Amud were arrested after having their homes raided and ransacked.

In Ramallah, young men clashed with the occupation forces in the Jalazoun refugee camp

In Nablus, the occupation forces arrested Khalil Abu Ghadeeb and Bahaa Al-Tayyan from their homes while resistance fighters fired on the occupation forces during their withdrawal from the Al-Maajin neighborhood.

Palestinian sources reported that warning sirens sounded in Nour Shams camp in Tulkarem, indicating an impending occupation force raid.

Additionally, occupation forces stormed Za’tara, where they tampered with the contents of homes belonging to citizens, Raafat Nayef Al-Wahsh, Youssef Al-Bo, and Fadi Battah, before withdrawing without making any arrests.

Palestinian resistance pledges to continue with response

The Palestinian resistance movement in the Gaza Strip confirmed that the resistance will continue until the expulsion of the occupation and the liberation of Palestine and its return to its Arab and Islamic embrace.

The movement also stressed, in a statement, the need for the unity of our people on the program of resistance and adherence to rights and constants. The unity of our people on the choice of resistance is a prerequisite for achieving victory.

IOF Demolish Land in occupied Jerusalem

Palestinian-owned land was leveled and a wall was demolished in the town of Sur Baher, belonging to the Amira family, by the Israeli Occupation Forces. They also detained four young men from the same area of occupied Jerusalem.

IOF Damages Commercial Shop Contents

The contents of a commercial shop in the al-Jalazone refugee camp in Ramallah were damaged by the Israeli Occupation Forces, and money was stolen.

Nakahle: Martyred Commanders Immediately Replaced
Earlier on Tuesday, the Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad, Ziad Nakhale, confirmed the group’s readiness to confront Israeli attacks. He revealed that the group’s commanders who were martyred during the Israeli aggression on Gaza earlier this month have already been replaced.

Nakhale maintained that the group holds rockets that can reach any area of occupied Palestine and that rockets fired at occupied territories during “Operation Revenge of the Free” were homemade and manufactured by the group’s military wing, Al-Quds Brigades. Six Al-Quds Brigades commanders were assassinated during the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Source: Palestinian and Israeli media (translated and edited by Al-Manar English Website)

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Exclusive Interviews: Hezbollah Wargames in Foreign Media Eyes

 May 22, 2023

Part of maneuver held by Hezbollah in south Lebanon (May 21, 2023).

Areej Fatima Al-Husseini

Days ahead of the 23rd anniversary of south Lebanon liberation from Israeli occupation, Hezbollah held a large-scale wargames, demonstrating its full readiness to defeat any Israeli folly.

Since the early hours of Sunday, journalists have been preparing to cover the historic event with its strategic and military implications, especially since Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah voiced the Lebanese resistance’s full readiness to support the Palestinian people in confronting the Zionist entity’s repeated attacks.

Attendees included news agencies, television media outlets, news websites, and photographers of diverse affiliations and viewpoints. The participation of international and Western journalists was noteworthy.

Al-Manar website correspondent spoke with some of these journalists.

Nicholas Blanford: “Very Impressive Performance”

During the maneuver, Hezbollah fighters simulated a possible storming of an Israeli settlement in the former Bir Kallab site, which was well-known for being one of the most formidable sets for the Zionist army and its allies.

Al-Manar English Website spoke to one of the most prominent present journalists in the exercise, Nicholas Blanford. We questioned the journalist, who resided in Lebanon since 1994, about the significance of the setting.

When asked about the Israeli reaction to this symbolic maneuver, Blanford remarked:

American freelance journalist Hanna Davis was there for the wargames. She took plenty of photographs and videos, showing how engaged she was in what she was observing.

Before the drill began, we asked Ms. Hanna about her expectations, and she replied:

After the parade ended, we interviewed Lebanese political activist Ali Yehya about the drill’s relevance, particularly in light of Israel’s recent aggression on Gaza.

On the contrary, a British freelance journalist declined to speak to our website, citing his concern about looking in a false form and saying he “would appear as a hostage.” Likewise, other German and Spanish journalists refused to speak to Al-Manar, claiming this would be against their agencies’ policies.

In a nutshell, twenty-three years after the Zionist entity disgracefully expelled the Lebanese territories, Hezbollah has grown into a potent organization that has caught the attention of both worldwide and regional media outlets.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

Gazans flock to border in defiance of ‘Flag March’, IOF injure several

May 18 2023

Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades target an illegal settlement with heavy gunfire.

Gazans raise Palestinian flags in protest of the so-called Israeli “Flag March”, on May 18, 2023 (Shehab agency)

By Al Mayadeen English 

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – Beit Ummar Rapid Response Group in occupied Al-Khalil – confirmed that it targeted the “Karmei Tzur” illegal settlement with heavy gunfire, adding that its Resistance fighters safely withdrew from the scene.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli Channel 12 reported that Israeli occupation forces arrested a 29-year-old Palestinian youth from Ramallah, under the pretext of attempting to carry out a shooting operation in occupied Al-Quds with an M16 weapon.

Earlier today, a 14-year-old Palestinian child was wounded in the foot and shoulder by Israeli occupation gunfire in the Aida refugee camp in occupied Beit Lahm.

According to local sources, Israeli occupation forces opened fire at a child who was in the Al-Muftah area at the eastern entrance to the Aida camp, where an event to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba was being organized.

In the Gaza Strip, thousands of Palestinians flocked to the Separation Wall on the Gaza border in defiance of the so-called Israeli “Flag March” in occupied Al-Quds.

Israeli occupation forces fired a barrage of gas bombs at protesters and journalists at the Malaka refugee camp, east of Gaza.

Al Mayadeen correspondent said four Palestinians were injured, one with live bullets and three with gas bombs, as a result of Israeli occupation attacks.

Khaled Al-Batsh, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Movement official, told Al Mayadeen, “We assure the Israelis that the battle over Al Quds is still ongoing, and this constitutes an Israeli failure over the past 75 years to enforce a different identity or any sort of sovereignty over Al-Quds.” 

Illegal Israeli settlers organized on Thursday the so-called Israeli “Flag March”, while Al Mayadeen correspondent confirmed that Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took part in the provocative march.

The settlers waved Israeli occupation flags and chanted racist slogans in Bab Al-Amoud Square, one of the most famous gates of the Old City, while Palestinians raised the Palestinian flag, in defiance of the provocative march.

Our correspondent highlighted that illegal Israeli settlers participating in the “Flag March” chanted racist slogans, calling for burning Palestinian villages and cities and forcibly expelling their residents.

In addition, Israeli occupation forces beat many Palestinian citizens and prevented the press from approaching the march’s location, where settlers planned to perform the so-called “Flag Dance”.

Israeli settlers celebrated during their “Flag March” while assaulting #Palestinians.

Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank raised the #Palestinian flag in defiance of the Israeli provocative march.

Israeli police fired a barrage of gas bombs at protesters and journalists at… pic.twitter.com/kZ3NnnFoKk— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 18, 2023

Al Mayadeen correspondent said Israeli occupation forces arrested eight Palestinians, including a woman, for the mere reason of raising the Palestinian flag in occupied Al-Quds.

The head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, pointed out that the Israeli entity’s mobilization from north to south to provide protection for the so-called “Flag March” reflects the fragility the entity is experiencing at the security level.

In a press statement, Haniyeh said “the Palestinian flag, which flies over our land, consolidates the identity of the homeland and its legitimate owners.”

The Hamas leader affirmed that the chapters of confrontation with the Israeli continue, and the Palestinian people will settle the account with the occupation only when the land of Palestine is liberated.

Haniyeh pointed out that the complete closure of the Old City in Al-Quds reflects the Israeli settlers’ fear of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, stressing that what is happening now illustrates the nature of the struggle, in its religious and national dimensions.

The Palestinian Resistance factions considered the so-called “Flag March” a failed attempt by the Israeli occupation to impose its control over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling for confronting the plans that target the city of Al-Quds and its sanctities.

In a joint statement, the factions stressed that the aggression targeting Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds requires an escalation of Resistance action and a great popular movement to thwart the malicious plans of the occupation.

This year’s march is taking place just days after the Israeli occupation launched an aggression on the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the martyrdom of 33 Palestinians, almost a third of whom were children and women.

Read more: ‘Israel’ turns Al-Quds into military barracks amid ‘Flag March’

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Palestinians Confront Israeli Raids amid Calls to Defend Al-Quds during ‘Flag March’

 May 16, 2023

Palestinians are in continuous state of resistance against daily Israeli aggression on several areas across the West Bank, amid calls to defend the holy city of Al-Quds during the provocative Israeli so-called ‘Flag March’.

Israeli occupation forces staged on Tuesday several raids and made arrests near Jericho and in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, prompting armed clashes with Palestinian resistance.

Palestinian media reported that resistance fighters opened fire at the Zionist soldiers who raided the town of Qabatiya in Jenin, and besieged a house, where resistance fighters were allegedly residing.

Al-Quds Brigades’ Qabatiya Battalion confirmed that their Mujahideen (fighters) confronted the occupation forces, reporting fierce clashes.

Three Palestinians were reportedly injured in the raid, according to Palestinian and Israeli media.

The town of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya, the Dheisheh camp in Beit Lahm, and the Aqabat Jaber camp in Areeha were also among the areas targeted.

The IOF reportedly deployed snipers in multiple buildings during their storming of Aqabat Jaber, where they arrested six members of one family.

Confrontations erupted between Palestinian Resistance fighters and the IOF during the Aqabat Jaber raid, during which a citizen was injured, and ambulance crews were prevented to reach him. In another raid, the IOF stormed the town of Al-Isawiya in occupied Al-Quds and conducted a campaign of arrests.

The IOF also moved into the town of Turmus Ayya, Ramallah, where they arrested Palestinian youth Mohammad Walid Abu Awwad from his home.

These raids come just one day after the IOF shot and killed Palestinian youth Saleh Sabra during their attempt to storm the Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

‘Flag March’ 

Meanwhile, Palestinian groups and activists have been mobilizing to defend Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa against Israeli provocations during the Israeli so-called ‘Flag March’ schedueled on Thursday.

Enitiled “The Great Dawn”, the calls urged Palestinians to head for Al-Aqsa at dawn in Thursday to confront the Israeli provocations planed during the provocative ‘Flag March’.

The Flag March is staged by Israeli settlers every year to mark what they call the “unification of Jerusalem”, in reference to Israeli occupation of the holy city in 1967.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the provocative parade will take place as planned in Al-Quds on Thursday, and that it will go through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu leads a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset in occupied Al-Quds (May 15, 2023).

“The flag march will continue as planned, as usual, on its route,” Netanyahu said at the outset of his Likud party’s Knesset faction meeting.

Israeli occupation Police approved the route last week, and said it plans to deploy more than 2,000 police officers to guard the march.

Source: Palestinian Agencies

75 Years on 1948 Cleansing… UN, US Forced to Recognize Palestine’s Nakba?

 May 15, 2023

Activists of Palestine Action, UK-based pro-Palestine protest network, taking over a Newcastle factory owned by Israeli-owned weapons company Rafael on The Nakba Day (May 15, 2023).

Batoul Wehbi

On May 15, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly will convene a significant high-level meeting to solemnly observe the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, a term denoting the mass displacement of approximately 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in 1948.

This historic occasion marks the first time the international community has officially acknowledged the date, serving as a poignant reminder of the profound historical injustice endured by the Palestinian people.

Nonetheless, the UN’s decision to commemorate this day has faced opposition from certain nations. The United States and the United Kingdom were among those that voted against the commemoration. Furthermore, the Israeli foreign ministry has called upon UN member states to refrain from participating in an event that it perceives as adopting a narrative that undermines Israel’s right to exist.

All the way to the US, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has made a noteworthy effort by introducing a resolution in the US House of Representatives to recognize the Palestinian Nakba. This term encapsulates the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

The proposed measure, presented by Tlaib, a Palestinian American representing Michigan, comes at a time when progressive voices in the United States are gaining momentum in advocating for Palestinian rights and seeking to impose restrictions on U.S. aid to Israel.

The resolution describes the Nakba as the “uprooting, dispossession, and exile of the Palestinian people from their homeland.” It asserts that addressing the Nakba and remedying the injustices inflicted upon the Palestinian people are indispensable components of establishing a just and enduring peace. The proposal emphasizes that the Nakba represents the fundamental cause underlying the complexities and divisions between Israelis and Palestinians.

As Tlaib prepared to introduce the resolution in the House of Representatives, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy attempted to cancel an event organized by the congresswoman on Capitol Hill to commemorate the Nakba. Nevertheless, the commemoration proceeded on Wednesday, albeit with a change of venue from the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center to a nearby Senate office building, still within the Capitol campus.

Amidst this alteration, a multitude of supporters of Palestinian rights crowded into a Senate committee hearing room, many adorned with keffiyehs and traditional Palestinian thobes.

In front of the enthusiastic audience, Tlaib expressed her resolute stance: “I declare loudly and unequivocally, through the introduction of a historic resolution in Congress: The Nakba occurred in 1948, and its ramifications persist to this day.”

The Nakba stands as a poignant reminder of a profound historical injustice, and its recognition within international forums contributes to a broader understanding of the plight endured by the Palestinian people. By amplifying their voices and advocating for justice, these efforts aim to foster a more equitable future in the pursuit of lasting peace in the region.

Countries across the World Commemorate Nakba

To commemorate Nakba, a remarkable demonstration was held in London, as protesters marched towards the British cabinet headquarters, chanting in support of Palestine and denouncing the Israeli occupation. The demonstration, titled “Nakba 75 – End Apartheid, End the Occupation,” commenced in the heart of London outside the BBC headquarters before proceeding to Downing Street, the location of the British prime minister’s office.

Zaher Birawi, the head of the UK-based EuroPal Forum, emphasized that the commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba serves as a reaffirmation of the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian people for their sacred right of return. Birawi called upon the British government to acknowledge its historical responsibility for the sufferings endured by Palestinians from the time of the Balfour Declaration until the present day. He urged the government to promptly cease its support for the occupying entity, discontinue all forms of assistance in international forums, bring an end to the Israeli occupation, and establish an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital.

In a remarkable display of solidarity, many French citizens also stood with Gaza on the 75th anniversary of the Nakba.

Throughout various regions in Lebanon, movements in solidarity with Gaza emerged in response to the Israeli aggression. These gatherings also served as a commemoration of the Nakba anniversary, with hundreds of Palestinians from refugee camps participating alongside representatives of national and Islamic forces, popular committees, and active organizations in the Lebanese and Palestinian arenas.

Source: Al-Manar English Website
Palestinians on the anniversary of the Nakba: Returning to Lydda, Jaffa and Haifa
Nakba Day 1948: Why did Britain give Palestine to the Jews?

Heavy Missile Fire from Gaza Causes Death, Injuries and Massive Destruction in Tel Aviv, Other Israeli Settlements

 May 11, 2023

Palestinian Resistance strikes Tel Aviv

A new era in the history of the Zionist entity has started. Thursday, May 11, 2023 will be ever remembered sorrowfully by the Israelis because it refers to the date which records the first death in Tel Aviv caused by a missile fire.

A building in the Rehovot settlement in southern Tel Aviv was directly hit, which left one death and 13 injuries and caused a massive destruction.

The Israeli occupation army announced that more than 800 missiles have been fired from Gaza since the beginning of the operation termed by the Palestinian Resistance as the “Revenge of the Free”.

Zionist media outlet indicated that 15 buildings have so far been directly hit by the Palestinian rockets, indicating that the number of injuries among the Zionist settlers has neared 30.

It is worth noting that the military censorship in the Zionist media has prevented the media outlets from circulating the footage of the destruction caused by the Palestinian missile fire at Tel Aviv, Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and other cities and settlements. In this regard, three buildings in Sderot were directly hit by the Palestinian missiles.

Missiles over Sderot

The Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a security consultations session after ordering the settlers to listen to the instructions of the “home front” commander who predicted battle would take several days.

Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu

Meanwhile, the Zionist media continued circulating news about an imminent ceasefire, claiming that Egyptian intelligence minister will meet the Islamic Jihad Chief Zioad Nakhala in Beirut.

The Israeli media also alleged that the United States has started an endeavor to reach a ceasefire after getting fed up with the escalation.

Palestinian Resistance: Assassination Policy Will Fail

The Joint Operations Chamber of the Palestinian Resistance Factions as well as the spokesman of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Abu Hamza issued a statement which confirms the assassination policy will fail and acts of resistance will continue confronting the Zionist aggression on Gaza.

The military media department of Al-Quds Brigades also circulated a new video that displays its readiness to fire more missiles at the Zionist settlements, ending the video with the Quranic expression “army to be drowned” in Arabic and Hebrew.

Islamic Jihad mourned Thursday martyr commander Ahmad Abu Dakka who was assassinated by the Israeli enemy late Thursday in Khan Younis.

Martyr Ahmad Abu Dakka

An Israeli drone attack on two apartments in Khan Younis had killed the Islamic Jihad Commander Ali Hzsan Ghali who was the top rocket commander. In an official statement, the Al-Quds Brigades expressed their profound grief over the loss of martyr leader Ali Hassan Ghali, widely known as Abu Muhammad. Martyr Ghali, a prominent member of the military council and the esteemed chief of the rocketry unit, tragically fell victim to a deceitful Zionist assassination in Khan Yunis, located in southern Gaza. The statement also acknowledged the presence of other devout martyrs who were martyred alongside him.

Ali Hasan Ghali, Islamic Jihad rocket commander who was assassinated by Israeli occupation (Thursday, May 11, 2023)

Zionist Enemy Kills More Civilians in Gaza

The Zionist warplanes continued raiding the various sites and positions in Gaza, targeting Shujaia, Deir Al-Balah, Bet Lahia and other areas in the blockaded Strip.

Among the targets was the Al-Agha family’s residence in the Al-Qarara region, which was completely demolished by the airstrikes. Another house, owned by the Al-Masry family, suffered a similar fate in the northern Gaza Strip.

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Bombing residential buildings to lead ‘Tel Aviv’ to get bombed: PIJ

May 11, 2023

Source: Agencies

By Al Mayadeen English 

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement warns the Israeli occupation against bombing residential homes in light of recent Israeli escalation.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement warned the Israeli occupation that its policy of bombing civilian homes would be met with the relentless shelling of “Tel Aviv” and the occupied Palestinian territories.

The PIJ’s warning comes after the Israeli occupation forces conducted an air raid on a home in Beit Lahia and another in Beit Hanoun was leveled to the ground by the airstrike.

Moreover, an Israeli UAV fired two missiles toward a residential apartment in Al-Qarara, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.

A house was directly damaged in “Sderot,” with another suffering damages in occupied Askalan.

The operation that targeted the senior officials of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement “did not change the balance of power,” Israeli KAN broadcaster military affairs expert Roy Sharon reported.

“As we approach the end of the round of escalation, the Islamic Jihad movement is trying to prove that its ability to fire rockets has not eroded,” Sharon said. “We will discover the extent of deterrence achieved when we see how long the silence will last.”

This comes after Israeli National Security Council Chief Tzachi Hanegbi confirmed Wednesday that the occupation has no interest in continuing the battle with the Palestinian resistance factions.

In an interview with Channel 13, Hanegbi said, “The event has not ended yet,” adding, “We are still in the midst of a battle, whose extent is difficult to know.”

According to Hanegbi, “The chance of achieving long-term deterrence [for Israel] is low,” and commented that the “news of a ceasefire was premature.”

On the other hand, the former spokesperson of the Israeli Occupation Forces, Ronen Manelis, confirmed that “if the cease-fire enters into force in the next few hours, three parties will be able to declare victory: Israel, Jihad, and Hamas.”

He further explained that “although the Islamic Jihad lost three of its leaders and many other victims, it managed to paralyze an entire country for 48 hours and fired into the center of Tel Aviv.”

He further explained that “although the Islamic Jihad lost three of its leaders and many other victims, it managed to paralyze an entire country for 48 hours and fired into the center of Tel Aviv.”

In parallel, the Palestinian Resistance renewed its firing of barrages of rockets towards the occupied Palestinian territories according to the Al Mayadeen correspondent.

Additionally, sources in the Resistance told Al Mayadeen, “The recent bombing of Tel Aviv, Beer Al-Sabe, and other cities came to confirm that there is no truce except on the terms of the resistance,” noting that “in the event that the enemy does not adhere to the conditions of the resistance, we are going to expand the circle of fire.”

The Palestinian Resistance has renewed its shelling of occupied Palestinian territories in light of the continued Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) was activated in occupied Beer Al-Sabe, with Israeli media reporting that Rockets were fired toward the “Gush Dan” area, mainly “Tel Aviv”.

Israeli media said that following Netanyahu and Galant’s statements, a non-stop fire exchange erupted “on the Gaza border”.

Read more: All options on table: Resistance launches operation against occupation

Operation Avenging the Free

In response to the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip for two days in a row, where “Israel” massacred scores of Palestinians, including three Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leaders, the Palestinian Resistance launches Operation Avenging the Free to retaliate the Israeli crimes that did not even spare children or women.

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Who are the three PIJ leaders assassinated by the Israeli occupation?

May10 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen

By Al Mayadeen English 

The Israeli occupation assassinated three Islamic Jihad movement leaders at dawn Tuesday. Who are they?

The three PIJ and Al-Quds Brigades leader who were martyred in the Israeli occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip

At dawn Tuesday, the Israeli occupation carried out a brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip, during which it used 40 planes, helicopters, and drones to target several areas in the Strip, including the homes of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ) leaders, which resulted in the death of 13 Palestinians, including the three leaders

Who are the Al-Quds Brigades leaders who were martyred as a result of the aggression?

Jihad Ghannam

According to the PIJ’s obituary statement, martyr Jihad Ghannam, 62, born in Rafah, is considered one of the most prominent leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades.

Ghannam, a member of the movement’s political bureau, is the secretary of the military council in the Gaza Strip and is also considered one of the resistance leaders most wanted by the occupation since the Al-Aqsa Intifada, which broke out at the end of 2000.

The martyr held many PIJ positions, including the command of the southern region in the Gaza Strip. During the past years, he survived several assassination attempts and sustained several injuries as a result. His feet and parts of his hands were amputated.

During the Intifada, Ghannam supervised numerous decisive military operations that led to the killing of many Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers back when “Israel” established settlements in the Gaza Strip.

He joined the PIJ in the late 1980s and took part in the founding of the Al-Quds Brigades and led them for a long time, and was responsible for many military, administrative, and logistic files, among others.

According to the occupation’s allegations, Ghannam recently worked on coordinating and transferring funds and weapons between the PIJ and Hamas.

The martyr participated in training Resistance fighters inside the Gaza Strip, firing mortar shells, repelling incursions, and targeting Israeli occupation vehicles. He also participated in the training of PIJ Resistance fighters in Sudan.

Ghannam supervised the supply of qualitative weapons to the resistance in Gaza, as well as the recruitment of military cells in the occupied West Bank, which recently launched several operations against the occupation.

He oversaw the development of missile manufacturing in the Al-Quds Brigades, accompanied by leader Khaled Mansour who was martyred in another Israeli aggression in August 2022.

The Israeli occupation attempted to assassinate Ghannam several times, most recently in Operation Seif Al-Quds in May 2021.

He survived more than five assassination attempts, the most serious of which was in 2014 when his mother, siblings, and cousins ​​were martyred in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his house.

The martyr’s family sacrificed many of its members, most notably Ghannam’s brother, Ziad, and two of his nephews.

Ghannam is considered the most prominent figure in the Al-Quds Brigades and was in direct contact with PIJ Secretary-General Ziad Al-Nakhalah, and had a distinguished and direct relationship with Akram Al-Ajouri, the commander-in-chief of the Al-Quds Brigades.

Tarek Ezzedine

The second martyr that the PIJ mourned was Tarek Ezzedine, 48, from the town of Arraba, southwest of Jenin.

The Al-Quds Brigades’ statement described Ezzedine as one of the leaders of its military action in the occupied West Bank.

Ezzedine was arrested several times and was held in Israeli occupation prisons. He was subjected to torture and interrogations, the last of which was in 2002, when he was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 25 years, on charges of taking part in Resistance operations against the Israeli occupation in the occupied West Bank.

In 2011, he was liberated from Israeli occupation prisons as part of the Loyalty of the Free deal, in which 1,027 prisoners were released in exchange for Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit.

He was elected to the PIJ’s first political bureau in 2018 and was reelected a few months ago.

According to Israeli claims, Ezzedine is considered responsible for coordinating relations between the PIJ in Gaza and Resistance forces in the occupied West Bank and supervising attacks from there, in addition to transferring money and special weapons to the Jenin Brigade.

After his liberation, Ezzedine was deported to the Gaza Strip, and he settled in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, until his martyrdom.

Khalil Al-Bahtini

According to the Al-Quds Brigades’ statement, the third military commander who was martyred in the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza was Khalil Salah Al-Bahtini.

Al-Bahtini, 44, was a member of the Brigades’ military council and commander of its northern region and started his activity in the PIJ in the 1990s.

Al-Bahtini is considered one of the most prominent leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades. He was in direct contact with many of the Brigades’ leaders during the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, and his military activity became more prominent after the occupation’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

He formed several active groups within the Al-Quds Brigades, especially those that oversee missile development.

The martyr was in direct relationship with leader Bahaa Abu Al-Atta, who was assassinated in 2019, and with leaders Tayseer Al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour, who were assassinated by the Israeli occupation in August 2022.

The Israeli occupation claims that the martyr took over the leadership of the northern Gaza Strip in the Al-Quds Brigades after the martyrdom of Tayseer Al-Jabari.

Response to heinous Israeli massacre will not be delayed: PIJ

Earlier, the PIJ held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the “treacherous and heinous terrorist massacre that exceeded all red lines and constituted a serious violation of the ceasefire.”

In a statement, the PIJ stressed that the Palestinian response to this heinous aggression and massacre will not be late, vowing that the Al-Quds Brigades and the Resistance will never relent in retaliating for the crimes committed against the martyrs’ pure blood. 

The movement underlined that the enemy will not achieve its goals and objectives from this heinous crime, as the Resistance is united and its positions are firm.

The PIJ affirmed that it will be more determined to continue its path and perform its holy duties in resisting the enemy, adding that behind the leaders of Al-Quds Brigades are strong leaders and soldiers who preserve the covenant and the legacy, and carry the responsibility and determination to fight and drain the enemy and confront it in all arenas.

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Sources to Al Mayadeen: ‘Israel’ seeks ceasefire, Resistance steadfast

10 May 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen Net

By Al Mayadeen English 

Sources from the Palestinian Resistance factions’ joint operations room confirm to Al Mayadeen that the Resistance is ready for long-term confrontations and warned of expanding the ring of fire if required.

Israeli Iron Dome anti-missile system fires to intercept a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip towards Occupied Palestinian territories, near “Sderot” Settlement, Gaza envelope, Occupied Palestine, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP)

Sources in the Palestinian Resistance factions’ joint operations room told Al Mayadeen, on Wednesday, that “the occupation pressed through various mediators to push for a ceasefire,” noting that “the resistance remained steadfast in its demand for a clear [Israeli] commitment to stopping the assassinations policy.”

The sources also expressed the Resistance’s “readiness to fight for the longest time period yet and to expand the ring of fire if necessary.”

In this regard, the Political Affairs expert Ahmed Abed Al-Rahman told Al Mayadeen, “The [Palestinian Islamic] Jihad movement was subjected to tremendous pressure regarding the ceasefire negotiations, but the movement’s leadership rejected all of these pressures.”

Abed Al-Rahman further added that “the resistance’s response to the aggression came in 3 phases, starting at noon and ending at 9:00 p.m. with a half-ton Badr rocket.”

He explained that “the rockets launched by the Al-Quds Brigades at nine o’clock targeted occupied Askalan, and were loaded with explosive warheads weighing half a ton.”

Israeli media quoted a senior official involved in the negotiations as saying, “There are difficulties in implementing a ceasefire.”

The Israeli media reported that “the knot in the negotiations is the Islamic Jihad’s request that Israel commits to stopping the assassinations.”

Israeli media also quoted an Israeli forces spokesman who said that 469 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip until 9:30, claiming that 153 were intercepted.

In the context, sources in the resistance confirmed to Al Mayadeen that “in the event that the enemy does not adhere to the conditions of the resistance, the decision will be to go toward expanding the ring of fire.”

The sources further noted that the recent bombing of “Tel Aviv”, Beer Al-Seba, and other occupied cities and settlements came to confirm that there is no truce except on the terms of the resistance.

In turn, Talal Abu Zarifa, a member of the political bureau of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said, “The Palestinian resistance cannot surrender to what the occupation wants,” adding that “the Israeli occupation committed a crime,” and that “it must pay the price for that.”

Moreover, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine affirmed that “the renewed Zionist aggression on Gaza is an integral part of the open war,” and praised the Resistance for confronting the aggression on Gaza and responding to it unified.

Simultaneously, Israeli media reported that there was non-stop rocket firing against the Gaza envelope settlements, following the joint statement of the Occupation government Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli Minister of Security, Yoav Gallant.

During his statement, Galant reported that about 400 rockets were fired at “Israel,” while the Israeli media reported that “100 rockets were fired at Israel in the last hour.”

The Palestinian Resistance continues to launch rocket barrages towards the occupied Palestinian territories according to the Al Mayadeen correspondent which reported the firing of successive barrages of rockets from Gaza.

Read more: Chance to establish ‘long-term deterrence is low’: Israeli NSC chief

The Boy of Qalandiya: He Is Not Idiot, and This Is Not ‘Security’

May 8, 2023

Mohammad Jaber, 14, was prevented from crossing the Qalandiya checkpoint for treatment. (Photo: Tamar Fleishman, The Palestine Chronicle)
– As a member of Machsomwatch, Tamar Fleishman documents events at Israeli military checkpoints between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Her reports, photos and videos can be found on the organization’s website: http://www.machsomwatch.org. She is also a member of the ‘Coalition of Women for Peace’ and a volunteer in ‘Breaking the Silence’. Tamar Fleishman is The Palestine Chronicle correspondent at the Qalandiya checkpoint.  

By Tamar Fleishman

As I was standing at the Palestinian side of the Israeli military checkpoint of Qalandiya, I saw a Palestinian teenager walking on crutches. 

His name is Mohammad Jaber. He is a 14-year-old boy who lives in the neighborhood of Shaja’iya, in the besieged Gaza Strip. 

Mohammad was at Qalandiya because he needed to cross the checkpoint to reach the Hadassah Hospital, which is located inside Israel, for treatment.

A Palestinian man, who had spoken with the teenage boy, drew my attention to the problem and asked me if I can be of help. 

The man told me that Mohammad was coming from a Ramallah hospital, to which he had been referred by Hadassah, so that they may run a few tests. Israeli soldiers, however, would not allow him to cross the checkpoint to complete his treatment at Hadassah.

The man thought that maybe there had been some miscommunication, so he asked me to go and talk to the soldiers on the boy’s behalf in Hebrew.

I walked slowly, along with Mohammad. It was clear, from his face, that every step caused him pain. We proceeded to the checkpoint’s ID inspection booth.

When the Israeli security guard saw us, he immediately yelled: “Who are you? If you are Israeli, you are not allowed to be here.”

He seized my ID and summoned the police. A policewoman checked me and said it was okay. Then, they checked Mohammad’s documents and insisted that he could not cross the checkpoint. 

I asked her to look at him: What danger could the boy pose as he could hardly even walk. 

“This is the law”, the guard said with a stern face. “He needs to come back tomorrow, with a special medical permit.”

At that point, there was nothing we could do. 

Then, the Israeli security guard turned towards Mohammad and he yelled in Hebrew: “Go on, git!” – meaning idiot. The boy did not understand, but I did.

I told the guard that no human being should be addressed this way. 

“Go on, you are git, too”, he yelled at me. 

I do not know if Mohammad could obtain the required medical permit to cross the checkpoint the following day. What I know is that clearly, Israel’s concern has nothing to do with ‘security’, as the boy clearly didn’t pose any threat. 

It was something else entirely. 

(Translated by Tal Haran, Edited by The Palestine Chronicle)

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Israeli Human Rights Violations in Palestine (Weekly Update 27 April – 03 May 2023)

May 4, 2023

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

4 Palestinians were killed, three of them in the West Bank, including 2 children, and the fourth was succumbed to injury in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli airstrike. Meanwhile, a Palestinian detainee who had been on a hunger strike in Israeli prisons died. In addition to 23 others, including 5 children, 3 women and a photojournalist were injured, and dozens of others suffocated in IOF attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Details are as follows:

On 27 April 2023, Ahmad Ya’qoub Taha (39) was shot dead by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) after he got out of his vehicle nearby the Haris village roundabout in Salfit. An eyewitness told PCHR’s fieldworker that the vehicle crashed a concrete protection nearby the intersection where there is an Israeli military checkpoint. As a result, a group of Israeli soldiers approached him and asked him to get out of his vehicle and raise his hands. Suddenly, they opened fire at him, wounding him with several bullets which led to his death. This crime falls under an unjustified field execution as IOF claimed he was carrying a knife, but that is unconfirmed.

On 28 April 2023, Mustafa ‘Amer Sabbah (16) was shot with a live bullet in the chest during clashes with IOF in Tuqu’ town in Bethlehem. According to video footages and eyewitnesses, IOF fired at the child from a distance of 200 meters and as soon as he fell to the ground, IOF soldiers approached and examined his injury, then left him and moved hundreds of meters away from him, then the protestors managed to carry him and transfer him to a healthcare center in the town, where he was immediately pronounced dead.

On 01 May 2023, Mohammad Sa’eed Kamal (17) was killed, and 3 others, including a woman, were injured with live bullets and shrapnel by IOF, after the latter’s incursion into ‘Aqaba Jaber camp in Jericho. According to PCHR’s investigations, Kamal was shot with a live bullet in the head after he approached 50 meters closer to a residential building where IOF raided by IOF and the Israeli snipers stationed. Meanwhile, clashes and stone-throwing protests erupted in the Area. 3 young men tried to reach the Child and help him, but IOF soldiers fired at them, injuring two. Kamal fell on the ground and left to bleed for 10 minutes until he was taken to Ariha Governmental Hospital by an ambulance, where he was pronounced dead. As for the woman, she was wounded by shrapnel in the foot when IOF blew up the door of her house before raiding it and turning it into a sniper barracks.

On 02 May 2023, the death of the detainee Khader ‘Adnan, who has been in an 87-day- hunger strike in protest against his administrative detention by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), was announced. At dawn, ‘Adnan was found unconscious in his cell before his death was later declared after transferring him to the hospital. (Details available at PCHR’s press release).

On 02 May 2023, Hashel Mubarak Mubarak (58), was killed by a large stone in his chest due to flying rubble, after IOF warplanes bombed a site belonging to the Palestinian armed groups, southwest of Jablia, in the northern Gaza Strip. Mubarak was hit inside his tin-roofed house, 100 meters away from the targeted site. The bombing caused partial damage to a number of houses and a school in the area.

In addition, 5 civilians, including 3 children and 2 women, were wounded by shrapnel from a missile that fell on Al-Masryeen Street in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip.

At evening of the same day, and at dawn of the following day, IOF warplanes launched several missiles, most of which targeted Palestinian armed groups’ sites and agricultural lands, in different areas of the Gaza Strip, but no injuries were reported, after the Palestinian factions fired missiles towards Israeli gatherings, for the death of the detainee Khader ‘Adnan.

Meanwhile, those injured were victims of excessive use of force that accompanied IOF incursions into cities and villages and suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians, and they were as follows:

On 28 April 2023, 3 Palestinians, including a child, were injured during clashes with IOF after raiding Jenin refugee camp. Before withdrawal, IOF arrested a Palestinian after breaking into his house, destroyed the contents of his brother’s café and billiards, as well as an ambulance was damaged during the clashes.

On the same day, 5 Palestinians, including a photojournalist, were injured with metal bullets during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya

On 30 April 2023, a Palestinian child was injured in the right foot during clashes with IOF at the entrance to Al- ‘Arroub camp in Hebron, where IOF established a military observation point.

On 01 May 2023, a Palestinian was injured with two live bullets in the hand and back, and his condition was critical, during clashes with IOF after they stormed the town of Beit Jala, in Bethlehem. IOF raided the yard of Beit Jala Governmental Hospital, firing live bullets and tear gas canisters inside, claiming they were pursuing protestors, which led to the suffocation of a number of patients and their companions. Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested an elder.

On 02 May 2023, a Palestinian was injured with a live bullet in his right knee during clashes with IOF at the entrance to Al- ‘Arroub camp in Hebron.

On 03 May 2023, a Palestinian was seriously injured after being hit with 6 live bullets in the pelvis and the lower part of his body, by IOF while he was passing through a temporary military checkpoint set up at ‘Aqbat Hasna intersection, leading to the western countryside of Bethlehem, under the pretext of attempting to attack a soldier. The injured was transferred to the Arab Society Hospital in Beit Jala, for treatment.

In the Gaza Strip, on 01 May 2023, 2 Palestinians were injured with metal bullet, as a result of IOF firing bullets at several boats off the northern Gaza Strip. IOF fired at least 8 bullets at agricultural lands, and 7 bullets at fishermen’s boats in eastern and western Gaza Strip.

So far in 2023, IOF attacks killed 103 Palestinians, including 55 civilians; 18 of them were children, a woman, and the rest were members of the Palestinian armed groups, including 2 children, 7 killed by settlers, and two died in Israeli prisons. Meanwhile, 479 Palestinians, including 65 children, 6 women and 12 journalists, were injured.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished a 6-storey residential building of 16 apartments, closed a carpentry shop, and confiscated a caravan a water tank in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.  Details are as follows:

On 27 April 2023, IOF raided a carpentry workshop in the Old City of Hebron, and verbally notified its owner of its closure. Noting that the carpentry is located on the 2nd floor of an old building in the Old City Square, overlooking the closed area of Al-Shuhada Street and the outpost of Beit Hadassah.

On 28 April 2023, IOF confiscated a water tank in the village of Humsa al-Fawqa, in the northern Jordan Valley, east of Tubas.

On 30 April 2023, IOF confiscated a 60-sqm caravan in Qasr Hisham, in Jericho.

On 03 May 2023, IOF demolished a residential building of 6 floors containing 16 apartments, including 2 inhabited apartments, in Dahiyat al-Salam area in ‘Anata town, in East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction, displacing 11 citizens, including 4 children. IOF also beat a number of residents during the demolition process.

Since the beginning of 2023, IOF made 67 families homeless, a total of 430 persons, including 48 women and 187 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 70 houses; 16 were forcibly self-demolished by their owners and 8 were demolished on grounds of collective punishment. IOF also demolished 64 other civilian objects, razed other property, and delivered dozens of notices of demolition, cease-construction, and evacuation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Demolitions on grounds of collective punishment

On 03 May 2023, IOF demolished 2 houses in the village of Haris, north of Salfit, and the village of Hajjah, east of Qalqilya, as part of collective punishment policy adopted by IOF against Palestinian families, accusing them of carrying out acts of resistance against them, or against the settlers.

In the village of Haris, IOF destroyed a house for the family of a Palestinian who was killed on 15 November 2022, after carrying out a stabbing and run-over attack that killed 3 settlers. The demolition was carried out by detonating the 100-sqm 3-storey house, after its residents, a family of 8, were evacuated, causing damage to a number of nearby houses.

In the village of Hajjah, IOF demolished the detainee’s house who was accused of carrying out a stabbing attack against a settler on 15 October 2022. The demolition was carried out with bulldozers and led to the complete destruction of the 250-sqm 2-storey house and an annex, displacing a family of 5.

Settler-attacks

Settlers carried out 10 attacks on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank, injuring many Palestinians and uprooting hundreds of trees in the West Bank. Details are as follows:

On 27 April 2023, settlers uprooted dozens of olive and grape seedlings, destroyed agricultural crops, and an irrigation network in the citizens’ agricultural lands in the village of Husan in Bethlehem.

On the same day, settlers attacked agricultural land in east of Qaryut town in Nablus, and cut down 42 olive trees.

On 28 April 2023, settlers severely beat 3 Palestinians, brothers, in the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah, and threw stones at the ambulance that arrived to help them, smashing its windows.

On 29 April 2023, settlers, living in the settlement outpost established on the village of Al-Zuwaidin, south of Hebron, entered their livestock into the citizens’ lands, which were planted with winter grains. When the citizens arrived in the area in order to force the settlers to remove their livestock, large forces of the Israeli army arrived and confronted the citizens and arrested 4 of them.

On 30 April 2023, settlers attacked the Palestinians’ lands in the west of the town of Deir Sharaf in Nablus, and broke 261 olive, almond, fig, carob, pine and Kenya trees, and destroyed the 125-meter-long and 1.5-meter-high fence around the 47 dunums of land.

On the same day, two Palestinians were injured as a result of being beaten with sticks by a group of settlers in Burqa village in Nablus. In the evening, settlers attacked citizens’ lands east of the town of ‘Aqraba in Nablus, assaulted a farmer, and stole 14 sheep before running away towards the nearby “Jetit” settlement.

On 30 April 2023, settlers raided an agricultural land, east of the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah, opened fire at the citizens, beat two citizens, bruised them, and seized their vehicle while they were working on the land.

On 01 May 2023, settlers attacked citizens’ lands in east of the town of Qaryut in Nablus, and cut down 12 olive trees.

On the same day, a Palestinian was wounded with a live bullet in the left shoulder by settlers’ fire after they assaulted him while he was guarding a building in Jabal Qbeibat, south of Jenin.

On 03 May 2023, settlers uprooted 820 apricot and jarnak trees, destroyed the water network, and demolished a tent on agricultural lands in the village of Burqa and the town of Sebastia in Nablus.

Since the beginning of the year, settlers have conducted at least 190 attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property. As a result, 7 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others were injured; most of them after being beaten and thrown with stones. Also, dozens of houses, vehicles and civilian facilities were set ablaze.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

IOF carried out 207 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids and searches of civilian houses and facilities and establishment of checkpoints. During those incursions, 96 Palestinians were arrested, including 10 children. In the Gaza Strip, IOF arrested 7 Palestinians; 5 tried to infiltrate through the fence, including 4 in east of Khan Yunis on 01-02 May 2023, and the fifth in east of Beit Hanoun on 27 April 2023, and 2 fishermen off the northern Strip. IOF also carried out a limited incursion into east of Khan Yunis on 01 May 2023.

So far in 2023, IOF conducted 3499 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 2107 Palestinians were arrested, including 25 women and 252 children.  Also, IOF arrested 34 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip; 12 were fishermen and 19 were trying to infiltrate into Israel, and 3 travelers at Erez Crossing. IOF also conducted 11 incursions.

Israeli closure and restrictions on freedom of movement:

Israeli occupation maintains its illegal and inhuman 16-year closure on the Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s monthly-update in the Gaza crossings.

In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 125 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 21 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

Since 22 April 2023, IOF have continued to impose a comprehensive siege on the city of Jericho, by closing its northern and southern entrances and the main entrance leading to it and its camps. IOF set up several military checkpoints and roadblocks, cement blocks and mounds on the roads, where soldiers are stationed, and they conduct continuous inspections. On 01 May 2023, IOF installed 3 military iron gates at the main entrances to the city; north, south and east. Until now, IOF continue to establish temporary military checkpoints at the main entrances and exits of the City. As the latter also closed the main and secondary roads towards the central Jordan Valley, and set up gates and cement blocks at all the Jordan Valley intersections.

During the week, IOF closed the checkpoints in East Jerusalem and Bethlehem for several times, causing traffic obstruction.

So far in 2023, IOF established 2083 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 109 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

Palestinian Detainee Khader Adnan Dies in “Israeli” Jail After 87 Days of Hunger Strike

May 2 2023

By staff, Agencies

“Israeli” prison authorities say a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance group, Khader Adnan, has passed away at an “Israeli” jail after an 87-day hunger strike.

“Israeli” Prison Services [IPS] announced in a statement that Adnan was found unresponsive in his cell in Nitzan jail in the central city of Ramle during the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday morning.

He was brought to the Shamir Medical Center outside Tel Aviv, but was declared dead at the hospital, the IPS said.

Earlier on Sunday, an “Israeli” court refused to release the Palestinian hunger striker despite his deteriorating health condition.

In press remarks to the Palestinian Information Center [PIC], Adnan’s wife Randa Mousa affirmed that an “Israeli” court rejected the appeal submitted to release her husband on bail.

The court set another session for May 10, she added.

She had warned that her husband’s health condition was very critical as a result of his prolonged hunger strike, which he started earlier this year.

Adnan was detained on February 5 and immediately went on a hunger strike in protest against his illegal detention.

He was suffering from severe health problems as a result of the strike, including frequent vomiting of blood, severe weakness, frequent loss of consciousness, difficulty in speaking, movement, sleep and concentration, and severe pain all over his body.

Over the past 20 years, Adnan had been arrested a dozen times by “Israeli” Occupation Forces [IOF] troops for his political and anti-occupation activities. He spent a total of eight years behind bars.

He went on hunger strike four times during his detentions, the longest of which was a 67-day period in 2012 that resulted in his release and inspired other Palestinian prisoners held under the so-called “administrative detention” to follow suit.

In 2015, he once again went on a hunger strike for 56 days to protest his detention. He did the same in 2018 for 58 days.

Adnan was also detained in 2021 and was transferred to “administrative detention”. He went on a hunger strike for 25 days at the time.

Hundreds of inmates have been apparently incarcerated under the practice of “administrative detention”.

Human rights organizations say the apartheid “Israeli” entity violates all the rights and freedoms granted to prisoners by the Fourth Geneva Convention. They say the entity’s so-called “administrative detention” violates their right to due process since the evidence is withheld from prisoners while they are held for lengthy periods without being charged, tried, or convicted.

Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to express outrage at their detention.

“Israeli” prison authorities keep Palestinian detainees under deplorable conditions without proper hygienic standards.

Palestinian inmates have also been subject to systematic torture, harassment and repression.

Israel Palestine khader adnan hungerstrike AdministrativeDetention

Israeli Human Rights Violations in Occupied Palestine (Weekly Update 13-26 April 2023[1])

April 27, 2023


[1] This report covers 2 weeks due to ‘Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Violation of right to life and bodily integrity:

Two Palestinians were killed, and 23 others were injured, including 4 children, a woman and a paramedic, while dozens of others suffocated and sustained bruises in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacks in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. In the Gaza Strip, several houses and facilities sustained material damage due to Israeli airstrikes. Details are as follows:

On 24 April 2023, Suliman ‘Ayish ‘Owaid (22) succumbed to his wounds only hours after being arrested.  ‘Owaid and 3 other Palestinians were wounded by an Israeli Special Force when the latter sneaked into ‘Aqabat Jaber refugee camp in Jericho. According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at around 03:14, an Israeli Special Force sneaked via a cargo truck and a Volkswagen Caravelle van into the camp and opened fire at a group of Palestinian young men present in front of a house, wounding 4 of them. The young men managed to evacuate two of those injured to Jericho Hospital, while the 2 others remained on the ground and the Special Force pulled them to an empty warehouse in the area, where they were stripped of their clothes, arrested, and taken away after 40 minutes. At approximately 20:30, IOF declared that death of one the wounded namely Suliman ‘Owaid and kept his body.

On the same day, Hatem As’ad Abu Najma (39), from Beit Safafa village in occupied East Jerusalem, was killed after being shot with several live bullets by an Israeli settler, claiming that he carried out a run-over attack at Agribous intersection adjacent to Machaneh Yehudah Market in central West Jerusalem

Meanwhile, those injured were victims of excessive use of force that accompanied IOF’s incursion into the Palestinian cities and villages, or IOF’s suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians, and they were as follows:

On 14 April 2023, 3 Palestinians, including a child, were shot with rubber-coated bullets in their limbs during IOF’s suppression of Kafr Qaddoum weekly protest in northern Qalqilya.

On 17 April 2023, a Palestinian was shot with a live bullet in his abdomen by IOF in Neve Ya’akov neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, under the pretext that he set an Israeli vehicle ablaze in the area, according to a statement by the Israeli police.

On 18 April 2023, a child was shot with a live bullet in his foot during clashes with IOF after the latter’s incursion into Beit Ummar village in Hebron. Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested 3 Palestinians, including a child.

On the same day, 8 Palestinians were injured by IOF fire during clashes that accompanied the latter’s incursion into Jenin refugee camp. Due to the IOF shooting, the main power transformer in the camp was damaged and led to a power outage. Also, the shooting hit the walls of an UNRWA Clinic in the camp causing damage to the building and an ambulance that tried to evacuate those injured.  Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested 3 Palestinians and confiscated a car belonging to one of the arrestees.

Moreover, a Palestinian woman was injured with 2 live bullets in her shoulder and leg after IOF opened fire at her claiming that she carried out a stabbing attack that injured an Israeli settler near Gush Etzion settlement intersection in southern Bethlehem. The wounded woman was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in West Jerusalem for treatment while she is under arrest.

Also, a Palestinian sustained bruises after being severely beaten by IOF who stopped his vehicle at a checkpoint at the northern entrance to Jericho.

On 21 April 2023, 3 Palestinians were shot with live and rubber-coated bullets, and others suffocated during clashes with IOF after the latter’s incursion into Beita village, southeast of Nablus, on the first day of Eid al-Fitr.

On 24 April 2023, 3 Palestinians, including 2 children and a paramedic, were shot with rubber-coated bullets, and hit with a stun grenade during IOF’s suppression of Palestinians who tried to stop IOF’s confiscation of a vehicle in Qarawat Bani Hassan village, west of Salfit.

In the Gaza Strip, at least 11 IOF shootings were reported on agricultural lands in eastern Gaza Strip, and 9 shootings were reported on fishing boats off the Western Gaza shores.


So far in 2023, IOF attacks killed 99 Palestinians, including 51 civilians; 16 of them were children and 1 woman, and the rest were members of the Palestinian armed groups, including 2 children, 7 killed by settlers, and one died in Israeli prisons. Meanwhile, 456 Palestinians, including 60 children, 3 women and 11 journalists, were injured.

Land razing, demolitions, and notices

IOF demolished 6 shops, confiscated lands and vehicles, and handed dozens of cease-construction notices in the West Bank. Details are as follows:

On 16 April 2023, IOF confiscated a Tucson SUV near al-Jalama military checkpoint in northern Jenin.

On 18 April 2023, IOF demolished 6 closed shops with a JCB digger in the Old Market in Hebron’s Old City. It is worth noting that Israeli authorities had declared that area as a closed military zone in 2002, and forced the shops’ owners to close them completely, as there are about 30 shops in the market.

On 19 April 2023, IOF handed 3 cease-construction notices to 3 residential houses in Ni’lin village, west of Ramallah, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

On the same day, IOF issued a military order to seize 53 dunums for military purposes in Sanniriya village in southern Qalqilya. Upon the order, the seizure will be in force until the end of 2027, and might be renewed similar to previous orders.

On 20 April 2023, the Israeli Civil Administration fixed an order to confiscate a dunum of land in order to expand a settlement road in Al-Khader village, southwest of Bethlehem.

On the same day, IOF confiscated a bobcat bulldozer while working in Kafr ad-Dik village, under the pretext of working in Area C.

Also, IOF confiscated a tractor in Deir Ballut village, west of Salfit, under the pretext of being in Area C.

On 24 April 2023, IOF prevented a Palestinian from levelling his land by a bulldozer to establish a parking lot near a road connecting Nabi Ilyas village with Jayyous village in eastern Qalqilya, under the pretext of working in Area C.

On 25 April 2023, IOF handed 23 cease-construction notices to inhabited houses, others under-construction and a mosque in Az-Zawiya village, west of Salfit.

Since the beginning of 2023, IOF made 64 families homeless, a total of 406 persons, including 81 women and 183 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 67 houses; 16 were forcibly self-demolished by their owners and 6 were demolished on grounds of collective punishment. IOF also demolished 64 other civilian objects, razed other property, and delivered dozens of notices of demolition and cease-construction in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Settler-attacks on Palestinian civilians and their properties:

Israeli settlers seized a house and assaulted Palestinians and their vehicles in 6 attacks in the West Bank. Details are as follows:

On 13 April 2023, Israeli settlers seized an agricultural house near an IOF camp, south of Al-Mazra’a al- Gharbiyia village, north of Ramallah. The settlers fixed an Israeli flag on the house, placed a tent in its yard, stayed inside it, and prevented its owners from entering it.

On 14 April 2023, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian shepherds in pastoral land in eastern Yatta in Hebron and tried to beat them with sticks. IOF then arrived, detained the shepherds and ordered them to leave.

On 15 April 2023, Israeli settlers, who gathered near the eastern entrance to Jab’a village in Bethlehem, threw stones at Palestinians and their vehicles, breaking windows of a vehicle and wounding its driver with a stone in his head.

On 18 April 2023, Israeli settlers broke into agricultural lands in Al-Khader village in Bethlehem, assaulted a number of Palestinians and wounded one of them.

On 19 April 2023, Israeli settlers broke into Palestinian lands in Kisan village, east of Bethlehem, damaged its property and stole 3 sheep.

On 22 April 2023, Israeli settlers punctured tries of an agricultural tractor in Turmus Ayya village, east of Ramallah, after putting nails on the road used by the farmers and other Palestinians.

Since the beginning of the year, settlers have conducted at least 180 attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property. As a result, 7 Palestinians were killed, and dozens of others were injured; most of them after being beaten and thrown with stones. Also, dozens of houses, vehicles and civilian facilities were set ablaze.

Violations of freedom of worship

On 15 April 2023, IOF intensified their deployment around occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City and in its alleys, closing some of its gates with iron barriers, and turned it into a military barrack.  They hindered the access of thousands of Christian worshipers to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City to participate in the celebrations of Holy Saturday, which precedes Easter.

Moreover, IOF suppressed hundreds of those participating in the celebrations, pushed them and beat them in several areas after they tried to cross the iron barriers established by the Israeli police on all occupied East Jerusalem’s roads. At around 13:00 with the start of the three Orthodox churches’ celebrations of the Holy Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, thousands of Christians were prevented from passing through these barriers, causing a stampede, during which IOF assaulted some of the protesters, including foreign pilgrims, in the church outside yard.

On 24 April 2023, IOF banned raising Ish’a prayer call “adhan” at al-Aqsa Mosque and prevented the muezzin “an official who proclaims the call for prayer” from completing the call, under the pretext of settler celebrations in the Western Wall of al-Aqsa Mosque.

On 25 April 2023, IOF suppressed dozens of Palestinian worshipers present near Bab al-Rahma (Golden Gate) at al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, assaulted, pushed and beat them and forcibly dispersed them. They also arrested a Turkish tourist who was with the worshipers and violently assaulted her. It should be noted that since 22 April 2023, IOF have continued its attacks at Bab al-Rahma Mosque, which they raided several times while wearing shoes.  IOF prevented the prayer call at al-Rahma Mosque, damaged the electricity networks, loudspeakers and lightings, took its contents out, expelled the worshipers, and confiscated their IDs.

IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians:

 IOF carried out 294 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids and searches of civilian houses and facilities and establishment of checkpoints. During those incursions, at least 158 Palestinians were arrested, including 10 children and 2 women. In the Gaza Strip, on 16 April 2023, IOF arrested 4 fishermen and confiscated their fishing boat after intercepting it while sailing within 8 nautical miles off Rafah Shore. Three of the fishermen were released on the next day while the fourth was released a week later. Also, on 23 April 2023, IOF conducted a limited incursion into eastern Rafah.

So far in 2023, IOF conducted 3292 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 2011 Palestinians were arrested, including 25 women and 242 children.  Also, IOF arrested 27 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including 10 fishermen and 14 infiltrators into Israel, and 3 travelers at Erez Crossing. IOF also conducted 10 incursions.

Israeli closure and restrictions on freedom of movement and collective punishment policy:

Israeli occupation maintains its illegal and inhuman 16-year closure on the Gaza Strip. Details available in PCHR’s monthly-update in the Gaza crossings.

IOF declared a comprehensive closure on the West Bank and closed all crossings with the Gaza Strip from 24 to 25 April 2023, under the pretext of the “Independence Day” in Israel and the commemoration of the dead Israeli soldiers.

In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continues to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 155 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, where they arrested 14 Palestinians.

For the fifth week in a row, IOF continues to impose a closure on Huwara village, southeast of Nablus, after announcing it a “closed military zone” on 25 March 2023, and imposed a cordon on it. They also closed the internal streets with sand berms, established more military checkpoints and placed cement cubes on the village’s main street, as part of a collective punishment policy following the shooting attack that targeted IOF in the village.

This week, IOF closed the military checkpoints several times in occupied East Jerusalem and Bethlehem and blocked traffic.

So far in 2023, IOF established 1958 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 88 Palestinians at those checkpoints.

Related

Two Israelis Hurt in Al-Quds Shooting after Mass Crowds Mark Laylat Al-Qadr at Al-Aqsa

 April 18, 2023

Israeli occupation police at the scene of shooting at Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Al-Quds (Tuesday, April18, 2023).

Two Israelis were wounded in a shooting in East Al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Tuesday, hours after tens of thousands of Palestinian worshipers marked Laylat Al-Qadr at Al-Aqsa Mosque, defying Israeli restrictions.

Israeli occupation police and medics said two Israeli men were shot and wounded in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said its medics treated the two Israelis, aged 50 and 48, at the scene in moderate condition and took them to hospitals in Tel Aviv.

Occupation police said officers were at the scene, on the so-called Pierre Van Paassen Street, investigating the shooting and searching for the attacker, who fled.

The weapon apparently used in the attack, a makeshift “Carlo” submachine gun, was found by officers nearby, Israeli police said.

A makeshift ‘Carlo’ submachine gun suspected to have been used in the shooting.

Surveillance camera footage of the attack showed the gunman approaching the victims’ car and opening fire from close range, before fleeing, The Times of Israeli reported.

Following the shooting, Palestinian media reported that occupation forces raided several homes and a mosque in the Sheikh Jarrah, as they were looking for the shooter.

Laylat Al-Qadr Commemoration

Earlier, over 280,000 worshipers marked the 27th night of Ramadan, referred to by Palestinians as Laylat Al-Qadr, at the third holiest site in Islam.

Palestinians between the ages of 45 and 55 who have a valid permit were allowed to pray at the holy compound.

Worshipers were able to make it to Al-Quds from all over Palestine and the occupied territories despite Israeli obstructions.

Source: Palestinian and Israeli media (translated and edited by Al-Manar English Website)

Worldwide Observance of Al-Quds Day (Videographic)

 April 15, 2023

Al-Quds Day Worldwide

Areej Fatima Al-Husseini

Thousands of free people participated in commemorative marches in several Arab and Islamic countries to show their solidarity for the Palestinian people who are being persecuted by Israeli entity and Zionism. In a show of unity, they marched through the streets waving Palestinian flags and cheering on the resistance factions.

Al Manar English Website has produced a brief videographic depicting the most impressive rallies on Al-Quds Day.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

نحو حرب تحرير شعبية.. كيف تطورت العمليات الفدائية الفلسطينية؟

نيسان 15 2023

المصدر: الميادين نت

هادي حطيط 

الخسائر الإسرائيلية في الربع الأول للعام الجاري، يفوق الخسائر الإسرائيلية في كلّ الأشهر الأولى من السنوات الماضية عقب “هبة القدس” عام 2015، الذي شهد تفاقم عمليات الطعن والدهس خلال ما عرف بـ”انتفاضة السكاكين”.

نحو حرب تحرير شعبية.. كيف تطورت العمليات الفدائية الفلسطينية؟

شهدت العمليات الفدائية الفلسطينية تصاعداً هاماً في وتيرتها ونوعيتها، منذ العدوان الإسرائيلي على غزة عام 2014، واتخذت إلى حدّ كبير طابعاً شعبياً عفوياً، تميّز بالروحية الاستشهادية عند المقاومين الشباب. ومع اندلاع “انتفاضة القدس” عام 2015،  ازداد الحديث عن أنّ الساحة الفلسطينية تشهد مرحلة جديدة أقرب إلى انتفاضة ثالثة حقيقية، تستمر بلا هوادة منذ 8 سنوات.

وقد تنوعت العمليات الفدائية الفلسطينية، واختلفت معها تفاصيل كل نوع من العمليات، وما يرتبط به من استعداد وتجهيز، وما يعنيه على مستوى قدرة الإسرائيلي على توقعه ومواجهته والحد منه.

عمليات الدهس

تشكل عمليات الدهس التي نفذها فلسطينيون ضد المستوطنين وضد جنود الاحتلال قلقاً كبيراً لسلطات الاحتلال، فخلال 14 عملية حصلت خلال عام 2022، بحسب الإحصاءات الفلسطينية، تضاف إليها عمليتان نوعيتان في 2023، في تل أبيب والقدس المحتلة، خلفتا قتيلين و11 مصاباً إسرائيلياً.

وتعتبر عمليات الدهس من أصعب العمليات على الاحتلال، إذ تشكل خطورة كبيرة على أفراده مستوطنين وجنوداً، كما أنّ منعها شبه مستحيل، ولا تحتاج إلى أيّ استعداد لوجستي خاص أو عتاد أو أسلحة، ما يعتبر رعباً حقيقياً لأجهزة أمن الاحتلال.

عمليات الطعن والاشتباك بالسلاح الأبيض

وبالإضافة إلى عمليات الدهس، شكلت عمليات الطعن، التي انتشرت بشكل واسع عقب انتفاضة القدس عام 2015، سبباً آخر لإضعاف فعالية أجهزة أمن الاحتلال ضد العمليات الفدائية الفلسطينية، مع 36 عملية طعن ضد المحتل تم توثيقها خلال العام 2022، فضلاً عن أنّ عملية طعن قاتلة تمّ توثيقها في شباط/فبراير الفائت، أدّت إلى مقتل عنصر من شرطة الاحتلال.

وتعدّ عملية الالتحام المباشر مع الاحتلال بواسطة السكين من العمليات القاسية والمؤثرة، إذ قد لا يتطلب الإعداد لتنفيذها أكثر من سكين مطبخ، يخفيه الرجل أو المرأة الفلسطينية في حقيبة أو كم، وأن يقترب إلى درجة كافية من أحد المستوطنين أو الجنود.

وقد اعتمد بعض الفدائيين الفلسطينيين أسلوباً جمع بين النوعين، كما حصل في هجوم بئر السبع في 22 آذار/مارس 2022، عندما دهس منفذ العملية مستوطناً إسرائيلياً، ثم طعن ثلاثة آخرين، ما أدى إلى مقتل 4 إسرائيليين بينهم شرطة.

إطلاق النار

كما كان للاشتباكات المسلحة أهميتها الخاصة هذين العامين، إذ تزايدت بشكل خاص وتيرة إطلاق النار على حواجز الاحتلال ومواقعه وتجمعات عناصره، من قبل عناصر فلسطينية في الضفة الغربية المحتلة والداخل. وأدت عمليات إطلاق النار والاشتباك المسلح مع الاحتلال ومستوطنيه، والتي وصل عددها إلى نحو 650 حالة إطلاق نار موثّقة ضدّ قوات الاحتلال، إلى عشرات القتلى والجرحى الإسرائيليين.

وكان لعملية النبي يعقوب الفدائية، في القدس المحتلة، والتي نفذها الشهيد خيري علقم رداً على ارتكاب العدو مجزرة جنين قبلها بيوم، أثر هائل في أوساط الاحتلال، بعد أن قُتل فيها 7 إسرائيليين وأصيب 3 بجروح، وأدّت إلى بلبلة في أوساط المؤسسة الأمنية الإسرائيلية وتفاقم الضغط على حكومة نتنياهو الجديدة.

وتعدّ عمليات إطلاق النار الأخطر والأقسى على الاحتلال، لقدرتها على إيقاع أكبر عدد من الإصابات القاتلة، ويعتمد فيها المنفذون بشكل أساسي على انتشار السلاح الحربي في الداخل المحتل، وعلى بعض الأسلحة المصنعة محلياً بشكل جزئي، كرشاش الكارلو، وعلى المسدسات الحربية.

وفيما يراهن الاحتلال على تتبع مصادر التسليح وقطع خطوط الإمداد والتهريب، ويريد إقرار قوانين تقيد وصول الفلسطينيين للأسلحة، نجحت بعض العمليات التي اعتمدت على هجوم مزدوج في إيقاع خسائر كبيرة في صفوف مستوطني الاحتلال وجنوده، كما تمكن بعض المنفذين من الانسحاب بسلام من مكان تنفيذ العملية، ونجحوا في توجيه ضربات إضافية قبل الاشتباك مع الجنود والمستوطنين.

اقرأ أيضاً: إعلام إسرائيلي: هذا ما كنا نخشاه.. عملية القدس فظيعة ومؤلمة

العبوات الناسفة

كما شكّلت العبوات الناسفة نقلة نوعية العام الفائت بالتحديد، بعدما انفجرت عبوتان ناسفتان في محطتي حافلات في القدس المحتلة، قُتل فيها إسرائيلي وأصيب 19 آخرون بجروح بينها 4 خطيرة.

وكان للانفجار الذي وقع عند مفترق مجيدو شمالي فلسطين المحتلة، الشهر الفائت، تبعات خطيرة على أمن الاحتلال، لا سيما بعد كشف أنّ الانفجار الذي وقع نفّذه فدائي تسلل من الحدود الشمالية، وهو ما شكّل سابقة أنذرت بفتح جبهة جديدة للاحتلال بالإضافة إلى مناطق الداخل المحتل والضفة الغربية والقدس المحتلة وغزة.

وتشكل العبوات الناسفة سبباً حقيقياً لقلق الاحتلال، إذ يخشى قادته ومستوطنوه من عودة عمليات التفجير التي فتكت بالكيان خلال الانتفاضة الثانية. وبالرغم من أنّ الاحتلال يتتبع بشكل دقيق كافة المواد التي يمكن أن يستفاد منها لبناء قنبلة، وييتبع مصادرها ومبيعاتها، ولكنّ قدرات المقاومة على خرق أمنيات العدو باتت تزداد يوماً بعد يوم.

وسبق أن أعلن الاحتلال إسقاط طائرات مسيرة تحمل أسلحة ومواد متفجرة، قادمة من جهة الأردن وسوريا، كما ألقت القبض على شحنات من الأسلحة كان يتم تهريبها إلى فلسطين المحتلة عبر الحدود مع لبنان، ما دفع قادته إلى التساءل عن حجم ما لم يتمّ كشفه من عمليات إيصال الأسلحة، لا سيما مع إعلان صريح من قبل قادة محور المقاومة عن التوجه إلى مزيد من دعم الضفة الغربية بالسلاح.

تطور خسائر الاحتلال جراء العمليات الفدائية الفلسطينية

21 قتيلاً إسرائيلياً في أول 4 أشهر من 2023

شهد الربع الأول من عام 2023 تفاقماً هائلاً في عدد الخسائر البشرية الإسرائيلية نتيجة العمليات الفدائية الفلسطينية، إذ وصل عدد قتلى الاحتلال إلى 21 قتيلاً وعشرات الجرحى، بعد أن قُتلت 3 مستوطنات في عملية الأغوار في الأسبوع الأول من الشهر الجاري، وقتل آخر جراء جراح سابقة تعرض لها في عملية دهس في تل أبيب.

ويفوق رقم الخسائر الإسرائيلية في الربع الأول للعام الجاري، الخسائر الإسرائيلية في كلّ الأشهر الأولى من السنوات الماضية عقب “هبة القدس” عام 2015، حتى نفس العام 2015، الذي شهد تفاقم عمليات الطعن والدهس خلال ما عرف بـ”انتفاضة السكاكين”، وأدى إلى سقوط 29 قتيلاً إسرائيلياً خلال عام.

ويستمرّ بالتالي الخط التصاعدي للقتلى الإسرائيليين من خلال العمليات الفدائية، إذ قتل 3 إسرائيليين عام 2020، و 21 إسرائيلياً عام 2021، و30 إسرائيلياً عام 2022، فيما يبدو أن العدد هذا العام مرشّحٌ لمزيد من الارتفاع، في حال استمرت الوتيرة على ما هي عليه من التوتر والتصعيد من قبل الاحتلال ضد الفلسطينيين.

ومن أبرز العمليات التي شهدها العام الفائت كانت عملية “بئر السبع”، حيث قتل 4 مستوطنين إسرائيليين وأصيب آخرون، في عملية طعن ودهس، نفذها الفدائي محمد أبو القيعان.

كما شكلت عملية “الخضيرة”، بالتزامن مع “قمة النقب” التي عقدتها تل أبيب بمشاركة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية و4 دول عربية مطبعة مع الاحتلال، هي مصر والإمارات والمغرب والبحرين، نقلة نوعية في طبيعة العمليات واتصالها بتوجهات القيادة السياسية للمقاومة الفلسطينية، حيث أدّت إلى مقتل جنديين إسرائيليين، واستشهاد المنفذين أيمن وإبراهيم إغبارية.

حصيلة العمليات الفدائية الفلسطينية عام 2022

دلالات الأرقام ونوعية العمليات

لم يترك قادة الاحتلال مجالاً للتعبير عن مخاوفهم من استمرار العمليات الفدائية وتفاقم آثارها المادية والنفسية على كيان الاحتلال ومستوطنيه إلا وعبّروا عنه، إذ أكّد كبار ضباطه وسياسييه أنّ العمليات الأخيرة كبدت الكيان “خسائر فادحة”، واعتبروا أنّ الامر بات “أصعب من انتفاضة”، وأنّ الإسرائيليين يعيشون “مأساةً مستمرة”.

ومع ازدياد الحديث عن إجراءات جديدة تتضمن نشر الجيش في المناطق المدنية، وتسليح المستوطنين، والتشدد ضد التسلح غير المرخص مقابل فتح باب التراخيص للإسرائيليين وزيادة عدد الشرطة الذين يجوبون الشوارع بلباس مدني، ورفع مستوى العمل الاستخباري ضد المشتبه بهم، يخشى العديد من قادة الاحتلال أنّ الكيان يتجه نحو أن يكون كياناً بوليسياً موصوفاً، يعيش فيه الإسرائيليون في قلق دائم.

ولا تقتصر أضرار هذه الإجراءات على الأثر النفسي عند المستوطنين، بل تتعداه إلى أن تكون سبباً لإبعاد الاحتلال أكثر فأكثر عن المعايير المستهدفة من السعادة والأمن والرفاهية والجاذبية السياحية، التي يحاول تثبيتها منذ عقود.

كما تساهم الإجراءات الإرهابية للشرطة والمستوطنين، انفعالاً على هذه العمليات، في تظهير الصورة الإرهابية للإسرائيليين في الدول الغربية والأوساط العالمية، والتي بات يعاني جراءها قادة الاحتلال من حظر للسفر إلى العديد من البلدان، بينها بلدان أوروبية.

وتأتي هذه العمليات في وقت تتفاقم فيه الانقسامات الداخلية الإسرائيلية، حيث أدّت غلى أن يتبادل أطراف السياسة الإسرائيلية الاتهامات بشان المسؤولية عن هذه العمليات والفشل الأمني الإسرائيلي في منعها أو الحدّ منها.

وفي وقت يؤكد نتنياهو وحكومته أنه سيستمرّ بالضغط على الفلسطينيين، وممارسة الحصار والإرهاب ضد كافة أشكال الحياة الطبيعية لأصحاب الأرض في فلسطين، فإنّ الخيار الوحيد أمام الشعب الفلسطيني هو الانتفاض ضد الاحتلال ومراكمة الفعل المقاوم والعمليات الموجعة، وصولاً إلى يوم قد تفتح فيه الحرب الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين أبوابها.

اقرأ أيضاً: رئيس أركان الاحتلال: العمليات الفلسطينية الأخيرة كبّدت “إسرائيل” خسائر فادحة

جلجلة خضر عدنان… هذه المرّة ليست كغيرها

الجمعة 14 نيسان 2023

يواصل الشيخ خضر عدنان إضرابه المفتوح عن الطعام لليوم الـ68 على التوالي (من الويب)

فلسطين    

يوسف فارس  

يواصل الشيخ خضر عدنان، القيادي في حركة «الجهاد الإسلامي» في الضفة الغربية المحتلّة، إضرابه المفتوح عن الطعام لليوم الـ68 على التوالي. الرجل الذي بدأ تلك السُنّة على الصعيد الفلسطيني حينما اعتُقل إدارياً للمرّة الأولى عام 2011، واستطاع انتزاع حريته خمس مرّات آخرها في عام 2021، يدرك أن هذه المرّة مغايرة لسابقاتها. «هو لا يحتجّ على نوعية الاعتقال، إدارياً كان أم أمنياً أو غيره، إنما على فكرة الاعتقال التعسّفي بذاتها»، تقول زوجته رندة موسى. وتضيف في حديثها إلى «الأخبار»: «على رغم كلّ الظروف المحيطة، من وجود حكومة يمينية تضرب بعرض الحائط سمعة الكيان على الصعيد الدولي، وتكافح لتنغيص حياة الأسرى في أبسط حقوقهم الإنسانية، بل وتحاول إقرار قانون يشرّع إعدامهم، إلّا أن الشيخ خضر لا ينطلق في حساباته من معادلات الربح والخسارة، الحكاية عنده ليست 1+1 يساوي 2».

تُواصل زوجة الشيخ، التي كان قد وصفها في حديث سابق له، بأنها «جيشه الأول ودرعه المنيع»: «إذا كانت الأمور تُحسب بالنتائج الآنية والسريعة، فإن فكرة مقاومتنا للاحتلال كلّها مغلوطة. الشيخ يُسمع بإضرابه عن الطعام صوت الأسرى، ويحمل بجوعه قضية فلسطين إلى مساحات وفضاءات جديدة». على أن المعنويات المرتفعة التي أبدتها والدة الأبناء التسعة، لم تمنعها من التحذير من حساسية وضع زوجها الصحي، إذ اعتُقل عدنان وهو يعاني من نزيف في المعدة وارتفاع في ضغط الدم وتضخّم في الغدة الدرقية، واليوم، بعد شهرين وثمانية أيام من الإضراب، تنقل زوجته ما قاله لها محاميها بالنص: «الشيخ خضر يحتضر، وضعه الصحّي سيّئ جدّاً، حاولوا اعملوا اشي». يُذكر أن قوات الاحتلال اعتقلت عدنان في مركز توقيف الجلمة لـ38 يوماً، ثمّ نقلته إلى مستشفى سجن الرملة. وفيما تزداد المطالب والضغوط لنقله إلى سجن مدني، تربط سلطات العدو تلك الخطوة بموافقته على إجراء الفحوصات الطبية، وهو ما يرفضه الأخير إلّا بشروط عدّة وضعها سلفاً، أهمّها أن تتمّ الفحوص بوجود طرف ثالث أو جهة دولية مثلاً.

سلطات الاحتلال التي واجهت عدنان بـ25 اعترافاً من اعترافات الغير عليه، تهدف، وفق ما أكده محامي الشيخ، إلى تثبيت تهمتَي قيادة حركة «الجهاد الإسلامي»، والتحريض على مقاومة الاحتلال عبر المشاركة في جنازات الشهداء والفعاليات الوطنية، وهما ما ستقودان إلى محاكمته وسجنه بشكل نظامي. وأمام ذلك، تؤكد زوجته أن «فلسفة الشيخ في خوض المعركة، لم تنطلق أساساً من قياس حجم الربح والخسارة، فهو يدرك أنه لن يُعتقل هذه المرّة بشكل إداري، وهو يدرك أيضاً أن الاحتلال أوهن وأضعف من أن نحسب له كثيراً من الحسابات قبل أن نفكّر في ممارسة السلوك الفطري تجاهه المتمثّل في مقاومته».

وكان نشطاء ومتضامنون فلسطينيون في البرازيل، نظّموا مطلع نيسان الجاري مسيرات واحتجاجات نجحوا من خلالها في إلغاء «مهرجان الجامعات الإسرائيلية» المزمع عقده في جامعة «يوني كامب». وفي خلال تلك الفعاليات، رفع المشاركون صوراً للشيخ خضر، وهو ما يعلّق عليه المحلّل السياسي، محمد فارس جردات، بقوله: «قد تختلف مع عدنان في نجاعة إضرابه من الناحية الحسابية أو التأثير الميداني في ظلّ كلفته العالية مقابل ناتجه في حال نجاحه، لكن عندما تشاهد رمزيته الكفاحية في العالم، وهنا نتحدث عن أميركا اللاتينية، في مواجهة اللوبي الصهيوني، فإن خضر في عناده المستحيل وزنزانته الصدئة المعزولة، يصنع أثراً في آخر المعمورة، بما يوجب على الجميع تجاوز الاختلاف معه». ويعتقد جردات أن على «السفارات الفلسطينية تجاوز عملية التحريض الداخلي المغرض ضد خضر، لتنظيم وقفات تضامنية معه قبالة كلّ سفارات الكيان العبري في العالم (…) أعرف أن طلبي معجز في ظلّ ما ران على هذه السفارات من الفساد والارتهان لأجندات شخصية وحزبية، لكن واجبنا أن نقرع الجرس في عتمة الليل البهيم». جدير بالذكر أنه تربط عدنان بالسلطة الفلسطينية علاقة شائكة، بسبب مواقفه المتقدمة على الصعيد الداخلي، لا سيما في قضايا الاعتقال السياسي، واغتيال الناشط نزار بنات.

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Sayyed Nasrallah: Supporting Armed Resistance in West Bank is a Priority

 April 13, 2023

The Al-Quds Tribune event, which convenes the leaders of the Resistance Axis movements in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, and Bahrain, has commenced on Thursday with resounding zeal.

This annual affair, held on the momentous occasion of International Al-Quds Day, transpires amidst the backdrop of ongoing and wide-reaching events unfurling in the occupied Palestinian territories, punctuated by a brazen Zionist endeavor to commandeer and Judaize Al-Aqsa Mosque.

This gathering of eminent and valiant leaders serves as a powerful testament to the unity that pervades the arenas of resistance throughout the Islamic world, as well as to the nation’s steadfast readiness to expend all that is dear and precious to safeguard its sacred domains and thwart the pernicious schemes of Zionist Judaization.

Assembled in solidarity, these leaders avow to hold steadfast to their cause, unyielding in their determination to fight until liberation is secured, and to establish a bright future replete with freedom, dignity, and justice for all.

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed that marking Al-Quds Day is part of the battle aimed at liberating the entire Palestine from the Israeli occupation.

Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that, year after year, it is reaffirmed that that marking International Quds Day, which was declared by Imam Khomeini more than 40 years ago and confirmed by Imam Khamenei, is an essential and real part of the great battle that our nation and people have waged in order to liberate Jerusalem and Palestine, all of Palestine.

The axis of resistance and all its components–states, movements, and people have been always at the forefront of the battle.

Sayyed Nasrallah pointed that, every year on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, all minds, hearts, wills, feelings, arenas, squares, fronts, fists, forearms, platforms, voices, throats, and pens converge on the centrality of Al-Quds and its cause as well as the project to  restore it from the clutches of the occupation.

His eminence highlighted the importance of taking into consideration all the annual developments in the occupation entity, the region as well as the whole world, considering that all those developments serve the resistance battle against the Israeli occupation and the US hegemony.

Sayyed Nasrallah said that, internationally, the world is moving steadily towards a multipolar world order, which ends the hegemony of the one pole, represented by the United States of America, the absolute protector of the Zionist entity

Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted also the latest developments of the confrontation in Ukraine, the conflict between Russia and NATO as well as USA, the escalating tensions between China and the United States of America, and the European confusion in this regard.

Regionally, Sayyed Nasrallah underscored the importance of the Iranian-Saudi agreement in China, stressing that it reflects the failure of terrorist schemes and the tendency to maintain calm and run dialogues to resolve differences.

Hezbollah Secretary General also noted that the latest regional developments block all the sedition ways which harm the Umma and serve the Zionist schemes, maintaining that the restored contacts between some Arab countries and Syria would negatively affect the normalization path and the Israeli plot to establish an Arab axis to confront the axis of resistance.

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that Hezbollah has been tracking the Zionist crises for several years, adding that the extent of differences and divisions in the occupation entity is unprecedented since 1948.

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that the escalating armed resistance in the West Bank, the popular support to the resistance fighters inside and outside Palestine, the youths participation in the clashes with the Zionst occupation forces, the Palestinian persistence and insistence versus the Zionist confusion and fear, and the growing capabilities of the resistance in the Gaza have maintained the fraternity of victory.

Sayyed Nasrallah concluded his address by reiterating he importance of militarily supporting the Palestinian resistance in West Bank which comprises Al-Quds shield and protects the Islamic and Christian sanctities in the Holy City.

Hezbollah Secretray General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah

The Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, delivered a powerful speech during the annual ‘Tribune of Al-Quds’ activity, highlighting the significance of International Al-Quds Day.

“Quds Day summarizes history, abbreviates geography, and becomes the title of the rise of a nation that possesses absolute certainty of victory and the liberation of Palestine, Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and its mosque (Al-Aqsa),” he proclaimed.

Al-Nakhalah expressed his concern over the continued oppression and bloodshed in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque. He emphasized that the Zionist invaders are constantly trampling on everything that is sacred to the Palestinian people. Furthermore, he called on the Arab and Muslim nations to recognize the reality of the situation and join the resistance against the usurping regime of Israel.

“On Quds Day, here are the arenas of resistance confirming their presence and support for the Palestinian people and resistance,” Al-Nakhalah stated. He expressed his confidence that the resistance will continue to raise its flag everywhere and that the Palestinian people will remain steadfast in their struggle for freedom.

He concluded by affirming the unwavering commitment to unity “as a nation with a unified message, and we declare that Al-Quds is our symbol of determination and resilience.” “We vow to continue our fight for liberation until victory is achieved, and Al-Quds remains the beacon of hope for our cause,” he ended up saying.

Islamic Jihad Chief Ziad Nakhala

In his address at the annual Al-Quds Tribune event on the occasion of International Al-Quds Day, Archbishop Atallah Hanna of the Greek Orthodox Church emphasized that Al-Quds is a trust in the necks of all people. He asserted that unity among Palestinians is a powerful force, and that they will remain united in this holy city, regardless of religious differences.

The Archbishop further denounced the conspiracy of those who storm Al-Aqsa and seek to violate its sanctities, be they Islamic or Christian, and emphasized that the occupation seeks to uproot and alienate the Palestinian people and obliterate the features of the city. Nevertheless, Archbishop Hanna reiterated that the occupation will not succeed in its plans because the Palestinian people will remain steadfast in their defence of their rights and principles.

“Jerusalem is the symbol of the unity of Christian and Muslim sons who coexist in the city, and it represents a crucial address for the Palestinian people,” he said.

Archbishop Hanna issued an appeal to all Christian and Muslim religious authorities for the need of interaction, cooperation, and consultation to preserve the sanctity of Jerusalem, which is the cradle of their shared history, heritage, and identity. He stressed that Al-Quds Day is an opportunity to remind everyone of their responsibilities towards Al-Quds, the city that awaits the return of the Palestinian people, so that it can once again become the capital of Palestine and a destination for free people everywhere. “Despite the conspiracies and the ambitions of the occupation, the Palestinian people remain determined to remain in their homeland, defending their sacred part of the world in the name of the entire nation.”

Archbishop Atallah Hanna of the Greek Orthodox Church

For his part, the esteemed Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, renowned preacher of the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque, emphasized the importance of Jerusalem in our daily lives, stressing that it must be firmly rooted in our hearts, souls, and minds at all times.

Speaking at the annual “Al-Quds Tribune” event, commemorating the momentous occasion of International Al-Quds Day, Sheikh Sabri emphasized that Jerusalem is not only the axis of Palestine but also the focal point of the Islamic world. He further expounded that the cause of Al-Quds is an unyielding and indelible one, an issue that will persist as long as there are individuals who believe in it and hold it as the center of their aspirations.

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri

Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim emphasized the significance of International Al-Quds Day and its potential to bring the nation together on the truth, righteousness, and piety. He stressed the importance of uniting behind the noble mosques of Al-Aqsa and the Holy Mosque, which attract the hearts of the nation and hold a connection to the missionary role of the Messenger of God and Islam. Sheikh Qassim noted that the issue of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Quds, and Palestine is not only an issue for Muslims but also an issue for all of humanity.

Despite the political troubles faced by the Bahraini people, Sheikh Qassim affirmed that Islam and the Islamic countries hold a significant position in the mentality, psyche, and will of the people, and they remain committed to supporting the truth and justice of every cause of Islam, Muslims, and their lands. Sheikh Qassim expressed his greetings and support to the resistance youth in the West Bank and Al-Quds and all resistance fighters on behalf of Palestine, Al-Quds, and Al-Aqsa. He stated that the entire nation that is sincere with them will support them along the line as long as life lasts.

Sheikh Isa Qassem

Source: Al-Manar English Website

Sheikh Qassem Recalls the Days of The April 1996 Aggression: Details of The Resistance & Negotiations

April 13, 2023

By Al-Ahed News

A total of 27 years has passed since “Israel’s” Grapes of Wrath Operation in 1996. The enemy sought to break the resistance and violate Lebanon’s sovereignty and that of its people. But the grapes turned sour and “Israel” was soon getting a bitter taste of regret and defeat.

This is the anniversary of the wounds inflicted on the shield that protected civilians in Lebanon and secured recognition for the right of the Lebanese to resist. On this occasion Al-Ahed News sat down with the Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem.

He took us back to the days of the difficult negotiations in Damascus that paved the way for what became known as the Israeli–Lebanese Ceasefire Understanding. He also shed light on the role of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in its success and his cooperation with Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was in Damascus at the time.

Furthermore, Sheikh Qassem told Al-Ahed about the role of a “central military official” at the time – the martyred commander Sayyed Mustafa Badr al-Din.

“He prepared the fighters in an organized way; he had a strategic mind; he loved precision in his work and planned everything; and he was known to be a disciplined person in the sense that he desired a high degree of discipline and equipped the fighters with the best types of equipment, weapons, and capabilities. He provided supplies, means of transportation, hiding places and hiding in a distinctive way. He was the military commander in this battle and was keen to ensure that the number of missiles being fired never decreased.”

Sheikh Qassem was referring to Sayyed Badr al-Din’s role in maintaining the rate of rocket fire throughout the war and the divine guidance that accompanied the process.

He also touched on the Secretary General’s statement during the aggression, which came to serve as a principle for Hezbollah – “Hezbollah will not sign the same document as the ‘Israelis’”. Sheikh Qassem explained how the party applied it in all subsequent events.

The Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General also used the interview to send a message to Palestine, its people, and its resistance in the climate of the approaching International Quds Day:

You have proven your true worth through sacrifices, martyrs, and the wounded and through the participation of men, women, children, and everyone in resisting the occupier. It turns out that when some capabilities are available to you, you at the forefront, you give your souls and your money and you sacrifice your homes.

This people are great people, and I am confident that they will be victorious and will liberate Palestine and Al-Quds, God willing, and it is only a matter of time. A country with such a people can only triumph.

On another note, Sheikh Qassem pointed out the positive effects of the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement on the region.

Below is the full transcript of the interview:

Q – On the anniversary of the April 1996 aggression, during which the resistance established the first equation for the protection of civilians, how did this equation develop as “Israel” is known to study its options well before initiating any aggression on Lebanese territory?

A – The April aggression is the second juncture in the post-1993 broad “Israeli” attacks. The aim of the aggression was to stop the resistance, incite the Lebanese public against it, and obtain an international resolution, one way or another, that would restrict the resistance.

But the steadfastness of the resistance, the continuous bombing of the settlements, the pace of the barrage and the number of missiles launched daily, which showed the “Israelis” that the resistance was not diminishing and that its capabilities were not weakened, are all important factors.

We succeeded in letting the enemy understand that the battle is long and that it cannot defeat Hezbollah and that if it continues, it will pay a heavy price which entails the continuous bombing of the settlements in northern Palestine.

We see the April Understanding as “Israeli” and international recognition of that fact that resisting is a legitimate act and that the mutual bombing and reaction by the resistance is an acceptable response because it is self-defense and the defense of the Lebanese citizens, and this is an important equation.

In fact, we were bombing because they were bombing civilians in general. Otherwise, we consider the “Israeli” soldiers and not the settlements as our main target.

Hence, in the face of the aggression in April 1996, we established an understanding that is meant to protect civilians by threatening to bomb “civilians” in the “Israeli” entity. I can say that this is the first equation that strikes a balance between civilians and “civilians”.

However, this equation laid the foundation for another equation that took place after 2006, when the balance of deterrence became much more comprehensive without a written understanding.

In other words, today if “Israel” attacks anyone in Lebanon and if carries out military attacks on any region or citizen, there will be a response against the “Israeli” entity.

This new equation is the fruit of the April Understanding. There is a balance between civilians and “civilians”, but in a developed way. It has now become an equation of a balanced deterrence that includes all of Lebanon, not just civilians in Lebanon. This is a great achievement.

The Syrian role during April 1996

Q – What did Syria represent to the resistance at that time, especially during the negotiations? Did this role change or develop during the July 2006 war? What about this relationship today?

A – Syria’s role, especially that of President Hafez al-Assad, during the April 1996 aggression was central and essential.

“Israel” was in Sharm el-Sheikh, and all the talk at the conference was about not disturbing “Israel”, preventing the resistance from working, and protecting “Israel”. All of this was sponsored by America.

So, nothing has changed for us between the past and present. The Americans directly attack us. The latest of which, as we know in Lebanon, are the sanctions against the Lebanese, offering complete cover for the July 2006 aggression, trying to cause chaos in Lebanon, controlling and trying to prevent institutions from functioning normally, and the people backed by the embassies adopting the popular movement in 2019 in an attempt to direct hostility towards the resistance and Lebanon. American behavior has always been on the side of “Israel”.

Q – Sayyed Zulfiqar was the cornerstone of confrontation in that aggression. What do you remember of his strength during those days? What was his presence like?

A – Sayyed Mustafa Badr al-Din “Zulfiqar” was the central military official. He prepared the fighters in an organized way; he had a strategic mind; he loved precision in his work and planned everything; and he was known to be a disciplined person in the sense that he desired a high degree of discipline and equipped the fighters with the best types of equipment, weapons, and capabilities. He provided supplies, means of transportation, hiding places and hiding in a distinctive way.

He was the military commander in this battle and was keen to ensure that the number of missiles being fired never decreased.

I remember back then, the plan was to make sure there were enough missiles along the posts on the frontlines to last for several days, and if they needed additional projectiles, some would be transferred from the villages north of the river or sometimes from the Bekaa or Beirut.

Due to the ferocity of the battle, ammunition and rockets were consumed quickly, causing a shortage. Had this same pace continued, the “Israelis” would have felt, after a few days, that we have reduced the number of missiles that we will be launching.

Sayyed Zulfiqar believed that we should continue and look for any way to move the missiles to the frontline posts.

Thanks to God Almighty’s support, clouds appeared in the skies of April, blocking the “Israelis’” view. So, the brothers moved large quantities of missiles to the frontline positions.

Because of Sayyed Zulfiqar’s boldness, he agreed that the pace continue despite the danger of it stopping after a few days. This is one form of divine guidance.

Q – During the negotiations, the Secretary General of Hezbollah said that Hezbollah will not sign the same document as the “Israelis”. How did this principle remain constant in the events that followed, up to the agreement to stop military operations in July 2006, and all prisoner exchanges, as well as others that led to the protection of Lebanon and its wealth?

A – We had a discussion in the Shura Council led by His Eminence the Secretary General on how a group of countries could sponsor this understanding without having Hezbollah’s signature, and we are the main stakeholders.

Since we cannot sign on a document that has “Israel’s” signature, the solution was naming Lebanon as the representative of the resistance. Therefore, it was possible for Lebanon to sign the understanding document that had the signatures of major countries, including America and France. Syria’s signature was there too.

Lebanon acted as the official signatory because it was trying to deal with major countries and trying to bind the “Israeli” entity, which has no respect for any covenant or pact. Meanwhile, Hezbollah did not sign the understanding.

Technically, the April Understanding does not have Hezbollah’s signature, even though it was a written understanding. But it does have the signature of the Lebanese state.

Later, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 was passed in 2006. This international resolution did not need to be signed because it was issued by the Security Council.

Then, during the demarcation of the maritime borders, an agreement was reached with the Lebanese state that there would be two separate copies. The “Israelis” would sign one, and the Lebanese would sign the other. The two copies would go to the United Nations. This means that the signatures were not on the same paper.

We maintained this practice at all stages, and Hezbollah did not sign on the same document as the “Israelis”. Even during prisoner swaps, the exchange took place through a mediator. We never engaged in direct discussions or signed the same documents as part of keeping our distance and not recognizing the “Israeli” entity. As a resistance, we had to establish the project of fully rejecting this entity and refusing to legitimize it, even partially.

Q – What are the implications of what we have witnessed during the past few days, when the “Israeli” entity came under missile attacks from several fronts in response to the violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque? Has the Zionist entity become more vulnerable to shakes as a result of the unity of the resistance axis?

A – Before we discuss the source of the missiles that were launched from Lebanon, the Golan Heights, Gaza, or any other place, we must talk about the “Israeli” aggression against Al-Quds and the Palestinians, whether in the West Bank, Al-Quds and its surroundings, or Gaza. This is where the primary responsibility lies.

So, when the world talks about missiles launched from here or there, I consider this the wrong discussion. The discussion should be, “Why is “Israel” attacking?” The Palestinians have the right to defend themselves in the ways they see fit, and we are not here to justify any action.

But we are talking about principles and rules. The question must be: Why does the world not stop the Zionist attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and put an end to the “Israeli” crimes against the Palestinians? This is the question and not where the missiles were launched from.

Q – There has been a lot of talk in the “Israeli” media in recent weeks about the role of Hezbollah, not only on the southern borders with occupied Palestine, but also along the borders all the way to the occupied Golan. What is the truth about this role with this expansion?

A – Hezbollah is present in Lebanon, and its resistance emanates from Lebanon. Those who are resisting the temporary “Israeli” entity in the region are the Palestinian people and the other forces in and surrounding Palestine. Hezbollah does not hide that it supports anyone who resists “Israel” anywhere, and we consider that the Palestinians have every right to fight “Israel” inside Palestine and to liberate Palestine and Al-Quds. We are by their side and support them. They are the compass, and we support and fight to liberate the land in the way we see fit.

Q – In the Quds Day climate and with the escalating situation in Al-Aqsa, what is your message to the Palestinian people?

A – A great salute must be given to the founder, Imam Khomeini, who founded the International Quds Day. This heralded a new phase in which people, resistance groups, and countries stand alongside the Palestinian people to fight the “Israeli” enemy, in addition to the open support for the Palestinian people and resistance to expel the occupier.

Here, we tell the Palestinian people: You have proven your true worth through sacrifices, martyrs, and the wounded and through the participation of men, women, children, and everyone in resisting the occupier.

It turns out that when some capabilities are available to you, you, who are at the forefront, give your souls and your money and you sacrifice your homes.

This people are great people, and I am confident that they will be victorious and will liberate Palestine and Al-Quds, God willing, and it is only a matter of time. A country with such a people can only triumph.

Q – What is your interpretation of the resumption of Saudi-Iranian relations?

A – The resumption of Saudi-Iranian relations carries two main subjects. The first is the change in direction in the region by focusing on the central enemy – the “Israeli” entity – instead of tirelessly working on making Iran the central enemy, and we clearly see the repercussions of this issue.

As for the second, the Saudi-Iranian agreement will open a new page and phase in which there will be strength and dignity for the peoples and countries of the region through stability, solidarity, cooperation and help in changing the pattern that the Americans wanted in our region, and this is a great achievement for future generations.

For us, the Saudi-Iranian agreement is a new phase in every sense of the word in our region towards more cooperation and stability, isolating “Israel” and confronting it, and restraining America’s hand from many issues of concern to our region.

We hope that the outcomes of this agreement will be influential on the entire region. According to what we have learned, the resumption of bilateral relations is proceeding very quickly, and a resolution to the problem between Yemen and Saudi Arabia is also proceeding at a rapid pace. The resumption of Saudi relations with Syria is moving ahead, and all of this is an indication that the agreement is progressing quickly. Certainly, it has positive effects on Lebanon, but the exact impact and its timing remain unknown. We do know that this agreement is a good thing.

Q – Is there anything new concerning the Lebanese presidential file?

A – The Lebanese presidential file is still pending due to the insistence of a number of parliamentary blocs not to engage in dialogue and not to be rational in their choices.

Today, the only person who has a large number of votes, according to all the statistics and evidence, is Minister Suleiman Frangieh. All the other names presented in the media cannot catch up with him.

Therefore, these blocs that were not able to unanimously agree on a candidate that has the ability to pass the quorum in parliament should engage in dialogue to see if it is possible to bridge points of view in favor of this option – Minister Suleiman Franjieh to be president.

The alternative is to waste time and prolong the vacuum, and we want to elect a president as soon as possible because it is a constitutional challenge that all solutions in Lebanon depend on.

The time has come for the various parliamentary blocs to be realistic and head towards finding common denominators for a president who has the ability to be open to everyone and is able to save Lebanon, God willing.

SayyedHassanNasrallah Lebanon SheikhNaimQassem april 1996 aggresion Hezbollah IsraeliOccupation

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