This photo shows a tank with an Israeli occupation flag on it entering the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing in occupied Palestine, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP)
A new report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz underscored a plot to take the Rafah border crossing away from Palestinian control in favor of giving it to a US security private contractor that would do “Israel’s” bidding.
In an exclusive for Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “Israel” has made a plea to the US regarding the takeover of the Rafah border crossing, saying it would be passed on to a private security contracting company.
This was offered up after “Israel” committed to “restrict its operation in Rafah”, which started on Monday, “aiming only to deny Hamas authority over the border crossing that connects Gaza with Egypt, and concentrating on the eastern side of the city.”
According to Haaretz, the Israeli occupation government, in order to secure the deal, has been negotiating with “a private company in the US that specializes in assisting armies and governments around the world engaged in military conflicts. The company has operated in several African and Middle Eastern countries, guarding strategic sites like oil fields, airports, army bases, and sensitive border crossings. It employs veterans of elite US Army units.”
Allegedly, Tel Aviv also pledged “not to damage the crossing’s facilities to ensure its continuous operation,” alleging that the “private American security company will assume management of the crossing after the IDF [Israeli occupation forces] concludes its operation.”
In turn, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, earlier claimed he had no information about such a plot to assume control over the Rafah border crossing.
In that regard, Haaretz also reported that Egyptian officials expressed opposition to an assault on Rafah because they were concerned that civilians might attempt to cross the border fence seeking shelter. Allegedly, they also warned that Hamas might try to breach the fence to assist Gazans in fleeing.
Under the agreed terms between the three countries, once “Israel” finishes its ‘limited operation’ in the border crossing area, a US company will take over the operation of the facility. This responsibility includes overseeing goods entering Gaza from Egypt and preventing Hamas from regaining control of the crossing. “Israel” and the US will provide support to the company as needed.
Rafah has a long history of confrontations with "Israel", yet each time, Israeli occupation forces are met with the unwavering resilience of the #Palestinian people. pic.twitter.com/rW7l3ugC7N
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 7, 2024
The Israeli newspaper also claimed that Cairo complained against “Israel” on Tuesday after Israeli occupation troops shared videos showing the Israeli occupation flag being flown at the Rafah crossing. The Egyptians argued, allegedly, that such a public display undermined their efforts to diminish tensions in the area near their territory.
Rafah crossing purely Egyptian-Palestinian: Senior Hamas official
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan made it clear on Tuesday that “the military operation in Rafah, if carried out by Israel, will not be a picnic” for the Israeli occupation forces, which were defeated and humiliated in all the areas they have entered in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking during a press conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Hamas’ acceptance of the ceasefire proposal presented by mediators Egypt and Qatar, Hamdan pointed out that the decision came as a result of long, difficult, complicated, and continuous negotiations over the past weeks and months.
He mentioned that the past period saw several proposals that did not meet the conditions of the Resistance or the demands of the Palestinian people, affirming that Hamas “adhered to its demands, showed flexibility where necessary, and set red lines that cannot be crossed or compromised.”
Hamdan stressed that Hamas’ acceptance of the ceasefire proposal stems from the movement’s responsibility before the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and its deep concern for its interests, rights, constants, and sacrifices, and from a positive response to the role of mediators in achieving this deal.
Students and professors, carry on! History will only remember you, and it will have no mention at all of your oppressors. Keep up the fight to make the world a better place for us all.
For over 200 days, we here in the Arab World have been wondering how the so-called civilized world, along with its intellectual system and human rights laws, would allow such a genocide to take place against helpless women, children, and innocent civilians in Gaza and Palestine, without trying the impossible to stop this disgraceful insult against every human life everywhere.
Every day, the Zionists would perpetrate dozens of massacres against hundreds of Palestinians and would kill journalists, medical doctors, nurses, and patients, burying them in a mass grave inside the hospital. And yet the US continues to flood the Zionists with armaments, money, and moral support, enabling the worst genocide and ethnic cleansing that has brought dishonor upon our world and us who live in these times.
All of us here in the Middle East were feeling absolutely helpless, depressed, and utterly betrayed by the Western World, as it not only betrayed us, but also Western values which the West claimed to develop and promote in the interest of humanity. For seven, long, difficult months, we questioned everything the West had said about itself, most notably its propaganda regarding the free press, the rights of women, the rights of children, and human rights in decent and safe lives.
All of this was happening to us as if we lived on an extremely remote island until the students of Columbia University broke this cycle with their brave forthcoming acts to challenge the conspiratory world‘s silence and announce their extremely important call to stop genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, an act that triggered a worldwide movement by university students, professors, and employees in support of life in Gaza, and against the daily and continued massacres there.
Your movement has restored our faith in human conscience, but your suffering and the way you have been treated proved to us, beyond any doubt, that Western systems leave a lot to be desired. The deep alliance that has surfaced between Zionists everywhere and Western governments has shown the horrifying moral deterioration of Western governments. Just as they spread fear and horror about Covid-19, they also started to fabricate myths about attacks on Jews, although Jewish students and professors were at the forefront of these noble movements, this did not prevent misleading media from accusing the student movement as antisemitic.
Instead of trusting that the movement proved that the issue was not between Muslims and Jews, but one of occupation, racism, and the worst violation of human rights witnessed in modern times, the authorities went on distorting facts and misleading people.
When Jews were persecuted in Europe, they found their haven among the Arabs, and until the creation of the Zionist entity, Jews were citizens in most Arab countries, living amicably with Muslims and Christians and contributing to the prosperity and welfare of their countries. The Middle East is the cradle of the three monotheistic religions, and that is why its people lived together with the church and the mosque side by side, and with the deep-rooted faith that we all worship the same God but in different ways.
The first time we heard a language that divided the Iraqis into Sunnis and Shias was when American forces occupied Iraq and started talking about the Sunni triangle, Kurdish North, and Shia South. This is an alien language to the region’s indigenous Arabs, and this is the language that terrorists attempted to implant among our people.
Antisemitism is a label coined and promoted by those who gave themselves the right to uproot indigenous people and to use their land and resources as their own. The Arabs had never been and cannot be antisemitic, as they themselves are Semites. Those who misused movements to incite hatred against Jews have nothing to do with Islam, as the Quran lauded all prophets and mentioned the followers of all prophets with great respect; “Indeed the faithful, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabaeans —those of them who have faith in Allah and the Last Day and act righteously— they shall have their reward near their Lord, and they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.”
The Quran stresses the importance of faith rather than religion, and any attempt to generate and spread fear among the followers of other religions is only a very suspicious political tool used for dubious purposes. The Western media that was supposed to facilitate communication among different people on different lands had become an impediment in the way of truth reaching audiences everywhere.
Students and professors paid a heavy price, and some have lost the opportunity to complete their studies, but what you have done is so gracious and so eternal that it restored our confidence in humanity and its ability to strongly object to gross injustice, no matter how powerful and militarized it may seem. In that sense, you restored some of our confidence that the voice of the people will override the voice of governments who cannot get beyond their narrow, material interests, and their deeply rooted and unquestioned prejudices and shallow slogans.
You proved that you do not belong to the hypocrisy of the State, whose current discourse and actions are in total contradiction with its own narrative. Western systems are trying to spread fear: Jews fearing Muslims, Muslims fearing Jews, Christians fearing Muslims, Westerners against Easterners, in order to serve the interests of Zionist dark forces who do not see people with similar hearts and minds, but only see what may divide their ranks and make them weaker: inactive and incapable of undermining the interests of these dark forces.
Our God said in the Quran, “O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify yourselves with one another. Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most Godwary among you. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all-aware.” Differences in color, origin, religion, or ethnicity, only exist to prove the greatness of the Creator, and not to classify people as superior and inferior. Only the vile racists do that for their own evil purposes, which have nothing to do with the interests of most people on this planet.
Students and professors, carry on! History will only remember you, and it will have no mention at all of your oppressors. Keep up the fight to make the world a better place for us all.
The opinions mentioned in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Al mayadeen, but rather express the opinion of its writer exclusively.
Israeli occupation forces drop leaflets demanding forced displacement of Palestinians from Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, on May 6. (Social media)
Israeli occupation forces begin to forcefully displace Palestinians formerly displaced to Rafah amid the increased likelihood of the start of the imminent invasion.
The Israeli occupation forces officially began, on Monday, the forceful displacement of the already-displaced Palestinian people currently seeking shelter in Rafah, which had been designated by the Israelis as an alleged “safe zone” early in the war.
With flyers dropping from the skies, SMS, and social media broadcasts, the Israeli occupation’s action on Rafah is set to be yet another episode of this live-streamed genocide.
According to Israeli spokesperson Avichay Adraee, the IOF has allegedly expanded the alleged “humanitarian zone” in the Mawasi area and is forcing Palestinians out of eastern Rafah, which was allegedly the initial “safe zone”.
The Palestinians report that the #IDF dropped leaflets over #Rafah in the south of the #Gaza Strip stating that the humanitarian area from the Moasi area in #Khan_Yunis has been expanded to the Deir al-Balah area in the center of the Gaza Strip, (1/2) pic.twitter.com/AsMWTGm7Cn
The action being taken by the Israeli occupation would forcefully displace at least 100,000 of the 1.4 million Palestinians currently displaced in Rafah. It would also threaten to hold all remaining Palestinians in Gaza hostage, as the Rafah border crossing will likely be targeted through bombardments.
After 7 months of the televised genocide, the number of Palestinian martyrs, wounded, and missing has exceeded 100,000 Palestinians.
Three IOF soldiers killed, 12 wounded in Karem Abu Salem shelling
The Israeli military admitted to the deaths of three of its soldiers and the wounding of 12 others as a result of the Palestinian Resistance’s shelling of an Israeli military outpost located near the Karem Abu Salem crossing.
Two of the killed soldiers fought with the Shaked battalion under the Givati Brigade, while the third fought with the 931 battalion under the Nahal Brigade.
Twelve soldiers were also wounded in the shelling, including two of the 931 battalion, and one of the Shaked battalion, who was reportedly in critical condition.
According to the Al-Qassam Brigades, Resistance fighters targeted the location using a 114 mm short-range Rajum missile system.
The targeted gathering was responsible for the aggression against cities in Rafah and included Israeli military and Shin Bet officers, according to a source in the Resistance.
The sources said the Resistance’s preparation for the operation, its setup, and intelligence capabilities, affirmed its capabilities to accurately and directly engage its targets.
It was simultaneously emphasized that the operation relayed several political messages, most notably the Resistance’s readiness to defend the people of Palestine against reckless Israeli aggression, as well as a military message affirming the Resistance’s capabilities and steadiness, despite the “successes” the Israeli occupation claims it is achieving.
Israeli air defenses have since stepped up their bombing of Rafah as a response to the Karem Abu Salem operation.
Rafah invasion will happen with or without exchange deal: Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on April 30, that an invasion of the densely-populated Rafah city will take place regardless of whether an exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance was reached or not.
“The idea that we will stop the war before all its goals have been achieved is irrelevant. We will enter Rafah and destroy Hamas battalions there, with or without an agreement [on hostages], to achieve absolute victory,” he told families of the captives held in the Strip.
مشاهد مرعبة من القصف المستمر على رفح.
هذا الصاروخ كان سبب في قتل 6 أشخاص من بينهم أطفال.
A systematic effort appears underway to silence Dr. Abu Sitta for his vocal condemnation of Israeli atrocities with Berlin authorities forcefully barring his entry into the country in April to attend a conference.
Renowned British-Palestinian doctor and humanitarian, Ghassan Abu Sitta, who volunteered in Gaza hospitals during the first weeks of the Israeli genocide, was reportedly barred from entering France while at Charles De Gaulle Airport.
Abu Sitta, scheduled to speak before the French Senate, expressed frustration as authorities cited a purported one-year ban imposed by Germany on his entry to Europe.
In a social media post, he said, “I am at Charles De Gaule airport. They are preventing me from entering France. I am supposed to speak at the French Senate today. They say the Germans put a 1 year ban on my entry to Europe.”
I am at Charles De Gaule airport. They are preventing me from entering France. I am supposed to speak at the French Senate today. They say the Germans put a 1 year ban on my entry to Europe.
— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) May 4, 2024
In another post, Abu Sitta lamented what he described as “Fortress Europe” silencing witnesses to the ongoing genocide, while “Israel” continues to target and kill them even within prison walls.
Fortress Europe silencing the witnesses to the genocide while Israel kills them in prison.
— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) May 4, 2024
Simultaneously, human rights activist Salah Hamouri affirmed to Al Mayadeen that Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta was informed at Charles De Gaulle Airport of a German decision to prohibit his entry. Hamouri further stated that Dr. Abu Sitta has been notified of a comprehensive ban on his entry to European countries. In further detail, he informed Al Mayadeen that Abu Sitta’s phone had been seized.
The detention of Dr. Abu Sitta, as reported by Hamouri, comes in the wake of Germany’s recent decision to bar him from entering the Schengen area for one year.
In April, authorities in Berlin raided a conference titled the Palestine Congress, where Dr. Abu Sitta was scheduled to participate, abruptly cutting off electricity and terminating the weekend-long event.
The conference was aimed at addressing various issues, such as German arms exports to “Israel” and expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Dr. Abu Sitta reported that after prolonged questioning, the German government forcefully barred his entry into the country.
Germany’s expulsion of Dr. Abu Sitta instigated widespread condemnation from activists and human rights groups.
Slow death, no anesthesia; Abu Sitta recalls horrors he saw in Gaza
Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta spent 43 days under fire in Gaza. What he witnessed during his voluntary work in the besieged Strip’s hospitals left him with a lot to tell about the Israeli atrocities committed against civilians.
When he left Gaza because he could no longer perform surgeries due to a shortage of medical equipment, he decided to advocate for the Strip through other means.
Speaking to AFP last January, Abu Sitta detailed the testimony he provided to the British police regarding attacks against civilians and the types of weapons used, hoping it would lead to trials for war crimes.
Having worked for weeks in hospitals in #Gaza during the Israeli aggression on the Strip, renowned British-Palestinian plastic surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta bore witness to the horrific crimes that were committed there.#PalestineGenocide#GazaUnderAttackpic.twitter.com/aOVCQuh0lF
The results of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, where Abu Sitta arrived on October 9 as part of the Doctors Without Borders team, surpassed the horrors of all the wars he had worked in before, including Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and southern Lebanon.
“It’s like the difference between a flood and a tsunami; the scale is entirely different,” he expressed, emphasizing the large number of casualties, martyred children, the magnitude of the disaster, and the intensive bombings, causing the Gaza healthcare system to be overwhelmed within days of the war’s start.
The Palestinian doctor pointed out that from the beginning, the capacity was lower than the number of patients that had to be treated, adding that doctors had to make difficult decisions about whom to treat.
He recounted the case of a 40-year-old man with a head shrapnel injury who needed X-rays and examination by a neurosurgeon, but those were not available as told to the patient’s family who stayed around the stretcher he was placed on that night until his martyrdom in the morning.
Anesthesia and painkillers quickly ran out in hospitals, forcing Abu Sitta to perform painful cleaning procedures for wounds on injured individuals without the possibility of relieving their pain. He made it clear that this was the only available option, or else see the wounded succumb to widespread inflammation in the blood.
Abu Sitta also confirmed that he treated people with burns caused by white phosphorus, which is prohibited by international law, explaining that it is an injury that can be distinguished from other injuries and that phosphorus continues to burn into the deeper parts of the body until it reaches the bones.
Since leaving Gaza, the Palestinian doctor has spent most of his time alerting political leaders and humanitarian organizations to the genocide in the Gaza Strip. In this regard, he said that he is trying to help the patients in Gaza as much as he can by conveying their voices abroad.
He also noted that he informed the London police about the injuries he witnessed, the types of weapons used, and the use of white phosphorus, as well as the attacks against civilians.
Elsewhere, Abu Sitta, who narrated how he survived the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital massacre on October 17, concluded by stressing that “ultimately, justice will reach these individuals, after five or ten years, or when they are in their eighties when the balance of power in the world allows justice for the Palestinians.”
On the 211th day of the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation army ramped up its attacks on homes in Rafah, resulting in more casualties. Despite the devastating situation, efforts to reach a ceasefire deal were intensified in Cairo, where the Hamas delegation met with British officials to discuss ending the war.
The discussions in Cairo focused on a prisoner exchange deal, with the Qatari Al Jazeera Channel reporting that a Qatari delegation would join the negotiations. The Palestinian resistance forces, including Hamas, reiterated their commitment to achieving the ceasefire demands, which include ending the aggression, withdrawing occupation forces, returning displaced persons, providing relief to the population, initiating reconstruction efforts, and finalizing the exchange deal.
Reports from Palestinian media sources confirm casualties in Israeli bombings in various areas, including Al-Faraheen in Khan Yunis and the Al-Geneina neighborhood in Rafah. Additionally, occupation aircraft raided the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, while helicopters fired on neighborhoods in the northern region.
Also Al-Hourani family home in the Al-Saftawi area was bombed, resulting in the recovery of 3 martyrs and 3 wounded individuals from under the rubble. Other areas, including the Al-Jeneina neighborhood, also faced devastating attacks, leading to further loss of life and injuries.
The house of the Al-Hourani family was targeted in an air strike by the Israeli occupation leaving injuries and fatalities. pic.twitter.com/ovUYoUqwrK
In a heartbreaking turn of events, it was reported that over 10,000 women have been killed and 19,000 injured due to ongoing Israeli assaults, with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) labeling the aggression as a “war on women.” The dire situation has left more than 155,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women struggling to access essential resources.
Rescue teams recovered numerous casualties and injuries from the rubble of the Abu Al-Anin family home in the Al-Geneina neighborhood, east of Rafah.https://t.co/HwbLXNHKdHpic.twitter.com/rVNEiS3QDT
Amidst the crisis, an opinion poll revealed that a majority of Israelis (54%) prefer a truce agreement with Hamas over a military operation in Rafah. The international community has been urged to unify its position on the conflict, with European Union Foreign Policy Coordinator Josep Borrell stressing the importance of working towards a two-state solution.
Rescue teams recovered numerous casualties and injuries from the rubble of the Abu Al-Anin family home in the Al-Geneina neighborhood, east of Rafah.https://t.co/HwbLXNHKdHpic.twitter.com/rVNEiS3QDT
Despite the negotiations, the occupation aircraft and artillery continued their violent raids on various parts of Gaza, with a particular focus on Rafah. Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the ongoing bombardment.
The situation on the ground remained grim, with reports of casualties in multiple areas, including Khan Yunis, Rafah, and Gaza City. Medical teams and civil defense worked tirelessly to rescue trapped individuals and recover bodies from the rubble of bombed homes.
The daily struggle of the children of Gaza to get food and water for them and their families. pic.twitter.com/NZLBNPvzV1
As the international community awaited progress in the Cairo talks, the people of Gaza continued to suffer under the relentless aggression. The need for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian relief was more urgent than ever as the conflict entered its 211th day.
Demonstrators are on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
The Sanaa University announces that students expelled from US universities over pro-Palestinian protests could continue pursuing their degrees at the Yemeni institute.
A Yemeni university is offering a place for students expelled from universities in the United States for staging on-campus pro-Palestinian protests against the US-backed Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which entered its seventh month
“The very least we can do is to open the doors of our universities to accommodate them after they were expelled and oppressed,” the head of Sanaa University told Reuters.
Over 2,000 people have been arrested on US university campuses in the past three weeks as they took part in the protests urging universities to divest from all investments linked to the Israeli occupation. Others were suspended, expelled, or put on probation.
Sanaa University had previously hailed the “humanitarian” stance of the students in the United States and announced that they could continue pursuing their degrees at the institute.
The announcement echoed a similar one by the head of Iran’s internationally renowned Shiraz University, who confirmed the institute’s readiness to grant scholarships to the students expelled from US and European universities over the pro-Palestinian protests.
Pro-Palestine encampments take over the world in support of Gaza against the ongoing Israeli genocide which has killed over 34,600 Palestinians since October 7. pic.twitter.com/bpdaT9kl4B
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 3, 2024
“Students and even professors who have been expelled or threatened with expulsion can continue their studies at Shiraz University and I think that other universities in Shiraz as well as Fars Province are also prepared [to provide the conditions],” said Mohammad Moazzeni, as reported by Iran’s Press TV.
This comes as US police continue to violently crack down on the pro-Palestinian student protests and dismantle encampments across the nation.
Senior military officials in Sana’a have informed MintPress News of ongoing military preparations by the US, UK, and Saudi-led Coalition over the past two weeks. According to these sources, there are plans to initiate a significant aerial assault on the Yemeni mainland, focusing particularly on coastal regions in the west, as well as areas in the south near the Saudi border. This assault is expected to be accompanied by ground offensives carried out by factions aligned with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
MintPress News sources indicate a probable escalation, coinciding with significant military reinforcements. Notably, squadrons of US F-16 aircraft have been arriving at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, located less than 200 kilometers from the Yemeni border. Additionally, extensive air transport activities involving weapons and equipment have been observed over the past two weeks, with US cargo planes shuttling to and from military bases in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti.
On April 29, the Aviano Air Base in Italy declared the deployment of F-16 Fighting Falcon jets from its 510th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron to the Middle East. As stated on the Aviano Air Base website, these F-16s are set to undertake a range of missions, including safeguarding civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, alongside other crucial force protection and deterrence duties
Sources near the Saudi-led coalition-backed government in Aden revealed to MintPress News that the United States and Britain have ramped up their dialogue with the Ministry of Defense in the Aden administration. This surge comes in response to recent Yemeni activities in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean.
Military and political insiders in Sanaa informed MintPress News about the military exercise held on April 24. The event, dubbed “Desert Flag 9,” saw the participation of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other Arab nations at the Al Dhafra base in the Emirates. This maneuver is believed to be part of preparations for the announcement of a new military coalition, ostensibly aimed at safeguarding international freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean. At the outset of the exercise, General Charles Keough, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, lauded the collaboration among allies in countering perceived Iranian threats.
Numerous officials in Sanaa and among Ansar Allah have issued public warnings about alleged plans orchestrated by the United States and Britain, with support from certain Arab nations. The Supreme Political Council, the highest governing body in the northern region, has cautioned against any hostile escalation by the United States in Yemen. It asserts that ongoing suspicious preparations aimed at dissuading Yemen from supporting Gaza will prove futile. Emphasizing that any consequences of such escalation will extend beyond Yemen’s borders, the Council has urged Saudi Arabia to prioritize its national interests over those of the United States.
It seems evident that Saudi and Emirati endeavors extend beyond merely challenging the naval blockade imposed by Ansar Allah on Israel, currently engaged in what many legal experts have termed a genocide in Gaza. Rather, indications suggest that these oil-rich nations may be poised to actively participate in an anticipated U.S. and U.K. military intervention. Their aim? To dismantle the blockade on Israel imposed by Yemeni forces and quell Ansar Allah’s assaults on Israeli vessels—actions purportedly intended to halt the ongoing genocide and alleviate the siege on civilians within the embattled enclave.
In addressing the Yemen-Saudi border situation, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council, raised poignant questions: “Why does Saudi Arabia deliberately target civilians on the Yemeni border with French Caesar’s cannons? Wouldn’t it be wiser for the Saudi army to position these cannons near the borders of the northern kingdom to aid the people of Gaza?” He cautioned against reckless actions, stating, “Do not play with fire. We possess a strategic arsenal far beyond what you anticipate.”
Hussein Al-Ezzi, serving as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Sana’a government, issued a stark warning:
“We are well aware of Washington’s hostile intentions. Henceforth, we hold Washington accountable for any dire consequences resulting from its reckless actions against Yemen. It may soon find itself devoid of safe havens in the region, as its interests become a common target for all those who value freedom.“
Seeking to entangle itself anew in the Yemen conflict and forge closer ties with Israel, the United States has pledged support to Saudi Arabia. This includes assistance for a Saudi nuclear program and designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally. Talks are ongoing to solidify a joint defense pact and enhance security cooperation, as reported by Saudi media.
IMPENDING ASSAULTS ON CRITICAL ASSETS
The peril isn’t just about the conflict’s escalation, but also the neighboring nations getting entangled in operations beyond their control. This risks sparking another tragic conflict, impacting not only war-torn Yemen but also neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia.
MintPress sources have confirmed that, in the case of a U.S.-led ground invasion of Yemen, planned assaults by Ansar Allah will target not only U.S. interests and bases within the involved nations but also critical facilities and assets belonging to those participating countries, such as oil installations.
Ansar Allah has issued a grave threat of launching a large-scale and aggressive assault aimed at crucial installations, including oil facilities, in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This ominous warning mirrors previous attacks, such as the devastating strikes on the Abqaiq oil facilities in September 2019, which resulted in a significant disruption to half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production.
Ali al-Quhom, a Member of the Political Council of Ansar Allah, wrote on X, “The stage has changed, and with it, the rules of engagement have changed. Saudi Arabia and the UAE must realize this, and seven years are enough to learn the lesson. Yemen has become stronger with the increase in military capabilities at all levels. Escalation will be met with escalation, and this is a fixed and inseparable rule that will never change, ever. As you lost before, you will lose now, but this time your loss will be greater than before.” He added:
“There should be no submission or surrender on the part of neighboring countries to American, British and Israeli pressure and will, indicating that any American move from the territories of neighboring countries will lead to strong Yemeni responses, these countries will be the target of Yemeni operations, We have a target bank that includes strategic and vital targets in depth and in areas of economic importance.”
IMMINENT RETALIATION
Mounting tensions in Yemen and the broader region coincide with the withdrawal of an American aircraft carrier from the Red Sea. Yemeni analysts suggest that this move signifies not only the persistence of Yemeni operations targeting maritime navigation linked to the Israeli regime but also hints at a shift towards ground-based operations for a more extensive assault on Yemeni territory. Yemeni sources indicate that the departure of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely from the Red Sea is part of the preparations for the coming assault.
General Shamsan, the head of the Military Spokesmen Committee in the Yemeni Army, informed MintPress that concurrent with the withdrawal of the American aircraft carrier, a squadron of aircraft has arrived at Saudi bases. This development aligns with diplomatic and political maneuvers. The Americans seem compelled to pivot towards attacks from land bases to mitigate potential heavy losses from retaliatory strikes against U.S. aircraft carriers and destroyers at sea.
While certain Yemenis perceive the withdrawal of the American aircraft carrier from the Red Sea as a triumph, numerous political, military officials, and analysts interviewed by MintPress regard Washington’s move with deep suspicion, framing it within the context of ongoing operational preparations, as emphasized by Brigadier General Shamsan.
Last Friday, the U.S. Navy declared that USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely departed from the Red Sea after an almost four-month presence. Despite their deployment, the U.S. battle group was unable to impede Yemeni operations targeting maritime navigation associated with the Israeli regime, as these operations persisted.
Additionally, there’s a possibility, as indicated by a Yemeni source linked to the coordination between Yemeni and Iraqi resistance forces, that certain groups within the Resistance Axis, notably the Iraqi resistance, may engage in retaliatory strikes against key American and Saudi targets in the region. This prospect hints at potential conflict not only in the Red Sea but also in the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Gulf, posing a genuine threat to American interests. However, such escalation could potentially be averted or delayed, especially considering the Russian front and the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.
On the ground, clear signs of an impending conflict are emerging, particularly in the conflict zones of Taiz and Lahj, alongside other fronts. This coincides with significant military reinforcements being deployed by factions aligned with the Saudi-Emirati coalition from Aden to the strategic Tur al-Baha and Haifan fronts. These areas serve as vital contact points between Sanaa-aligned forces and coalition-backed militias. Tragically, in the Maqbanah area southwest of Taiz, an attack allegedly conducted by a drone affiliated with these factions resulted in the loss of two children and three women.
According to Yemeni military media, an American MQ9 drone was brought down above Saada Governorate while conducting a military operation. Footage released last Friday depicted Yemeni Armed Forces successfully shooting down the US MQ-9 aircraft using a missile.
In the days, military tensions between Yemeni forces and the American and British navies have surged to unprecedented levels. Reports indicate violent explosions along the coasts of Al-Khawkhah and Al-Mokha, spanning from Khor Amira, facing Bab Al-Mandab, to the southern shores of the country
Yemenis harbor a pervasive belief in the imminent likelihood of a ground invasion, a notion taken with utmost seriousness across the nation. Numerous officials, in interviews with MintPress, have openly discussed the potentiality of such an occurrence, grounded not in analysis but in raw data. Consequently, all regions, cities, and institutions have experienced a surge in recruitment efforts, operating under the banner of “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
YEMEN’S RESOLVE AMID ESCALATING TENSIONS
While Yemenis are earnestly grappling with the looming prospect of escalation, their resolve extends beyond merely halting attacks aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza and lifting the blockade. They’ve heralded an unprecedented development targeting Israeli vessels across the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab. On Tuesday, the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) launched strikes against two United States warships in the Red Sea and targeted the Cyclades bulk carrier, achieving precise hits. Subsequently, military media footage surfaced, showcasing the moment of the Cyclades ship’s bombing in the Indian Ocean, underscoring the Yemeni army’s capacity to execute operations hundreds of kilometers from the Yemeni coastline.
مشاهد لحظة استهداف سفينة (CYCLADES) بطائرة مسيرة والتي كانت متجهة إلى موانئ فلسطينَ المحتلة في البحر الأحمر pic.twitter.com/BNC4jPj1SM
In a televised address to the nation last Thursday discussing the latest regional developments, Ansar Allah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi stated that the Yemeni army is enhancing its presence in the Indian Ocean, aiming to block Israeli-affiliated vessels from navigating the Cape of Good Hope route or towards the Red Sea. He further remarked, “The Yemeni front will remain open, and the Yemeni Armed Forces’ (YAF) operations in support of Palestine will continue.”
Since Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s speech, four Israeli, American, and British vessels have been hit. The Yemeni Navy struck the British ship ANDROMEDA STAR and the Israeli MSC Darwin ship on Saturday, along with an American warship and another commercial vessel named MAERSK YORKTOWN, and the Israeli MSC VERACRUZ on April 24. Preceding these events, the Yemeni army conducted four operations targeting two Israeli ships and two American ships on April 10.
Following Abdulmalik al-Houthi’s speech, four vessels affiliated with Israel, the United States and Britain were targeted by Ansar Allah. The Yemeni navy attacked the British vessel Andromeda Star and the Israeli MSC Darwinship on Saturday, as well as an American warship and a commercial vessel named Maersk Yorktown, and the Israeli MSC Veracruz on April 24. Prior to these incidents, the Yemeni army executed four operations against two Israeli ships and two American ships on April 10.
It’s worth noting that Ansar Allah has turned down several American offers aimed at halting their maritime attacks in support of Gaza. These offers included recognition of their group, revocation of their terrorist designation, payment of government employee salaries, and the signing of a comprehensive agreement with Saudi Arabia to end the war and initiate Yemen’s reconstruction.
Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said in a press briefing that there are ongoing communications with Ansar Allah, urging the movement to engage in the Yemeni political process. However, she clarified that she wouldn’t characterize the discussions with strong language at this point. Leaf emphasized that “Washington is employing all available means, both diplomatically and militarily, to deter the Houthis from their actions,” which she described as “reckless” in the Red Sea.
Feature photo | Yemenis attend a massive rally against US-led airstrikes on Yemen and the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip in Sanaa, Yemen, March 1, 2024. Osamah Abdulrahman | AP
Iranian firebrand MP Mahmoud Nabavian reveals the calculated strategy, diplomatic intrigue, and bold military prowess that showcased Tehran’s 13 April missile strikes on Israel.
Following the strategic success of Iran’s ‘True Promise’ retaliatory drone and missile operation in response to last month’s Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, The Cradle presents an exclusive insider‘s narrative provided by Iranian Member of Parliament Mahmoud Nabavian, a principalist who won the most votes in Tehran during the country’s March elections.
His account of the retaliatory strikes against the occupation state offers unparalleled insights into the 13–14 April events. With access to military sources, Nabavian’s testimony serves as the most detailed view to date by an Iranian government official on Iran’s response, one that has sorely exposed the vulnerabilities of Israel’s air defense systems.
In a closed Telegram posting, Nabavian explained that Israel’s “cowardly” attack, which led to the martyrdom of prominent leaders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), occurred “on our soil” – a reference to the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus:
“As the Imam [Ali Khamenei] said, the enemies made a mistake.” Iran’s full-on retaliatory strikes, he thus maintains, were justified and legal under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Below is a transcript (edited for length) from Nabavian’s important revelations about Iran’s military strikes on Israel and the flurry of international deal-making attempts that preceded them:
Two hours after the attack on the consulate in Damascus, the Iranian National Security Council convened and affirmed the inevitability of a response and gave a 10-day deadline to take the necessary diplomatic measures and for the armed forces to prepare their plan to respond.
Diplomatically, the first step was to go to the Security Council, even though we knew that this would be futile. But it was necessary to file a complaint about the attack on our land, assert our natural right to self-defense, and request a Security Council session. Because we are not members of the Council, we had to talk to member states to request that the session be held.
China, Russia, and Algeria agreed. Russia submitted the request, and the session was held, but the US, Germany, Britain, and France did not allow a statement to be issued condemning Israel. The heads of our missions abroad were also active in informing the concerned countries that we would respond to the Zionist entity.
Due to these pressures, Israel denied it had attacked a diplomatic building and that those who were targeted were not diplomats. The consulate building, four of its five floors, were purchased 45 years ago and were designated for diplomatic work. It was indeed a diplomatic building.
After we assured the international community of our right to respond, some countries, such as the US, Germany, England, France, Canada, and Egypt, tried to convince us not to do so, and they confirmed their readiness to meet Iran’s requests. For example, some of these countries that were not previously willing to grant entry visas to our diplomats or officials suddenly decided to do so immediately.
When the US realized that we were serious, it sent a threat that if the response was launched from Iranian territory, it might attack Iran. Our response was that the US is not among our targets, but if it decides to involve itself in defense of Israel, we will respond by targeting it as well, and as you know, there are many American bases around us.
Despite this, the US, Britain, France, and Germany insisted on the same message, yet our answer was that Israel crossed a red line. Then, they said, if we must respond, let it be from outside Iranian territory.
Why did they insist that the strike not be from inside Iran? Because for a long time, they have been assassinating our nuclear scientists and carrying out sabotage operations at the Natanz nuclear reactor. In the last six months alone, they have assassinated 18 members of our armed forces, and we have always responded through our allies [in the Axis of Resistance], but if we did that this time, we would lose face.
If Lebanese Hezbollah had responded to Israel, it could have bombed Beirut, and western powers would have seized upon this to say, ‘If this is a war between Iran and Israel, why did Hezbollah involve itself in it?’ They would also hold it responsible for the subsequent unrest in Lebanon.
Therefore, the insistence that the Iranian response should be through Iran’s allies was meant to distort Hezbollah’s reputation and unleash Israel to target it and other resistance forces in the region and to portray them as mercenaries of Iran. We read these western intentions well, and accordingly, the decision was taken to respond from within Iranian territory.
On the night of Eid al-Fitr, a meeting was held with the heads of diplomatic missions of the countries of the region, and we informed them that we are keen on good neighborliness, but if the US uses any of your countries to carry out action against us, we will strike the US bases on your lands.
This message was conveyed to Washington, and they realized that Iran was serious. They asked us to exercise restraint. The US, Germany, England, France, and Canada – these countries that support brutality and crime in the world and provide the weapons with which the people of Gaza are bombed – ask us to exercise restraint.
[UK Foreign Secretary] David Cameron called the night after the Iranian attack and said he couldn’t sleep last night. This is the malicious British foreign secretary. Why? Because we sent 300 drones and missiles over the heads of the Israelis. The Iranian official who spoke to him said, ‘For six months, rockets have been falling on the people of Gaza, and you slept well every night.’ This is the same malicious Britain that encouraged the US to launch attacks on Yemen.
The important thing is coordination at all levels before responding, politically, diplomatically, and in the media. After the Leader [Ali Khamenei] affirmed in his Eid al-Fitr sermon that we will certainly discipline the enemy, messages came to us requesting that the response be proportionate and not forceful.
Our answer was clear: that first, we would definitely strike Israel; second, that the attack would be direct from Iranian territory; and third, that the National Security Council decided that the response would be a deterrent.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan informed us that it had information that we would bomb the Israeli embassy in Baku, and they asked us not to carry out any action on their territory. I think this was a message that they could turn a blind eye to striking Israeli targets in a neighboring country, but we were already aware of that.
The messages we received were not limited to the US and European countries, but we also received messages from some countries in the region. We tried to take advantage of the matter to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, and we told everyone that this might be a solution to the problem.
They asked us whether a ceasefire in Gaza meant that we would refrain from responding. We answered that we would strike Israel in any case, but perhaps a decision like this would help reduce the severity of the attack. They asked that we give them a few days.
We asked our military forces to postpone the response for 24 hours and gave the countries of the world the opportunity to adhere to their obligations stipulated in international laws and for Israel to pledge not to attack Iranian forces and interests in the region and the world.
Regarding the Iranian request to conclude a permanent, complete, and immediate truce in the Gaza Strip: US President Joe Biden sent a message stating that he would work to achieve it himself, but he set a malicious condition, which is that the Palestinian resistance releases all Israeli prisoners in exchange for Israel releasing 900 Palestinian prisoners, after which the implementation of the truce begins.
Of course, Hamas did not agree to the matter, and this was the correct decision. We understood that they [the Americans] are not serious about reaching a truce and that they are only looking to achieve their malign goals.
Everyone realized that we would attack Israel. The US, France, Britain, and even Italy harnessed all their military capabilities in Qatar, alongside the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
They equipped six missile launchers in the region’s waters with a range of between 2,000 and 3,000 kilometers. They harnessed all modern satellites and radars, moved 103 aircraft into the region’s airspace to strike our missiles, and placed all air defense systems under unified command under the supervision of the US to confront Iranian missiles in several stages.
That is, if the Iranian missiles were able to pass any defense line, they would be targeted and shot down in the next.
What is interesting is that the German foreign minister, 24 hours before the Iranian operation was carried out, called us and was pleading that we not target Israel from inside Iranian territory. He said that our missiles would not be able to pass the obstacles and defense lines that they had prepared to intercept our missiles and that the US was using 70 drones in Iraq for that, and it would increase the number to 700.
They were monitoring the movements of our soldiers, missiles, and drones, and they believed that none of the Iranian missiles would reach Israel. They were confident that the missiles would not be able to penetrate air defense systems.
At the Turkish Incirlik base, which includes 5,000 soldiers, a large number of AWACS planes and 15 jamming planes were harnessed to repel our attack.
As such, they were astonished at how Iran was able to evade the huge layers of defense they had activated, and what surprised them even more was that it took five and a half to seven hours for the drones to reach the Zionist entity, and their speed was not great, which meant that they were easy to shoot down.
Twenty-four hours before the operation, Washington sent a firm message stating that if we decided to attack Israel from our territory, they will respond militarily against Iran. This time, they did not talk about possibilities but rather said that they would definitely attack Iranian territory. Our answer was decisive, that we will definitely strike Israel from within our territories, and if you commit any mistake, we will target all your bases in the region.
We informed Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region that if Iranian territory is targeted from within your territory, we will definitely respond. Saudi Arabia announced that it would not allow any operation against Iran to be carried out from its territory, and the authorities in Cyprus also informed us of a similar message.
We knew that the Iraqi and Jordanian airspace was completely under US control. We thought about the Israeli targets that we were going to hit, and we faced two obstacles: the first was that their air defenses were very strong, and we had to find a way for our drones and missiles to pass them, and the second was not to take action that will lead to us being condemned.
The decision was to strike two military targets: the first was the [Nevatim] airport from which the F-35 plane that bombed the Iranian consulate took off, and the second was an Israeli intelligence center in the Golan. By coincidence, the fighter jet that targeted the consulate fired its missiles from above this intelligence headquarters.
Our drones, numbering about 130, were launched, the majority of which belonged to us, and between two and three were sent by our allied forces. We also launched missiles carrying explosive warheads, a large number of which deflected the air defenses from their path.
I will not talk much about the number of hits we targeted, but out of 17 missiles, 15 hit their targets, meaning 89 percent. The whole west was there, and we delivered an important message to the world.
In the aftermath of the operation, 15 countries contacted and said that they were seeking a ceasefire in Gaza and asked Israel not to respond.
The British and German foreign ministers contacted us and said that international law does not include the term “punishment.” We answered them: If that does not exist in international law, why did you propose punishing Hamas after 7 October? The calls continued to ask whether we would attack Israel again. We said that if we were attacked, we would respond tenfold.
The countries of the region have now understood Iran’s capabilities and it seems that they will seek to significantly improve their relations with Iran. The Israelis realized that when the spirit of despair takes hold, as Ben Gurion says, ‘we will begin to fall down the slope that leads to the abyss,’ and this has become clear to the world.
As the master of the resistance [Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah] expresses, ‘Israel is weaker than a spider’s web,’ and, God willing, this operation will be a deterrent against the assassinations that were occurring against us. Now, this is the only thing that Israel can do, and we must be more vigilant, and we must instill hope in the peoples of the region and not care about the rulers.
Mahmoud Nabavian’s account not only exposes the meticulous planning behind the Islamic Republic’s response but also reveals a resolve to defend sovereignty and impose a credible deterrence against future violations – at all costs.
Tehran’s military response should be interpreted beyond the current regional war centered on Gaza and signals a broad recalibration of power dynamics in West Asia. As western and neighboring states assess the implications of Iran’s new assertive military posture, alliances, and strategies will require careful reconsideration.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
Hamas representative, Ahmed Abdel Hadi highlights concerns over vague language in the ceasefire proposal, and external pressures targeting the Palestinian Resistance.
The Hamas representative in Lebanon, Ahmed Abdel Hadi, in an interview with Al Mayadeen, said that although the movement is “seriously studying” the proposals for a ceasefire agreement, it is “too early to judge the results,” noting that the papers presented contain “general phrases that could suggest something ambiguous,” and emphasizing the role of the negotiators in this part.
Abdel Hadi pointed out that the only sides discussing positive outcomes from reaching an agreement are the US and Israeli sides. He stressed that no one has succeeded in pressuring the resistance to accept any deal and emphasized that “the popular support for the resistance cannot raise the white flag.”
Regarding the threat of an Israeli military operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Abdel Hadi said, “Netanyahu wants to prolong the war, and he agreed to a partial cessation of it. The threat to invade Rafah is to pressure the Resistance,” he said, stressing that “many surprises will confront the Israeli Prime Minister if he decides to invade Rafah.”
On a different note, Abdel Hadi discussed the development of the protest movement in US universities, which he considered “one of the results of the Al-Aqsa flood,” and predicted that these protests will spread “to all universities in the world, and this is a very important development in terms of the Palestinian cause.”
Hamas delegation to Cairo soon
In a related context, the head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh called Egyptian Intelligence Minister General Abbas Kamel regarding the ceasefire negotiations.
Haniyeh praised Egypt’s role, affirming “the positive attitude of the movement towards studying the ceasefire proposal.”
The Hamas politburo head informed the Egyptian minister that the movement’s delegation for negotiations will arrive in Egypt “very soon,” with the intention “to continue the ongoing discussions,” with the goal of achieving “an agreement that meets the demands of the Palestinian people and stops the aggression.”
Al Mayadeen obtains a copy of the mediated Palestinian-Israeli deal
Al Mayadeen had acquired the details of the latest proposed deal between the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli occupation, specifically related to the prisoner exchange deal and related clauses.
The framework of the agreement aims to achieve the release of all Israeli civilian and military captives, be they dead or alive, held in the Gaza Strip. The agreement will not only encompass captives taken on October 7 but all Israeli captives.
Primarily, the deal’s objective is to achieve calm in the area and work on reaching a ceasefire, the document acquired by Al Mayadeen explains.
What does the first stage of the prisoner exchange deal entail?
In the first stage of the prisoner exchange deal, Israeli occupation forces will withdraw eastward, away from densely populated areas. Forces will be relocated to areas near the separation fence between the Gaza Strip and Israeli-occupied ’48 Palestinian territories.
Israeli aircraft, both combat and reconnaissance, will be barred from flying over the Strip for a period of eight hours on a daily basis. However, on days when prisoners are being exchanged, Israeli aircraft will not fly over the Gaza Strip for a period of 10 hours.
On the seventh day of the deal and after women included in the deal are released, Israeli occupation forces will withdraw from al-Rashid Street and head eastwards, parallel to the Gaza Strip’s main road, to Salah al-Din Street.
The withdrawal of occupation forces is expected to ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and will allow non-armed civilians to return to their homes.
On the 22nd day, and after one-third of the Israeli captives are released, the Israeli occupation forces will withdraw from the central Gaza Strip to an area near the separation fence.
The return of displaced people and the entry of aid
This process will allow Palestinians forcibly displaced from the northern Gaza Strip to return to their residences.
The entry of concentrated amounts of humanitarian aid, including relief aid and fuel, will be facilitated in all stages of the agreement.
33 Israeli captives to be released
In the first stage, Hamas will release at least 33 captives, which includes all Israeli captives that are still alive. This group includes female Israeli servicepeople, civilians, children, elderly people, wounded individuals, and patients.
In turn, “Israel” will release 20 Palestinian children and women for every female or male Israeli captive released. The names of the released detainees will be agreed upon by the sides, in pre-set lists.
In detail, Hamas will release every living Israeli captive over the age of 50, wounded Israeli captive, and sick Israeli captive. “Israel” will therefore release 20 Palestinian captives, aged over 50, wounded, or sick.
Hamas will also release every living Israeli female conscript, who was serving on October 7, 2023. In return, “Israel” will release 40 Palestinian detainees in return for every Israeli servicewoman.
This includes 20 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 20 Palestinian prisoners serving shorter sentences.
Hamas will also release three captives on the first day of the deal, which will be followed by three captives every three days, encompassing female civilians and soldiers.
“Israel” will then release the agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, according to the pre-set lists.
On the seventh day of the deal, Hamas will submit a list of the names of the remaining captives that it holds. These captives will be released on the 34th day of the deal.
Halting military operations and the continuity of the deal
Military operations will be halted for a number of days, determined by the number of Israeli captives remaining in captivity.
The continuity of the exchange process will be directly correlated with the Israeli side’s commitment to the clauses of the deal, including the halting of military operations, the relocation of occupation forces, and the return of the displaced people.
Among the clauses is that released Palestinian detainees must not be re-detained on charges that they had previously been detained on.
On the 14th day, an agreed-upon number of wounded Palestinian military personnel will be transferred to hospitals outside the Gaza Strip, through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, to receive adequate medical attention.
On the 16th day of the deal, the sides are obligated to participate in indirect talks for sustainable calm in the region.
During the period of every stage, the United Nations, its agencies, and international organizations will begin to work on distributing and providing aid to Palestinians across the entirety of the Gaza Strip.
Rebuilding Gaza
In the first stage, work will commence on the Gaza Strip’s destroyed infrastructure. A coordinating body will also begin delivering the necessary heavy equipment to the Palestinian Civil Defense.
Facilitating the entry of necessary supplies, to establish temporary camps to accommodate forcibly displaced people who lost their homes during the war, is also among the clauses included in the deal.
What about the second stage?
The second stage of the deal will extend for 42 days, in which both sides are expected to agree on the necessary actions to reach and implement a sustainable calm.
In the second phase, the necessary arrangements will be made for the comprehensive reconstruction of housing units, civil facilities, and civilian infrastructure.
The final stage of the deal: Exchanging bodies
The third stage of the deal will also extend for a period of 42 days, in which the bodies and remains of both killed individuals on both sides will be exchanged.
A 5-year reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip will be implemented which will include the construction of housing units and civilian facilities and infrastructure. The Palestinian side will refrain from rebuilding military installations and infrastructure during that period.
Moreover, the Palestinian side will not import any equipment, raw materials, or other components to be used for military purposes.
According to the document obtained by Al Mayadeen, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States are the stated guarantors of the agreement.
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Not only has Israel failed to defeat Hamas, but it is being dragged into discussions on Palestinian statehood, which its Gaza genocide has put back onto the international agenda.
After seven months of a brutal military assault on Gaza, it is abundantly clear that Israel has not succeeded in eradicating Hamas. Instead of delivering a decisive military victory, the occupation state finds itself being drawn kicking and screaming into negotiations over a two-state solution.
Withstanding the impracticality of establishing a genuinely independent, sovereign Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, this scenario is becoming increasingly likely despite long-standing opposition from the Israeli government. It is an extraordinary development, particularly as Tel Aviv’s strategy, as articulated by foreign policy advisor Ophir Falk, was mainly to “destroy Hamas” and its military and governance capabilities entirely.
Today, the two-state option is frantically being resuscitated in Washington, of all places, and by stalwart allies of Tel Aviv.
Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel and staunch supporter of the occupation state, argues in Foreign Affairs magazine that far from being “dead,” the two-state solution now looks to be the only reasonable game in town:
“The reason for this revival is not complicated. There are, after all, only a few possible alternatives to the two-state solution. There is Hamas’ solution, which is the destruction of Israel. There is the Israeli ultra-right’s solution, which is the Israeli annexation of the West Bank, the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the deportation of Palestinians to other countries. There is the ‘conflict management’ approach pursued for the last decade or so by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which aimed to maintain the status quo indefinitely – and the world has seen how that worked out. And there is the idea of a binational state in which Jews would become a minority, thus ending Israel’s status as a Jewish state. None of those alternatives would resolve the conflict – at least not without causing even greater calamities. And so if the conflict is to be resolved peacefully, the two-state solution is the only idea left standing.“
Disarmament for statehood?
In widely publicized comments last week, Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of Hamas in Gaza, has appeared to endorse the 1967 borders for a future Palestinian state explicitly.
In a recent interview with AP, Hayya spoke of “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian Authority (PA) in accordance with the international resolutions” along Israel’s pre-1967 borders.
Most significantly, though, he hinted that the resistance movement’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, could potentially dissolve itself and/or fold its cadres into a Palestinian national army:
“All the experiences of people who fought against occupiers, when they became independent and obtained their rights and their state, what have these forces done? They have turned into political parties and their defending fighting forces have turned into the national army.“
Instead of embracing these possibilities, Falk dismissed Hayya as a “high-ranking terrorist” and sought to redirect the conversation back to intransigent Israeli demands:
“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government set a mission to destroy Hamas’ military and governing capabilities in Gaza, free the hostages, and ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel and the rest of the civilized world in the future,” he said, adding, “Those goals will be achieved.”
Diplomacy in Doha and Istanbul
Although Hayya emphasized that his views are aligned with Hamas’ historical positions, as articulated by the resistance movement’s spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, in 1998 and reiterated in its 2017 charter of general principles and policies, his public statements highlight the immense political pressures faced by Hamas, notably from political allies Qatar and Turkiye.
These pressures aim to foster high-level international and regional talks that could potentially end the conflict and establish ‘permanent stability.’ As with any negotiation, there are essential questions to address: Who will have the authority to enforce these terms? What limitations will be imposed? These are critical issues for Palestinians besieged in Gaza and for their broader cause – as well as for Al-Qassam and the entire resistance.
Behind the scenes, both Qatar and Turkiye have been instrumental in shaping Hamas’ new diplomatic approach. The movement’s external leaders, including Khaled Meshal and Ismail Haniyeh, have participated in discussions facilitated by both countries in Doha and Istanbul.
Earlier this month, in a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was explicitly supportive, also highlighting the west’s positive stance toward intensifying peace efforts based on the two-state solution.
“In our political talks with Hamas for years, they have accepted a Palestinian state to be established within the 1967 borders,” Fidan told reporters.
“They have told me that following the establishment of the Palestinian state, Hamas would no longer need an armed wing and they would continue as a political party,” he added.
The ball is in Israel’s court
Although Israel’s western allies have long sought to exclude Hamas from any and all Palestinian processes, it has become abundantly clear that Gaza’s military leadership, particularly Al-Qassam Brigades, is set to play a crucial role in any negotiation process.
This is an extraordinary victory of sorts for Hamas, which has successfully managed to insert itself into future deliberations, not only on Gaza but Palestine as a whole. The movement’s tactical decision to endorse the 1967 borders not only aims to position Hamas as a credible negotiator but also strategically corners the far-right coalition government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
By signaling willingness to demilitarize in exchange for statehood, Hamas aims to place the onus on Tel Aviv, toying with the inherent vulnerability of its coalition government and potentially precipitating its collapse. This move not only improves Hamas’ leverage in any forthcoming negotiations but, ironically, also aligns with the US interests in seeing regime change in Israel.
It is clear that Hamas has – whether out of conviction, under pressure, or as a wily tactic – become a necessary partner in broader and long-term political negotiations concerning the future of Palestine and the region.
Over the years, the movement has itself been compelled to engage in several rounds of indirect negotiations with Israel, most notably at the end of the first decade of the millennium when Hamas was still based in Damascus. That was part of a larger regional effort spurred by Ankara to rejuvenate the peace process.
Twenty-six years ago, Khaled Meshaal met with former US President Jimmy Carter in Damascus during the latter’s nine-day West Asia tour aimed at breaking the deadlock between Israel and Hamas early in their governance of Gaza.
The Palestinian resistance movement enjoyed considerable leeway for political maneuvering due to the geopolitical climate at the time. Carter reported that Hamas expressed willingness to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders if agreed upon by the Palestinians and acknowledged Israel’s right to exist peacefully as a neighboring state.
Compelling Israel to do Hamas’ will
But today, Hamas’ renewed strength comes from two main factors: the relentless, unified military pushback by the region’s Axis of Resistance in support of their Palestinian allies and unprecedented global condemnation of Israel’s Gaza genocide – both sharply impacting and confounding Tel Aviv’s initial, over-confident war objectives.
Rather than defeating Hamas, Israel now finds itself on the back foot, engaging in negotiations that center around the one outcome it had least expected – that of a two-state solution.
Tel Aviv’s disturbing dilemma also showcases the political acumen of Hamas and the Palestinian resistance, who recognized the utility of hard power in achieving political ends rather than as an end in itself – in sharp contrast to Israel’s approach throughout this conflict.
The fact that, seven months after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Hamas retains its array of capabilities signifies not only the abject failure of Israel’s military and political objectives but also an unexpected humbling of Tel Aviv. Israel, today, is being forced into negotiations on Palestinian statehood that it has assiduously avoided for 30 long years.
This shift is undoubtedly energized by the unprecedented US student protest movement and other anti-colonial voices around the world, adding a global dimension to the local struggle. These developments are yet another ace in the hand for Hamas and another nail in the coffin for Israeli leverage.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
Palestinian sources told Al Mayadeen that the meeting between Hamas and Fatah in China included talks about the importance of reaching a unified stance among Palestinian factions regarding the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Palestinian sources revealed to Al Mayadeen Tuesday the outcomes of the meeting held between the two Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, in the Chinese capital Beijing.
The sources confirmed that the two factions agreed on the importance of unifying the Palestinian position regarding the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, emphasizing the importance of a ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the Strip.
In this context, the factions further agreed on “coordinating joint national efforts to deliver urgent aid and relief to the sector and to arrange with the relevant parties in Gaza,” and forming a joint bilateral committee in Cairo for coordination and follow-up.
According to the sources, the meeting emphasized coordinating positions and efforts in the West Bank and al-Quds to confront settler attacks on villages and towns, as well as Israeli occupation assaults on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The outcomes of the meeting also stressed the priority of the detainees’ issue and the necessity to preserve their rights and support them during this difficult phase, where they are subjected to the worst forms of abuse and harm inside Israeli occupation prisons.
A unified Palestinian front was on the agenda
On another note, the sources reported from the meeting that Hamas and Fatah affirmed the necessity of unity and ending the division, “within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization by joining all Palestinian forces and factions within it and its institutions, based on previous agreements in this regard.”
The parties also highlighted the importance of forming a non-factional national unity government during or after the genocidal war, tasked with its technical and administrative duties in relief efforts, alleviating the effects of aggression, and rebuilding Gaza.
This government will also work on unifying Palestinian institutions and preparing for general elections, “to strip Israel and America of the pretext of division.”
The sources confirmed that the meeting included an agreement to strengthen Palestinian unity with the assistance of China, which “will contribute to ending the occupation and establishing the Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and al-Quds according to international resolutions.”
The sources informed Al Mayadeen that the outcomes of the meeting constitute the agenda for the next meeting in Beijing on June 14, 2024.
On their part, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that both sides “expressed political willingness to achieve reconciliation through dialogue,” adding that they reached an agreement on ideas for future dialogue, and “they will continue the dialogue to achieve Palestinian unity as soon as possible.”
The Ministry affirmed that Hamas and Fatah expressed their great appreciation for China’s support for the Palestinian people.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Beijing hosted talks between Hamas and Fatah at its invitation to conduct “deep and frank dialogue to enhance Palestinian reconciliation.” Furthermore, the Ministry affirmed that Hamas and Fatah expressed deep appreciation for China’s support for the Palestinian people.
It also announced that Beijing hosted talks between Hamas and Fatah at its invitation to conduct a “deep and candid dialogue to enhance Palestinian reconciliation.”
New York Police Department officers in riot gear march onto Columbia University campus, where pro-Palestine students are barricaded inside Hind’s Hall which they occupied at an earlier time, in New York City, New York, the United States, on April 30, 2024. (AFP)
Police have deployed to multiple universities in New York after pro-Palestine protesters occupied buildings.
Police were heavily deployed at Columbia University, New York, on Tuesday and eventually crackdown on protesters participating in the pro-Palestine encampment.
Moreover, local organizers have said that New York police arrived at The City College of New York (CCNY) after students occupied a building in CCNY escalating their action in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
Students across universities in the United States and several Western countries are protesting their universities to divest from the Israeli occupation and are calling for an immediate ceasefire, following months of the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.
At Columbia University, the institution’s administration has begun to suspend students participating in the encampment, while threatening to expel students who occupied Hamilton Hall, changing its name to Hind’s Hall, a Palestinian girl killed by Israeli occupation forces along with other members of her family in a harrowing story.
Despite punitive action taken against students and threats to expel others, the movement has remained steadfast, vowing to carry on with the protests until their demands are met.
Now, police have sealed off the Columbia University campus, erecting barricades around it, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter.
“We will remain here, drawing from the lessons of our people (in Gaza) that stay put, and hold their ground even under the worst conditions,” a protester told reporters outside Hind’s Hall.
At approximately, 9:00 pm (EDT) police marched toward Hind’s Hall, to disperse protestors.
SWAT AND SRG HAVE INVADED COLUMBIA’S CAMPUS AND ARE ENTERING HIND’S HALL. THEY HAVE FORCED OUT ALL PRESS TO PREVENT RECORDINGS OF THEIR BRUTALITY. pic.twitter.com/LJJ5nKrUWe
— National Students for Justice in Palestine (@NationalSJP) May 1, 2024
Local reports indicate that at least one person was detained, as police attacked protesters and prevented journalists from filming the unfolding events.
According to AFP‘s correspondent police officers arrived outside Hind’s Hall and attempted to forcibly disperse protestors from the area.
Police officers were also working on erecting a ramp, to establish a pathway to a window of Hind’s Hall, attempting to invade the building after students barricaded its entrances.
VIDEO OF THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT WHO WAS PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS, BECAME UNCONSCIOUS, AND WAS DENIED ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE. https://t.co/hjZnpeOaHQ
— Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (@ColumbiaSJP) May 1, 2024
According to AFP, police officers could be seen going up the ramp at a later time where they would disappear inside the hall. The student newspaper, The Columbia Spectator, said that arrests were being made.
Nearing midnight, police began to lead handcuffed students from the second floor of “Hamilton Hall” toward vehicles, via a laddered truck.
Earlier, the university’s President, Minouche Shafik, had sent a letter to the NYPD, urging them to help clear the building and all campus encampments. Shafik also requested that police maintain a presence in the university to prevent the re-establishment of encampments.
The aggression against Gaza continues as the occupation army targets the city of Rafah and Khan Yunis, with plans for a ground invasion despite international warnings. At least 22 people were martyred and dozens injured in Israeli raids on Sunday night.
Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments on homes and populated areas have left many dead, including children, women, and the elderly.
The Gaza Civil Defense is working to recover the martyrs and wounded, with reports of several attacks on inhabited homes.
⚠️ Graphic content ⚠️
Civil Defense teams pull out several victims from under the rubble of the Al Khatib family in Rafah, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes last night. pic.twitter.com/DGgVWyxMsh
At least 22 people were martyred and dozens were injured in Israeli raids that targeted, on the night of Sunday – Monday, areas in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to an ongoing war for about 7 months, while the death toll in the Strip rose to 34,454 martyrs, since October 7.
The daily scene in Gaza that has been going on for seven months: bereaved families bidding farewell to their loved ones.
This was the scene this morning at a hospital mortuary in Rafah, southern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/QCvZi6mAMz
The Israeli Air Force intensified its raids on various areas in the Gaza Strip, while Israeli artillery renewed its bombing of homes, residential squares, and populated areas, leaving martyrs and wounded, most of them children, women, and the elderly.
Journalist Hazem Suleiman bids a sorrowful farewell for his friend, Ahmed Abu Taha, killed in an Israeli airstrike last night in Rafah. pic.twitter.com/jjJQ7yNU5Q
Media sources reported that occupation aircraft bombed several inhabited homes during the past two hours in the Gaza Strip.
For its part, the Gaza Civil Defense reported that its crews in the city of Rafah dealt with several attacks on populated homes, resulting in a number of martyrs, wounded, and others missing under the rubble.
World attention to the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has declined compared to the earlier weeks of the Israeli onslaught, but the bloodbath is carrying on, undeterred.
Here's the scene today at a hospital yard in Rafah, where dozens of grieving families came in the… pic.twitter.com/NUnfRfshYV
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army committed 7 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, including 66 deaths and 138 injuries, according to what the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported.
Luckily, this innocent baby girl survived an Israeli airstrike which targeted a house in Rafah last night. She still suffered minor bruises. pic.twitter.com/IgZURrBzfQ
Dozens were martyred and hundreds injured during the past 24 hours, as a result of the raids launched by the Israeli army on the central Gaza Strip and the city of Rafah, while the threats of a ground operation still threaten the city.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024, marked the 200th consecutive day of Israel’s large-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip. Nearly 90 percent of the population is displaced, with many living in dire conditions in tents, and the few remaining schools used as shelters. Despite the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures orders to prevent genocide, Israel persists in threatening a large-scale ground invasion of Rafah, home to over 1.2 million residents and displaced persons—a threat that has loomed over the Palestinian people there for several weeks.
Our organizations — the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Al Mezan, and Al-Haq — are closely monitoring and deeply concerned about the escalation of Israeli airstrikes on Rafah. The tactics of intensified bombing of homes using heavy artillery and carpet bombing are alarming and have resulted in significant civilian casualties over the last six months.
Furthermore, concerns are growing as reports from Israeli media indicate that the Israeli army is purchasing thousands of tents to accommodate displaced individuals from Rafah. The Israeli plan to expand the so-called safe zone in the Al-Mawasi area, despite its limited capacity and current overcrowding with displaced persons, is also troubling. This expansion is purportedly capable of housing up to a million people, but the reality of its size (extending about a kilometer deep from the borders of Khan Younis to the borders of Rafah) raises doubts about its feasibility and effectiveness in addressing the humanitarian crisis.
Our organizations have repeatedly warned and expressed serious concerns about the potential consequences of a large-scale ground invasion on Rafah, similar to what has occurred in most governorates of the Gaza Strip. Such an invasion could lead to horrific massacres and raise scenarios of a second Nakba. The densely populated city, with hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals residing in tents and heavily relying on aid from the Rafah and Kerem Abu Salem Crossings, exacerbates the vulnerability of its population. The closure of these vital crossings during a potential Israeli attack would leave no suitable alternatives for the evacuation of Rafah residents and those already displaced within the city. This concern is compounded by the continued attacks and destruction that have altered the landscape of the Gaza Strip.
According to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health on April 23, 2024, Israeli military attacks over the span of 200 days have led to the killing of 34,183 Palestinians, including 14,778 children and around 10,000 women, and the injury of 77,143 others. One child is killed or injured every 10 minutes in Gaza. An estimated seven to eight thousand Palestinians are still missing, buried under the rubble, or in the streets. There have been ongoing efforts over the past few days to retrieve some of them, amid reports of finding individuals bound and buried in mass graves in Nasser and Al-Shifa Hospitals, indicating the possibility of them being killed by the Israeli army after their arrest. All of this requires the opening of a serious and independent international investigation. It is worth noting that citizens have been forced to create temporary graves in hospitals, markets, streets, and near destroyed homes due to the impossibility of transporting the people killed to official cemeteries.
After 200 days of horrific genocidal acts in Gaza, the real objectives of the attack are the continuation of the 76-year-long ongoing Nakba and the erasure and genocidal destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Israel is laying the groundwork to fulfill its settler colonial plan of colonizing Gaza, played out in real time on the world’s television sets and screens. We warn that the risks of displacement are still present unless the international community intervenes effectively to prevent them.
Our organisations reiterate that silence from the international community is no longer acceptable, and mere statements of condemnation are not enough in the face of genocide and systematic and deliberate crimes to destroy the foundations of Palestinian life.
Our organizations warn of the threat of an Israeli ground invasion on Rafah. Such an attack would represent the peak of the Israeli attack on Gaza, with the intent of inflicting the highest number of casualties and civilian victims, potentially leading to mass forcible displacement towards the Egyptian borders, located mere meters away. This scenario threatens the acceleration of the Nakba on the Palestinian people and is an approaching reality.
We urgently call on the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to swiftly intervene to avert the continuing Nakba and to halt the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Our organisations warn Third States that they may be complicit in genocide through their unlimited military and financial support of Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip. We remind the Third States of their erga omnes obligations to protect the Palestinian people from genocide.
We further urge the international community to secure the right of return of Palestinians to their areas of residence and ensure the provision of essential services, including access to clean water, reopening closed roads, and other necessary support.
We emphasize that the key to resolving the crisis in the region forever lies in ending the illegal occupation, dismantling the Israeli settler-colonial apartheid regime, revoking all discriminatory and inhumane laws, policies, and practices against the Palestinian people as a whole, and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and the return of refugees without any conditions or restrictions.
The Hamas Resistance movement announces that its delegation is returning to Gaza from Cairo to discuss the latest ceasefire proposal presented during the negotiations.
Hamas announced that its negotiating delegation in Cairo is heading back home for consultations regarding the ceasefire proposal presented to the Resistance movement by the mediators.
Hamas sent a letter to the remainder of the Palestinian Resistance factions regarding the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Cairo adding that the Qatari and Egyptian mediators explained the details of the latest proposal.
The Hamas leadership on Monday informed the Palestinian resistance factions in a letter regarding the Cairo negotiations that its delegation traveled to Cairo and conducted consultations and inquiries about several issues related to the latest offer presented to it.
Egyptian media had reported that the Hamas delegation left Cairo and is to return again with a written response to the ceasefire proposal in Gaza.
The delegation listened to clarifications and observations from the Egyptian and Qatari mediators about the details of the latest proposals, the letter said, adding that it would leave Cairo to continue consultations after clarifying and inquiring about the proposal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed Monday at the World Economic Forum in the Saudi capital of Riyadh that the Israeli occupation has given the Palestinian Resistance a “very generous” offer to release the Israeli captives, which could potentially lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) politburo member Ihsan Ataya told Al Mayadeen on Monday that the proposal presented to the Resistance in the negotiations is not as generous as the Americans, who are trying to deceive the world, are making it out to be.
“The proposed offer has major loopholes and malicious plots,” Ataya stressed. “The proposal presented is three and a half pages long and talks about details in three stages,” he revealed.
US officials claim that they are committed to securing a ceasefire deal and ending the Israeli war on Gaza due to it obstructing President Joe Biden’s vision for a post-war Middle East – not due to the countless massacred civilians and Israeli violations of international law.
About two weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration was trying to conclude a diplomatic deal aimed at pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize a Palestinian state in exchange for normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia.
A source in the Saudi royal family told Makan that the ball was now in Netanyahu’s court, and he must choose between peace with Saudi Arabia and solving the Palestinian issue or continuing the conflict with the Palestinians without peace with Saudi Arabia.
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In confecting a media row about the policing of London marches against genocide, the Israel lobby knew it would score a victory, whatever happened
A gruesome discovery was made in Gaza last weekend. Some 300 Palestinian bodies – of men, women and children – were unearthed from an unmarked mass grave in the courtyard of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
Even given Israel’s record of committing relentless atrocities in Gaza over the past six months – killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them women and children – this one stood out.
Some bodies were reported to have been found with their hands and feet bound, and stripped of clothing, strongly suggesting they had been executed during a three-month invasion of the city by Israeli soldiers. Others were said to be decapitated, or their skin and organs removed.
Some 10,000 people had been sheltering at Gaza’s second-largest hospital when it was attacked back in February. At the time there were reports of patients and staff being picked off by sniper fire. The medical facility was left in ruins.
Another 400 people are still reported missing in Khan Younis. More mass graves are already being uncovered.
Referring to some of the bodies, Yamen Abu Suleiman, a civil defence leader in Khan Younis, told CNN: “We do not know if they were buried alive or executed. Most of the bodies are decomposed.”
The revelations from Khan Younis fit a pattern that has been gradually emerging as Israeli troops have pulled back.
Last week, the latest of several mass graves were found at Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa. Israel left the area earlier this month after destroying the hospital. Together, the graves are reported to have contained hundreds of bodies.
Further unmarked graves have been discovered in Beit Lahiya.
The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, said he was “horrified” by the reports.
Groundswell of anger
Back in the 1990s, the identification of mass graves of thousands of Muslim men from the Bosnian town of Srebrenica led to the setting up of a special war crimes tribunal of the International Criminal Court. It ruled in 2001 that a genocide had occurred in Srebrenica committed by Bosnian Serbs – a judgment later confirmed by the International Court of Justice, sometimes referred to as the World Court.
In the circumstances, one might have expected the discovery of mass graves of hundreds of Palestinians to be front-page news – especially since the same World Court ruled three months ago that a “plausible” case had been made that Israel was committing genocidal acts in Gaza.
And yet, like so many other Israeli atrocities, this one barely caused a ripple in the news cycle.
Months ago, the establishment British media largely lost interest in reporting on the continuing slaughter in Gaza. The contrast with the media’s early coverage of Ukraine has been stark. The discovery of a mass grave containing some 100 bodies in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha – blamed on Russian troops – caused international outrage.
Bucha quickly became a byword for Russian savagery, and the discovery sustained months of calls for Russian leaders to be tried for genocide.
The general indifference of British media outlets to the mass graves found in Gaza is hugely convenient for Britain’s two main political parties.
The UK has avoided pushing for a ceasefire to end Israel’s bloodletting in Gaza. It refuses to stop selling Israel weapons and components that have helped in the killing of Palestinians – and potentially aid workers too.
On Israel’s say-so, Britain has cut funding to Unrwa, the UN aid agency best placed to stop a famine Israel is wilfully inducing in the enclave by blocking aid. And a British abstention helped foil a vote in the United Nations Security Council this month to recognise Palestine as a state, something 140 other nations have already done.
The Labour party has offered only muted opposition.
Bipartisan support in the UK for Israel’s plausible genocide has provoked a groundswell of public anger, including regular protests in London that attract hundreds of thousands of marchers.
Pro-Israel hoax
Once again, however, the British media has seemed far less interested in reporting Israeli atrocities than in imputing malign motivations to large sections of the British public incensed by what is happening in Gaza.
It was quite extraordinary that the discovery of mass graves in the enclave was almost completely drowned out by an all-too-obvious hoax pulled by an Israel lobbyist.
Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, has been trying to shut down the peaceful London marches calling for an end to the butchering of men, women and children in Gaza since Israel began its military assault more than six months ago.
In Falter’s words, the hundreds of thousands of people who turn out regularly to call for a ceasefire – including a large bloc of Jews – are “lawless mobs” posing a direct threat to Jews like himself.
He has found powerful allies in the government. Home Secretary James Cleverly has said the march organisers have “real evil intent”, while his predecessor Suella Braverman labelled the protests calling for a ceasefire as “hate marches”.
Both have put pressure on the police to ban the protests for being supposedly antisemitic
There is precisely no evidence for any of these claims. In fact, according to police figures, Glastonbury music festivalgoers were nearly four times more likely to be arrested than those attending the London marches.
Which has left the continuing mass marches a major embarrassment to both the UK government and the opposition Labour party by highlighting their continuing complicity in what has become – with revelations like the discovery of mass graves – ever more clearly a genocide.
‘Crossing the street’
That is the proper context for understanding Falter’s latest intervention.
As the Metropolitan police are only too aware, Falter’s group, along with other pro-Israel activists, have every incentive to engineer a provocation to add to the already considerable pressure on the police to ban the London marches and further curtail a fundamental civil liberty: the right to protest.
A video on social media shows Falter being confronted by police in a previous incident in which he tried to drive a large van with pro-Israel messages down the march route.
But his breakthrough came this month when, accompanied by an Israeli-trained security detail and a film crew, he tried repeatedly to break through a police line along the route and walk against the flow of the march. Responsible for maintaining public order at large protests, Met officers stopped him.
There are well-known rules imposed by the police surrounding large protests on highly charged ideological issues like this one.
The marchers are not allowed to stray from the route determined by the police, and opponents – whether Israel apologists like Falter or Islamophobic white nationalists – are not allowed to approach and antagonise the marchers. The job of the police is to keep the sides apart.
Blocked by officers, Falter had his script ready. He simply insisted on his right to “cross the street” as a Jew going about his business.
Given the way the public discourse about Israel and antisemitism has been malevolently manipulated by the British establishment over the past eight years – after the long-time Palestinian solidarity activist Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour leader – Falter could not lose in this encounter.
If the police arrested him, he would have filmed evidence that he was being victimised as a Jew by an antisemitic police force.
If they refused to let him “cross the street”, he would have filmed proof that the march was indeed filled with Jew haters posing a threat to his safety.
And if the police failed in their duties and let him and his retinue walk against the flow of the packed protest, he – like anyone attempting to do this – would at the very least be jostled. Based on the established credulity of the establishment media in covering antisemitism, Falter was presumably confident that this could be spun as a hate crime against him.
Ugly politics
The police clearly seemed to understand Falter’s game plan. They appeared extremely reluctant to arrest him, even though a former chief superintendent, Dal Babu, observed that, in trying to push past them, Falter could have been charged with “assault on a police officer and breach of the peace”.
Instead, the officers patiently argued for at least a quarter of an hour with Falter, pointing out that he could bypass the march using a different route.
But in this lengthy, testy encounter, the Campaign Against Antisemitism boss finally got what he wanted. One officer made a slip-up, suggesting that the problem was that the skullcap-wearing Falter was “openly Jewish”.
As noted, lots of Jews attend the march and do so under banners declaring that they are Jews. Despite being “openly Jewish”, all say they are warmly welcomed by other demonstrators.
The officer’s mistake was understandable. Israel apologists and the British establishment spent years manipulating the public discourse to conflate Israel, the political nationalist ideology of Zionism and Jewishness in a blatant ploy to vilify supporters of Corbyn, the anti-racist former Labour leader, as antisemites.
The problem wasn’t that Falter is “openly Jewish”, it was that he is a vocal, openly Zionist supporter of Israel, one who makes excuses for its genocide and vilifies those who are opposed to the bloodletting. It is not his ethnicity or religion that are a provocation, it is his ugly politics.
But with the officer’s comment in the can, Falter released a heavily edited version of his confrontation with the police to an establishment media only too willing – at least, initially – to swallow two completely implausible ideas Falter was peddling.
First, that the police officer’s comment was proof that the Met is institutionally racist against Jews and that is why it has allowed the anti-genocide marches to go ahead. Falter called for the head of the Met, Sir Mark Rowley, to be sacked.
And second, and more importantly, that the officer’s comment was proof that the marches are indeed “hate marches” consisting of – as he declared to a BBC interviewer – “racists, extremists and terrorist sympathisers”.
Accusations of ‘fakery’
It may all have been fake news but it fitted an agenda the media has been promoting for years: that anything more than the lightest-touch criticism of Israel is evidence of antisemitism.
The political and media class have been increasingly struggling to credibly sustain that idea in the face of Israel committing a genocide – but Falter’s video served briefly as a shot in the arm.
From one police officer’s brief, verbal slip-up, he was able to fire up a national debate that took as its premise the idea that police were colluding with “antisemitic hate marches”.
On the back foot, the Met hurriedly agreed to meet Falter and “Jewish community leaders”, seemingly to get their advice on what needed to be done about the marches.
Sunday’s BBC evening news reported that pressure was growing on the Met “to get the balance right between allowing legitimate protest and cracking down on hate speech and intimidation”.
Good Morning Britain’s hosts fawned over Falter on Monday morning, accepting uncritically that the march posed a threat to him as a Jew and expressing concern that the police were not getting that balance right.
But quite unlike the years-long accusations of fake antisemitism whipped up by Falter and others to oust Corbyn, one that was enthusiastically amplified by the state-corporate media, the Met had powerful allies inside the establishment that pushed back.
Before Falter’s hoax could properly take hold, Sky released a much longer video of his confrontation with the police. It showed that they had blocked his way after identifying him as a provocateur. Police can be heard accusing him of being “disingenuous” and telling him to stop “running into protesters”.
Former police officers, including Babu, were invited on TV to offer a counter-narrative that cast Falter in a far less sympathetic light.
By Tuesday, the Met chief Rowley was feeling confident enough to go on the attack, praising the officer at the centre of the row and accusing pro-Israel activists of using “fakery” to undermine the Met.
Favourite tactic
But even wounded, Falter emerged decisively as the victor.
No one is talking – as they should be – about why groups like the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which regularly and so visibly meddle deeply in British politics in the interests of a foreign power, Israel, are treated as charities.
Instead, Falter has given the political and media class more ammunition to argue that the marches need to be banned, and has put police decision-making under yet more scrutiny.
Whatever bullishness Rowley exhibited in public, his battles behind the scenes against a government keen to silence the marches will have been made far more complicated.
But, more importantly, Falter has played an invaluable role in bolstering Israel’s favourite tactic. He has deflected attention in the UK away from its war crimes – including the mass graves in Khan Younis – to squabbles entirely divorced from reality about whether Jews are safe from the anti-war movement.
Precisely the same dynamic is playing out in the United States, where the establishment – from President Joe Biden down – is painting peaceful protests on college campuses against the genocide as hotbeds of hatred and antisemitism.
There, things are even more out of hand, with the police called in to make arrests of students and faculty.
In both cases, the real debate – about why Britain and the US are still actively supporting the bombing and starvation of Gaza’s population after six months of genocide – has once more been muffled by the Israel lobby’s fake news.
Establishment media have once again seized on any pretext available to them to focus on a twig rather than the forest.
Truth obscured
The pattern is hard to miss: the British establishment, including the government and the BBC, are working hand in hand to help Israel and its genocide apologists win the public relations battle.
Only briefly, when the honour of the police – the establishment’s fist – got a bloodied nose, was there a degree of pushback.
Take, for example, the day in January when the World Court ruled there was a “plausible” case made by South Africa’s lawyers that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. That same day Israel successfully sabotaged the devastating news with a scoop of its own.
It alleged that some 12 Unrwa staff members it had seized in Gaza – out of a total of 13,000 in the enclave on the agency’s payroll – had confessed to taking part in Hamas’ attack on 7 October, in which some 1,150 Israelis were killed.
Israel demanded western states immediately cut all funding to Unrwa. It has been Israel’s long-term goal to eliminate the refugee agency and permanently erase the rights of Palestinians to return to homes their families were expelled from in 1948 in what is now Israel.
Most western capitals, including the UK, dutifully complied, even though the decision was certain to plunge Gaza even deeper into a famine Israel has been engineering as part of its genocidal policies.
But the announcement’s timing was important too. Western media focused their coverage on a story about Unrwa that should have been marginal, even were it true.
The World Court’s finding that Israel was plausibly committing genocide was far more significant. Nonetheless, reporting on the ruling – especially the fact that the court suspected Israel was carrying out genocidal acts – was entirely overshadowed by the claims against Unrwa.
This week, months on, an independent review commissioned by the UN and led by the former French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, found that Israel has still failed to produce any evidence to support its allegations against Unrwa.
But just as with Falter’s hoax, the goal of such accusations by Israel is never to expose the truth. The aim is to distract from the truth.
The same can be said of Israel’s still unsubstantiated claims of unprecedented savagery committed by Hamas on 7 October, from beheading babies to carrying out systematic mass rape.
None of these allegations, which have been widely regurgitated by the establishment western media, have ever been backed up with evidence. Whenever testimonies have been scrutinised, they have unravelled.
But all these claims have served a purpose. They keep western publics focused on evil humanitarian aid workers and evil anti-war protesters rather than the kind of evil that dares in broad daylight to kill 15,000 children, destroy hospitals, and hide bodies in mass graves.
Throughout history, fringe religious Zionist parties have had limited success in achieving the kind of electoral victories that would allow them an actual share in the country’s political decision-making.
The impressive 17 seats won by Israel’s extremist religious party, Shas, in the 1999 elections was a watershed moment in the history of these parties, whose ideological roots go back to Avraham Itzhak Kook and his son Zvi Yehuda Hacohen.
Israeli historian Ilan Pappé referred to the Kooks’ ideological influence as a “fusion of dogmatic messianism and violence.”
Throughout the years, these religious parties struggled on several fronts: their inability to unify their ranks, their failure to appeal to mainstream Israeli society and their inability to strike the balance between their messianic political discourse and the kind of language – not necessarily behavior – that Israel’s western allies expect.
Though much of the financial support and political backing of Israel’s extremists originate in the United States and, to a lesser extent, other European countries, Washington has been clear regarding its public perception of Israel’s religious extremists.
In 2004, the United States banned the Kach party, which could be seen as the modern manifestation of the Kooks and Israel’s early religious Zionist ideologues.
The founder of the group, Meir Kahane, was assassinated in November 1990 while the extremist rabbi – responsible for much violence against innocent Palestinians throughout the years – was giving another hate-filled speech in Manhattan.
Kahane’s death was only the start of much violence meted out by his followers, lead among them an American doctor, Baruch Goldstein, who gunned down on February 25, 1994, dozens of Palestinian Muslim worshippers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
Prayer mats covered in blood in the aftermath of the massacre carried out by Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein, February 25, 1994. Photo Al-Khalil
The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers while protesting the massacre was nearly as many as those killed by Goldstein earlier in the day, a tragic but perfect representation of the relationship between the Israeli state and the violent settlers who operate as part of a larger state agenda.
That massacre was a watershed moment in the history of religious Zionism. Instead of serving as an opportunity to marginalize their growing influence by the supposedly more liberal Zionists, they grew in power and, ultimately, political influence within the Israeli state.
Goldstein himself became a hero, whose grave, in Israel’s most extremist illegal settlement in the West Bank, Kiryat Arba, is now a famous shrine, a place of pilgrimage for thousands of Israelis.
It is particularly telling that Goldstein’s shrine was built opposite Meir Kahane’s Memorial Park, which indicates the clear ideological connections between these individuals, groups, and funders.
In recent years, however, the traditional role played by Israel’s religious Zionists began to shift, leading to the election of Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Israeli Knesset in 2021 and, ultimately, to his role as the country’s National Security Minister in December 2022.
Ben-Gvir is a follower of Kahane. “It seems to me that, ultimately, Rabbi Kahane was about love. Love for Israel without compromise, without any other consideration,” he said in November 2022.
But, unlike Kahane, Ben-Gvir was not satisfied with the role of religious Zionists as cheerleaders for the settlement movement, almost daily raids of Al-Aqsa and the occasional attacks on Palestinians. He wanted to be at the center of Israeli political power.
It is an interesting debate whether Ben-Gvir achieved his status as a direct result of the successful grassroots work of religious Zionism or because the political circumstances of Israel itself have changed in his favor. The truth, however, might be somewhere in the middle. Israel’s historic failure of its so-called political left—namely the Labor Party—has, in recent years, propelled a relatively unfamiliar phenomenon—the political center.
Meanwhile, Israel’s traditional right, the Likud party, grew weaker, partly because it failed to appeal to the growing, more youthful religious Zionism constituency and also because of the series of splits that occurred after Ariel Sharon’s breaking up of the party and the founding of Kadima in 2005 – a party that has been long disbanded.
To survive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has redefined his party to its most extremist version of all time and, thus, began to attract religious Zionists with the hope of filling the gaps created because of internal infighting within the Likud.
By doing so, Netanyahu has granted religious Zionists the opportunity of a lifetime.
Soon, following the October 7 Al-Aqsa Flood operation, and in the early days of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, Ben-Gvir launched his National Guard, a group which he tried, but failed, to compose before the war.
Thanks to Ben-Gvir, Israel, now, per the words of opposition leader Yair, has become a country with a “private militia.”
By March 19, Ben-Gvir announced that 100,000 gun permits had been handed over to his supporters. It is within this period that the US began imposing ‘sanctions’ on a few individuals affiliated with Israel’s settler extremist movement, a slight slap on the wrist considering the massive damage that has already been done and the tremendous violence that is likely to follow in the coming months and years.
With a portrait of late Rabbi Meir Kahane on the wall, left, a Jewish settler walks inside a building taken from a Palestinian family in Hebron, Nov. 16, 2008. Dan Balilty | AP
Unlike Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir’s thinking is not limited to his desire to reach a specific position within the government. Israel’s religious extremists are seeking a fundamental and irreversible shift in Israeli politics.
The recent push to change the relationship between the judicial and exclusive branches of government was as crucial to those extremists as it was to Netanyahu himself. However, the latter has championed such an initiative to shield himself against legal accountability. Ben-Gvir’s supporters have a different reason in mind: they want to dominate the government and the military with no responsibility or oversight.
Israel’s religious Zionists are playing a long game, which is not linked to a particular election, individual or government coalition. They are redefining the state, along with its ideology. And they are winning.
Ben-Gvir and his threats to topple Netanyahu’s coalition government have been the main driving force behind the genocide in Gaza.
If Meir Kahane were still alive, he would have been proud of his followers. The ideology of the once marginalized and loathed extremist rabbi is now the backbone of Israeli politics.
Faced with financial, logistical, and geopolitical challenges, Riyadh has been forced to review its ambitious project, The Line, and critically reassess “economic normalization” with Israel.
Launched in 2017, Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, a sprawling high-tech development on the northwestern Red Sea coast, was introduced as the crown jewel of Vision 2030.
This futuristic desert megaproject, extending over some Jordanian and Egyptian territory, was cast as a bold leap toward economic diversification under the leadership of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS). But, recent geopolitical setbacks have raised significant concerns about the viability of some of NEOM’s components.
Initially celebrated for its revolutionary design, The Line, a linear city within NEOM, was to redefine urban living. Yet, recent reports suggest a dramatic scaling back. Earlier this month, Bloomberg revealed a massive reduction in the metropolis’ scope – from 105 to 1.5 miles – and a decrease in likely inhabitants from 1.5 million to fewer than 300,000 by 2030. Furthermore, funding uncertainties and workforce reductions indicate a project in jeopardy.
While this adjustment does not signify a wholesale failure of Vision 2030, it does prompt a re-evaluation of the project’s most ambitious elements.
Experts suggest that The Line’s original scale was overly optimistic, lacking the necessary urban infrastructure for such an innovative endeavor. Financial and geopolitical challenges, including regional instability and insufficient foreign direct investment, further complicate NEOM’s future.
The drastic downsizing of The Line “appears to be a reassessment of timeline feasibility,” Dr Robert Mogielnicki, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, tells The Cradle. “There are many experimental, world-first dimensions within the NEOM gigaproject, and some are eventually going to need rightsizing or rethinking.”
Also speaking to The Cradle, Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Baker Institute Fellow at Rice University, believes the project’s contraction to be a good thing:
Reports that The Line may be scaled back significantly is actually a positive move if it injects greater realism into a project whose initial scale appeared fanciful and difficult to translate into reality. Greater pragmatism in designing and delivering the gigaprojects associated with Vision 2030 is a good thing and means there is a greater likelihood of the projects making it off the drawing board.
Given financial and economic factors, The Line was never feasible as initially presented. Ultimately, the amount of wealth the Saudis generate from oil is not enough to finance the most ambitious of MbS’ Vision 2030 projects. And Riyadh has not been able to lure the levels of foreign direct investment needed to make these extremely expensive vanity projects realizable.
“The vast scope of [The Line] always struck me and many other observers as aspirational rather than realistic,” explains Gordon Gray, the former US ambassador to Tunisia.
Speaking to The Cradle, Ryan Bohl, a Middle East and North African analyst at risk intelligence company RANE, says:
I’d argue that the goals for The Line were unrealistic from the start, given that there’s virtually no urban infrastructure in the area, and it’s very difficult for cities to be started from scratch like that, regardless of the amount of investment poured in. Even if Saudi Arabia had, for example, done something extreme like declare NEOM to be their new capital city, it would still probably struggle to attract residents as we’ve seen from other historical examples like Brazil’s shift of its capital to Brasília.
It attracts attention. That sort of discourse – positive or negative – creates a buzz. That buzz was supposed to attract investors who wanted to be a part of this, help Saudi Arabia build a city of the future, and try to do something completely outlandish and absolutely unconventional.
Gaza: a wrench in the works
The leadership in Riyadh has understood that the success of Vision 2030 heavily depends on attracting substantial foreign direct investment into the Kingdom. Ultimately, stability in Saudi Arabia and the wider West Asian region is crucial.
Consequently, Riyadh’s recent foreign policy has been less ideological, focusing instead on maintaining amicable terms with all major players in West Asia to advance Saudi business, commercial, and economic interests.
Within this context, Riyadh has worked to reach a peace deal with Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement, made an effort to preserve the Beijing-brokered 2023 Saudi–Iranian détente, restored relations with Qatar and Syria, and mended fences with Turkiye.
Therefore, beyond financial and economic constraints that require a reassessment of the most ambitious Vision 2030 projects, such as The Line, Israel’s brutal six-month war on Gaza and the expansion of that conflict into the Red Sea have created headwinds for Saudi Arabia’s geoeconomic plans.
As Arhama Siddiqa, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, explains to The Cradle:
Given the current instability in the Red Sea region, investors may hesitate to support a large-scale project like NEOM due to perceived risks. Even if the direct security threat to NEOM is minimal, the overall instability in the area can deter investors from committing substantial resources to a long-term venture. Additionally, the broader [West Asia] conflict further complicates the situation, adding another layer of uncertainty. Addressing these security concerns could require Saudi Arabia to allocate more resources to regional security measures, potentially diverting funds from the NEOM project.
There is no denying that Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification agenda is vulnerable to naval operations in the Red Sea. NEOM and other Red Sea projects require vessels to be able to freely travel from the Gulf of Aden through the Bab al-Mandab and up to Saudi Arabia’s west coast.
The Gaza war’s potential spillover into this vital waterway continues to raise concerns for Saudi officials about the impact on the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
These dynamics help explain Riyadh’s frustration with the White House for not leveraging its influence over Israel to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza. It has led to Saudi Arabia’s decision to abstain from joining any US-led security initiatives and military operations in the Red Sea and Yemen.
The Israel–NEOM connection
Israel’s geographic proximity to northwestern Saudi Arabia, its technological advancement, and its vibrant startup culture position the occupation state as a promising partner for Vision 2030 and the NEOM project, particularly in biotechnology, cybersecurity, and manufacturing.
Writing in March 2021, Dr Ali Dogan, previously a Research Fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, went as far as arguing that “relations with Israel are necessary for Saudi Arabia to complete NEOM.”
Dr Mohammad Yaghi, a research fellow at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, similarly stated that NEOM “requires peace and coordination with Israel, especially if the city is to have a chance of becoming a tourist attraction.”
However, Saudi Arabia’s leadership role in the Islamic world, exemplified by the monarch’s title as the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,” makes any formal normalization of relations with Tel Aviv highly sensitive.
Initially, it was thought that while the UAE and Bahrain could establish overt relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia would continue to engage covertly, ensuring essential collaborations like those rumored in the tech sector could progress discreetly.
An example being in June 2020, when controversy arose over Saudi Arabia’s alleged engagement with an Israeli cybersecurity firm, which the Saudi embassy later denied.
Yet, almost seven months into Israel’s campaign to annihilate Gaza, can Saudi Arabia still look to Tel Aviv as a partner in NEOM?
It appears that amid ongoing crises in the region, chiefly the Gaza genocide, Riyadh must be careful to avoid being seen as cooperating with the Israelis in covert ways, and full-fledged normalization seems off the table for the foreseeable future.
Nonetheless, after the dust settles in Gaza and the Red Sea security crisis calms down, Saudi Arabia will likely maintain its interest in fostering ties with Israel as part of an “economic normalization” between the two countries. This could be important to Vision 2030’s future, particularly in NEOM.
But Israel’s unprecedented military campaign in Gaza will likely alter West Asia in many ways for decades to come. Even after the current war in Gaza is over, anger toward Israel and the US will continue.
Without a doubt, the Israeli–NEOM connection will be increasingly sensitive and controversial, both in the Kingdom and the wider region – a factor that the leadership in Riyadh cannot dismiss.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
أعاد طرح قضية الاعتراف الأممي بدولة فلسطينية فتح النقاش بين الأوساط الفلسطينية والعربية حول ما إذا كان هذا الأمر يخدم النضال الفلسطيني من أجل التحرير، فماذا يمكن القول في هذا المقام؟
عاد إلى الواجهة في الأسابيع القليلة الماضية الحديث عن منح دولة فلسطين العضوية الكاملة في الأمم المتحدة، فعلى وقع عملية “طوفان الأقصى” وما أحدثته تلك العملية المجيدة من تغيير في عموم مشهد الصراع العربي-الإسلامي الصهيوني لمصلحة الحق الفلسطيني، بدأت بعض الدوائر الغربية وغير الغربية بتداول هذه القضية بصورة أكثر جدية من ذي قَبْل، إذ نشأ في إثر ذلك حراك دبلوماسي نشط حولها، كانت ذروته تقديم الجزائر، الخميس 18 نيسان 2024، مشروع قرار لمجلس الأمن يدعو إلى قبول عضوية فلسطين الكاملة في الأمم المتحدة.
وقد حظي مشروع القرار بتأييد 12 عضواً من أصل 15، وامتناع كل من بريطانيا وسويسرا عن التصويت، فيما عارضته الولايات المتحدة مستخدمةً حق النقض “الفيتو”، ليسقط بذلك مشروع القرار كما سقطت مشاريع قرارات كثيرة من قبله.
مهما كان الحال، فقد أعاد طرح قضية الاعتراف الأممي بدولة فلسطينية فتح النقاش بين الأوساط الفلسطينية والعربية حول ما إذا كان هذا الأمر يخدم النضال الفلسطيني من أجل التحرير، فماذا يمكن القول في هذا المقام؟
قَبْل كل شيء، يجب تسجيل أن نحو 3 عقود من مسار “أسلو” الذي اتخذته منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية، وأن التنازلات عن الثوابت الوطنية التي قدمتها، وأن الاستجداء المتكرر لمحمود عباس وتنسيقه الأمني الذي بات يرقى إلى مستوى العمالة الوطنية، لم يؤدِ إلى تحقيق مطلب السلطة بطرح قضية قبول عضوية فلسطين الكاملة في الأمم المتحدة، فيما أفضى فعل المقاومة الفلسطينية المسلحة الميداني في 7 تشرين الأول إلى تحريك هذه القضية في مجلس الأمن، من دون أن يكون ذلك حتى أحد مطالب المقاومة!
لقد تركزت النقاشات قبيل جلسة مجلس الأمن، في الغالب الأعم، حول المفاضلة بين احتمالين: أن يصدر قرار أممي يعترف بالدولة الفلسطينية من دون تحديد حدودها، ويترك هذه القضية للتفاوض، وأن يصدر اعتراف أممي بالدولة الفلسطينية يحدد بوضوح حدودها بحسب القرار الأممي 242، أي على حدود الأراضي المحتلة 1967. وقد تبنى البعض وجهة نظر تقول إنَّ هذا الخيار الثاني هو الأفضل، لكونه يحسم قضية الجدل القانوني حول الترجمة الدقيقة للعبارة التي وردت في القرارات الأممية ذات الشأن، فيما إذا كانت “أراضي متنازعاً عليها” أم “الأراضي المتنازع عليها”، ويضيف أصحاب هذه الرؤية بأن لا معنى لاعتراف أممي بدولة فلسطينية لا ينص على حدود الأراضي التي تقع تحت سيادتها.
من الواضح أن هذا النقاش برمته يصلح أن يكون بين مَن كانت حدود مطالباته سقف “أوسلو”، ومَن قد تنازَل بالفعل، أو رضي بالتنازل عن نحو 80% من الأراضي العربية الفلسطينية المحتلة، لا بين مَن يتمسك بالثوابت الإسلامية والعربية والفلسطينية في فلسطين التاريخية بصفتها وقفاً إسلامياً لا يجوز بحال التفريط بحبة تراب واحدة منه، ومَن يقرأ المشروع الصهيوني في فلسطين على حقيقته بصفته امتداداً للهيمنة الاستعمارية القديمة على عموم أوطاننا، وبكونه مشروعاً استيطانياً توسعياً إحلالياً.
وإذا كان النقاش المتعلق باللجوء للأمم المتحدة ينصب على الطعن بأصل مشروعية وجود الكيان الصهيوني، وصلاحية عضويته في الأمم المتحدة، بناءً على عدم تلبيته الشروط التي قرنها قرار الجمعية العامة 181 بالاعتراف به، أو يقتصر على مطالبة مجلس الأمن بإجبار الاحتلال على إنهاء احتلاله الأراضي المحتلة 1967 من دون قيد أو شرط، ومن دون التطرق إلى موضوع الدولة وحدودها، لكان يمكن التعاطي مع هذه الأفكار من حيث المبدأ. أما ما دون ذلك، فيعد أفكاراً مبنيةً بالأساس على التفريط في الثوابت، ودعوةً للسير مجدداً في مسارات “أوسلوية” تم تجريبها وثبت عقمها، بل ثبتت كارثيتها على مشروع التحرر الفلسطيني.
لقد جاء “الفيتو” الأميركي الأخير ليؤكد أنَّ مسار التحرر الوطني واستعادة الحقوق لا يمر من خلال ما يسمى “المجتمع الدولي”، وليعيد تثبيت فكرة أن النظام العالمي بصورته الراهنة منحاز كلياً إلى الغرب الاستعماري، وليس معداً لإحقاق الحق ولا لنصرة الشعوب المستضعفة، فكيف إذاً يقوم الأميركي بإسقاط مشروع يدعو إلى الاعتراف بدولة فلسطينية رغم حديثه الجديد القديم عن حل الدولتين؟
يخوض اليوم الشعب الفلسطيني، مدعوماً بحلفاء إقليميين، ملحمة “طوفان الأقصى” التي لن يكون بعدها كما قبلها، والتي بدأت برسم معالم مشرق عربي مختلف وتبديل ملموس لتوازنات المنطقة بين محورين؛ محور قوى التحرر العربي والإسلامي ومحور صهيوأميركي.
لذا، الأجدى أن تنصب كل الجهود الممكنة على كسب المعركة المحتدمة على مستوى الإقليم حالياً، لا الدخول في متاهات سياسية، الأرجح أن الغرض منها هو تفريغ 7 تشرين الأول من مفاعيله عبر إيهام الفلسطينيين بمشاريع لا تختلف في جوهرها عن مسار “أوسلو” ولن يكون مصيرها بأفضل منه، بعدما فشل العدو حتى اللحظة في إحباط آثار “طوفان الأقصى” ميدانياً.
إن الآراء المذكورة في هذه المقالة تعبّر عن رأي صاحبها حصراً
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a debate on Iran’s retaliatory strike against “Israel”, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP)
The top EU chief highlights that 35% of Gaza is now fully destroyed as he calls on “Israel” to “respect international law.”
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, compared yesterday between Gaza now and Germany during World War II, saying that “Israel” has exposed areas in the Gaza Strip to greater destruction than that dealt to cities in Germany back in the 1940s.
During his speech at a plenary session of the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, Borrell cited the climbing casualties of the war on Gaza, saying, “I can say that more than 60% of the physical infrastructure has been damaged, and 35% fully destroyed.”
“The cities in Gaza have been more destroyed than the German cities during the Second World War – just imagine the comparison,” he noted, highlighting the “killing of 249 humanitarian workers and around 100 journalists in Israeli attacks on Gaza.”
It has been confirmed by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) that at least 140 journalists in Gaza have been killed since October 7.
Borrell sees that “Israel must respect international law, implement the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures, ensure the protection of all civilians, and allow humanitarian workers to do their lifesaving job without being targeted.”
Even though Borrell has been more outspoken and critical of “Israel” and its plans alongside the US, it’s noteworthy that the European Union and the United States have been the main allies of “Israel” in its ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza. Both entities possess the potential to exert pressure on “Israel”, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid.
Palestinians have expressed doubt regarding the EU and US plans, fearing that such moves could be a prelude to international military presence on Palestinian soil and to the expulsion of Palestinians under different pretexts.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 