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 Click here for an overview by week in 2024

Special reports: Updates February and earlier, 2025-'24: Actual: ADDED: Punishing pro-Palestine protests &  Gaza urgently needs a more effective humanitarian approach and More than $50bn needed to rebuild Gaza after Israel’s war on enclave & No, Mr Trump, we will not be “happy” and “safe” elsewhere. & Returning to Gaza, a stranger in my own city Earlier: & Stories about nazis and medic-aid heroes and the PA betraying the people earlier stories: & Our ‘return’ to northern Gaza is not the end of exile and On idle talk and genocide in Gaza   & Earlier:  A thousand days of Israeli impunity, still no justice for Shireen Abu Akleh & Trump must not be allowed to torpedo the Palestinian right to remain Palestine students & Overview special reports

November 28 - 24 and earler stories, 2024 Is Netanyahu immune from ICC arrest warrant-NO!   TRIBUTES TO MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

Shireen Abu Akleh In commemoration of Shireen Abu Akleh, the 'voice of Al Jazeera' killed while revealing the true face of israel Updated: December 6, 2024: Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war   Click here for earlier stories/news

February 25 - 22, 2025 Food for thought: trump has been ellected and the extreme right-wing on the rise in Europe. Question: Is a 'New Order 1.2' the 'final solution?' Read more and decide for yourself February 22 - 18, 2025 just read the actual and fact-finding news February 19 - 16, 2025 Unchilding Palestine’s children... Read more and decide for yourself February 15 - 12, 2025 more fact-finding news

February 13 - 12, 2025 Opinion: Western democracy has lost her tongue. just read the actual and fact-finding news February 11 - 5, 2025 <<Does Israel violate the Gaza ceasefire? Yes! Together with their western allies. just read the actual and fact-finding news February 7 - 1, 2025 Fact: Gaza is not for sale... despite the continues suffering and betrayals on netanyahus' Western allies side. And more fact-finding news January 31 - 28, 2025 In pictures and words: Bittersweet homecoming for Palestinians returning to Gaza City... Read more and decide for yourself

January 28 - 24, 2025 "Now it's time to grief" If the ones guilty of the genocide let us and it doesn't look like it. By the way, did you know that during WW2 the american allies knew all about the transportation routes that brought the jews to the gaschambers but simply let the trains roll. And now there was this so-called 'holocaust remembrance day' but... too many haven't learned anything from history... Read more and decide for yourself  Pre-ceasefire & Post-Ceasefire December 30 - 26, 2024 'Betrayed' and 'abandoned' Sixth baby dies from severe cold

 When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.



Amira Al-Wazir
Jinha - Womens News Agency - February 25, 2025 - by IBTISAM AXFIR
<<‘Preserving Palestinian culture has become part of my struggle’
“Preserving Palestinian culture has become part of my struggle,” said Samira Al-Wazir, a Palestinian woman living in Benghazi for more than 50 years. “I have passed down this cultural heritage to my children and grandchildren.”
Benghazi- Samira Al-Wazir, a Palestinian woman living in Benghazi, the second-most-populous city in Libya, has preserved Palestinian culture.
Samira Al-Wazir moved from Gaza to Benghazi in 1972 after her marriage. Although she has lived in Benghazi for more than 50 years, she never loses her love for her country. “I completed my secondary education in Gaza. I moved to Benghazi after getting married,” she told NuJINHA. “There are many difficulties of living in a different country because you have to learn their traditions and customs. Since the people of Benghazi are so friendly, I adapted to this country quickly.” Education had created positive changes in the life of Samira Al-Wazir. “Teachers do not only teach you something but also build your personality. Although I have lived in Benghazi for years, I never forget my culture or identity. In Benghazi, people can easily communicate with each other and practice their traditions and customs freely. I feel like I live in Gaza, I never feel like I am a stranger here.”
‘Preserving Palestinian culture has become part of my struggle’
Samira Al-Wazi tells what the Palestinian people have experienced to her children and grandchildren through stories. “I have also passed down the Palestinian traditions and customs to my children and grandchildren. Preserving Palestinian culture has become part of my struggle. All Palestinian people are responsible for protecting Palestinian identity. Preserving Palestinian cultural heritage is a weapon in the struggle for identity.” Samira Al-Wazi felt helpless when Israel launched its attacks on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. “I felt helpless during the attacks on Gaza. But the resistance of the Palestinian people against the attacks has taught everyone a new lesson. My friends in Gaza told me that 70 percent of the city has been completely destroyed. Many could no longer recognize their homes because the city is in ruins. But they never lose hope. I always support the people in Gaza by joining the activities carried out by women's organizations and initiatives in Benghazi. I believe that every effort can make a difference.”>>
Video: https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/preserving-palestinian-culture-has-become-part-of-my-struggle-36605?page=1

Al Jazeera - Feb 25, 2025 - By Umut Uras and Maziar Motamedi
<<LIVE: Israel keeps up West Bank raids; 3 children freeze to death in Gaza
Israel deploys tanks in occupied West Bank, says displaced Palestinians can’t return
Doctors in Gaza City say three more children have died of the “severe cold” as Israel continues to block the entry of tents and mobile homes into the Palestinian enclave. Palestinians say Israel is carrying out war tactics employed in Gaza in the occupied West Bank as the military deploys tanks, destroys vast areas of the Jenin refugee camp, carves out roadways and makes preparations to set up a base there.>>
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/2/25/live-israel-demolishes-vast-areas-of-west-banks-jenin-sets-up-army-base

Al Jazeera - Feb 24, 2025
<<Why are Israeli tanks in the occupied West Bank?
Israel is signalling a new escalation in its attacks on the West Bank, expelling tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Israel has deployed tanks into the occupied West Bank and ordered its military to prepare for an “extended stay” to fight Palestinian armed groups in the area’s refugee camps. Sunday’s move comes among an expansion of military operations that have expelled an estimated 40,000 people from their homes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank over the past month, since a ceasefire paused fighting in Gaza.
Increasingly strident calls by Israeli hardliners for full annexation of Palestinian territories and a proposal by United States President Donald Trump to expel everyone who lives in Gaza have stoked fears of a new Nakba. Here’s everything you need to know about the recent escalation in the West Bank and what it means:
What exactly did Israel do in the occupied West Bank?
Israel deployed three tanks into the Jenin refugee camp, the first such deployment in the occupied West Bank since 2002, when Israel launched a bloody crackdown on a Palestinian uprising known as the second Intifada, which lasted until 2005. Israel began its attack on January 21 and has moved beyond Jenin and its camp southwards to Qabatiya and westwards to Burqin, and eastwards out of Tulkarem to Nur Shams refugee camp. It has also raided further south in the West Bank, hitting Kobar and Silwad north of Ramallah, the Beitunia neighbourhood of Ramallah, and Hebron.
As it conducts its raids, the Israeli army is also expelling people, destroying roads, imposing curfews for days on end, blocking access points to towns, arresting people and commandeering homes for military use.
Is that legal?
No, it is not legal.
The International Court of Justice said in July that “governments have obligations to ensure that Israel brings the illegal occupation to an immediate end”. The United Nations General Assembly in September adopted a resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestine within a year. Under the Oslo Accords signed in the early 1990s, Israel controls large parts of the West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority administers others, an arrangement intended as a precursor to a Palestinian state alongside Israel. As the occupying power, Israel is obliged under international law to ensure the protection of Palestinians, the provision of basic services, and the respect of human rights.
What is the significance of Israel using tanks?
Israel regularly raids the West Bank but typically soon withdraws its forces.
The use of heavy tanks, on top of the usual armoured personnel carriers, signals how intensely the military is aiming to suppress Palestinian armed groups. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a military ceremony on Sunday, said the deployment showed that “we are fighting terror with all means, everywhere”. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the move was a continuation of Israel’s “genocide, displacement and annexation”.
Why now? What does Israel want?
Netanyahu has been under pressure from far-right governing partners to crack down on armed resistance in the West Bank while fighting in Gaza and Lebanon is on hold. His announcement that Israel was “entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets that terrorists use, and their homes” also came after a series of bus explosions near Tel Aviv on Thursday night. There were no casualties reported and no groups claimed responsibility.
Palestinians view the expansion of raids as part of a broader effort to cement Israeli control over the West Bank, where three million Palestinians live. Israeli media quoted sources close to the prime minister saying that the army intends to create large corridors in Tulkarem and Jenin – like the so-called Netzarim Corridor in Gaza – for the movement of its forces and heavy equipment.
Is Israel expelling people from their homes again?
About 40,000 Palestinians have fled the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Farea, which “are now empty of residents”.
It is not clear how long people will be prevented from returning to their homes.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and that the tens of thousands of Palestinians who were forced out will not be able to return. “We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he said.
Where will displaced people go?
No plan has been put in place by Israeli or Palestinian authorities to house the displaced, who are living in dire conditions in makeshift accommodations. Israeli advocacy group Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said some 500 people expelled from Tulkarem and Nur Shams found temporary shelter in al-Labad, east of Tulkarem, camping out in the basements of mosques, event halls, and community centres. Others took refuge in nearby villages including Ezbat al-Jarad, Bal’a, Attil, Bizzariya, and Jarushia, PHR said.
Translation: People displaced from Tulkarem camp live in harsh conditions amid the cold and the ongoing aggression.
Is there any help for those who have been expelled?
Israel has forced the main provider of aid to Palestinians – the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) – to close its headquarters in Jerusalem. On Sunday, Katz ordered the UNRWA to halt activity in the West Bank camps. Israel accuses UNRWA of supporting armed groups and passed a law on January 30 banning it from operating in Israel. PHR said there was a dire shortage of food, power, and medical supplies, adding that the Israeli army is “obstructing Red Crescent vehicles and humanitarian services, delaying their ability to provide first aid or transport patients for … treatment”.
Will this impact the ceasefire in Gaza?
The truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza already appears tenuous and attacks in the West Bank could tip the balance. Hamas official Basem Naim told Al Jazeera that Hamas condemned the Israeli raids and saw them as Netanyahu “intentionally sabotaging the deal” and setting the stage for renewed war. Netanyahu on Sunday said the military increased its “operational readiness” around Gaza and was “ready to return to intense fighting at any moment”.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/24/why-are-israeli-tanks-in-the-occupied-west-bank

Al Jazeera - Feb 24, 2025
<<Israel deploys tanks as assault on occupied West Bank intensifies
Tanks are advancing in Jenin, and Palestinian infrastructure and livelihoods are being destroyed in the West Bank.
The Israeli military has launched several new raids across the occupied West Bank, intensifying a monthlong operation that has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands. During the raids on Sunday and into Monday, Israeli tanks were deployed in the occupied Palestinian territory for the first time in more than two decades. Reports that the army is planning to open up military corridors in the West Bank suggested an extended and expanded campaign. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) raised alarm at the deteriorating situation, saying winter weather was making it more difficult for displaced Palestinians to survive. “Many people have fled their homes to take shelter, including in crowded mosques and schools. With many homes damaged or destroyed, people are struggling to access basic needs such as clean water, food, medical care and shelter,” the ICRC said on Monday. “Displaced civilians are also struggling to find information about family members who have gone missing or who might have been detained.” Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced across the West Bank since the Israeli military launched its heightened offensive last month. The operation began shortly after a Gaza ceasefire deal came into effect on January 19. Monday’s raids hit areas across the territory as bulldozers and armoured vehicles continued to pound the northern West Bank areas of Jenin and Tulkarem, where large refugee camps are located. Soldiers were reported to have stormed Jenin from the west, besieging the refugee camp and the areas adjacent to it. They also imposed a curfew in the town of Qabatiya, to the south of Jenin, for a second straight day and stormed the nearby towns of al-Yamoun and Burqin. The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, reported on Telegram that it was fighting with Israeli forces in Jenin. “The Palestinians who have been forced from their homes in the occupied West Bank are going wherever they can – community centres, shelters, family and friends in nearby towns and villages, which are now also being under attack,” Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh reported.
Fear of greater escalation
Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, neighbouring Jordan and the Arab League called on Monday for a halt to the intensifying attacks. Brazil also urged a full suspension of Israeli military attacks and unimpeded international aid access to the occupied territory. The deployment of Israeli tanks in the West Bank is an ominous sign, Odeh said. Reporting from Amman, Jordan, because Al Jazeera is banned from Israel and the West Bank by the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority, Odeh noted that Israeli media have cited sources close to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, outlining the army’s plans. “The Israeli media is quoting sources close to the prime minister saying that the army is intending to create large corridors in Tulkarem and Jenin – reminiscent of the so-called Netzarim Corridor in Gaza – in order to allow free movement for its forces and heavy equipment,” she said. The Israeli-established and -occupied Netzarim Corridor bisected Gaza and prevented displaced Palestinians from going back to their homes. It is feared that a similar tactic in the West Bank would illustrate a plan to extend and expand the ongoing operation. Hamas, which along with the Palestinian Authority condemned Israel for assaults in the West Bank, said Israel’s wish to stay there is “an illusion that will not come true”. The Palestinian Authority called for urgent international intervention to “curb Israel’s unchecked aggression” and its effort to continue “genocide” against Palestinians. More than 40,000 people have been displaced from Jenin and Tulkarem, including its Nur Shams refugee camp, by the ongoing Israeli operation. Israeli Minister of Defence Israel Katz confirmed the number on Sunday, adding that the army intends to stay in the camps to prevent the return of residents. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday raised alarm about the Israeli attacks on the West Bank while warning against a return to fighting in Gaza. “I am gravely concerned by the rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and other violations as well as calls for annexation,” he said. Israeli settlers, who are often backed by armed soldiers, carry out daily attacks in the occupied territory. Videos released by Palestinian outlets from overnight into Monday showed settlers scrawling a Star of David and Hebrew graffiti on a Palestinian property and lighting a fire during an attack on farmland east of Yatta in the Hebron governorate.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/24/israel-deploys-tanks-as-assault-on-occupied-west-bank-intensifies

Al Jazeera - Feb 24, 2025
<<In Pictures
Israeli tanks enter occupied West Bank for first time in decades
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have already been displaced from their homes in the West Bank over the past month.
Israel sends tanks into West Bank for first time in decades
Israeli forces have deployed their tanks in the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years as part of an intensified military offensive that has displaced 40,000 Palestinians from refugee camps in the north. Israel said on Sunday its troops would stay in the West Bank refugee camps for the coming year, announcing expanded military operations, including tank deployments. Just after the ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip about a month ago, the Israeli military launched a major raid against Palestinian fighters in the West Bank. The operation spans multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas. “So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. “I have instructed [troops] to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism,” he added. According to the United Nations, the Israeli offensive has so far killed at least 51 Palestinians, including seven children, and three Israeli soldiers, as well as displacing at least 40,000 people. The military announced on Sunday that “a tank division will operate in Jenin” as part of “expanding” operations in the area. It is the first time that tanks have moved into the territory since the end of the second Intifada, or uprising, in 2005. “The Nahal [infantry] Brigade and [elite] Duvdevan Unit forces have begun to intervene in other villages” in the north of the territory, Katz’s statement said, adding that they “are continuing their operations in the Jenin and Tulkarem regions”. In Tulkarem and Jenin, the army demolished dozens of homes with explosives, opening up new access routes into the densely built camps. Armoured bulldozers wreaked havoc, upturning tarmac, cutting water pipes, and tearing down roadside facades. Violence in the West Bank has surged since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023. Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 900 Palestinians, including many fighters, in the territory since the start of the conflict, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.>>
View pictures: https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/2/24/israel-sends-tanks-into-west-bank-for-first-time-in-decades

Al Jazeera - Feb 23, 2025
<<Why has Israel suspended the release of Palestinian prisoners?
Future of Gaza ceasefire at risk after Israel suspended the release of Palestinian prisoners.>>
Video/read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2025/2/23/why-has-israel-suspended-the-release-of-palestinian-prisoners

Al Jazeera - Feb 23, 2025
<<Israel expands West Bank offensive, says troops to remain ‘for next year’
For more than a month, Israeli forces backed by bulldozers have been raiding Palestinian homes and destroying critical infrastructure.
Israeli detain men during an ongoing Israeli raid in the Tulkarem camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 19, 2025. Israel says it is expanding its military offensive across the occupied West Bank and preparing for troops to remain in some refugee camps “for the next year”. Defence Minister Israel Katz on Sunday said the army had “evacuated” three refugee camps in the northern West Bank and had been ordered to remain there “to prevent the return of [Palestinian] residents” “So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents,” he said in a statement. “I have instructed [soldiers] to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the next year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism,” he added. For more than a month, Israeli forces have been raiding Palestinian homes and using bulldozers to destroy critical infrastructure. The assaults have largely focused on Jenin and Tulkarem. The Israeli army said tanks have been deployed in Jenin for the first time in the West Bank since the end of the second Intifada, or uprising, in 2005. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the decision to deploy tanks in the northern West Bank. “This is a dangerous Israeli escalation that will not lead to stability or calm, and we warn of this dangerous escalation,” he said.
Since January 19 when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip, Jenin and its adjoining refugee camp have been under Israeli siege and at least 27 Palestinians have been killed there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to carry out an “intensive” operation in the West Bank after explosions on Thursday on empty buses near Tel Aviv in what Netanyahu’s office described as an attempted mass attack. No casualties were reported in the explosions, and no group has claimed responsibility. Meanwhile, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli army and settler attacks also continued on Sunday across the West Bank. In Nablus, at least eight people were arrested during Israeli raids while two others were taken into custody at Beit Hanina, a neighbourhood in northern East Jerusalem. Israeli bulldozers also destroyed electrical lines and waterlines in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, Wafa said, adding that Israeli soldiers again set up a military checkpoint at the entrance to al-Issawiya, another neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem. Israel has killed more than 800 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7, 2023.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/23/israel-expands-west-bank-offensive-says-troops-to-remain-for-next-year


Video footage Scorching Westbanks' earth
Al Jazeera - Feb 23, 2025
<<Israeli settlers burn Palestinian property in occupied East Jerusalem
Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian Bedouin community and set fire to their property in Jaba, occupied East Jerusalem. A rights group says Israel’s army and illegal settlers have launched nearly 3,000 attacks on the Bedouin community in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2024.>>
Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/2/23/israeli-settlers-burn-palestinian-property-in-occupied-east-jerusalem

Al Jazeera - Feb 23, 2025
<<‘Blatant violation’: Hamas slams Israel as release of Palestinians delayed
Hamas condemns Israel’s decision to postpone release of Palestinian prisoners, saying its claim of ‘humiliating’ handover ceremonies was false.
Hamas has condemned Israel’s decision to postpone the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, saying its claim that the captives’ handover ceremonies are “humiliating” was false and a pretext to evade Israel’s obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a blatant violation of its terms, and shows the occupation’s lack of reliability in implementing its obligations,” Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement on Sunday. Israel delayed the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners scheduled to be released on Saturday after Hamas upheld its side of the ceasefire deal by releasing six Israeli captives from Gaza, the last group of living captives to be freed under the ceasefire’s first phase. Netanyahu earlier on Sunday said freeing Palestinians would be delayed until Hamas ends its “humiliating ceremonies” while releasing Israeli captives, issuing a new demand not spelt out in the ceasefire agreement. “In light of Hamas’ repeated violations – including the disgraceful ceremonies that dishonour our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda – it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday [Saturday] until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the humiliating ceremonies,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of playing “dirty games to sabotage and undermine” the deal.
“The prisoner handover ceremony does not include any insult to them, but rather reflects the noble humane treatment of them”, Hamas said, referring to the staging of the captives’ release, as it called on mediating nations to ensure Israel sticks to the terms of the deal. Since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19, Hamas has released 25 Israeli captives in high-profile handovers, with masked fighters parading the captives on stage. The ceasefire deal does not categorically define how Hamas and Israel should release the Israeli captives and the Palestinian prisoners.
‘Netanyahu is always stalling’
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said Israel’s decision to delay the release of the Palestinian prisoners was issued by Netanyahu against the recommendation of Israel’s security establishment. “There are a lot of questions and a lot of dashed hopes, as well as a lot of work for the mediators, who have been working for the release of the Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives,” Odeh said. In Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Palestinian families waited for hours on Saturday for their loved ones to be released from Israeli prisons. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society advocacy group said Israel would free 620 inmates, most of them from Gaza who were taken into custody during the war. “We have been sitting in our chairs waiting for many hours, but after many hours, nothing. But what else can we do?” Khaled Khalil al-Jabarin, uncle of a detainee, told Al Jazeera. Shireen al-Hamamreh, sister of another Palestinian prisoner, told Al Jazeera it was a “very difficult” wait. “We wait for them, to hug them, and see them, but Netanyahu is always stalling,” said Fatiha Abu Abdullah, a mother in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
“God willing, they will be released soon.”
Netanyahu later on Sunday said that Israel was prepared to resume fighting in Gaza. “We are prepared to resume intense fighting at any moment, our operational plans are ready,” the Israeli leader said. “In Gaza, we have eliminated most of Hamas’s organised forces, but let there be no doubt – we will complete the war’s objectives entirely – whether through negotiation or by other means,” he added. The US special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, however remains optimistic about the second phase of the ceasefire deal, telling CNN on Sunday that he expects it to go forward. “We have to get an extension of phase one and so I’ll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that,” Witkoff said.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/23/israel-halts-palestinian-prisoners-release-demanding-guarantee-on-captives


Video-footage Gazanan boy wonders too
Al Jazeera - Feb 22, 2025
<<Can Arabs stop Trump’s Gaza displacement proposal?
Some Arab leaders have met to discuss an alternative plan for the Strip devastated by 15 months of Israeli war.Read more/video>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2025/2/22/can-arabs-stop-trumps-gaza-displacement-proposal

Al Jazeera - Feb 22, 2025 - By Al Jazeera Staff
<<Netanyahu playing ‘dirty games’ to sabotage Gaza truce deal: Hamas
The Palestinian group that governs Gaza says the Israeli government is not engaging in negotiations for phase 2 of the deal due to end on March 1.
Hamas has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging the Gaza ceasefire agreement, saying the Israeli government is not engaging in negotiations for the second phase of the deal due to end on March 1. Details of the second and third phases of the agreement, though understood to be agreed to in principle, were supposed to be negotiated during the six-week first phase, which has seen the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and delivery of aid into the enclave devastated by the 15 months of non-stop Israeli bombardment. Per the deal, which started on January 19, the second phase, if finalised, would see the release of all the Israeli captives and a permanent ceasefire. “We believe that again, these are dirty games from the right-wing government to sabotage and undermine the deal and to send a message of willingness to go back to war,” Basem Naim, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau, told Al Jazeera on Saturday. He said that the Palestinian group that governs Gaza remains committed to the agreement, and has abided by its obligations under the deal. He accused Israel of violating the terms of the deal. “Over 100 Palestinians have been killed in the first phase, much of the agreed humanitarian aid was not allowed into Gaza, and the withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor [the militarised zone that divides Gaza into north and south] was postponed,” Naim said. Earlier this month, Israeli officials confirmed to The New York Times that Hamas’s claims against Israel’s violations of the deal were accurate. But the Israeli government has officially denied them. As part of the ceasefire agreement Israel had agreed to allow 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents into Gaza, but that requirement has not been met. More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.4 million Palestinians have been displaced and large swaths of the enclave have been turned into rubble. Israel has killed more than 48,319 Palestinians since it launched its offensive on October 7, 2023. The Government Media Office in Gaza says more than 13,000 people missing under the rubble are presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed and some 240 people were taken captive in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
‘Netanyahu not interested in phase two’
Netanyahu has threatened to resume the war on Gaza and has said he is “committed” to a United States proposal to “take over” the enclave and displace its Palestinian residents. Trump now appears to have backed away from that plan. The Israeli leader has repeatedly said that he is committed to fulfilling the aims of the war in Gaza, including destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in the region. His cabinet is also yet to vote on whether the conditions for the first phase of the Gaza truce deal have been met to transition to the second phase. On Tuesday, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu has appointed his Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to lead negotiations on phase two of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Mossad chief Dedi Barnea led the previous round of talks. Political analyst Xavier Abu Eid told Al Jazeera that the assignment of Dermer, a longtime confidant of Netanyahu, to lead the Israeli negotiating team makes an important difference for the future of the talks. “It makes a big difference because Dermer is someone who works for Netanyahu, not for the [Israeli] state,” he said. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said: “This is the pattern we have seen over the past weeks: Israel negotiates with the US, and then comes to Doha or Cairo to speak with the mediators and see what can be worked out. “On March 1, phase one of the ceasefire ends. Without a commitment from both sides to continue talking and maintaining calm, everybody is left wondering whether the ceasefire can survive,” she said from the Jordanian capital Amman. Alon Pinkas, former ambassador and consul general of Israel in New York, told Al Jazeera that the fact that the first phase held does not necessarily bode well for the more challenging second phase. “The reason is that Netanyahu is not interested in phase two. This phase will include Israeli force reduction in Gaza on day 42, which is a week from now. On day 50, it includes not just a force reduction, but a withdrawal,” Pinkas told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.
He said the ceasefire will turn from a cessation of hostilities, as it is known now, to an end to the war, which is not something the Israeli prime minister favours. “Politically, he can afford neither the withdrawal nor the official end of the war,” he added.
‘Hamas ready to abandon governance role in Gaza’
If the Gaza ceasefire breaks down, it would mean that Israeli captives still held in Gaza would remain in the enclave, much to the anger of Israeli society. Family members of the captives have already protested in Tel Aviv with most relatives and groups advocating for the captives calling on the Israeli government to ensure the deal does not fail. Al Jazeera’s Odeh said that the families of the Israeli captives have serious doubts about Netanyahu’s commitment to see all the captives freed within the framework of the ceasefire agreement. “Allies of Netanyahu have made it clear they have absolutely no interest to go to the phase two and they do not believe that Israel should be ending the war. In fact, they are pushing for a return to the bombing of Gaza, some even saying Israel should be annexing parts of the Gaza Strip. Many in Israel – and within the government – have opposed the ceasefire from the outset, arguing that the war in Gaza, should end only with the complete defeat of Hamas. The Hamas leader on Saturday said that his group was ready to abandon its governance role in Gaza. “We have said many times, even before October 7 [2023], that we are willing immediately to leave the governing position in the Gaza Strip and to allow any Palestinian unity government or a technocratic government or any alternative which is decided by Palestinians within the Palestinian consensus,” he said. Naim said the group welcomes an Egyptian proposal to form a committee tasked with governing all aspects of life in Gaza in coordination with the Palestinian Authority government in Ramallah. The official added that Hamas was founded as a national Palestinian resistance movement with clear goals, including “to get rid of the occupation, to achieve the Palestinian genuine and national goals of statehood, self-determination and the right to return”. “We will continue our struggle with all other factions and all our people to achieve these goals through all means, including political and diplomatic means and armed resistance. But to run the daily lives of Palestinians, like health, education and social affairs, we are ready to leave it to a consensus-based solution.”>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/22/netanyahu-playing-dirty-games-to-sabotage-gaza-truce-deal-hamas

Al Jazeera - Feb 22, 2025
<<Israeli army kills two Palestinian children in occupied West Bank
Ayman and Rimas were both ‘targeted’ with ‘lethal force by Israeli soldiers’, said a child rights organisation.
Two Palestinian children were shot in the back and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. Ayman Nasser al-Haymouny, 12, was killed in Hebron while 13-year-old Rimas al-Amouri was shot in the Jenin governorate, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Wafa news agency confirmed.
Israeli forces opened fire on al-Haymouny and shot him when he was visiting relatives south of Hebron. He was rushed to hospital where he died from his injuries. Al-Amouri was shot in the abdomen and taken to Jenin Government Hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
She was shot while standing in the courtyard of her family home in the Jenin area on Friday afternoon, Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) said. An Israeli soldier in an armoured car, stationed approximately 50 metres (164 feet) from al-Amouri, fired at least five bullets into the courtyard where she was standing, hitting her in the back, DCIP said. “Both Ayman and Rimas were targeted suddenly and without warning in the back with lethal force by Israeli soldiers safely positioned inside armoured vehicles,” DCIP’s Ayed Abu Eqtaish said. “Israeli forces have nothing but contempt for Palestinian children’s lives and systemic impunity means they will face no consequences,” he added. The killings come as the Israeli military carries out large-scale raids across the occupied West Bank for several weeks now, including in Nablus, Tulkarem, Jenin and Nablus overnight.
‘Genocidal intent’
Overnight, the Israeli military also conducted raids in the Kafr Aqab neighbourhood near occupied East Jerusalem, as well as across Nablus, in the Am’ari refugee camp north of el-Bireh city, and in Jericho, Bethlehem and the Deir Ammar refugee camp west of Ramallah, local sources including Wafa reported. A Palestinian man was taken by Israeli forces from the town of Zawata, west of Nablus city. In Jenin, where deadly Israeli raids have been ongoing for more than a month, the Israeli army pulled a man from his car and arrested him. The home of a Palestinian due to be released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal on Saturday was also raided in Birzeit, north of Ramallah. The homes of detained Palestinians in the Jalazone refugee camp were also raided and a detainee’s son was arrested. Israeli plans to intensify military operations in Tulkarem and surrounding refugee camps in the occupied West Bank are evidence of “genocidal intent”, the region’s governor, Abdullah Kmeil, said. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday condemned Israel’s operations in Tulkarem, as well as the killings of both al-Haymouny and al-Amouri. “The OIC stressed that these Israeli attacks constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the group said in a statement, urging international action. Israeli forces have killed more than 50 Palestinians since their offensive in the northern part of the occupied West Bank started on January 21, right after the Gaza ceasefire deal was agreed. It has inflicted severe damage on water and sanitation infrastructure for Palestinian communities, according to a report from the UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA). However, since the UN’s reporting period ended on Monday, several more Palestinians have been killed, including the two children on Friday night. OCHA also counted 34 incidents of Israeli settler violence towards Palestinians in its latest report.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/22/two-children-killed-in-occupied-west-bank-as-israel-steps-up-sweeping-raids

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