Israeli Minister responds to Saudi Arabia's push for two-state solution: There will be no Palestine

Israeli Minister responds to Saudi Arabia's push for two-state solution: There will be no Palestine

    Monday, November 11, 2024   No comments

As if to respond to Saudi-Sponsored Summit of supporters of the two-state solition, Israeli minister Smotrich says: I have issued instructions to prepare for extending sovereignty over the West Bank. 

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had given instructions to prepare for the extension of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, explaining that he hopes to implement this plan next year.

Aljazeera reported that Reuters quoted Smotrich, who belongs to the far-right Israeli party, as saying that the time had come in the new era of US President Donald Trump to impose Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, and he expressed his hope that Trump would support this move.

The finance minister, an ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, added that 2025 will be the year of sovereignty over the West Bank.

Smotrich has extremist positions on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, which has prompted European calls for sanctions against him and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in addition to repeated criticism from Washington, Tel Aviv’s ally.

Saudi Arabia seeking political cover from Muslim states before pushing for the implementation of the two state solution

The extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit kicked off today, Monday, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with the attendance of heads of state and leaders.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed in his speech that this summit is "an extension of the previous summit, which discussed the aggression on Gaza and Lebanon," stressing his country's rejection of the Israeli aggression on Iranian territory.

Bin Salman condemned "the military operations targeting Lebanese territory," expressing his rejection of the violation of its sovereignty, and renewing his rejection of the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip.

While the Saudi Crown Prince said that the Kingdom "denounces the aggression and supports the Palestinian people obtaining their full rights," he condemned the occupation's prevention of the UNRWA from providing its services in the occupied Palestinian territories, and its obstruction of the work of humanitarian organizations.

  

KSA FM: Normalization with KSA is off the table... What is happening in northern Gaza ... can only be described as a form of genocide

KSA FM: Normalization with KSA is off the table... What is happening in northern Gaza ... can only be described as a form of genocide

    Thursday, October 31, 2024   No comments

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday that normalization between Saudi Arabia and "Israel" is not on the table until the "two-state solution" is achieved and a Palestinian state is established.

He stressed, during a dialogue session within the activities of the "Future Investment Initiative" in Riyadh, that "the issue of normalization is not the only one at stake now, but the situation in the entire region as well, if we do not find a solution and a clear path to establish a Palestinian state."

Bin Farhan hoped "that the Israeli leadership will see that this is the right and just thing to do, and it also serves Israel's security and strategic interests."

The Saudi Foreign Minister said that establishing a Palestinian state is linked to the principles of international law, not to recognition by "Israel."

He pointed out that the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza have repeatedly collapsed due to new demands from "Israel". He said that "the Israeli occupation is committing genocide in Gaza".

He added: "We are working to ensure that the Palestinians obtain their legitimate rights, and that Palestine is a member of the international community".

In a related context, he stressed that the Kingdom supports international efforts to stop the escalation in Lebanon.

He believed that Saudi-Iranian relations are moving in the right direction, but are complicated by regional conditions.

He touched on "Vision 2030", noting that Saudi Arabia aims through it to stabilize neighboring countries.

The National is publishing a full chronology of Israel's war on Gaza

The National is publishing a full chronology of Israel's war on Gaza

    Friday, October 11, 2024   No comments

Message from the editor of The National: Tomorrow's front page explained

It is a year since Israel began the deadliest attack on Palestine in modern history.

According to Oxfam, more women and children have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza this past year than in the equivalent period of any other conflict in the last two decades.

I could go on and on, provide statistic after statistic from respected charities and NGOs. But none of it could ever fully capture the reality of the situation in Gaza.

One of our political reporters attended a devastating press conference this week, hosted by the Palestinian ambassador, hearing from two women who had lost dozens of family members who described the horrors facing their people every day.

There were three journalists from English-language outlets there. Just three.

We are a very small team compared to some of the legacy titles in the UK, and we could find the time to send a reporter to this important event. Why couldn't our other media colleagues?

You could fill every newspaper in the country from cover to cover, reporting news on the horrors occurring in Gaza. But many papers can't even fill a news brief.

So we decided to work with dedicated campaigners, and fill our front page, and a huge chunk of our newspaper, with a detailed chronology of exactly what Israel has done to Gaza.

Tomorrow's front page of The National aims to highlight the scale of the atrocities taking place in Palestine, and shows that the media have a responsibility to use their platforms to share the reality of the situation with the world.

We publish a timeline of a year of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. It’s all here in black and white—the war crimes, murdered journalists, flattened hospitals, orphaned children. 7567 words, 42,000 deaths. Don’t look away.’ - Laura Webster, Editor.

                            Message from the editor of The National (https://www.thenational.scot/)

Media review: What does CBS's handling of Ta-Nehisi Coates' interview tell us about US media when it comes to telling the story of Palestininas?

Media review: What does CBS's handling of Ta-Nehisi Coates' interview tell us about US media when it comes to telling the story of Palestininas?

    Wednesday, October 09, 2024   No comments

News stories about Palestine cannot be covered by news media like any other news subject. That is the main point of the recent controversy surrounding CBS's interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Coates response to the challenge tells the full story: Dokoupil accusing Coates of leaving some information out is not the real issue. The real issue is that Western media outlets have already set the standard for the plight of Palestinians: They should not be given any space, not an equal space, not enough space... they should be given any space at all. And that is the main point in Coates' response. 

The story of Palestinians is not told enough, and when it is, those attempting to tell it, are accused of "supporting terrorism" and of being anti-Semitic. Even Semitic persons--Jews who survived (or who are children of survivors of) the European crime against humanity inflicted on Jews, who object to a genocide committed in their name or the name of their religion or their identity, are attacked as sympathizers with terrorists.

So Dokoupil was not interested in pushing back against unbalanced "reporting", he pushed back because Coates was telling a story that no one is willing to tell for the reasons that were playing out before him live and where he was living the true experience of doing so. There is no record of Mr. Dokoupil pushing back against those who come to tell the Israeli point of view, telling them that they left out the story of Palestinians being subjected to apartheid system, the stories of Palestinians' rights to self-determination being denied by Israel for more than 75 years...

“Why leave out that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it?” Dokoupil asked. “Why leave out that Israel deals with terror groups that want to eliminate it?”

“There is no shortage of that perspective in American media,” Coates replied. “I am most concerned, always, with those who don’t have a voice.”

This exchange says it all.

Chinese Foreign Minister: The Palestinian issue is the greatest wound to the conscience of humanity and historical injustice should not be ignored

Chinese Foreign Minister: The Palestinian issue is the greatest wound to the conscience of humanity and historical injustice should not be ignored

    Saturday, September 28, 2024   No comments

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed on Saturday that the Palestinian issue is the greatest wound to the conscience of humanity at this moment. In his speech at the general debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Chinese official spoke about the ongoing war in Gaza and the recent developments in Lebanon, stressing that force cannot replace justice and that the long-held aspiration of Palestine to establish an independent state should not be ignored.

 “The historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people should no longer be ignored, and there should be no delay in reaching a comprehensive ceasefire,” he continued, stressing that the fundamental solution lies in the two-state solution. 

He stressed that China has always been a strong supporter of the Palestinian people’s just cause to restore their legitimate national rights and a strong supporter of Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations. 

Wang Yi stated that Beijing has recently helped achieve breakthroughs in Palestinian internal reconciliation and will continue to work in coordination with like-minded countries to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian issue and lasting peace and stability in the Middle East.

Is this what self-defense looks like?

Is this what self-defense looks like?

    Wednesday, September 25, 2024   No comments

 France's Macron to Israel: stop killing babies

If these are the images and characterization of what Israeli "self-defense" looks like, then what basis is there to condemn other "self-defenses"?

If Israel can kill babies and women, starve two million people, throw injured persons off rooftops, kills medical doctors and aid workers, sexually abuse Palestinian prisoners, and torture detained Palestinians, then what basis is there to condemn others if they do it?