The post Al-Aqsa Storm Operation Has Changed Everything, Iranian Spokesman Says appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The first time Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto leader acknowledged that the kingdom was moving towards normalization with Israel, was on September 20, 2023. “Every day we get closer,” Mohammad Bin Salman said during an interview with Fox News. He added that such a pact would be “the biggest historical deal since the Cold War”.

While Palestinians have vehemently condemned previous Arab-Israeli normalization agreements, labeling them as treacherous stabs in the back and betrayals to the Palestinian cause, Bin Salman argued that his deal with the Israelis would “ease the life of the Palestinians”.

Since the 1980s, Saudi Arabia has been a vociferous advocate of the two-state solution. The Fahd Peace Plan in 1981 and the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by Riyadh in 2002, which also garnered endorsement in 2007 and 2017, both proposed that Israel become a state recognized by the Arab League, contingent upon Israel withdrawing its forces from the territories it occupied following the Six-Day War in 1967. Additionally, the peace initiatives stipulated that Israel permit the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“Despite the widespread embrace of the Saudi peace plan by the majority of Arab states, Israel’s reaction to both Saudi initiatives was unfavorable. Israel insisted on maintaining Jerusalem as a unified capital and also rejected the right of return for Palestinian refugees, impacting hundreds of thousands of individuals,” said Fuad al-Ibrahim, a seasoned expert on Saudi Arabia.

The expert further noted that with the passage of time and Israel’s firm rejection of the two-state solution, Saudi Arabia appears to have become less enthusiastic about championing the Palestinian cause. Instead, it seems to be prioritizing the advancement of its ties with Israel, potentially seeking stronger rapport with Washington.

“It seems that solidifying ties with Israel has become a prerequisite for maintaining a strong relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. government. MBS appears to be actively fostering this relationship with Israel to secure his political career,” the expert remarked.

Reports indicate that as part of any potential normalization agreement with Israel, Saudi Arabia has pursued added concessions from Washington, such as a security pact, the sale of advanced weaponry, and assistance in developing a civilian nuclear program. Allegedly, Riyadh has also requested that Israel uphold the possibility of a two-state solution, although given recent events and the situation in Gaza, it seems impossible to envision Israel endorsing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Following Israel’s aggressive actions against Palestinians in Gaza, Riyadh declared that the potential deal is on hold. Nonetheless, Israeli reports contend that Bin Salman has agreed to “build on” the US-mediated discussions aimed at normalizing relations with Israel once the conflict in Gaza is over. However, in light of shifting public opinion against the regime, it may prove challenging for the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites to resume talks with Israeli officials.
“From my perspective, Operation Al-Aqsa Storm and Israel’s subsequent response to the offensive create obstacles for MBS and others to move forward with normalization with Israel, potentially endangering their credibility and political careers. Nevertheless, this may be a transient situation, contingent upon the political dynamics within Israel and the military landscape in Gaza and the broader region,” emphasized al-Ibrahim.

Waters murkier between Riyadh and Washington after Hamas operation

Israel’s disproportionate response to the October 7 Hamas attack might have also served as a wake-up call for Saudi’s ruling family.

That’s because Riyadh, like everyone else, noticed that Washington’s reaction to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its reaction to the slaughter of thousands of civilians in Gaza were undeniably disparate. After Western media outlets turned the screw on the Saudi prince for his involvement in the murder of a royal insider-turned-critic, who was killed at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in 2018, Washington decided that backing its traditional West Asian ally in the particular case would be too costly. U.S. President Joe Biden promised to turn the kingdom into a pariah during his presidential campaign and proceeded to release a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment, confirming the crown prince’s complicity in the killing.

Though Bin Salman was able to avoid reckoning, his reputation was severely damaged as someone who liked to tout himself as a bold reformer pursuing new freedoms in the Saudi kingdom.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has shown unequivocal support for Israel’s killing campaign in Gaza, and refrained from bloviating its usual slogans of human rights to let Israel finish its stated mission of “eradicating Hamas”. Washington seems willing to help the Israeli regime omit its opponents, not caring that it has to stand against the entire world to make it happen.

The Khashoggi case was not an outlier. The U.S. pulled the plug on Riyadh when Yemen’s Ansarullah movement decided to attack Saudi Arabia’s main oil processing facilities in 2019, making no concrete efforts whatsoever to help its ally prop up its security apparatus. That’s while the Democrats and Republicans are working in tandem to secure a $14.5 billion military aid package for Israel, amid a budget deficit crisis in home.

Gaza war brings Saudis closer to China

Saudi Arabia had already begun to buttress its relations with China after getting the stiff-arm from the U.S. during the two instances. But the kingdom seems to have shifted even more towards Beijing’s orbit with the occurrence of the latest war in West Asia.

A delegation of Arab and Muslim ministers, including Saudi Arabia’s Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, travelled to Beijing in November to push for an end to the war in Gaza with China’s aid.

The move largely sidelined the U.S., which has been the target of scathing criticism from its Arab allies since the beginning of the latest wave of Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Operation Al-Aqsa Storm seems to have defied previous predictions on many levels. Saudi Arabia may have to recalibrate its foreign policies, considering the amount of hate it may receive from Muslim masses across the world once it decides to move forward with normalization talks with Israel. It might also be less willing than before to count on the U.S. as a reliable partner, given Washington’s penchant for leaving Saudi Arabia alone, when a crisis strikes.

By: Mona Hojatansari

The post Could Al-Aqsa Storm bring a change to Saudi foreign policy? appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The leader described Basij as an invaluable legacy of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, saying the fact that the late Imam was proud of being a Basij member demonstrates the high status of the volunteer force.

He said the transnational and cross-border aspects of Basij are among the outstanding features of the million-strong force.

“The ‘formation of international cores of resistance’ that Imam Khomeini had envisioned has come true in the region today, and the resistance cores are changing the fate of the region, an example of which is Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” he noted, referring to the Palestinian resistance groups’ operation against the Zionist regime on October 7.

Referring to the failed plan of the Americans to change the geopolitical map of West Asia, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “A few years ago, in the issue of Lebanon, they said that they were looking for the formation of a ‘New Middle East’ based on their own illegitimate needs and interests, but they failed of course.”

The U.S., the Leader went on, sought to destroy Hezbollah, but after the 33-day war, the Lebanese resistance movement became more than 10 times stronger than before.

He also called the United States’ failure to swallow up Iraq through the establishment of a US-installed government another manifestation of the failure of the formation of the “New Middle East.”

“In Iraq, which they sought to swallow up, the cores of resistance have entered the Palestinian cause today,” he asserted.

Pointing to the fact that the geopolitical map of West Asia is changing in favor of the Resistance, the Leader of described the first characteristic of this plan as “de-Americanization, meaning the negation of US dominance over the region,” defining it as the loss of the United States’ political power and dominance.

Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that the U.S. is taking measures to dominate the region by strengthening the Zionist regime and by encouraging other countries to establish relations with it. “A clear and obvious sign of the de-Americanization of the region is the deeply historic event of the Al-Aqsa Storm. Even though this operation was against the Zionist regime, but it was also an act of de-Americanization,” he added.

On the same note, the Leader remarked that, “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm changed the table for U.S. policy in the region, a table that will be eliminated if this Storm continues.”

Ayatollah Khamenei further noted that the “disruption of false and imposed dualities in the region” is another feature of the new West Asia. “The dualities of ‘Arabs and non-Arabs,’ ‘Shias and Sunnis’ and the myth of the Shia Crescent have diminished.  A clear example of this can be seen in the case of Palestine since during the Al-Aqsa Storm and before that, Arab and non-Arab Shias have provided the most help to the Palestinians.”

The Leader added that, “In the face of those imposed dualities, a new duality called ‘resistance and submission’ has come to dominate the region.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also underlined that “solving the Palestinian issue,” in the sense that Palestinian sovereignty should be established in all Palestinian lands is another feature of the new West Asia.

Elsewhere in his speech, the Leader referred to the Islamic Republic’s proposal for the future of Palestine, which involves a referendum for all Palestinians inside and outside of Palestine.

“Some say that the Zionist regime will not agree to this idea. However, this resolve must be imposed on it. If this plan is pursued, and God willing it will, and if the cores of resistance pursue their incentive in a serious manner, this goal will be achieved.”

Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted the importance of Al-Aqsa Storm in helping Palestinians get closer to their goals. He underlined that this operation has angered the Zionists and that they have lashed out by attacking hospitals, schools and public gatherings in the hope of extinguishing the flames of their anger.
Referring to the savagery of the Zionist regime as a result of its failure to achieve its goals, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that the barbaric acts have not only disgraced the occupying regime itself, but they have also disgraced the US and Western civilization. “The Western culture and civilization is a civilization that martyrs 5,000 Palestinian children with phosphorous bombs in the name of self-defense.”

The Leader noted that the tragedies that have taken place in Gaza during the past 50 days are a summation of the crimes the Zionist regime has been committing in Palestine for nearly 75 years. “The Al-Aqsa Storm is unextinguishable and God willing, this situation will not continue,” he emphasized.

Elsewhere in his speech, he described Imam Khomeini’s foresight in recognizing the country’s urgent need for a great, voluntary force as the logic behind the formation of the Basij.

Ayatollah Khamenei also highlighted the fact that Imam Khomeini’s designation of the term “school of love” for the Basij was an indication that the Basij “with their love for God, spirituality and people” are moving in the right direction.

The final part of Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech was dedicated to giving practical advice to the members of the Basij.

The recommendations included: Increasing one’s insight, having initiative, being mindful of not playing into the hands of the enemy, being continuously optimistic about the future by relying on the true progress of the country as it faces the most severe forms of sanctions and pressures, avoiding conceit, appreciating the blessings of being a member of the Basij and considering it as a valuable entrustment from God, always trusting in God , recruiting “creative personnel” along with operational forces and giving more importance to planning, thinking and devising.

The post Al-Aqsa Storm led to de-Americanization appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The operation, which began on Saturday morning, took Israel by surprise on multiple fronts. The operation is unprecedented in the past 50 years.

It was the biggest attack on the Zionist regime in 50 years. It is haunting the invaders of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It came 50 years and a day after forces from Egypt and Syria caught Israel off-guard.

Battles were still taking place in 22 locations, according to Israelis.

The armed wing of Hamas said more than 5,000 rockets had been fired from the besieged Gaza into the occupied territories within a space of 20 minutes.

Israel’s N12 News reported that at least 100 Israelis were killed. Israel’s ambulance service added that the toll was expected to rise.

A senior Hamas leader has said that the group had captured enough Israeli soldiers during the unprecedented attack to make Israeli authorities free all Palestinian prisoners.

The head of a regional Israeli council northeast of the Gaza Strip has been killed in a firefight, according to the council. “The president of the regional council, Ofir Liebstein, was killed during an exchange of fire with [the resistance],” the Israeli Shaar Negev settlement council said in a statement.

As rocket barrages hit Israeli settlements and other sensitive sites, units of Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, infiltrated into Israeli settlements and military bases.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN has said that fighters, who infiltrated from a number of different points, “killed DOZENS of Israelis”.

What Israel doesn’t know is how many Palestinian resistance fighters had infiltrated from Gaza into the settlements.

According to Reuters, Israel’s police chief said there were “21 active scenes” in southern occupied territories, indicating the extent of the surprise operation.

Israeli Minister of War Yoav Gallant said, “troops are fighting against the enemy at every location”.

A video going viral on social media shows a section of the separation fence, dividing the Gaza Strip from the occupied Palestinian territories, wide open from what appears to be an explosive device.

Footage shows Palestinian resistance fighters on jeeps leaving the Gaza Strip and heading into occupied Palestinian territory for the first time in modern history amid chants of support and celebration by local residents.
For many Palestinian residents in Gaza, it was also a chance for them to step into the land of their grandparents.

Other footage circulating on social media appears to show clashes in the streets of Israeli settlements as well as gunmen in jeeps roaming the countryside.

Hamas media displayed videos of bodies of Israeli soldiers brought into Gaza by its forces, and Palestinian resistance fighters touring an Israeli town in jeeps.

At least one video going viral on social media shows the body of an Israeli on the back of a captured Israeli jeep that had been driven back into the Gaza Strip.

The al-Qassam Brigades announced control of the Kibbutz settlement and the Kerem Shalom military site east of Rafah.

Other footage shows Palestinians in control of Israeli military vehicles and Israeli tanks on fire near the separation fence. A Palestinian man can be seen taking a selfie in front of a burning Israeli military vehicle.
Footage of Israeli firefighters extinguishing a fire after a rocket hit a parking lot in the settlement of Ashkelon is among various similar videos that have been broadcast.

In the settlement of Sderot, Israeli troops were engaged in clashes with the resistance fighters. In all the wars that proceeded this one, the fighting has never gone beyond the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military has confirmed it is engaged in clashes with the resistance in several Israeli settlements and military bases near Gaza, with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to retaliate.

The Israeli army has not gained control of any of the locations Hamas fighters infiltrated in southern occupied Palestinian territories, according to Israeli media.

The Haaretz newspaper reported that settlers are still in shelters, and there are no Israeli security forces or medical staff on site.

Palestinians in Gaza expressed disbelief at the infiltration. One Gaza shopkeeper told Reuters “It is like a dream. I still can’t believe it”.

It’s not only a significant move for the Palestinian resistance but also reflects the messages of resistance leaders who said that they would take the war to the occupied territories, which many analysts in the region laughed off, implying that this was impossible.
Red alert warning sirens were activated in Tel Aviv, Sde Boker, Arad, and Dimona in the south, as explosions were heard by residents. In occupied al-Quds, rocket sirens sounded followed by the sound of explosions.

“We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation. Their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over,” Hamas said. “We announce Operation al-Aqsa Storm and we fired, in the first strike of 20 minutes, more than 5,000 rockets.”

The Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad said its fighters have joined the operation as Hamas called on Palestinians everywhere to fight. It also called on resistance groups in Lebanon to join the fight against Israel.

“We are part of this battle, our fighters are side-by-side with their brothers in the Qassam Brigades until victory is achieved,” Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing spokesman Abu Hamza said in a post on social media.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has said it is following the situation in Gaza closely and is “in direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance”.

Hezbollah also said the operation was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalization with Israel”.

Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh has warned that “this storm which started from Gaza will spread to the West Bank and outside the country and all the places where our people and nation are present.”

Haniyeh called the operation historic and epic, saying the main reason for its start was the “criminal aggression of the Zionists in the al-Aqsa Mosque, which had reached its peak in recent days”.

The highest-ranking Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif, who has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts and announced the start of the retaliatory operation, said, “This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth.”

He said Palestinian resistance forces struck numerous Israeli targets, including airports and military facilities.

“Today, the wrath of our nation and righteous fighters is boiling over. This is your day to make the enemy understand that its time has come to an end,” the top commander stated.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Hamas spokesperson Khaled Qadomi said that the group’s military operation is in response to all the atrocities the Palestinians have faced over the decades on top of them the desecration of Israelis at the al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.

“We want the international community to stop atrocities in Gaza, against Palestinian people, our holy sites like Al-Aqsa. All these things are the reason behind starting this battle,” he said.

Asked whether Hamas had taken Israeli soldiers and settlers hostage, Qadomi replied, “They are not hostages. They are prisoners of war.”

He highlighted that the Israeli settlers are also occupiers, and according to international law, they are invaders.

“So the situation today is a war against invaders,” he said.

Israel says it is at “war” and has begun bombing the Gaza Strip, with reports emerging of a large number of dead and wounded Palestinians at a Gaza hospital.

History has proven that these bombing raids by the regime mostly kill women and children on a very large scale.

Critics have previously accused Israel of using these war crime tactics to pressure the resistance to halt fire.

What is certain is that the events that unfolded on Saturday are a game changer.

Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor at Qatar University, says events of the last few hours (on Saturday) have been “game-changing for the politics of the region”.

“For the first time, the resistance movement decided to react against the occupiers and the military … I think the Israeli side is facing a real challenge in tackling its image now.

Also the narrative created by Hamas with regional and international players is interesting,” he said.

The post Al-Aqsa Storm: Palestinian resistance humiliates Israel appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Amit Halevi, a member of the Likud party, which has a slim majority in the Israeli Knesset, has proposed a plan to divide the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied al-Quds between Jewish settlers and Muslims, sparking warnings by the Palestinian resistance.

There has been long-held suspicion by Palestinians and the wider Muslim world of the regime’s plans to Judaize Islam’s third holiest site.

Halevi made the deeply controversial remarks during an interview with a Hebrew-language newspaper, where he outlined a plan that would divide the large complex, in which Muslims would be subjected to the southern end that contains the al-Aqsa Mosque.

All the remaining compound, including the central and northern parts, would be reserved for settlers, including the area where the Dome of the Rock, another very holy Muslim site, is located.

Halevi has also proposed that Jordan’s role as custodians of both the Muslim and Christian holy places in the occupied Palestinian city of al-Quds be replaced with Israeli authority.

“If they (Muslims) pray there, it does not make the entire (al-Aqsa Mosque complex) a holy place for Muslims. It wasn’t and it won’t be,” Halevi said.

Al-Aqsa is not only revered by Muslims across the globe but has also become symbolic of Palestinian culture and their existence.

Over the past years, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound has seen a sharp rise in Israeli settlers storming the compound and performing rituals there in violation of the status quo.

That has sparked clashes between Palestinian worshippers and witnessed Israeli forces brutally beating up women and men protesting against the desecration.

In May 2021, the regime’s attacks and desecration of the Mosque triggered operation “sword of al-Quds”, by the Palestinian resistance in the besieged Gaza Strip, which saw missiles rain deep inside the occupied Palestinian territories targeting critical Israeli infrastructure facilities. Israel responded by indiscriminately bombing the besieged coastal enclave, killing dozens of women and children.

Israel’s occupation of the holy city of al-Quds itself is not recognized by the United Nations, which rejects the grabbing of land through war. Despite this, the world body has done little to defend the oppressed Palestinian people living there.

Halevi also seeks to change the access procedures for Israeli settlers storming al-Aqsa, by demanding that settlers be allowed to enter the complex through all the gates, rather than only through the southwestern Moroccan Gate, which is the only gate out of the mosque’s 15 entry points under the full control of Israeli authorities which no Palestinians can access.

In September last year, Israeli settlers stormed the Mosque through the Lions’ Gate, the first time settlers entered the courtyards of the holy site from the gate since Israel waged another war against the Palestinians and occupied al-Quds in 1967.

The Palestinian resistance factions have warned that any plan to divide al-Aqsa Mosque would be a declaration of war and that Israel would face repercussions for the implementation of any such move.

According to the Palestinian Information Center, the Palestinian resistance groups have published a joint statement that held the “Zionist government responsible for the disastrous consequences of the implementation of any plan to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The statement said that the “Palestinian nation and the resistance will never accept such aggression, even if it requires self-sacrifice”
In another excerpt of the statement, it is emphasized that the remarks by Halevi is “a continuous crime that is being carried out by all the elements of the Zionist regime and it is part of the planned and targeted plans to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque, Judaize it and exercise sovereignty over this holy place.”

The Palestinian resistance highlighted that “this act sounds the alarm that the whole nation should fulfill their responsibilities towards this occupation plan against Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The statement also called on all Palestinian resistance groups “to strengthen their presence at the al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings, as well as to increase the level of retaliatory operations and confrontation, in order to stand up against the aggression of the occupation and increase the cost of their criminal actions, and in this regard, to carry out brave operations.”

The resistance groups underscored the importance that the retaliatory operations be expanded to the occupied Palestinian territories of 1948.

Meanwhile, Israel has raided Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to demolish a home of a Palestinian inmate who had carried out a retaliatory operation against Israeli settlers.

The regime’s military, backed by a convoy of some 200 armored vehicles and bulldozers, was confronted by Palestinian youth, who came out of their homes to protest the attack. The Israeli army responded by attacking the protesters with live fire, rubber bullets and a wave of tear gas as well as targeting several journalists, who have sustained injuries.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, one Palestinian has been killed, at least 35 others have been wounded, including at least 20 by live bullets. Two people also suffered serious abdominal wounds while a third was hit by a rubber bullet which penetrated his skull. Israel has been accused of forcefully targeting the journalists to prevent the atrocity from being publicized.

While Israeli raids on cities, towns and villages in the occupied West Bank have now become an everyday occurrence, the all-night raid in Ramallah, where the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority government in the occupied West Bank is located is something rare. Yet it highlights the limits the new Israeli cabinet is willing to cross.

Israel routinely destroys the homes of those it suspects of carrying out retaliatory operations against settlers. The UN views this policy as collective punishment, which is illegal under international humanitarian law.

The regime eventually demolished the home of the Palestinian prisoner Eslam Froukh.

“What the occupation authorities did was a heinous crime,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has been cited as saying by the official WAFA news agency. “It turned an entire family overnight into a homeless family.”

The Palestinian Foreign Minister has also condemned the latest house demolition expressing its utter discontent with the international community’s silence over the repeated Israeli crimes against the occupied Palestinian people.

This comes as reports have surfaced that newly formed armed resistance in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin fought off an Israeli military convoy from entering the city.

Reports suggest the regime had carefully planned the operation in a bid to arrest several resistance figures by flying surveillance aircrafts for several days before kickstarting the offensive on Friday morning.

Before the Israeli convoy could enter the soil of Jenin, it was faced with a heavy armed resistance that forced it to halt its operation and withdraw, signaling a new strength of power for the youthful Palestinian resistance in the occupied West Bank. A generation that only took up arms some two years ago.

The post Dividing al-Aqsa compound a “declaration of war” appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Khatibzadeh said, “This violation, which took place on the eve of Eid al-Adha, is strongly condemned and the Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its disgust with it.”

He added, “Once again, the Zionists have shown that the Palestinians and the Muslim world are left with no choice to liberate the Holy Quds but resistance. The united voice of the Islamic world can certainly help in this regard.”

He also said Iran will do its part to prevent the Israelis from desecrating the holy site. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue all its efforts to unite the Islamic world in order to prevent these aggressions,” Khatibzadeh said.

Israeli occupation forces, along with scores of Israeli settler fanatics, broke into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on early Sunday morning attacking worshipers at the holy site and detaining many of them while firing tear gas canisters and stun grenades into the worshipers, Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported.

Early in the morning, dozens of Israeli police officers started raiding the holy site through the Chain and Moroccan gates, before they embarked on beating and assaulting the Muslim worshipers attending prayers at the holy site in an effort to make way for the entry of hundreds of Israeli settlers there, WAFA said. The police locked down the southern main building inside the holy site, and hundreds of worshipers were left inside and were unable to leave. Groups of Israeli settlers later broke into the courtyards after it was almost emptied of all Muslim worshipers by force. Israeli extremist groups have called on settlers to force their way into the Al-Aqsa complex in large numbers on July 18, on the occasion of the anniversary of what Israel calls “the destruction of the temple.”

The post Iran condemns Israel aggression against Al-Aqsa appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Israeli occupation forces, along with scores of Israeli settler fanatics, broke into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on early Sunday morning, attacking worshipers at the holy site and detaining many of them while firing tear gas canisters and stun grenades into the worshipers, Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported.

Early in the morning, dozens of Israeli police officers started raiding the holy site through the Chain and Moroccan gates, before they embarked on beating and assaulting the Muslim worshipers attending prayers at the holy site in an effort to make way for the entry of hundreds of Israeli settlers there, WAFA said. The police locked down the southern main building inside the holy site, and hundreds of worshipers were left inside and were unable to leave. Groups of Israeli settlers later broke into the courtyards after it was almost emptied of all Muslim worshipers by force. Israeli extremist groups have called on settlers to force their way into the Al-Aqsa complex in large numbers on July 18, on the occasion of the anniversary of what Israel calls “the destruction of the temple.”

A source in the Palestinian Islamic Waqf Council told Al Araby Al Jadeed newspaper that more than 420 Israeli settlers have participated in storming the third-holiest site in Islam.

The first round of settlers’ incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, which took place Sunday before noon, ended with the Israeli special forces protecting the fanatics. These special forces continue their attacks on worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque and its gates, as well as their siege of Old Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Council warned of the repercussions of the Israeli occupation and its settlers’ violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque. In a statement on Sunday, the council confirmed that the violations and attacks against al-Aqsa were instigated by Jewish fanatic groups, with the support and political cover of the Israeli government. It stressed that the Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which coincide with the Muslim holidays, reveal extremism and malice that aim at dragging the region into a religious war in which consequences cannot be contained, according to WAFA.

The Palestinian presidency condemned Israel’s provocations and held it fully responsible for the escalation resulting from the Israeli incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

The presidency said attacks by Israeli occupation forces and settlers on Al-Aqsa Mosque and worshipers there are a grave danger to the stability and security of the region, and that these attacks provoke the sentiments of the Palestinian people.

“These Israeli provocations pose a challenge to the American demands that have called for preserving the historical status quo in Jerusalem,” the presidency said in a statement.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also reacted to the Israeli violations of the basic rights to worship, calling on the international community to take a decisive stance against the ongoing Israeli aggression on the holy mosque.

“This [Israeli] attack falls within the framework of an official Israeli decision to perpetuate the temporal division of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque. It also comes within the framework of Israelization and Judaization of Jerusalem aimed at emptying the city of its Palestinian citizens,” the ministry said in a statement.

Palestinian officials have put Israel’s provocations into the broader context of Tel Aviv’s efforts to destabilize the region by cracking down on Palestinians and desecrating Muslim sanctities. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Israel is tampering with the security and stability of the region and is dragging the region into a religious war that will burn the entire region.

“By continuing its policy of incursions into religious places, as is happening today in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel is defying the Palestinian people and disregarding international positions, especially the American position which demanded [Israel] to adhere to the status quo in Jerusalem,” Abu Rudeineh said.

Jordan also condemned Israel’s provocations at the al-Aqsa. Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Daifallah al-Fayez said the Israeli actions against the mosque represent a violation of the historical and legal status quo, international law, and Israel’s obligations as an occupying power in East Jerusalem.

The European Union described the situation in Jerusalem as “explosive” and called for urgent actions to calm down it. “Acts of incitement have to be avoided and the status quo respected. Israeli authorities, religious and community leaders from all sides should act urgently to calm down this explosive situation,” it said in a statement.

The Israeli aggression came after Israel formed a new government that has been widely touted as a diverse one. Naftali Bennet succeeded in forming a coalition of contradictory political factions to oust Benjamin Netanyahu. With the change of government, many observers harbored illusions about Israeli moderation. But moderation is a rarity in Israeli politics. Even the so-called moderates in Israel are nothing but hardliners compared to other politicians elsewhere.

Bennet proved even more hawkish and fanatic in terms of dealing with the Palestinians. He relaunched a controversial settlement expansion project that will see the construction of more than 3,412 settler units and more alarmingly split the occupied West Bank in two, the north and the south. The E1 project revolves around the construction of settler units for Israeli squatters at an unbuilt area of the occupied territories.

To make things worse, he provided a security umbrella for Israeli extremists to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque, greenlighting a radical change in the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The post Bennet follows in the footsteps of Netanyahu appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The parade, also known as the flag march, is widely regarded as the symbol of the continuation of state-level extremism in Israel. It has been delayed several times over fears that such a controversial move would prompt another conflict between the Palestinians and the Israeli regime.

The flag-waving procession was planned to take place on Thursday, but the Israeli authorities, taking into account Palestinian warnings, delayed the event, which was organized by Israeli right-wing groups. The organizers of the procession had planned to march through the walled Old City’s Damascus Gate and into its Muslim quarter, a provocative move that prompted the Palestinians, including the resistance groups in the Gaza Strip, to warn Israel of the consequences of the procession should it proceed.

However, the Israeli government did not heed this warning, giving the far-right groups the green light to hold their controversial parade, which was held on Tuesday.

The so-called flag march has always been a controversial move. It is held to commemorate the so-called Jerusalem Day, one which reminds the Palestinians of the day when they lost control over Jerusalem’s Old City during the 1967 war. Now, Israeli right-wing marchers want to roam the streets of the Old City to further remind the Palestinians of the roots of the oppression they go through almost on a daily basis.

This may explain why the Palestinians vowed to confront the flag march. The Palestinians published online calls to gather at the entrance to Damascus Gate in a bid to prevent the Israeli settlers from holding their provocative procession.

The Israeli government wasted no time in standing by the side of right-wingers. Heavily armed paramilitary border police and other forces patrolled the streets of the city, set up checkpoints, and blocked off roads throughout East Jerusalem. Iron barriers were placed outside the entrance to Damascus Gate, Al Jazeera reported.

Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank have called for a “Day of Rage” against the march. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called the march a “provocation.”

“This is a provocation of our people and an aggression against our Jerusalem and our holy sites,” he said.

“We warn of the dangerous repercussions that may result from the occupying power’s intention to allow extremist Israeli settlers to carry out the Flag March in occupied Jerusalem,” he added.
Tensions in Jerusalem also drew a warning from the UN envoy for the region. “Tensions (are) rising again in Jerusalem at a very fragile & sensitive security & political time, when UN & Egypt are actively engaged in solidifying the ceasefire,” Tor Wennesland said on Twitter.

The march could not come at a more sensitive time for the Israeli political class. A group of various and contradictory political factions has recently formed a government that is widely seen as a fragile cabinet. New Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet has assumed office after putting together a bizarre alliance of right-wing, centrist, left-wing, and Arab parties that enabled him to oust Netanyahu. He took office on Sunday and ended Netanyahu’s long rule.

The flag march posed the first test for the Bennet government. He heads a far-right party and diverting the procession could anger members of his religious base and expose him to accusations he was giving the Gaza Strip veto power over events in Jerusalem, according to Reuters.

At the same time, allowing the nationalist procession to proceed could put the new, fragile government of Israel at the risk of going to a new war with the Gaza Strip in a precarious situation.

The new government approved the march. After meeting with Israel’s police chief and other security officials, newly sworn-in Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev approved the march and said police were well prepared, according to a statement carried by Israeli media.

“[Great] efforts are being undertaken to preserve the delicate fabric of life and public security,” Barlev was quoted as saying.

The episode put the focus on whether the patchwork government of Bennet would finish its four-year term. Many analysts inside Israel and outside believe that this government will soon collapse under the weight of its contradictions.

Conventional political logic says that the new Israeli government will not last for the duration of its mandate. It is made up of very contradictory parties. It was formed from two factions that shared power equally: the Right bloc that includes 12 deputies, and a bloc seeking change which includes 49 deputies. In addition to the contradiction between the two blocs, there is a contradiction no less severe within the Lapid faction. It includes Avigdor Lieberman’s far-right party and Meretz’s far-left party, and between them are Benny Gantz’s party, Labor and the party of Lapid himself as well as the Islamic movement.

The only thing that united all these factions is a strong desire to get rid of Netanyahu. If hatred of Netanyahu proves sufficient for the government, getting the government to continue its work requires something more unifying than the hatred of the former prime minister, who now places much hope on the fragility of the current government.

The Bennet government is so fragile that if a deputy in the coalition fell ill with diarrhea and had to be absent, this government could fall. Netanyahu, who knows this full well, pins all his hopes on this fragility to return to power.

The post A patchwork government doomed to fail appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The American newspaper The Washington Post reported that the U.S. government approved the sale of $735 million in precision-guided weapons to the Israeli regime, citing sources in the U.S. Congress. The Congress was officially informed of the proposed sale on May 5, the daily said, days before the Israeli regime launched an all-out aggression on Palestine. This happens while the world expected the Biden Administration to reverse the decision for selling the arms to Israel which had been agreed during the Donald Trump Administration.

The proposed weapons sale is related to Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMS) that transforms so-called “dumb” bombs into precision-guided missiles, which the Israel regime has reportedly used on several occasions in the past.

Washington Post said some U.S. Democrats want to know the details of the proposed arms sale, as they believe its timing may be used as leverage.

According to the report, once the Congress receives formal notification from the Biden administration about the sale, lawmakers would have 20 days to object with a nonbinding resolution of disapproval.

It comes at a time when Palestine has been reeling under an unprecedented military aggression from the occupying regime, with the resistance front retaliating forcefully, exposing cracks in the Israeli regime’s defense infrastructure.

The latest escalation was triggered earlier this month by the Israeli regime forces who forced Palestinian families to vacate their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, followed by violent onslaught on worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

After the Palestinian resistance movement retaliated, the occupying regime fired a barrage of missiles targeting civilian areas in the besieged territory, including high-rise buildings housing residential apartments and media houses.

The death toll from the Israeli regime attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip has jumped to 200, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday.

Biden and some of his Democratic colleagues have insisted that Israel has the right to defend itself, even though an overwhelming evidence points to Israeli regime’s disproportionate attacks on Palestine.

The controversial sale has caught some U.S. lawmakers off guard. One of them, quoted in the Washington Post story, says there is “zero transparency” on the House Foreign Affairs Committe with “sensitive deals” being “regularly approved without scrutiny”.

The deal is likely to lead to further divisions in the Democratic Party ranks as some lawmakers are mounting pressure on the Biden administration to take action in the face of Israeli regime’s relentless aggression on Palestinians.

“This is happening with the support of the United States,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Saturday in reference to Israeli airstrikes. “The US vetoed the UN call for ceasefire. If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to? How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights?

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said Israel is bombing the international media so the world can’t see its war crimes against the people of Palestine, in reaction to an airstrike on a building housing media offices in Gaza.

“Israel targeting media sources is so the world can’t see Israel’s war crimes led by the apartheid-in-chief Netanyahu. It’s so the world can’t see the killing of babies, children and their parents. It’s so the world can’t see Palestinians being massacred,” she tweeted on Saturday.

Now with this pro-Israeli gesture from Israel how the world, the Palestinians and Muslims can trust this killer regime and the current ceasefire. The U.S. verbally and practically has shown its ardent support to the Zionists and the Palestinians have no choice but struggle and continuing their intifada till the moment occupier regime is thrown out of their lands.

Now as the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has called for all-out support of Muslim states for the Palestinians in their fight against the Zionists, all Muslims should come to the help of Palestinians through financial and military equipment aids in order that the Palestinians can boost their defensive and attacking power against the Zionists. As the Supreme Leader In separate messages to Palestinian Resistance leaders called the struggle against the occupiers of Palestine a resistance against oppression and arrogance. And he reiterated, “Palestinians will be victorious and purify the holy land from the filth of usurpers.”

So countdown for the victory of the Palestinians has begun and unity among Muslims and their material and spiritual supports.

The post Zionists’ Crimes Rewarded With U.S. Arms Sale appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“If the Zionist enemy continues this hostile policy against al-Quds, there will be no calm,” head of the political bureau of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh said in a virtual meeting on Sunday, according to Hamas’s official website.

On Thursday, more than 100 Palestinians were wounded and 50 more arrested in Israeli police and settler violence in Jerusalem al-Quds. Haniyeh’s remarks came as Israeli forces continued their aggressive actions against Palestinians on Sunday.

Haniyeh said the ongoing Palestinian response to the Israeli aggression in Jerusalem al-Quds comes “in the context of the battle over the identity of the holy city.”

The Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank should stand steadfast in the face of the Israeli occupation forces, he said, adding the current situation in Jerusalem al-Quds proved that Israel has failed to achieve any of its plans regarding the historic city.

On the upcoming Palestinian elections, Haniyeh said Hamas will never pass on the opportunity, stressing the necessity of holding the elections in Jerusalem al-Quds, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

“The Palestinian election in al-Quds has started very early,” he said, referring to the Palestinians who took to the streets to defend the city against the Israeli aggression.

Hamas leader: Palestinians to foil all Israeli plots

Khaled Meshaal, a former head of the political bureau of Hamas, said the Palestinian people in Jerusalem al-Quds will foil all Israeli plots in the city, as they have done on many occasions in the past few years.

In an interview with al-Aqsa TV channel on Sunday, Meshaal said Palestinians are going through a fierce battle against the Israeli occupation forces.

“It is a big battle aimed at Judaizing and controlling al-Quds and a plan to divide al-Aqsa Mosque spatially and timely,” he said, hailing the Palestinian defenders of the holy mosque for standing steadfast in the face of the Israeli occupation forces.

Meshaal reiterated Hamas’s support for the Palestinian elections, saying the polls are part of national endeavors to achieve unity.

He also dismissed the possibility of postponing the elections, saying Palestinian factions will remove all obstacles so that the vote will be held on its due date.

The remarks came as Palestinian sources reported that clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians had continued near al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday night and into Monday morning, after reports emerged that Israeli forces had briefly removed the barriers outside the Damascus Gate.

According to al-Quds al-Arabi, at least three Palestinians were arrested and a few others were injured in the course of the Israeli attacks.

Israeli army on high alert

Israel’s minister of military affairs Benny Gantz on Sunday ordered all branches of the Israeli security establishment to maintain readiness for further escalation in Gaza.

The Israeli military has been bombarding the besieged Gaza Strip in recent days, claiming the attacks are conducted as a response to rocket attacks by Palestinians in the enclave.

According to Israeli news site Walla, Gantz told the regime’s army chief of staff Aviv Kochavi and his subordinates, as well as the head of the Shin Bet and other security officials, that Israel must make preparations to face further escalation.

Gantz threatened on Saturday that if calm in the south does not continue, “Gaza will be severely damaged … and the leaders of Hamas will bear the responsibility.”

In a Sunday statement, Hamas called on all Palestinians to remain united and continue their resistance against the Tel Aviv regime.

Hamas urged all resistance groups in the besieged Gaza Strip to “keep their fingers on triggers and prepare their missiles” to target the enemy’s strongholds as well as its military installations.

Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee tweeted early Monday that the regime had imposed fishing restrictions on Palestinians in Gaza in response to what he described as the “continued firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip toward Israel.”

Hours later, Adraee wrote in another tweet that the regime had completely closed down the legal fishing area for Palestinians in response to the rockets.

The post Hamas warns Israel of ‘no calm’ if regime’s hostile measures continue appeared first on Iran News Daily.