Israel making ‘no effort’ to investigate Gaza war crimes allegations: ICC
Press TV – January 17, 2025
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan says Israel has not properly investigated war crimes allegations brought against the regime over its barbarism in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The chief ICC prosecutor in remarks on Friday defended his decision to issue the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant.
Khan emphasized that Israel had made “no real effort” to investigate into the 15-month-long campaign of death and destruction in the besieged Palestinian territory itself.
“We’re here as a court of last resort and … as we speak right now, we haven’t seen any real effort by Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence,” he added.
“The question is have those judges [in Israel], have those prosecutors, have those legal instruments been used to properly scrutinize the allegations that we’ve seen in the occupied Palestinian territories, in the State of Palestine? And I think the answer to that was ‘no’,” Khan said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Khan also strongly criticized the US House of Representatives’ vote last week to sanction the ICC for issuing an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
The chief prosecutor says it “is a matter that should make all people of conscience be concerned”.
The US earlier this month approved a bill to sanction the ICC officials in response to the arrest warrants that the tribunal has issued against Israeli authorities for war crimes in the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The chief prosecutor recently submitted his formal response this week to Israel’s appeal challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
Khan noted that the ICC court has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes facing the international community as a whole, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Last year, the ICC, based in The Hague, issued warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. Israeli authorities are also accused of using hunger as a weapon in Gaza.
ICC judges are expected to deliver a decision on the matter in the coming months.
In January 2024, the international court of justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent genocide in Gaza. However, the regime has ignored the court’s verdict.
In December 2023, South Africa initiated legal proceedings against Israel, accusing it of breaching the Genocide Convention in its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.
Cuba has now become the 14th country to join South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ.
Kushner’s Saudi-backed fund doubles stake in firm financing illegal West Bank settlements
The Cradle | January 17, 2025
Affinity Partners, the Saudi-funded hedge firm of President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, received approval from Israeli regulators to double its stake in Phoenix Financial Ltd., which funds the construction of illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
Bloomberg reported on 17 January that Affinity could buy an additional 4.95 percent stake in the financial services firm at 37.5 shekels ($10.3) a share.
Phoenix’s share price has surged over 50 percent to around 58.5 shekels apiece since mid-July, when Kushner’s Miami-based firm announced the $128.5 million deal to buy its initial 4.95 percent stake, Bloomberg noted.
Kushner has held up the deal as a sign of his company’s confidence in the war-racked country’s economy.
“Investing in Phoenix in July 2024 was a decision rooted in my belief in Israel’s resiliency and the fundamentals of Phoenix’s business,” Kushner said in a statement to Bloomberg.” Six months later, the increased value of our shares, reaffirms my conviction – both in Israel’s strength and the growing promise of Phoenix.”
Kushner founded Affinity, which has other investments in Israel, including a stake in S Shlomo Holdings’s car and credit division, with $2 billion in Saudi funding after leaving his role as senior White House advisor during the first Trump administration.
Kushner established a close relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) while serving in the White House.
Kushner is the son-in-law of US President-elect Donald Trump and served as his senior White House advisor in his first term. Kushner played a pivotal role in the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and some Arab nations in 2020. Trump is now expected to try bringing Saudi Arabia into the accords.
In addition to receiving backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Kushner raised an additional $1.5 billion from the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based Lunate, bringing its assets under management to $4.6 billion.
Pheonix Financial has financed and insured construction projects throughout Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.
According to the NGO watchdog Who Profits, Phoenix owns an 80 percent stake in a large shopping mall in an illegal East Jerusalem settlement and stakes in various companies operating throughout other settlements.
Phoenix has also helped finance wind and solar projects in illegal Israeli settlements and provided financial services to the local councils of settlements, including the Beitar Illit and Oranit settlements in the West Bank.
Kushner’s investment in Pheonix comes just days before Trump is set to take office once again.
Israeli settler leaders celebrated Trump’s election and anticipate permitting them to annex the West Bank and greatly expand building settlements for Israeli Jews there.
The Israeli government is also seeking to expand the building of Jewish settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
In December, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government announced it would invest more than $11 million to “encourage demographic growth” in the Golan, which Israeli forces first occupied in 1967.
Israel moved to expand its illegal occupation of Syrian territory in the Golan immediately after the Syrian government, led by president Bashar al-Assad, was toppled by militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former Al-Qaeda affiliate, on 8 December.
What legitimacy is the PA talking about?
By Ramona Wadi | MEMO | January 16, 2025
“While we are waiting for the ceasefire, it is important to stress that it won’t be acceptable for any other entity to govern the Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the state of Palestine,” the Palestinian Authority’s Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, stated during a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
The PA is not a legitimate leadership. In 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections, disturbing the Western world’s preferred outcome. Democracy, according to the West, can only conform with Western expectations; therefore Palestinians got a taste of what the US does when democracy crashes imperialist expectations. Instead of respecting the electoral result, the US and Fatah embarked upon a series of destabilisation and coercion tactics, aimed at marginalising Hamas further and ultimately destroying the legitimate representation of Palestinians according to the 2006 electoral result.
While Hamas was shunned and its diplomatic efforts rebuffed, even though it combined resistance and political pragmatism, the PA intensified its efforts at forcing Hamas to relinquish power, enforcing sanctions on an enclave repeatedly bombarded by Israel. When Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank protested against such authoritarianism and cruelty, the PA unleashed its security services on civilians, and continues to do so. As the US and the EU continued funnelling funds to enhance the PA’s brutality under the guise of state-building, the PA continued harming Palestinians in the name of security, to the point of detaining, torturing and, at times, killing their critics.
All this was orchestrated because the international community sided with an illegitimate political representation under the auspices of democracy. Are we to assume that legitimacy and democracy change meaning according to colonial and imperialist interests? What of the importance of language, which is of equal importance in the anti-colonial struggle against Israel and the PA?
Back to the present. Since Israel started its genocide in Gaza, the PA has consistently sought to navigate the corridors of power by presenting itself as an alternative to Hamas. Yet, in doing so, it completely neglected the fact that its silence on the genocide is tantamount to tacit support. The PA merely reiterated the importance of the two-state paradigm as it has for decades, with no acknowledgement of the fact that not even the hypothesis can sustain itself, let alone implementation. Meanwhile, to garner favour with Israel and the international community, and possibly prove how relevant it is to post-genocide Gaza governance, the PA started its own attack against the Palestinian Resistance.
The question is, since legitimacy does not hold the same meaning for the PA and its accomplices, what does legitimacy mean in the context of its Prime Minister citing legitimacy as the reason why the PA should return to Gaza? There is no other acceptable entity, according to the PA – based on what parameters? Just as genocide became synonymous with human rights in the Israeli and international narrative, is the PA’s illegitimate rule becoming synonymous with democracy? Why hasn’t the PA suggested elections and why has the international community not voiced any concern over Ramallah wanting to extend its power to Gaza?
The PA’s attempts to prove itself purportedly worthy of governing Gaza are precisely the reason why it should not. The PA’s only foundations are foreign funding and Israeli colonialism. Having sold itself to the two highest bidders (not forgetting the tangible illegitimacy since 2006), what Palestinian leadership and legitimacy is the PA really talking about?
Biden’s ’empty threats’ let Israel get away with horrors in Gaza: Prominent US journalist
Press TV – January 16, 2025
An investigative American journalist says the Biden administration repeatedly undermined international institutions and damaged US credibility in a desperate attempt to shield Israel during the regime’s aggression against the people of the besieged Gaza Strip.
Brett Murphy, a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2018 for his investigative reporting series, said in a recent article published on ProPublica that Biden’s record of repeated empty threats had given the Israelis a sense of impunity.
The reputed journalist spoke with scores of current and former officials throughout the year and read through government memos, cables and emails, many of which have not been reported previously.
The records and interviews shed light on why Biden and his top advisers refused to adjust his policy even as new evidence of Israeli abuses emerged.
The author maintains that almost none of the US’s demands that Israel improve conditions in the besieged Palestinian territory had been met.
Biden’s failure to follow through led to impunity for widespread human rights abuses, including blocking aid deliveries, even after explicit US warnings, he wrote.
In October, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the administration delivered their most explicit ultimatum yet to Israel, demanding the army allow hundreds more truckloads of food and medicine into Gaza every day.
The October red line was the last one Biden laid down, but it wasn’t the first. His administration issued multiple threats, warnings and admonishments to Israel.
Soon after, when the 30-day deadline was up, Blinken made it official and said that Israelis had begun implementing most of the steps he had laid out in his letter. The top US diplomat’s position was immediately called into question.
In the month that followed, the Israeli military was accused of roundly defying the US, its most important ally.
The Israeli military tightened its grip, continued to restrict desperately needed aid trucks and displaced 100,000 Palestinians from North Gaza, humanitarian groups found, exacerbating what was already a dire crisis “to its worst point since the war began.”
On Nov. 14, a UN committee said that Israel’s methods in Gaza, including its use of starvation as a weapon, were “consistent with genocide.”
The international rights groups went further and concluded a genocide was underway.
The International Criminal Court also issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant for the war crime of deliberately starving civilians, among other allegations.
Time and again, Israel crossed the Biden administration’s red lines without changing course in a meaningful way, according to interviews with government officials and outside experts.
Last spring, the president vowed to stop supplying offensive bombs to Israel if it launched a major invasion into the southern city of Rafah.
The Biden administration told Netanyahu the US was going to rethink support for the war unless he took new steps to protect civilians and aid workers after the Israeli military blew up a World Central Kitchen caravan.
And Blinken signaled that he would blacklist a notorious Israeli unit for the death of a Palestinian-American in the West Bank if the soldiers involved were not brought to justice.
The southern city of Rafah was supposed to be a haven for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who the Israeli military had forced from their homes in the north at the start of the war.
“It is a red line,” Biden had said, marking the first high-profile warning from the US.
Netanyahu invaded in May anyway. Israeli tanks rolled into the city and the Israeli soldiers dropped bombs on residential areas, including a refugee camp, killing dozens of civilians.
Biden responded by pausing a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs but otherwise resumed military support.
In late May, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop its assault on the city, citing the Geneva Conventions.
Behind the scenes, State Department lawyers scrambled to come up with a legal basis on which Israel could continue smaller attacks in Rafah.
Several experts told the author that international law has been effectively discretionary for some states or entities.
Each time, the US yielded and continued to send Israel’s military deadly weapons of war, approving more than $17.9 billion in military assistance since late 2023, by some estimates. The State Department recently told Congress about another $8 billion proposed deal to sell Israel munitions and artillery shells.
“It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the red lines have all just been a smokescreen,” said Stephen Walt, a professor of international affairs at Harvard Kennedy School and a preeminent authority on US policy in the region. “The Biden administration decided to be all in and merely pretended that it was trying to do something about it.”
Throughout the contentious year inside the State Department, senior leaders repeatedly disregarded their own experts.
They cracked down on leaks by threatening criminal investigations and classifying material that was critical of Israel.
Some of the US top Middle East diplomats complained in private that they were sidelined by Biden’s National Security Council.
The council also distributed a list of banned phrases, including any version of “State of Palestine” that didn’t have the word “future” first.
Two human rights officials said they were prevented from pursuing evidence of abuses in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
During a series of internal State Department meetings, top regional diplomats voiced their frustrations about messaging and appearances. Hady Amr, one of the government’s highest-ranking authorities on Palestinian affairs, said he was reluctant to address large groups about the administration’s Israel policy.
US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew told the Times of Israel he worried that a generation of young Americans would harbor anti-Israel sentiments into the future.
The repercussions for the United States and the region will play out for years.
Protests have erupted outside the American embassies in Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, while polls show Arab Americans grew increasingly hostile to their government stateside.
By the summer, State Department analysts in the Middle East sent cables to Washington expressing concerns that the Israeli military’s conduct would only inflame tensions in the West Bank and galvanize young Palestinians to take up arms against Israel.
On Wednesday, after months of negotiations, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal.
Early reports suggest if the Biden administration had followed through on its tough words, a deal could have been reached earlier, saving lives.
“Netanyahu’s conclusion was that Biden doesn’t have enough oomph to make him pay a price, so he was willing to ignore him,” said Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute.
“Part of it is that Netanyahu learned there is no cost to saying ‘no’ to the current president,” Omari said.
Over the past 15 months, Israeli soldiers have videotaped themselves burning food supplies and ransacking homes. One Israeli military group reportedly said, “Our job is to flatten Gaza.”
Israel’s defenders within the US administration acknowledge the devastating human toll but contend that American arms have helped Israel advance Western interests in the region and protect itself from other enemies.
Houthi: Israel ‘failed miserably’ in onslaught on Gaza Strip
Press TV – January 16, 2025
The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement says Israel “failed miserably” in the Gaza Strip, and that the US and the Tel Aviv regime were forced to accept the ceasefire agreement with Hamas after committing horrific crimes for months.
“The announcement of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza is an important development. The Israeli enemy and the US were forced to agree to the deal after months of horrendous atrocities,” Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday evening.
“The Israeli enemy, with full American complicity, continued its efforts to exterminate the Palestinians in Gaza, committing more than 4,050 massacres,” the Ansarullah chief said.
Houthi said the Israeli military indiscriminately targeted all Palestinians in Gaza, attacking all sections of the society in a barbaric manner.
“The Israeli enemy subjected prisoners and captives to the most heinous forms of torture, violating human dignity. The plight of Gaza marks a gross injustice that can neither be denied nor ignored.
“The steadfastness of resistance fighters in Gaza, under the most challenging circumstances and with the most basic means, is truly praiseworthy,” Houthi stated.
The Ansarullah leader emphasized that the Israeli army failed in Gaza despite possessing sophisticated weapons and extensive intelligence operations aimed at ending the resistance front and eliminating all its fighters.
“The Israeli enemy failed in Gaza even though it employed all tactics to decisively win the battle, with full US support. The Palestinians in Gaza stood firm despite being subjected to daily extermination and all forms of terror that many other nations cannot endure.”
The Ansarullah leader said the Americans had no option but to accept an agreement after a major failure.
Many Israeli leaders, media figures, and research centers were in a state of despair and frustration as well, he said.
“The Israeli enemy failed to achieve any of its declared objectives, and dismally could not release its captives without a prisoner exchange deal. It also failed to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“What the Israeli enemy achieved in Gaza is an enormous record of unprecedented crimes within a limited expanse of land,” Houthi pointed out.
He also noted that the Palestinian nation was not protected by international organizations, which represent themselves as so-called advocates of justice and human rights.
“The United Nations was mocked and ridiculed by Israelis, with criminal [Benjamin] Netanyahu at its very platform. The world body, however, took no concrete action against the Israeli enemy.
“At the very least, the UN should have rinsed out the deep shame of recognizing Israel and granting it membership. The international community did not intervene to impose a no-fly zone over occupied Palestinian terrorists and establish safe zones, as is the case with other regions,” he said.
Houthi criticized Arab governments for their inaction, as well as their abject failure to politically and economically boycott the Zionist regime and support the Palestinian nation.
Elsewhere in his speech, Houthi stated that Yemeni forces have conducted operations to support Gaza under very difficult conditions, emphasizing that such strikes have significantly affected Israel.
“We carried out 1,255 operations involving ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, drones as well as unmanned underwater vehicles. We worked diligently to do everything possible in support of Gaza, continuously developing our capabilities and escalating our operations,” he said.
Houthi stressed that the US, from the onset of the Gaza genocidal war, sought to provide full protection to Israel, threatening regional countries against taking any action in support of Palestinians.
“The US deployed its naval fleets and provided military and technological protection, intercepting any attacks targeting the Israeli-occupied lands. Certain regimes even collaborated with the US in intercepting missiles and drones launched towards the occupied lands.
“American aircraft carriers and warships initially intercepted some missiles; but now they can barely shoot them down and often resort to retreat,” the Ansarullah leader said.
Houti emphasized that Yemen will continue its pro-Palestinian military operations in case the Israeli enemy insists on its genocidal campaign and reneges on implementing the ceasefire agreement.
He said a total of 106 Yemenis have been killed and another 328 wounded in the course of aggression carried out by the US, Britain and Israel against Yemen.
The Ansarullah leader finally called upon all Yemeni people to participate in mass pro-Palestinian rallies across the country on Friday, reaffirming their unflinching support for Palestinians to the entire world.
Support for Gaza Genocide Top Reason Biden Voters Did Not Support Harris
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | January 15, 2025
A new poll shows that the Israeli onslaught in Gaza was the top reason that Americans who turned out for Joe Biden in 2020 did not vote for Kamala Harris in 2024.
The poll, conducted by YouGov and the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project, “found “what few in the Democratic Party have been willing to admit: Vice President Harris lost votes because of the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.”
A press release on the IMEU explains, “29% of voters nationally who voted for Biden in 2020 and did not for Kamala Harris in 2024 say “ending Israel’s violence in Gaza” was the top issue affecting their vote choice.” The economy ranked second at 24%.
After the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Biden administration flooded Israel with weapons and other military aid that was used by Tel Aviv to cause mass death and destruction in Gaza. A recent Lancet study found that at least 64,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel over the past 15 months.
Among the dead are tens of thousands of children, many of whom died when Israel dropped American-made bombs from American-made planes. The Lancet study did not count those killed from illness and deprivation caused by the Israeli siege of Gaza. In recent wars, the number of indirect deaths from conflicts is often many times higher than those killed by direct violence.
Before dropping out of the presidential race last summer, President Biden was regularly confronted on the campaign trail by protesters labeling him “genocide Joe.” Several top international aid agencies have determined the Israeli military operations and blockade of Gaza constitute genocide.
The support for Israel, which included at least $22 billion in military aid during the first year of the onslaught, may have cost Kamala the election. YouGov found that the war was the top reason voters did not cast their ballot for Harris in Arizona (38%), Michigan (32%), Wisconsin (32%), and Pennsylvania (19%). Biden won all four states in 2020.
That Democrats viewed the war in Gaza as a genocide should not have come as a surprise to the Harris campaign. In May, a poll found over half of Democratic party voters believed Israel was conducting a genocide.
Still, in the waning days of the 2024 election season, the Harris team refused to say she would cut arm transfers to Israel after taking office. Instead, the campaign notoriously embraced GOP ultra-hawks such as Dick and Liz Cheney.
Settlers abandoning ‘Israel’ amid economic instability and wars
Al Mayadeen | January 15, 2025
A recent report by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics has intensified political discord within the Israeli occupation, highlighting a significant surge in reverse migration at the start of 2025.
According to the report, some 82,000 individuals have left the occupied Palestinian territories, a figure that has shaken its political and security circles. This outflow, prominently featured in Israeli media, underscores a growing disenchantment among Israelis, particularly professionals, doctors, and technicians, with the occupation’s current trajectory.
The data in question led to intense political discourse. Right-wing factions have been particularly vocal, condemning those leaving as government opponents use the data to criticize the incumbent regime. The phenomenon has become yet another battleground in the Israeli occupation’s already fractured political landscape.
Experts attribute this migration to several factors, including restrictive laws, stifling personal freedoms, and a lack of opportunities for creativity and economic growth. The exodus reportedly began during protests against judicial reforms, with the ongoing war on Gaza and the accompanying threats further cementing the decision for many to leave.
Additional contributing factors include the government’s economic policies, the refusal of Haredi communities to perform military service, and attacks on institutions like the Supreme Court. These issues, combined with the war on Gaza and the unresolved fate of the captured soldiers, have exacerbated fears among Israelis about the future.
Israeli research centers have noted a troubling trend: the emigrants are predominantly young, educated individuals aged between 20 and 45, with a significant portion being children and adolescents. This demographic shift threatens to weaken the Israeli occupation’s economy and social structure. High living costs, limited housing and employment opportunities, and inadequate public services are driving these individuals to seek a better quality of life elsewhere.
Despite the alarming implications, the right-wing government has responded with superficial criticisms rather than substantive solutions. The emigration highlights a diminished sense of belonging and trust among those leaving, further strained by war, economic instability, and internal divisions.
Impact of the war on Gaza
The October 2023 war on Gaza triggered a surge in departures, with 14,816 settlers leaving that month alone—more than double the monthly average of 7,145 for the rest of the year.
The northern territories were particularly impacted as heightened tensions and the war on Lebanon, which saw Hezbollah wreaking havoc along the borders drove significant numbers of settlers to abandon these areas.
Gaza Ceasefire: What to expect?
Al-Manar | January 14, 2025
As the Israeli enemy’s war on Gaza enters its 466th day, the besieged enclave stands as a symbol of resilience against an unprecedented campaign of destruction and genocide, carried out with global complicity and silence.
Despite relentless attacks, Gaza has refused to surrender. The Palestinian resistance has engaged the Israeli occupation forces at close range, inflicting heavy losses and proving that its resolve cannot be broken. Over 46,000 Palestinians—children, women, men, and fighters—have been martyred, yet the resistance continues to strike back. Every time Israeli occupation forces believe they’ve secured a foothold, new resistance emerges, keeping them locked in a costly cycle of attrition.
Northern Gaza: A Testament to Failure
In northern Gaza, the Israeli enemy’s aim of “zero confrontation” through systematic genocide and forced displacement has also faltered. Last week in Beit Hanoun, the Israeli occupation forces faced significant setbacks, acknowledging their failure even as they tried to regroup their forces.
The Question of Prisoners
One of the Israeli enemy’s primary objectives has been the retrieval of its captives. However, its strategy of annihilation has failed to achieve this. Any resolution remains contingent on agreements dictated by the Palestinian resistance, which, despite enduring immense hardship, has maintained its strength and thwarted the Zionist entity’s attempts to establish full control, even over small areas of the enclave.
Ceasefire Talks Spark Internal Tensions
As reports emerge of a potential ceasefire agreement in the coming hours or days, tensions within the Zionist government are boiling over. Far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are threatening to resign if the agreement moves forward.
Ben Gvir criticized the deal as a “surrender,” urging Smotrich to join him in pressuring Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 reported that Smotrich is consulting with senior rabbis over the prisoner exchange deal.
The right-wing minister, who previously called the agreement a “disaster for Israel’s national security,” hinted at issuing an ultimatum to Netanyahu in the coming hours. He condemned the proposed terms, which reportedly involve releasing high-profile Palestinian prisoners, ending the war, and nullifying Israel’s so-called achievements.
Admission of Defeat
Through the voices of its leaders, the Zionist entity has effectively acknowledged its failure. The narrative of invincibility is crumbling as the war shifts from conquest to survival for an occupation increasingly entangled in its miscalculations.
Positive Progress in Doha Negotiations
Spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed bin Mohammad Al-Ansari, announced today that discussions in Doha have entered the final stages. He described the talks as “productive and positive,” focusing on the last remaining details, and hinted that an official announcement of the agreement is imminent.
“We have overcome the primary obstacles in the disagreements between the parties,” Al-Ansari stated, adding, “When the agreement is announced, it will also mark the start of the ceasefire implementation.” He further noted that draft agreements have been submitted, and negotiations are now centered on resolving the final details regarding the Gaza ceasefire.
Urging both sides to finalize the deal, Al-Ansari emphasized the need to end the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.
Latest Developments in Negotiation Talks
Amid these updates, US President-elect Donald Trump, in an interview with Newsmax, expressed optimism, saying he believes a deal on hostages and a Gaza ceasefire could be finalized by the weekend. Observers have noted that the negotiations are now entering critical hours.
Additionally, the deputy foreign minister of the Israeli occupation entity confirmed that Trump has pushed for the agreement to be concluded before his inauguration on January 20. “I cannot disclose details of the deal, as we want to avoid statements that could affect the morale of the hostages’ families,” she said.
A Closer Look at the Proposed Gaza Ceasefire Agreement
According to leaks from Israeli enemy sources, the initial phase of the agreement will see the release of 33 Zionist prisoners, including women, children, and the wounded. In exchange, Palestinian prisoners will be freed according to a specific mechanism, and a ceasefire in Gaza will be enacted.
Second Phase to Begin After 16 Days
An official from the Israeli occupation revealed that, 16 days after the agreement is implemented, negotiations will begin for the second phase. This will include the release of remaining live hostages—male soldiers and men of military age—along with the return of the bodies of those who died during captivity.
Gradual Israeli Withdrawal and Security Arrangements
The agreement outlines a gradual Israeli withdrawal, though forces will remain near the border. It also includes security arrangements for the “Philadelphi Corridor” (Salah Al-Din) on the southern edge of Gaza, with Israeli enemy withdrawal from parts of the area within days of the agreement’s enactment.
Return of Civilians and Restrictions
Civilians from northern Gaza will be allowed to return, with mechanisms in place to prevent weapon transfers. The Israeli enemy will also withdraw from the “Netzarim” area in central Gaza, which had previously been rejected in negotiations.
Prisoner Release Details
The deal includes the release of Palestinians convicted of killings or attacks resulting in death, although the number will depend on the number of remaining live hostages—still unknown. However, prisoners involved in the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, will not be included in the release list. This marks a significant victory for the resistance, as the Israeli occupation had previously refused to release those it categorized as “convicted murderers” or sentenced to life imprisonment.
Progress Towards Final Agreement
These developments coincide with reports from inside Gaza that Zionist forces have begun dismantling some of their positions in the Netzarim area. Sources from the “Jerusalem Post” suggest that, barring last-minute changes, an announcement on the deal could come today.
Recent Diplomatic Efforts
Earlier on Monday, Axios reported that Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to concessions regarding withdrawals from the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors and new terms for releasing Palestinian prisoners. This comes as Netanyahu consults with security leaders.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, reaffirming that a deal is imminent. Qatar’s emir also met with a Hamas delegation, who expressed their positive stance on the ongoing negotiations in Doha.
Palestinian Resistance: No Compromise on Red Lines
A Hamas official told CNN on Monday that several points of contention remain in the ongoing negotiations. Key issues include Hamas’s demand for the Israeli occupation’s withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor and a call for a permanent ceasefire instead of a temporary halt to military operations.
Qatar Presents Final Draft
An informed source involved in the prisoner swap negotiations in Doha stated that Qatar has delivered a “final draft” of the ceasefire and prisoner release agreement aimed at ending the war. According to Reuters, a breakthrough occurred in Doha after midnight, following talks between Israeli intelligence chiefs, US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witztkopf, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Al Mayadeen obtains terms of Gaza ceasefire deal
Al Mayadeen | January 15, 2025
Al Mayadeen has obtained details of the Gaza ceasefire agreement with the Israeli occupation. The agreement, which outlines an eleven-clause framework, marks a significant step toward resolving the ongoing war and addressing the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Key terms of the agreement
- Israeli forces are required to fully withdraw from all areas of the Gaza Strip and return to the pre-war borders.
- The Rafah crossing must be reopened, with Israeli forces withdrawing entirely from the area.
- “Israel” is mandated to ease the travel of injured individuals for treatment abroad.
- “Israel” must permit the daily entry of 600 aid trucks, as per a humanitarian protocol backed by Qatar.
- “Israel” must facilitate the entry of 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans for immediate shelter.
- A large-scale prisoner exchange will occur, including the release of 1,000 prisoners from Gaza and hundreds of detainees serving lengthy sentences.
- “Israel” is to release all women and children under the age of 19 from its prisons.
- Israeli forces must gradually withdraw from the Netzarim corridor and the Philadelphi Route.
- Displaced residents must be allowed to return to their homes, with guaranteed freedom of movement throughout the Gaza Strip.
- Hostile aircraft must vacate Gaza’s airspace for 8 to 10 hours daily.
- All hospitals in Gaza must be rehabilitated. Field hospitals, medical equipment, and surgical teams must be permitted entry.
Implementation phases
The first phase of the agreement, lasting six weeks, will involve the release of 33 Israeli captives, both living and deceased. This phase also includes the immediate return of displaced persons from southern Gaza to the north, facilitated by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from al-Rashid Street to the depths of the Netzarim corridor.
Subsequent phases will address the release of the remaining 66 captives held by Palestinian resistance factions.
If the deal succeeds, the gradual ceasefire could mark the end of more than a year of sporadic negotiations and result in the largest release of Israeli captives since the early stages of the war, when Hamas released roughly half of its captives in exchange for 240 Palestinian detainees.
In further detail, an Israeli official stated that negotiations were in advanced stages for the release of 33 of the remaining 98 Israeli captives, marking the first phase of the deal. In exchange, “Israel” will release 1,000 Palestinian detainees, according to a Palestinian source close to the talks, who added that the first phase would last for 60 days.
Meanwhile, Hamas fighters allegedly involved in Operation al-Aqsa Flood would not be released.
The Israeli official mentioned that the first stage of the agreement would involve the release of 33 captives, including “children, women, female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick,” as well as a gradual, partial withdrawal of invading Israeli units.
Commenting on the number of detainees, The Times of Israel considered, citing a copy of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press, that “Israel” will pay a steep price to secure the release of female soldiers being held captive.
Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each of whom would be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 convicted security prisoners who are serving life sentences.
Trump urges Israel to avoid unnecessary escalation
MEMO | January 14, 2025
An Israeli television channel has revealed that US President-elect Donald Trump sent a message to officials in Tel Aviv, urging Israel to avoid any “unnecessary” escalation and refrain from statements that could lead to regional conflicts, particularly during the transition period before his administration begins.
Channel 12 reported that Trump’s aides informed Israeli officials that the incoming US administration aims to achieve stability in the Middle East, focusing on fostering “peace” between Israel and Lebanon and maintaining the ongoing ceasefire.
In his discussions with Israeli officials, Trump emphasised that he had no intention of engaging in new wars during the early days of his presidency, as he intends to prioritise addressing domestic issues in the United States.
According to the channel, Trump has personally begun intervening in efforts to secure the release of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip. He has expressed significant interest in resolving this issue before officially taking office.
The report also mentioned that Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the next steps. Following this meeting, it was decided that the heads of Mossad and the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) would be sent to Qatar to engage in direct negotiations.
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The Biggest Threat to Peace in Middle East
By Dr. Elias Akleh* | Sabbah Report | May 24, 2010
A build up of heightened tension in the Middle East is escalating in the last few weeks. American and Israeli postures towards Lebanon, Syria, and Iran have become more threatening. Listening to speeches of political leaders one hears talks only about war not peace. Iranians and Israelis are continuously training hard for a possible showdown. Both sides are conducting extensive war games every month. This led Syrians to claim that Israel is preparing for a soon-to-come another war. The Jordanians also are warning that current stalemate of the peace process is an indication of a war breaking out this summer. The Russian President and his army chief hinted, a few months ago, that the US and Israel were planning for an attack on Iran.
Indeed Iran is, as it has been for last few years, the target of most of the threats and accusations of supporting terrorism. Escalating incitement against Iran the American Defense Department sent last month (April) to Congress a report on Iran’s military claiming Iran could develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US by 2015.
Ignoring the fact that N. Korea, India, Pakistan, and Israel are proven to have nuclear weapons while Iran does not, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose in her speech, to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference at the UN, to focus on Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions putting the whole world at risk as she put it. According to Clinton Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, rather than Israel’s more than 200 nuclear bombs, is destabilizing the Middle East. She called on the world’s nations to rally around US efforts to hold Iran, not other nuclear countries, to account.
The accusation that Usama Bin Laden is living comfortably in Iran had received a boost after the broadcast of a documentary called “Feathered Cocaine”. This echoed the June 2003 claims of the Italian newspaper Corre de la Sierra that Bin Laden was in Iran according to some intelligence report, and according to Richard Miniter’s book “Shadow War”. … continue
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