GAZA CITY: Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza marked the 13th anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat on Saturday. Arafat was the founder of Fatah, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for 35 years, and president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) for 10 years.
Arafat, who died aged 75 on Nov. 11, 2004, at a hospital near Paris from unknown causes, remains a seminal figure for Palestinians. He spent much of his life in his Ramallah headquarters, under siege by Israel’s military.
Many Palestinians have accused Israel of poisoning Arafat, and a team of Swiss forensic experts found traces of the highly toxic radioactive material polonium on his body.
Last month’s reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas saw the latter agree to hand over control of Gaza — which has been under Hamas rule since July 2007 — to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) government, paving the way for Saturday’s rally to take place in Gaza City.
Hamas handed over control of Gaza’s borders to Fatah on Nov. 1, in the first key test of the agreement. But there have been signs of tensions in recent days over who will ultimately exercise control of security in the Gaza Strip.
Thousands of Gazans began gathering late Friday night in preparation for the main event, scheduled for midday Saturday, with participants from all Palestinian factions. The rally drew people from all over the coastal enclave, waving flags, raising posters of Arafat and donning his landmark kaffiyeh.
But on Thursday, the former Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan — who lives in exile in the UAE — also organized a rally in honor of Arafat in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Dahlan was once one of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ top officials in Gaza but the two fell out and Dahlan was later expelled from Fatah.
Dahlan and Gaza’s prime minister, senior Hamas figure Yahya Sinwar, have met several times in Cairo over the last year, under the auspices of the Egyptian government. The meetings have been fruitful for both parties: For Hamas, Dahlan helped improve its relationship with Egypt, while for the exiled Dahlan — who still retains supporters in Fatah — improved relations with Hamas paved the way for those supporters to work more freely in Gaza, where Hamas had previously prevented Fatah supporters from promoting the party or individual members.
Mokhaimer Abu Sada, a political science professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, told Arab News that the two rallies illustrate how deep the divisions in Fatah are now.
“It used to be a clear dispute between Hamas and Fatah,” he said. “But now people talk about Fatah versus Fatah.”
He claimed that Hamas would use those divisions to press for concessions from Abbas as they negotiate the details of the reconciliation deal. However, he added that he thought it unlikely Fatah’s divisions would really affect the deal, “despite how slowly the PA has moved in removing the sanctions against Hamas,” explaining that the deal is “more related to the stability of regional approval.”
In a recorded speech addressing Saturday’s rally in Gaza City, Abbas was bullish about efforts to finalize the reconciliation and reunite the West Bank and Gaza Strip and said that he “hoped to meet (Gazans) soon.”
“We are proceeding with Palestinian reconciliation,” he said. “We are going to continue until we achieve one authority, one law and one legal weapon. I say to our people in Gaza that the timely implementation of the agreement (to fully empower) the government will definitely ease your hardships and bring hope of a better future for all of us.
“I want to tell all our friends around the world that in spite of the obstacles created by the Israeli occupation and its apartheid-based colonial settlement activities, we are still holding on to the culture of peace and fighting terrorism in our region and in the world.”
He also reiterated the need for governments who support the two-state solution to officially recognize Palestine now.
“We renew our call to the countries that believe in the two-state solution to recognize the two states and not only one state. This is because the two-state solution is now in real danger,” he said.
“We will not accept the policy of apartheid that we live under (because of) the Israeli occupation of our country, and we will demand equal rights for the people of historic Palestine if the two-state solution is not implemented.”
Fatah divides deepen as Palestinians honor Arafat
Fatah divides deepen as Palestinians honor Arafat
Israel steps up Gaza bombardment ahead of White House talks on ceasefire
- Israel’s Dermer due in US for talks on Gaza, Iran, wider deals
- Israeli tanks push into Gaza City suburb, residents say
CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Palestinians in northern Gaza reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders on Monday, while Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration.
A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals.
But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up.
“Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,” said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. “In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions.”
Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said.
At least 38 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun and at least 13 killed southwest of Gaza City. Medics said most of the 13 were hit by gunfire, but residents also reported an airstrike.
The Israeli military said it struck militant targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centers, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.
There was no immediate word from Israel on the reported casualties southwest of Gaza City.
The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas militants operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City.
NEXT STEPS
A day after Trump called to “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,” Israel’s strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu’s, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said.
In Israel, Netanyahu’s security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza.
On Friday, Israel’s military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks.
A Hamas official said that progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas.
“Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza,” Saar told reporters in Jerusalem.
Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, speaking in Jerusalem on Monday alongside her Israeli counterpart, told reporters that Vienna was very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which she described as “unbearable.”
“Let me be frank, the suffering of civilians is increasingly burdening Israel’s relations with Europe. A ceasefire must be agreed upon,” she said, calling for the unconditional release of hostages by Hamas and for Israel to allow the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel says it continues to allow aid into Gaza and accuses Hamas of stealing it. The group denies that accusation and says Israel uses hunger as a weapon against the Gaza population.
The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees ending the war.
The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel’s single deadliest day.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the whole 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
More than 80 percent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations.
No injuries or pollution after explosion at oil tanker off Libya, says operator
- The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left Libya’s Zuetina port and was en route to Gibraltar
ATHENS: An oil tanker carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil suffered an explosion off Libya on June 27 but no injuries or pollution were reported, a spokesperson for the operator TMS Tankers said on Monday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left Libya’s Zuetina port and was en route to Gibraltar when there was an explosion in the engine room, the operator said.
The vessel is now being towed to Greece where it is expected to arrive by July 2, it added.
Israel FM says Golan to ‘remain part of’ Israel in any Syria peace deal
- Golan Heights “will remain part of” Israel under any potential peace agreement with Syria, Israel's FM says
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Monday that the occupied Golan Heights “will remain part of” Israel under any potential peace agreement with Syria.
“In any peace agreement, the Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” Saar told a news conference in Jerusalem, referring to the territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the United Nations.
Iranian Ambassador: Saudi Arabia Played Key Role in Preventing Escalation
Nearly two years after Iran and Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic relations, Iran’s Ambassador to the Kingdom, Dr. Alireza Enayati, praised Riyadh’s role in reducing tensions and fostering dialogue.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Enayati described the progress as “equivalent to achievements that typically take years,” underscoring what he called the “deep roots and substance” of the relationship.
Enayati, who first served in Saudi Arabia as Iran’s consul in Jeddah in 1990 and later as chargé d’affaires in Riyadh, returned in 2023 as ambassador following the March agreement brokered by China to resume ties after seven years of rupture.
Commenting on recent Israeli strikes against Iran, Enayati called the attacks “blatant aggression,” noting that they took place while Tehran was engaged in indirect negotiations with Washington.
“Iran was attacked in the middle of the night, while people slept in their homes. It was our legitimate right under the UN Charter to respond decisively and demonstrate that while Iran does not seek war, it will defend itself with strength and resolve,” he said.
He emphasized that regional reactions to the escalation highlighted a spirit of solidarity.
“The first call our Foreign Minister received was from Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, condemning the attacks, followed by a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry,” he noted. “These positions were crowned by a phone call from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to President Pezeshkian, expressing condemnation and solidarity, followed by President Pezeshkian’s call back to the Crown Prince and statements of support from several Gulf states.”
Enayati commended Riyadh’s efforts to de-escalate the crisis, describing Saudi Arabia’s role as “honorable” and “blessed.” He added, “In all our bilateral discussions, Iran has acknowledged the Kingdom’s constructive stance and its efforts to prevent further aggression. We welcome any role by our Saudi brothers, especially His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed, who has always stood by us.”
The ambassador pointed to the revival of travel and religious exchange as a sign of rapprochement. “This year alone, over 200,000 Iranians have performed Umrah, and when including Hajj pilgrims, the number exceeds 400,000 visitors to the Kingdom - an extremely positive indicator,” he said.
Enayati also highlighted the recent visit of Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to Tehran, describing it as a “historic turning point” that shifted relations from routine to strategic. “The visit and the meetings with President Pezeshkian and the Supreme Leader left a strong impression that we are partners in building regional stability,” he said.
While acknowledging significant progress, Enayati stressed that economic and trade relations still require more effort. “We have agreements on trade, investment, culture, and youth reaffirmed in the Beijing accord,” he said, adding that talks are under way on agreements to avoid double taxation, promote mutual investment, and develop overland transport corridors linking Saudi Arabia and its neighbors to Central Asia.
Responding to criticism that Iran plays a destabilizing role, Enayati said: “We are not outsiders imposing our presence. We are part of the region, its people, and its culture. Differences in political perspectives do not erase our shared bonds. Dialogue is the only path forward, and there is no substitute.”
He concluded by emphasizing that genuine regional security must be anchored in development and economic cooperation rather than military competition. “When security moves beyond weapons and geopolitics to focus on prosperity and shared progress, everyone benefits,” he said.
Israelis attack soldiers in occupied West Bank
- Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war
JERUSALEM: Israeli civilians assaulted security forces and vandalized military vehicles and a security installation outside an army base overnight in the occupied West Bank, the military said on Monday.
According to Israeli media, settlers targeted the commander of the Binyamin Regional Brigade base in the central West Bank, calling him a “traitor.”
The officer was among troops attacked on Friday night as they tried to stop settlers entering a closed military zone near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik. Six civilians were arrested following the clashes.
“Dozens of Israeli civilians gathered at the entrance” of the brigade’s base on Sunday evening, the military said in a statement Monday.
“The gathering became violent and some of the civilians at the scene attacked the security forces, sprayed pepper spray at them, and vandalized military vehicles,” it added.
“The IDF (military), police, and border guards intervened to disperse the gathering,” the statement added, noting one Israeli citizen was injured in the confrontation.
In another statement a few hours later, the army said that “Israeli civilians set fire to and vandalized a security site containing systems that contribute to thwarting terrorist attacks” near the base.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar strongly condemned “any violence against the IDF and security forces.”
“Such events are unacceptable, and offenders must be severely punished,” he wrote on X.
“The IDF and security forces work day and night to protect the citizens of Israel and ensure its security. We must support them, not hinder their activities, and under no circumstances attack them,” he added.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, a staunch supporter of the settlements who calls for the annexation of the West Bank, also condemned the violence against security forces and the destruction of property, saying a “red line” had been crossed.
In a post on X, he urged the police to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice.
Several human rights NGOs have denounced the rise in violence committed by settlers in the West Bank and their perceived impunity.
Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023.
