UMM AL-FAHM, Israel: In the Israeli Arab town of Umm Al-Fahm residents are scared and angry over US President Donald Trump’s peace plan which sees them as part of a future Palestinian state.
At the same time, the “deal of the century” would give the Jewish state a green light to annex chunks of territory in the occupied West Bank, where more than 400,000 Israelis live in settlements deemed illegal under international law.
In Umm Al-Fahm, a hilltop town of over 50,000 people in northern Israel, locals are aghast at a clause on page 13 of the 181-page plan, which would barter their Israeli citizenship for the interests of the settlers.
As part of an “exchange” of territory, the Trump deal, entitled Peace To Prosperity, could transfer control of the Arab “triangle” — a cluster of 14 towns and villages where more than 260,000 Israeli Arabs live — from Israel to a mooted Palestinian state.
“The Vision contemplates the possibility, subject to agreement of the parties that the borders of Israel will be redrawn such that the Triangle Communities become part of the State of Palestine,” reads the text published by the White House.
That idea was welcomed by former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, who proposed such a swap in 2004.
But triangle residents find it a bitter pill to swallow.
“We don’t take this lightly. This situation is very serious, and it makes me very afraid,” said Rosine Zaid, sitting in an Umm Al-Fahm cafe.
“We’re not going to let that happen,” adds her friend Lubna Asali, between sips of coffee.
A group of five teenagers, shawarma meat sandwiches and soft drinks in their hands, say they will take part in a protest against the Trump plan due to take place Saturday in Umm Al-Fahm.
“We are ready to defend our land. We are against this program,” said 16-year-old Abdel.
He supports a Palestinian state, but with its capital in Jerusalem, which the plan acknowledges as Israel’s “undivided” capital.
“If they want to get us out of Israel, we want Jerusalem to follow us,” he says.
The Trump proposal does not in fact advocate the physical relocation of triangle residents.
Instead it would change the status of their communities, making them a Palestinian enclave, cut off from the neighboring West Bank by an Israeli barrier erected during the bloody second Palestinian intifada in the early 2000s.
They fear that as citizens of a Palestinian state they would lose the benefits of Israel’s thriving economy, its health and welfare system and the freedom to enter Israel, where many of their relatives have lived since before the creation of the Jewish state in 1948.
“We are part of the Arab minority in Israel and we live on our national land,” says Yousef Jabareen, a member of the Israeli parliament and an Umm Al-Fahm native.
“We refuse this plan, we want to continue to exist both socially and politically.
“I am Arab, I am Palestinian, and I am also a citizen of the State of Israel,” he added, saying that he feared that the triangle would become a “canton” landlocked in Israel.
Jabareen, who belongs to the mainly-Arab Joint List opposition alliance, says implementing the plan would shrink the Arab population of Israel and erode its influence.
Arabs currently number about 1.8 million, around 20 percent of Israel’s population.
The Trump plan would take about 260,000 Arabs out of that total, leaving the remainder politically weaker, Israeli Arab NGO Adallah writes on its website.
“According to the plan, the residents of the earmarked communities would remain in their homes but Israel’s borders would simply be redrawn to leave them outside its border,” it says.
If executed, it says, it would bring about a demographic shift through “racially-motivated separation.”
Jabareen’s Joint List backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rival Benny Gantz for prime minister in a September general election.
But neither man was able to muster enough votes to form a government and a new poll is scheduled for March, the third within a year.
Gantz backs the Trump plan and has said he will submit it to Israel’s parliament for its endorsement in the coming week, drawing fire from Israeli Arabs.
For former MP Mohammed Barakeh, their choice at the polling booths will be clear.
“It will be the Arab list against the entire Israeli political establishment,” he said.
Israeli Arabs fear for their future under Trump peace plan
https://arab.news/9hykh
Israeli Arabs fear for their future under Trump peace plan
- “We don’t take this lightly. This situation is very serious, and it makes me very afraid”
Gaza war deaths pass 46,000
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants
GAZA: Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict.
The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. It has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It blames Hamas for their deaths because it says the militants operate in residential areas.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now packed into sprawling tent camps along the coast with limited access to food and other essentials. Israel has also repeatedly struck what it claims are militants hiding in shelters and hospitals, often killing women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.
All Jordanians living in Los Angeles are fine, Foreign Ministry says
- At least 5 people have been killed by wildfires raging in and around the US city; more than 100,000 forced to flee homes
LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said on Thursday that all Jordanian nationals living in Los Angeles, California, are “fine” as deadly wildfires continue to rage through neighborhoods in several areas in and around the US city.
The fires have claimed at least five lives, more than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, and hundreds of buildings have burned down.
The ministry sent its sincere condolences to the victims, the American people and the US government, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Japan grants Sudan about $1 million in food aid
- The statement underscored the urgency of the situation in Sudan
- The humanitarian situation has significantly worsened as the fighting areas have expanded
TOKYO: Japan, in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP), decided to grant Sudan 150 million yen (nearly $1 million) as ‘food aid’ to improve the situation in that country, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo stated.
Suzuki Satoshi, Japan’s Ambassador to International Organizations in Rome, and Ms. Rania Dagash-Kamara, Assistant Executive Director of the Partnerships and Innovation Department, World Food Programme, signed and exchanged notes regarding the grant aid in Rome on January 8th.
The statement underscored the urgency of the situation in Sudan, where armed conflict between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023.
The humanitarian situation has significantly worsened as the fighting areas have expanded and become protracted.
According to the WFP, several regions in Sudan are at risk of famine, approximately half of the population is facing acute food insecurity, and hunger-related deaths have been recorded.
At the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) held in August 2022, Japan announced its commitment to “responding to the food crisis and supporting sustainable agricultural production.” This cooperation is a concrete step in realizing this commitment.
The Republic of Sudan has an area of approximately 1.88 million square kilometers (about five times the size of Japan), a population of approximately 50.04 million, and a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $880, according to the 2023 World Bank data.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, respected army chief
- Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in Lebanon
- The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected
BEIRUT: Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s army chief who was elected president on Thursday, is a political neophyte whose position as head of one of the country’s most respected institutions helped end a two-year deadlock.
Widely seen as the preferred pick of army backer the United States, he is perceived as being best placed to maintain a fragile ceasefire and pull the country out of financial collapse.
After being sworn in at parliament, Aoun said “a new phase in Lebanon’s history” was beginning.
Analysts said Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday and is considered a man of “personal integrity,” was the right candidate to finally replace Michel Aoun — no relation — whose term as president ended in October 2022, without a successor until now.
A dozen previous attempts to choose a president failed amid tensions between Hezbollah and its opponents, who have accused the Shiite group of seeking to impose its preferred candidate.
Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in a country riven by sectarian and political divides.
He has navigated it through a blistering financial crisis that has drastically slashed the salaries of its 80,000 soldiers, forcing him to accept international aid.
Since late November, he oversaw the gradual mobilization of the armed forces in south Lebanon after a ceasefire ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the truce, the Lebanese army has been deploying progressively alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as Israeli forces withdraw, a process they have to finish by January 26.
Speaking on Thursday, Aoun said the state would have “a monopoly” on arms.
The general with broad shoulders and a shaved head has stepped up talks with visiting foreign dignitaries since becoming army chief.
The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected.
Aoun “has a reputation of personal integrity,” said Karim Bitar, an international relations expert at Beirut’s Saint-Joseph University.
He came to prominence after leading the army in a battle to drive out Daesh from a mountainous area along the Syrian border.
“Within the Lebanese army, he is perceived as someone who is dedicated... who has the national interest at heart, and who has been trying to consolidate this institution, which is the last non-sectarian institution still on its feet in the country,” Bitar told AFP.
Aoun was set to retire in January last year, but has had his mandate extended twice — most recently in November.
Mohanad Hage Ali, from the Carnegie Middle East Center, noted that “being the head of US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces, Joseph Aoun has ties to the United States.”
“While he maintained relations with everyone, Hezbollah-affiliated media often criticized him” for those US ties, he told AFP.
Washington is the main financial backer of Lebanon’s army, which also receives support from other countries including Qatar.
An international conference in Paris last month raised $200 million to support the armed forces.
The military has been hit hard by Lebanon’s economic crisis, and at one point in 2020 it said it had cut out meat from the meals offered to on-duty soldiers due to rising food prices.
Aoun, who speaks Arabic, English and French, hails from Lebanon’s Christian community and has two children.
By convention, the presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.
Aoun is Lebanon’s fifth army commander to become president, and the fourth in a row.
Military chiefs, by convention, are also Maronites.
Egypt top diplomat meets PLO, urges Palestinian unity
- During his meeting with the PLO delegation in Cairo, Badr Abdelatty “reaffirmed Egypt’s supportive stance toward the Palestinian Authority”
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign minister met a Palestine Liberation Organization delegation Thursday, calling for “unity” and the strengthening of the Palestinian Authority amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
The conflict began after the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering massive retaliation.
During his meeting with the PLO delegation in Cairo, Badr Abdelatty “reaffirmed Egypt’s supportive stance toward the Palestinian Authority,” his office said in a statement.
The minister also reiterated “Egypt’s rejection of any plans to displace Palestinians from their lands,” it added.
Last month, Egypt hosted talks between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas to discuss bringing post-war Gaza under PA control.
Fatah, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank under the PA, dominates both the PA and the PLO, an internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people.
It has been excluded from Gaza since Hamas seized control in 2007.
On Thursday, Abdelatty also discussed with the PLO delegation Egypt’s efforts to end the Gaza war, reach a ceasefire agreement and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been engaged in months of talks to cement a truce in Gaza, but so far to no avail.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that a Gaza ceasefire remained close but added it may not happen before President Joe Biden hands over to Donald Trump.
“I hope that we can get it over the line in the time that we have,” said Blinken, who leaves office with Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Hamas said at the end of last week that indirect negotiations in Doha had resumed, while Israel said it had authorized negotiators to continue the talks in the Qatari capital.
A previous round of mediation in December ended with both sides blaming the other for the impasse, with Hamas accusing Israel of setting “new conditions” and Israel accusing Hamas of throwing up “obstacles” to a deal.
