Palestinians Reject Sheikh Jarrah Settlement Offer

Palestinian residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem attend a hearing at Israel's Supreme Court, Jerusalem, August 2, 2021. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinian residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem attend a hearing at Israel's Supreme Court, Jerusalem, August 2, 2021. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
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Palestinians Reject Sheikh Jarrah Settlement Offer

Palestinian residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem attend a hearing at Israel's Supreme Court, Jerusalem, August 2, 2021. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinian residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem attend a hearing at Israel's Supreme Court, Jerusalem, August 2, 2021. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

In East Jerusalem, leaders from the National and Civil Action Committee, the Supreme Islamic Council, and the Higher Follow-up Committee for Arabs in Israel collectively rejected a settlement project proposed by the Israeli Supreme Court regarding the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

The two committees and council stated that they would amass popular resistance and international support to stop settler violations in Sheikh Jarrah. They also said they would work against Israeli measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On Friday, a spokesperson for these bodies said that the Israeli Supreme Court's proposal, which was submitted on October 4, entails injustice to Palestinians and does not meet the aspirations of the population or the national position.

The spokesperson stressed that the residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood are the original owners of their land and that there are no rights for settlement associations on this land.

Palestinian officials had held a meeting to discuss the latest developments in Sheikh Jarrah and al-Aqsa Mosque.

They discussed the comprehensive aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli government and the Talmudic and Biblical societies.

More so, the officials reviewed the escalation of settlements throughout the city of Jerusalem, where thousands of settlement units are being built, the land is being confiscated, and homes are demolished.

According to the officials, Israeli authorities are striving to Judaize the city and change its geographical and demographic character.

Also, they jointly rejected Israeli measures and violations in al-Aqsa Mosque.

They called on the Jordanian government to take advantageous positions to confront Zionist projects and plans that looked to divide Al-Aqsa in time and space.

More so, they stressed that the Israeli government no longer cares about the Jordanian guardianship of Islamic and Christian holy sites, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, and is undermining this guardianship and turning it into symbolic custody.



Hezbollah Chief Says It Reviewed Truce Proposal, Ceasefire in Israel’s Hands

 Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers a speech from an unknown location, November 20, 2024 in this still image from video. Reuters TV/Al-Manar TV via Reuters
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers a speech from an unknown location, November 20, 2024 in this still image from video. Reuters TV/Al-Manar TV via Reuters
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Hezbollah Chief Says It Reviewed Truce Proposal, Ceasefire in Israel’s Hands

 Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers a speech from an unknown location, November 20, 2024 in this still image from video. Reuters TV/Al-Manar TV via Reuters
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers a speech from an unknown location, November 20, 2024 in this still image from video. Reuters TV/Al-Manar TV via Reuters

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a televised speech aired on Wednesday that his group had reviewed and given feedback on a US-drafted ceasefire proposal to end fighting with Israel, and that a halt to hostilities was now in Israel's hands.

Qassem made his comments in a pre-recorded address aired a few hours after US envoy Amos Hochstein said he would head to Israel to try to close a deal on a truce, after two days of meetings with Lebanese officials including two sit-downs with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.

Qassem said his Iran-backed group had seen the draft US deal and provided feedback.

"These comments were presented to the US envoy and they were discussed with him in detail," Qassem said. "The comments we presented show that we approve this track of indirect negotiations through Speaker Berri."

But he rejected the notion that Israel would be able to keep striking Hezbollah even after a truce is reached, saying that Israel should not be allowed to breach Lebanon's sovereignty.

Qassem said a deal now depended on Israel's response and the "seriousness" of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - and that Hezbollah would keep negotiating and fighting at the same time.

Specifically, he said any strikes on central Beirut would be met with Hezbollah fire onto Tel Aviv. Hezbollah launched missiles at Tel Aviv on Monday, after deadly Israeli bombardments hit the heart of Beirut on both Sunday and Monday.

Israel's year-long battle with Hezbollah in Lebanon has killed more than 3,500 people, the vast majority of them in the last two months, and left much of the country's south, east and the southern suburbs of Beirut in ruins.

After a ceasefire takes effect, Hezbollah would help rebuild Lebanon alongside the Lebanese state and remain a player in Lebanon's political scene, Qassem said, with an "effective" role in electing a president. Political divides in Lebanon have kept the post vacant for more than two years.