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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has vowed to maintain the so-called “Pay-for-Slay” policy that doles out “salaries” to Palestinian terrorists and their families.
Speaking on the eve of ‘Nakba Day,’ the Arab term for “catastrophe” that many characterize as the birth of the Jewish state, Abbas reportedly told the families of “martyrs” that he would continue the fund. He furthermore reaffirmed his commitment to the “right of return,” which would see millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants settle in Israel.
“The Palestinian people and their leadership will not rest until all prisoners enjoy freedom,” Abbas said, adding that he would push for “the rights of the families of the martyrs and prisoners.”
He continued: “The great Palestinian people cannot be defeated because they have a just issue that cannot be obliterated by false narratives.”
Palestinians in the West Bank marked the ‘Nakba’ with several rallies in which sirens sounded for 74 seconds, marking the number of years since Israel’s establishment.
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Satellite images from Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International (ISI) reveal the heavy damage inflicted on an underground facility in Syria following an alleged Israeli airstrike on it days earlier.
Five people were killed and a further seven injured on Friday when missiles struck the site in the country’s northwestern Masyaf region, according to Syrian reports.
All the deceased were said to be crew members of the Pantsir air defense system, which had attempted to intercept the rockets.
“The structures were used as an entrance to underground tunnels. ISI has detected that the structures have been completely destroyed,” ISI said regarding the imagery.
According to ISI, the facility was previously hit in 2018 before being rebuilt and is thought to be related to the nearby Scientific Studies and Research Center (CERS), which was previously targeted by Israel in April.
Iranian forces and backed militias have a heavy presence in the Masyaf region where the site is located.
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Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz will meet with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington D.C. this week, the Israeli minister’s office announced on Sunday.
Gantz is expected to hold talks with the Pentagon chief on Wednesday before visiting bereaved Jewish families in New York and Miami.
The agenda of the meeting has not been disclosed, but it comes amid ratcheting tension following the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot during clashes between Palestinian gunmen and the Israeli military during an arrest raid near the West Bank city of Jenin.
Akleh’s funeral was subsequently hijacked by a crowd of Palestinians who attempted to snatch her casket.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to the deceased journalist’s family on Sunday as Israel vowed to fully investigate both the circumstances of her death and the disruption at her funeral.
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The United Kingdom will pass legislation aimed at countering the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government is planning to bring to a vote a bill that will prevent public bodies from engaging in anti-Israel boycotts, as outlined in the Queen’s Speech last week, which officially opened parliament and saw the government set out its legislative agenda.
According to a summary of the proposed law, it will stop public bodies from “adopting their own approach to international relations” and comes after some UK councils passed BDS resolutions.
The summary added that such boycotts “overwhelmingly target Israel,” which has the effect of contributing to the “horrific rise” in antisemitism in the UK, “including Kosher food being removed from supermarket shelves, Jewish films being banned from a film festival and a student union holding a vote on blocking the formation of a Jewish student society.”
Recommended Reading
- When Arabs Became Palestinians (Jerold Auerbach, Algemeiner)
- The Three D’s and The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh (Micha Danzig, Jewish Journal)
- Original Manuscript of Theodor Herzl’s Utopian ‘Altneuland’ Novel Exhibited to the Public for the First Time (i24News)
- Gen Z Must Be at the Frontlines in the Fight Against Antisemitism (Zack Singerman, Times of Israel)
- 80 Israel-founded Unicorns Now Dot the United States (Diana Bletter, Israel21C)
