There are only a few weeks left until the Israeli legislative elections scheduled for October 27, elections that will determine the country's future for the next four years, and it seems difficult for there to be significant changes in the dynamics of the century-old conflict with the Palestinians. During the long campaign underway, we are witnessing a continuous evolution of attacks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition leaders; a bellicosity that will continue to grow until the polls open and that periodically reaches intense isolated clashes.

Benjamin Netanyahu took to the podium at the United Nations General Assembly this Thursday with a forty-minute speech marked by confrontation. The Israeli prime minister, as expected, defended the military operations against Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah, praised Donald Trump, and attacked various countries and the role of international media.

Fadi Elhusseini (1975, Gaza Strip) made his debut this Thursday as the brand-new ambassador of Palestine to Spain, in Madrid, in what was his first public act since presenting his credentials to Felipe VI. The playing field was friendly. First, because he was accompanied by the Minister of Children and Youth, Sira Rego (United Left), who has been and is one of the most forceful voices in the Spanish government against the offensive in Gaza, as was evidenced again this Thursday: "The position of Spanish society [on Palestine] is clear [...]. [Benjamin Netanyahu] is a war criminal," the minister stated.

Benjamin Netanyahu will arrive this Thursday in New York to deliver one of the most delicate speeches of his career before the United Nations General Assembly. It will be a lightning visit: the Israeli prime minister plans to arrive in the United States on the same day as his intervention and return to Israel a few hours later. Unlike other years, no meeting with the US president, Donald Trump, is scheduled.

The complaint against Pilar Rahola for her statements in favor of Israel and her actions in Palestine will not proceed. The Barcelona Provincial Prosecutor's Office has decided to archive it following the pre-trial proceedings it ordered on April 13. The complaint, filed by two militants of the Socialist Youth Organization (OJS), was for crimes of incitement to hatred and complicity in the genocide in Gaza, but the public prosecutor's office considers that there is not enough evidence to continue investigating the journalist. The decision is not subject to appeal, according to the resolution dated this Monday to which ARA has had access.

In a public school in Sidon, the start of the academic year is unlike any other year. Some classrooms remain occupied by displaced families. Their belongings fit into a few bags, and the spaces where desks should be placed remain divided into small corners for sleeping. More than a million people were displaced during this year's hostilities in Lebanon, among whom were about 390,000 children, according to Unicef. The organization also warns that 340 schools have been damaged or destroyed, leaving thousands of students at risk of starting the school year without a classroom.

Many things have happened this week, and the most important one (even if it seems so) is not that Florentino Pérez is going to Ceuta today to make a resounding profession of the Spanish identity of Madrid and Ceuta. A kind of “how could I not love you”, if I am Madrid.But today the news in Ceuta is that the thousands of people who were living in poor conditions on the beaches have finally been moved to the city's port, where a decent camp awaits them. It has taken a month and nineteen days for the president of Ceuta, the Spanish government, the judiciary, and the police unions to agree and stop preventing it. A shameful management. By the way, very far but very close to Ceuta, in New York, the governments of Morocco and Israel have signed the agreement by which Rabat and Tel Aviv elevate their diplomatic relations to the embassy level, and they will soon exchange ambassadors. Morocco is not only the neighbor that holds the key to African immigration to the EU, but it also reinforces its long-standing alliance with the United States, now with Trump.But, of course, in a week where the topic of debate has been whether AI could kill us all before 2030, any other news seems small. In reality, everything matters. If we talk about ourselves, it has begun, as you know, the trial of the four national police officers accused of torture and injuries resulting in the loss of an organ, when they fired the rubber bullet that left Roger Español blind in one eye on October 1st. The day before yesterday they said that the operation was “absolutely perfect”, and yesterday the police officers declared, very remorseful, as proof of the aggression with which they were received, that people were shouting “Españolazos” at them, that they were only defending themselves, that they gave warnings and that they were not going to cause harm but to deter. And they said this with Roger Español present there.Police: “The very aggressive manner in which the public gathered there was throwing objects, mm, stones, cobblestones, bottles, from... from the facades they were also throwing them, and their physical integrity was at serious risk. This is more than enough, more than enough, to be able to use the riot control equipment that the intervention units are legally equipped with, which are not harmful, mm, they are not... They are deterrent. They are not harmful, they are deterrent.”But the moment that sums it all up is this one. The judge calls a Catalan interpreter, who gets so nervous that she cannot interpret anything.

Murals on the streets, protesters in front of their homes, calls on social media. Pro-Israel militants have begun a persecution campaign against the directors of the documentary No Other Land, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, a film that denounces the killing of civilians by the Israeli army through testimonies from soldiers. After being premiered and awarded in Venice, the documentary is scheduled to be screened at the New York Film Festival. On the festival's own Instagram post, there are already intimidating threats such as: "Yuval, don't come back, I recommend it". This Monday, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, deemed the documentary "an intolerable antisemitic incitement".

Israel and Morocco have agreed to take a new step in the diplomatic rapprochement initiated in 2020 and elevate their diplomatic missions to the rank of embassies, with the commitment to appoint ambassadors in both countries. The meeting in New York between the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar; his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, and the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, took place one day after the sixth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, the framework promoted by the Donald Trump administration that allowed for the resumption of relations between Israel and several Arab countries.During the meeting, the three governments reaffirmed their commitment to these agreements and announced a series of measures to deepen the ties between Rabat and Tel Aviv that go beyond the opening of embassies. Among these measures are the expansion of direct flights between Israel and Morocco, operated by Israeli and Moroccan airlines, and the establishment of two agreements on investment protection and the avoidance of double taxation, with the aim of boosting commercial and business exchanges. Both measures are expected before the end of 2026.“The friendship between the Moroccan and Jewish peoples has deep roots and a rich history,” stated Israeli Minister Sa’ar after the meeting. “The declaration we signed today establishes practical paths to elevate relations between Israel and Morocco for the benefit of both peoples, and we will work to implement it,” he added. In a statement issued by the American mission to the UN, Washington, Rabat, and Tel Aviv have argued that deeper regional integration, built on this foundation, can contribute to “more peace, stability, and shared prosperity in the Middle East and beyond”.One more step towards the normalization of relations

The New York announcement formalizes a relationship that, in some areas, has already deepened considerably since 2020, when Morocco resumed relations with Israel within the framework of the Abraham Accords, promoted by the US administration. At that time, in exchange for the rapprochement between Rabat and Tel Aviv, the Donald Trump administration recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Previously, Rabat had broken off relations with Israel in 2000 following the second Palestinian Intifada.Now, the United States and Israel have once again expressed their recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over this territory of the Sahara and their support for the Moroccan autonomy proposal as a basis for a solution to the conflict. For Morocco, Western Sahara remains one of the main axes of its foreign policy. Therefore, the maintenance of American support and the strengthening of relations with Israel have a strategic dimension that goes beyond diplomacy and commercial exchanges and which are developing as solid bilateral relations in various areas, such as military cooperation. “Defense collaboration is especially important in this context and has favored it,” explains Intissar Fakir to ARA, director of the Middle East Institute research center and specialist in Moroccan politics. “This cooperation has developed to include sophisticated exchanges, strategic arms acquisitions, and close bilateral cooperation that has reinforced Morocco’s capabilities and provided Israel with an important partner in North Africa,” adds Fakir. For the expert, although the United States has been vital for the establishment of this relationship, the bond between Morocco and Israel has developed its own solid foundation for the future.The New York announcement comes at a particularly delicate moment for relations between Morocco and Spain, following the Ceuta crisis and the accusations by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, against Israel for having contributed to spreading and amplifying disinformation regarding Spanish migration policy during the episode. Israel denies these accusations, while Rabat rejects that the Moroccan authorities planned the massive entry into Ceuta and accuses certain Spanish political sectors of using Morocco as an argument in internal politics.

]]>

Israel seeks to "eliminate" the conditions that make life possible for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli human rights NGO B'Tselem denounced this Monday in a report. The entity warns that settlers and the army are blocking "the ability to get to work, go to school or university, receive medical treatment or access municipal services, family or friends gatherings, work the land, go on vacation... routine activities that make human life possible".

]]>

The Israeli Minister of Culture, Miki Zohar, has announced that he wants to revoke the citizenship of the directors of the documentary Naza, which received the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival this Saturday, for showing Israel's calculated and massive strategy to destroy the Gaza Strip, with the help of AI. Zohar accuses them of "treason against the country".

]]>

Eleven European countries, including Spain, in addition to Canada, denounce the deteriorating situation in the West Bank and have announced that they are considering restricting trade in products from Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law. In a joint statement published this Tuesday in Paris, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have stated that the expansion of settlements and settler violence in the Palestinian territory bordering Jordan put at risk the prospect of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

]]>

The President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas was planning a major operation against Israel days before the October 7 attacks, according to an investigation published this Tuesday by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Netanyahu reportedly dismissed the warning, even though the Emirati president, in a 45-minute direct conversation, had asked him to take the threat seriously. The conversation took place about ten days before the attacks, according to the newspaper, which cites three senior officials familiar with its content.

]]>

In Metula, there is not much time to react. When a siren sounds, the inhabitants know they have between fifteen and twenty seconds to reach the nearest shelter. If they do not reach it, there is only one last instruction that everyone knows by heart: lie down on the ground, protect your head with your hands, and hope that the shrapnel does not fall too close.

]]>

It is common for Israeli senior officials, once retired, to criticize the government and denounce the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and sometimes even the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population or the no less systematic persecution and dispossession in general. They make comments to this effect, which in some cases are public.

]]>

In January 2024, amidst the Israeli offensive against Gaza, Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl, was traveling with six other members of her family in a car in the Strip's capital. Suddenly, someone opened fire on the car. Unlike her relatives, who died during the attack, the girl survived the shooting, but days later a rescue team found her lifeless body next to two of the medics who had tried to save her in an ambulance.

]]>

Israel's National Security Minister, the far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir, stated that Israeli forces should "kill 30 or 40" Palestinians every night in Gaza, in addition to those who may pose "a danger at this specific moment." Ben-Gvir made these statements to Rom Braslavski – who was kidnapped on October 7 and held in the Strip by Palestinian militias – in an episode of a podcast published on Sunday. "There are people there who do not deserve to live. They are not even human," the far-right politician added.

]]>

Sixty days. This was the deadline that the United States and Iran gave themselves to transform the memorandum of understanding signed in June into a final agreement. The deadline expires this Monday without this agreement having been reached. And during these two months, the understanding that was supposed to contain the war has been on the verge of causing it to explode again. In fact, in the last few hours Tehran has raised its tone again: a high-ranking commander of the Revolutionary Guard has warned that its defensive stance will become "offensive" and has threatened with "strategic surprises" against the enemy.

]]>

Several Palestinian families from Qusra, in the north of the West Bank, have been trapped in their homes for days, besieged by Israeli settlers who have blocked access to the homes and cut off their water and electricity supplies. The Israeli army has reinforced its deployment in the town and initially ordered the evacuation of about fifteen homes, in an operation that comes amid a full escalation of settler violence in the West Bank. The evacuation order, however, was withdrawn shortly after, and the army assured that residents can stay in their homes.

]]>

Every few minutes an explosion interrupts the conversation. A dry crackle. Then another. And another. In the background, on Ali Taher hill, a column of smoke rises again. An Israeli drone slowly flies over the entrance to Zautar al-Gharbiyah while a small Lebanese army checkpoint regulates access to the village. It is the first "pilot zone" of the agreement negotiated between Lebanon and Israel under the auspices of the United States. On paper, it was supposed to symbolize the beginning of the Lebanese state's return to the south. On the ground, it is hard to imagine anyone living there again.

]]>