It was the first meeting between Palestinians and Israelis in years to attempt to break the cycle of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories. According to a joint statement released after a meeting in Jordan on Sunday (February 26), Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged to “prevent further violence” and work towards “de-escalation.”

“Senior Jordanian, Egyptian, Israeli, Palestinian and American officials” attended the meeting and after “thorough and frank discussions” reiterated “the need to work on the ground to de-escalate and prevent any new violence,” the spokesman said Final communiqué with eight points.

The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have “reaffirmed their common will and commitment” to act immediately to halt the unilateral measures for a period of three to six months. This includes an Israeli commitment to “cease for a period of four months discussion of the establishment of new settlement units so as not to legalize outpost settlements,” according to the text, for a period of several months.

In that communiqué, participants also agreed to help the two parties “build mutual trust” for a “direct dialogue.” The Palestinian and Israeli parties “will work in good faith to meet their responsibilities in this regard,” according to the text. The participants agreed to meet again in March in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

“Stop the Bloodshed”

Hamas in a statement condemned the Palestinian Authority’s involvement and considered “the meeting with the Zionists as a break with the Palestinian national consensus, a contempt for the blood of martyrs, an open attempt to cover up the crimes of the occupation.”

“The decision to attend the meeting in Aqaba, despite the pain and massacres suffered by the Palestinian people, stems from a desire to end the bloodshed,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party responded, while others Palestinian factions who have done so have condemned the involvement of the Palestinian Authority.

The talks come amid fears of uncontrollable violence as the conflict escalates sharply. During the meeting, two Israelis were killed in a Palestinian “attack” in the northern West Bank – Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 – according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The attack happened on the main street in Hawara near Nablus. The Israeli army has declared it a “terrorist”. [avait] opened fire on an Israeli vehicle” and that soldiers then cordoned off the area for search operations.

Israeli security forces deployed in the occupied West Bank city of Huwara on February 26, 2023 after two Israelis were killed in a shootout. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP

The Israeli army has been multiplying its operations in the north of the West Bank, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, for almost a year. On Wednesday, it launched a new incursion into the old city of Nablus to look for suspects involved in past or future anti-Israel attacks, according to the army. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 11 Palestinians were killed by bullets and more than 80 injured in the attack, the deadliest in the West Bank since 2005.

Also Read: Article reserved for our subscribers Israel is trying to quell a burgeoning intifada in Nablus

The world with AFP

The peace in the Middle East skies opens Arab airspace to Israeli companies and shortens the duration of flights between the Jewish state and Asia by two and a half hours. The first to benefit, on the evening of Sunday February 26th, is the El Al 83 connection, which departs from Tel Aviv and arrives in Bangkok eight hours later, as opposed to the ten and a half hours normally required. Thanks to the approvals of Saudi Arabia first and Oman in recent days and after months and years of agreements and diplomatic meetings.

The paradox

Thus, one of the main paradoxes of this piece of the world will disappear. In fact, until yesterday, the fastest way to travel between Israel and Asia was not a direct flight but a stopover. The El Al link to Thailand had to turn south, once via Jordan, and pass through the Red Sea, then Djibouti, Somalia, the Arabian Sea and India for a total of exactly ten and a half hours. On the other hand, those who decided to book with Royal Jordanian and change planes in Amman landed 9 hours and 55 minutes after leaving the Jewish state city.

The green light

It won’t be like that anymore. El Al’s Boeing 787s – but this also applies to other Israeli airlines such as Arkia and Israir – which received permission to fly over Saudi Arabia in July 2022 will also be able to fly over Oman since February 23. It was the Sultanate’s Civil Aviation Authority that stipulated, without mentioning the Israelis, that “all airlines that meet the requirements may overfly Oman’s airspace”, also in order to comply with the Chicago Convention, which establishes the principle of non-discrimination in civil aircraft international flights.

The reaction

“El Al is proud to be the first Israeli airline to fly over Saudi Arabia and Oman and write a page in the history of the State of Israel,” said Ben Tal in a statement, which Portal Ganancia, CEO of El Al , also sent one of the few female CEOs in the airline industry. The novelty also has important economic news for the Israeli company: by reducing the flight duration to Asia by two and a half hours, it will be able to save millions of dollars a year on kerosene annually, and it will also be easier to start direct flights to Australia (Melbourne).

The agreements

Not to mention the trade deals: since 2021, El Al has codeshared with Etihad Airways, one of the main carriers in the Persian Gulf based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. El Al, Israel’s main airline, operates 45 Boeing aircraft, 15 of which are twin-aisle 787 Dreamliners for intercontinental connections.

At the meeting attended by almost a hundred Galicians from this city in Switzerland, Antonio Rodríguez Miranda highlighted the revitalization of the workplace as one of the pillars on which this comprehensive document is based, which aims to attract the community to 30,000 Galicians from the community by 2026 Abroad.

Secretary General for Emigration Antonio Rodríguez Miranda highlighted the weight given to the labor market in the document, which includes 100 measures to encourage returns and a budget of more than 450 million euros.

“Among all of them, those related to the workplace stand out, since having a job facilitates the success of the return and the opportunities to establish oneself permanently in our society,” added the head of the Galician government department. For this reason, 175 of the 450 million that the EGR2026 has will be allocated to the development of 37 actions related to the professional and professional qualifications of the beneficiaries.

Education and permanent contract

The aim of the “Retorna Cualifica Emprego” program is to offer training and a permanent contract in Galicia so that 400 trained Galicians from abroad return to Galicia this year with a permanent contract, in addition to advice and mentoring on their new journey. The Galician government will invest almost 4 million in this initiative, which will take a new step in matching the needs of the labor market to the labor force needed and will allow its beneficiaries to return to their country of origin with a contract of a minimum duration of 12 Months and financial aid to finance the acquisition costs both for the outward journey to Galicia and for other establishments in the Community.

This innovative initiative, promoted by the Ministry of Employment and Equality Promotion, is implemented by the Nortempo and Venancio Salcines Foundations, which are in charge of its management and whose representatives presented the details and requirements for participation in the program.

A master’s degree in Galicia

The General Secretariat for Emigration also keeps open the application period for the BEME (Bolsas Excelencia Mocidade Exterior) grants, which offer grants between 7,500 and 12,000 for the best university diplomas of Galician citizens abroad to study a Master’s degree in Galicia. Those interested can apply for one of these scholarships until April 28th.

The Galicia Return Strategy 2023-26 doubles both the measures and the budget compared to the previous strategy, launched in 2018 which, according to Miranda, “represented a turning point in previous return policies in Spain”. With the aim of continuing to make Galicia the best option in which to live for Galicians living abroad, the document addresses four main areas: counseling and support, social affairs, education and the world of work.

There is an acute shortage of vitamin-rich fresh produce in Britain. Supermarkets have rationed cucumbers and tomatoes. There are several reasons for misery.

London. 10 am in a supermarket in south London. The vegetable shelves are still full, there are cucumbers from England, peppers from Spain, tomatoes from Morocco. However, the appearance of plenty is deceiving: “We usually don’t have any more until four pm,” says the self-checkout cashier. Two days earlier, the Aldi chain, in England, introduced rationing: each customer can only take three packs of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Several other UK supermarket chains have also introduced rationing schemes. An acute shortage of fresh produce has erupted on the island – and could last for months.

There are several reasons for the state of emergency, mainly the weather and expensive energy. Also crucial is the fact that the UK relies heavily on imports for its food supply. According to the government, 46% of fresh vegetables and 84% of fruits are imported from abroad. In winter it’s even more so: the industry association British Retail Consortium estimates that 95% of tomatoes and 90% of lettuce are imported in the cold months, much of it from southern Europe and northern Africa.

The CIA director said Sunday he was confident China was considering supplying arms to Russia in its offensive in Ukraine, but had no indication a decision had been made or material handed over.

“We are convinced that the Chinese leadership is considering supplying lethal material to Russia,” William Burns said in an interview with CBS.

But he added that he ignores it final decision has been made, evidence of arms sales to Russia is still available.

You A week ago, the United States accused China of considering arms deliveries to Russia. to support its offensive in Ukraine, which Beijing denies.

According to press reports, including the Wall Street Journalwould be in particular “drones” and ammunition.

The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, made the point directly to China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, during a tense meeting in Munich last Saturday on the sidelines of a security conference.

Washington believes China is already supplying Russia with nonlethal material about Chinese companies.

The United States remains vigilant

That, in turn, was assured by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan CNN that the United States remains vigilant in this regard and reiterated Washington’s warning to Beijing of the consequences of arms sales to Moscow.

“We will continue to send a clear message that sending military aid to Russia at this time would be a huge mistake and China should not do so,” he said.

According to Sullivan, the war in Ukraine poses “serious complications” for the Chinese If Beijing decides to supply Moscow with arms, there would be “real costs”..

China calls for ceasefire

China called for a ceasefire on Friday, the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, arguing in a 12point proposal that dialogue is the only way to reach a viable solution to the conflict.

O Apartmentreleased by China’s Foreign Ministry, also called for an end to Western sanctions imposed on Russia, measures to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities, the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and measures to ensure grain exports after supply disruptions around the world drove up prices.

The plan was dismissed by most Western countries, citing China’s proximity to the Kremlin, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted meeting his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, recalling that China “worries the territorial integrity” of the country countries respected and “must do everything possible” to remove “Russia” from Ukraine.

Relations with Beijing in question?

In an interview with Lusa on Friday, the foreign minister defended that China was in a balancing act over the conflict in Ukraine and that if Portugal and the European Union were to supply arms to Russia, they would have to review relations with Beijing.

Last year the China avoided condemning Russia for its military action in Ukraine and accused NATO and the United States of fueling this conflict and of failing to address Moscow’s “legitimate security concerns.”

According to the latest UN data, the military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far caused the flight of more than 14 million people 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than eight million in European countries classifies this refugee crisis as the worst Europe since World War II 19391945).

At least 18 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.

The Russian invasion — justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “deNazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security — was generally condemned by the international community, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and they imposed political and economic sanctions on Russia.

The United Nations has confirmed 8,006 civilian deaths and 13,287 wounded since the war began exactly one year ago, underscoring that these numbers are far fewer than the real figures.