The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has condemned ongoing attempts to form parallel or alternative frameworks to the PLO and its institutions.
The so-called Gaza Civil Administration is being sought by Israel and the United States administration as part of the post-war arrangements.
The PLO Executive Committee stated that the Israeli occupation persists – with support from the United States – in refusing to stop the aggression on Gaza and lift the blockade on the Palestinian people and their government.
‘Amid this onslaught aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause and political system, groups supported and funded from regional parties emerge under national names in a desperate attempt to form parallel frameworks and alternatives to the PLO and its legitimate elected institutions,’ said the committee.
The EC affirmed that embodying the national unity comes through ending the division and uniting state institutions under the umbrella of the PLO, the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people.
And they condemned ‘these insidious attempts and those behind them’, pledging to thwart all attempts to undermine the unity of the PLO and create alternative frameworks to it.
They called on the masses of the Palestinian people in the homeland and the diaspora to rally around their legitimate leadership under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
- The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah says it has fired a squadron of attack drones on an Israeli maritime site as its anti-Israel operations escalate.
In a statement, the movement said it attacked the Ras al-Naqoura site, ‘accurately’ hitting buildings used by Israeli officers and soldiers, causing confirmed casualties and destroying part of the site.
The statement said the operation was carried out in support of the steadfast Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza, and in response to last Thursday’s Israeli attack on the Lebanese town of Derkiva, that killed a Hezbollah member.
In separate statements, the movement said it had also fired rockets at the Ruwaisat al-Qarn and Zibdin sites in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms and also the Ramtha and Al-Samaqa sites in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shuba hills.
The movement has been launching anti-Israel operations since October 8th, the day after the Gaza resistance launched its Al-Aqsa Storm operation in reaction to escalated Israeli violence against Palestinians under the extremist cabinet of Benjamin Netanyahu and repeated desecrations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Hezbollah escalated its anti-Israel operations last week after the regime killed a senior commander of the movement, Taleb Sami Abdallah.
Concerns have been growing over the past week about a wider conflict in the region as some Israeli officials have threatened to launch a war on Lebanon.
Last Tuesday, the Israeli military said that plans for an offensive in Lebanon ‘were approved and validated.’
The same day, Hezbollah published a video showing drone footage it recorded over northern parts of the Israeli-occupied territories, including parts of Haifa’s city and port.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned ‘no place’ in the Israeli-occupied territories would ‘be spared our rockets’ in a war, and also threatened Cyprus with attacks if it assists an Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
On Thursday, Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets at an Israeli barracks in the northern part of the Israeli-occupied territories in retaliation for the deadly air strike in south Lebanon.
- A still image of the port of Haifa from footage captured by a drone belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement on an unspecified date was published on June 18, 2024.
The American newspaper The Washington Post reported that the Israeli air defence systems had been ‘caught off guard’ by Hezbollah’s and its allies’ simple and low-tech drones.
It made the acknowledgement after Hezbollah released a 9-minute video captured by a drone showing strategic locations in the northern part of the occupied territories, including sea and air ports in the city of Haifa.
Hezbollah said its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) returned to Lebanon unimpeded, challenging Israel’s capability to intercept drones.
‘Israel received a shock on Tuesday when Hezbollah released drone footage …, showing off its drone abilities,’ the report said.
‘As these unmanned aircraft hit military sites and private homes in Israel, they are also resurfacing debates around the decade-old air defence system, which many worry provides an imperfect shield against Israel’s many enemies — especially as they experiment with new weapons and new ways of using old ones.’
The nearly 10-minute video was gathered from a surveillance aircraft of key locations in the northern city of Haifa.
Onn Fenig, the CEO of R2, an Israeli signal processing and machine learning start-up, said the drone footage was probably the latest in a string of similar cases, adding that it was made public only because ‘people actually saw it in the sky’, and because Hezbollah publicised it as a piece of psychological warfare.
‘Many times, Israel’s enemies challenge it with low-tech, or no-tech,’ said Liran Entebbe, a researcher of the link between technology and defence at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.
‘Israel hasn’t found a way to deal with Hezbollah drones.’
Israeli newspaper Haaretz also published an article on Hezbollah’s success in challenging the occupation’s air defence system.
It said Hezbollah – thanks to the technology and precise weapons it possesses – ‘has turned into a smart army with neat capabilities that enable it to collect intelligence and carry out attacks in a way that threatens the Israeli army and vital infrastructure.
‘The Israeli army still has not found the way to deal with the threat of Hezbollah’s drones,’ which are ‘wreaking great destruction in the north, crushing the sense of security of tens of thousands of settlers, who are scared to return,’ it added.
Haaretz stressed that Hezbollah’s capabilities have put Israel’s ability to confront in ‘desperate straits’.
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging deadly fire since early October, shortly after the regime launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group.
Hezbollah has vowed to keep up its retaliatory attacks for as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its onslaught on Gaza, which has so far killed at least 37,431 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 85,653 others.
- China’s Ministry of Commerce has expressed concerns that the European Union’s ongoing intensification of trade disputes could potentially lead to a ‘trade war’.
The European Commission recently suggested imposing tariffs as high as 38.1% on electric vehicle (EV) imports from China, a move that has sparked objections from Beijing.
The decision has strained trade relations, raising the prospect of retaliatory measures from China, the world’s second-largest economy.
‘Responsibility lies entirely with the EU side,’ a Chinese ministry spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.
He expressed Beijing’s desire for the EU to engage in dialogue and find a middle ground to address differences, to prevent trade friction from escalating or spiralling out of control.
The tariffs are a response to concerns from Brussels regarding Beijing’s subsidies, which are believed to be negatively impacting European automakers.
The tariffs will apply to EVs exported to Europe by both Chinese and foreign brands, including Tesla.
Meanwhile, China has vowed to take all ‘necessary measures’ in response to the new United States sanctions.
It has announced that it would respond appropriately after the US imposed new sanctions designed to weaken Russia’s military and industrial strength, along with targeting Chinese firms aiding Kremlin in obtaining armaments.
Friday’s statement from the commerce ministry was released approximately one hour prior to the arrival of German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in Beijing.
During his visit, Habeck was expected ‘to clarify the recent tariff announcement to Chinese officials and address any concerns of potential retaliation from China that may negatively impact German businesses.’
