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Israel declares record amount of occupied West Bank as state-owned land this year

Israeli settlements

According to data obtained by NGO Kerem Navot, 2,743 acres in the West Bank have been declared state-owned land, with the biggest bloc consisting of nearly 2,000 acres in the Jordan Valley.

A further 650 acres were designated state property near Abu Dis, as well as 42 acres near the Herodion National Park.

The previous record was in 1999, when just 1,285 acres were designated, according to data from the Peace Now NGO.

The data showed that between 2018 to 2023 the Civil Administration, which runs Israeli civilian affairs in the West Bank, also remapped approximately 24,000 dunams (5,900 acres) of state-owned land.

The remapping of land already categorised as state-owned often paves the way for settlement construction.

“As can be expected from this government, there has been a sharp increase in the past year in the public resources invested in the looting of thousands more dunams scattered in several areas deep in the West Bank, as well as promoting the possibility of construction on the thousands of dunams that previous governments looted for the past decades, although most of them have not yet been used,” stated Dror Etkes of Kerem Navot, according to Haaretz.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, which have been constructed since they were captured by Israel in the 1967 war.

Under international law, settlement construction in an occupied territory is illegal.

In February, Peace Now reported that in 2023, settlers established at least 26 new illegal outposts in the West Bank. Ten of them were established following the outbreak of war in Gaza on 7 October.

It added that 21 Palestinian communities were forcibly displaced from their homes due to the establishment of illegal outposts, of which 16 communities were uprooted since the war broke out.

The UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk said in March that settlements had expanded by a record amount and risked eliminating any possibility of a Palestinian state.

His comments were accompanied by a 16-page report that documented 24,300 new illegal Israeli housing units in the West Bank during a one-year period through to the end of October 2023. It marked the highest on record since monitoring began in 2017.

Since 7 October there has been a major increase in Israeli settler violence and army raids across the West Bank.

According to official Palestinian sources, at least 461 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since then.

Heavy snow blankets Khalkhal, northwestern Iran, during spring

Iran Kouhrang Snow

Reports say the snow is 50 centimeters high and local authorities tried to open the routes after the heavy snowfall.

As a result of the snowfall, temperatures fell in northwestern Iran and even in distant areas.

The region is considered one of the agricultural hubs of the country and the sudden cold snap has caused concern among local farmers during the spring season.

101 people killed in road accidents during Eid ul-Fitr holidays

Iran Road

General Teimour Hosseini added that 98 million trips happened during the holidays that began on Tuesday.

The Nowruz road accidents also killed over 800 people countrywide. More than 21,000 people were also wounded.

The Nowruz holiday started on March 14, 2024 and lasted three weeks.

Experts blame the high casualties caused by road crashes on poor infrastructure and reckless driving.

President Raisi to Hams chief: Resistance leaders at forefront of sacrifice to liberate al-Quds

Iran President Hams chief

President Raisi praised Haniyeh and other resistance leaders for showing patience over tragic incidents in Gaza, saying, “With the sacrifices the resistance leaders make along with their nations, they are at the forefront of liberating the Holy Al-Quds.”

Haniyeh’s three sons and four grandchildren were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

The Iranian president said, “The crime further revealed the brutality and child-killing nature of the regime which is a sign of the Zionists’ helplessness and failure in facing the resistance front.”

He also held Israel’s allies and “those who claim to advocate human rights” responsible in the crime due to their “inhumane support for the hated regime.”

Meanwhile, Haniyeh expressed gratitude to the Iranian president for his message of condolences, stating “The criminal Zionist enemy thinks it can disrupt our determination and our nation by targeting the children of resistance leaders, while the blood makes us stronger in the path of resistance.”

Iran’s Karaj hosts tulip festival

200 thousand tulips in 20 colors as well as other seasonal flowers like violets and daffodils have given the 10th Tulip Festival in Karaj a dreamy shine.

Below are the pictures of the event in Karaj’s Shahid Chamran Park, west of the capital Tehran:

Unseasonal snow brings joy to Meshgin Shahr in northwestern Iran

Some other cities in the province experienced rainfalls which made the farmers in the region feel blessed.

Ardabil is famous for its colder than usual weather, however the snow came after temperatures had earlier risen to summer-time levels.

Islamabad says ‘committed to expanding close cooperation’ with Tehran, urges intelligence collaboration

The phone conversation came days after terrorist attacks on Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan by a Pakistan-based terrorist group, which led to the death of several Iranian security forces as well militants.

The Pakistani president called for enhancing intelligence ties between the two countries to overcome the security challenges on both sides of the border.

He also sympathized with the families of the Iranian military advisors who were killed in Israeli missile strikes on Iran’s diplomatic mission in the Syrian capital Damascus earlier this month.

The two sides also discussed the latest regional developments, including Israel’s months-long aggression against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and called for an immediate ceasefire there to stop the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Zardari congratulated the Iranian government and nation on Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

He also invited President Raisi to visit Pakistan.

Iran FM talks to Australian, UK, German counterparts, raps their takes regarding Syria attack

Hossein Amirabdollahian

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, “Certain Western governments refrained from condemning this terrorist act, which blatantly violates international laws and conventions. Instead, by persistently supporting the crimes of the Zionists, they call on Iran to exercise restraint.”

Additionally, the top Iranian diplomat emphasized the imperative of exerting pressure on Israeli to cease the war, genocide, and starvation imposed upon the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Amirabdollahian alao emphasized the necessity for joint efforts to overcome existing obstacles hindering the progression and expansion of bilateral relations.

Wong, for her part, emphasized her understanding of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s concerns regarding the attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus and called for Tehran’s restraint.

She further expressed concern over the escalation of tensions, countermeasures, and the broadening scope of the conflict, which could lead to uncontrollable consequences surpassing the region’s tolerance threshold.

In a phone call with the UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Amirabdollahian
criticized Britain’s inaction in condemning the Israeli regime’s airstrike on the consular section of the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus.

Iran’s foreign minister added: “Tehran has never sought to escalate tension in the region, but in the face of the Israeli regime’s terrorist attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus and the silence of the United States and England, it means encouraging Netanyahu to continue waging war and its development in the region.”

Also touching upon some positive developments in bilateral relations, the two sides expressed their desire to continue joint efforts to strengthen cooperation in an environment based on mutual respect.

The British foreign secretary, for his part, referred to the tensions in the region, calling on the Islamic Republic of Iran to exercise restraint and emphasized: “Lack of restraint on the part of the parties can lead to further expansion of conflicts in the region.”

The top British diplomat further voiced concern about the continuation of tension in the Red Sea.

Referring to Palestine, he added: “America has presented a plan for a ceasefire, which is available if the other side agrees.”

The two sides emphasized on continuing the talks.

Also in a telephone conversation with his German counterpart
Annalena Baerbock, Iran’s foreign minister, said: “When the Israeli regime endangers the immunity of people and diplomatic places by violating international law and the Vienna Conventions, legitimate defense with the aim of punishing the aggressor is imperative.”

Amirabdollahian, referring to the terrorist airstrike by the Zionist regime on the consular section of the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus,  noted: “The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been to stay away from tension.”

The top Iranian diplomat pointed to Tehran’s expectation of Berlin to condemn the crimes of the Israeli regime explicitly.

He also raised a question as to whether the United States and Europe would take a similar reaction to a similar missile attack on one of the diplomatic places in a similar war environment in Ukraine.

Referring to the statement of the German foreign minister regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, Amirabdollahian said: “The reason why Germany’s efforts to establish a ceasefire in Gaza have been fruitless should be found in the lack of German neutrality in this genocide.”

Iran’s foreign minister added: “When the Israeli regime completely violates the inviolability of individuals and diplomats in accordance with international law and the Vienna Conventions, legitimate defense is imperative.”

He also welcomed efforts to resolve the misunderstanding between Tehran and Berlin.

The top German diplomat, for her part, congratulated the arrival of the Muslim Eid and emphasized that Eid ul-Fitr is a messenger of peace.

She sayid: “In this tense situation, Germany requests restraint from the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Regarding the attack of the Israeli regime on the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, she stated: “We have clearly emphasized that diplomatic places enjoy full immunity.”

Gaza death toll tops 33,500 as Israeli strikes continue

Gaza War

The Gaza-based Health Ministry made the statement as the Israeli deadly onslaught on Gaza entered its 188th day.

The ongoing offensive has also injured 76,094 Palestinians, it added.

The ministry’s statement said: “63 martyrs and 45 injuries arrived at (Gaza) hospitals in the past 24 hours as a result of the Israeli occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip,”

“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads and rescuers are unable to reach them,” it noted.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.

Iranian, German foreign ministers discuss Middle East tensions

Israeli strike on Iranian consulate in Syria

Baerbock called for all sides to act responsibly and exercise restraint in the telephone conversation with Amirabdollahian.

“No one can have an interest in a wider regional escalation. We urge all actors in the region to act responsibly and exercise maximum restraint,” the German foreign ministry posted on X.

Amirabdollahian has accused the United States of giving Israel the “green light” for a strike on its consulate building in Syria that killed seven members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), including two generals.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned the Israeli regime “must be punished and will be punished” for its deadly strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.

He stated, “The evil Zionist regime committed another mistake … and that was the attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. The consulate and diplomatic missions in any country are considered to be the territory of that country. When they attack our consulate, it means they have attacked our soil.”

“The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and will be punished,” the Leader stressed.