The occupation arrests eight citizens of Bethlehem
Bethlehem - The Israeli occupation forces arrested, at dawn today, Tuesday, eight citizens from different areas in the Bethlehem governorate, and summoned another to meet with its intelligence.
Security sources told Wafa that the occupation forces arrested Majed Muhammad Taqatqa (17 years), Ahmed Khaled Taqatqa (25 years), Rami Ali Taqatqa (24 years), Ayed Muhammad Taqatqa (26 years), and Iyad Sultan Taqatqa (28 years). ), from the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, after raiding and searching the homes of their relatives . Muhammad Omar Taqatqa, the father of the captive Majed, handed a report to review its intelligence services, and stormed the house of the liberated captive Amal Taqatqa.
In Husan, west of Bethlehem, the occupation forces arrested the two brothers, Muhammad Ahmad Za'ul (23 years), Ammar (21 years), and Rawid Shaheen from Beit Sahour, after raiding and searching their relatives' homes.(WAFA)
Brother of the captive Abu Hamid: Nasser turned into a skeleton and lost the ability to use his limbs
Ramallah - Naji Abu Hamid said that his captive brother Nasser is in a very serious health condition, and has turned into a skeleton, and has lost the ability to use his limbs, and has lost the ability to speak.
Naji, who visited his brother, today, Monday, at Barzilai Hospital, added that he was with Nasser, one of the nurses who was trying to feed him, and that he recognized him, but he was unable to talk to him.
The Prisoner Club indicated that Nasser has been in Barzilai Hospital in a serious health condition since the beginning of this January, as he has faced since last year a long journey from the policy of medical negligence "slow killing", including a medical error he suffered after it was found that he had cancer in lung.
He stressed that the stage that Nasser reached was the result of the systematic policies he faced during his years of detention since 2002, noting that the total years of his detention reached 33 years, and he is sentenced to 7 life imprisonment and 50 years.
The Prisoner Club renewed its call for its people to continue supporting the heroic prisoner Nasser Abu Hamid and his family.(WAFA)
An Israeli report says that the security situation in the West Bank is about to boil over What is the reason?
A report by the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University indicated that the security situation in the West Bank is on the verge of boiling over in light of the weakness of the Palestinian Authority, and the growing frustration of the new Palestinian generation.
An Israeli strategic report warned that the security situation in the West Bank is about to boil over in light of the weakness of the Palestinian Authority, and the growing frustration of the new Palestinian generation.
This came in a report by the Institute for National Security Studies of Tel Aviv University (governmental), published on Monday, and a copy of it was sent to President Isaac Herzog, according to the official Kan channel.
The report considered that Israel's strategic problem is to move away from a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by disavowing the two-state solution, and seeking to gain time and postpone strategic decisions in the Palestinian issue.
He added, "This reality means a slow and almost imperceptible slide into the reality of one state, (including Palestinians and Israelis), which threatens the Zionist idea and the overall goal of a Jewish, democratic and secure state."
Israel rejects the bi-national one-state solution and considers it a strategic threat to its existence, as a result of the Palestinian demographic superiority.
The report pointed out that the main factors that lead to a one-state reality are the absence of a political horizon, the weakening of the Palestinian Authority as a partner in a future settlement, and construction in settlements outside the settlement blocs and in unrecognized outposts.
He said that "these factors, in addition to the Palestinians' integration into the Israeli economy through the increase of work permits and their direct employment by Israeli employers, create conditions on the ground that make it difficult to separate residents."
He added that "the security situation in Judea and Samaria (the biblical name for the occupied West Bank) is on the verge of boiling over due to the weakness of the Palestinian Authority and the unification of the factions and youth against it."
Despite their assertion that the security situation in the West Bank is still “under control in light of security coordination with the Palestinian Authority,” Israeli researchers added: “But the Palestinian Authority is weakening and may disrupt its function, while the growing frustration among the young Palestinian generation stimulates thinking regarding the idea of One State.
Internationally, the researchers wrote, there is growing criticism of Israel, which is already working to thwart the implementation of a two-state solution for two peoples.
They stressed that "the risk of taking legal measures against Israel and defining it as an apartheid state is growing."
Confronting the Gaza Strip, the report said that Israel faces a complex and long-term dilemma, represented in the need for an urgent response to the humanitarian situation in the region while preventing a security escalation and pushing for the return of the prisoners and missing (the four) held by Hamas, at the same time preventing the consolidation of Hamas rule and increasing its military power.
"The Potato War" Will the McDonald's crisis reach the Arab world?
The disruption in global supply chains has prompted McDonald's to ration the quantities of fried potatoes it serves with its meals in Japan, prompting consumers to come up with the terms "potato war" and "potato refugees" to describe recent events.
On Sunday, January 23, the Japanese agency "Kyodo" reported that the operating company of McDonald's restaurants in Japan announced that it will reduce the amount of fried potatoes provided with its fast food for at least a month, starting from January 9 in all chain restaurants, which are There are 2,900 in Japan.
The agency noted that this is the second time in two months that the company that owns the brand has imposed restrictions on sales of potatoes, which are very popular in Japan. She pointed out that the reason for taking such a measure, which led the company to lose some of its customers, is due to the floods near the Vancouver port and the global logistical disturbances due to the Corona pandemic, which caused delays in potato imports from North America.
The company decided to suspend sales of medium and large orders of french fries and temporarily stopped serving the potato variety known as “hash brown” in some restaurants, steps that annoyed many consumers in Japan, and caused the spread of new terms such as “potato war” and “potato refugees.” On social media, with comic photos and videos.
Potato war and its refugees
As soon as McDonald's announced its decision to reduce the portion of french fries it would serve with its meals, local and relatively smaller competitors such as Ministop took advantage of the situation and began promoting their meals in which they had increased portions of potatoes.
Hamburger chain Freshness Burger announced that it had increased its ration of fried potatoes by 25% as of February 27. The company indicated that it is not facing a supply shortage because it is getting its potatoes from Hokkaido, the island known for its agricultural products and located in the far north of Japan. “We are launching this campaign to save the potato refugees,” the company wrote on its website, in an attempt to win over the consumers that McDonald's began to lose from the beginning of its decision.
With the burning of the increasing competition, many people shared many posts and pictures describing what they called "the potato war", and there are many who expressed their happiness with this war because it is in their interest in the end because they are fans of fried potatoes, as one of them tweeted, "It's a war Welcome to French fries lovers.
Will the war reach the Arab world?
It seems that the potato war that first ignited in Japanese McDonald's restaurants will not remain in Japan, but may spread to all American restaurants that serve fast food around the world, especially branches that depend on American potato imports in particular.
Despite the disruption that hit global supply chains as a result of the Corona pandemic, and the subsequent shortage of some imports and the increase in air freight prices, the Arab world has not yet witnessed severe damages like those that afflicted the major global economies. Going back to the potato war raging in Japan, the Arab world seems so far away from such a crisis.
And if supply chains are disrupted, most Arab countries are able to fill the potato deficit through their domestic resources. If we look at the Arab world’s share of global potato production, which amounts to about 377 million tons annually, we find that Arab countries such as Egypt and Algeria ranked 14th and 15th, respectively, with annual production reaching more than 5 million tons in Egypt and about 4.8 million tons in Algeria, followed by In the Arab world, Syria (632 thousand tons), followed by Tunisia (440 thousand tons) and Saudi Arabia (432 thousand tons).
Potato is the fourth most important agricultural crop
Although China and India dominate the world's potato production, this does not negate that the original homeland of the potato is the Andes Mountains in South America, where the use of the potato as a food crop for the first time dates back to about 8,000 years ago in Peru, the original homeland of the potato. Europe did not know the potato until the middle of the sixteenth century, and moved from it to the East.
Gradually the potato became the companion of corn, which European sailors brought with them after the discovery of the Americas, the main and local food crop of the old continent. In the mid-nineteenth century, an agricultural blight destroyed Ireland's potato crop and set the stage for a famine that, within years, halved the population of Ireland.
Today, the potato is considered the fourth most important crop in the world, after wheat, rice and corn, and it was able to successfully acquire the title of "the most successful immigrant in the world", according to food historian Rebecca Earl, due to its ease of cultivation, its ability to resist weather conditions and agricultural pests, in addition to its high nutritional value.
Saad Hariri announces his retirement from politics and not running in the upcoming Lebanese elections
Lebanese leader Saad Hariri announced the suspension of his participation in political life and decided not to run in the upcoming elections, calling on his political party to take the same step.
The prominent Lebanese leader, Saad Hariri, announced on Monday that he will not run in the upcoming parliamentary elections, and decided to suspend his participation in political life, calling on his political party to do the same.
Hariri said in a televised speech: "We will continue to serve our people, our people and our country, but our decision is to suspend any direct role or responsibility in the authority, the prosecution, and politics."
Hariri, who served as prime minister three times, asked his party, the Future Movement, not to put forward any candidates in the elections.
Hariri explained in a tweet posted on his official account, that "the justification for his decision comes in light of his conviction that there is no room for any positive opportunity for Lebanon in light of Iranian influence, international confusion, national division and sectarian borrowing."
At the same time, he stressed: "We will remain from our position as citizens, adhering to Rafic Hariri's project to prevent civil war and work for a better life for all Lebanese."
Commenting on the issue, the Lebanese leader and head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Hanblat, told Reuters, "Hariri's decision is very sad and we lose a basis for independence and moderation."
He added: "Hariri's decision means releasing the hand of Hezbollah and the Iranians."