Arab News Network

HEBRON – Ma’an – Classes have resumed in all schools located in closed areas and on the contact lines in the city of Hebron, as the Education Directorate in Hebron opened the new academic year 2024-2025 this morning, from the Cordoba Mixed Elementary School, located in the heart of Shuhada Street and adjacent to the settlement outposts in the Old City of Hebron.

The Director General of Education in Hebron, Mr. Atef Al-Jamal, participated in his tour of Cordoba School, along with Muhannad Al-Jabri, Director General of the Hebron Reconstruction Committee, Khader Abu Al-Halawa and Khader Hassouna, representatives of the Civil Liaison, and Khalifa Al-Qawasmi, representative of the Hebron Governorate, and Mona Al-Haddad, Head of the Field Follow-up Department.

Al-Jamal pointed out the role of the partnership between local and international institutions in supporting educational visions and trends and focusing on launching the new academic year in a way that ensures safe access to schools, praising the efforts m
ade to embody face-to-face education this year.

Al-Jamal discussed ways to support the access of students and teaching staff to schools in the Old City, especially those located in the closed area, and noted the importance of enhancing the potential of the educational and pedagogical process in coordination with national and international partner institutions in order to embody the right to education as a basic right guaranteed by international conventions.

The representatives of the company institutions indicated their full readiness to participate in supporting the educational and pedagogical process and employing all available energies and capabilities in order to ensure the arrival of students and teachers to their schools, in addition to employing rapid response mechanisms for any emergency in order to enhance the educational and pedagogical process in the school and all schools in the closed area.

In a related context, the Director of Public Relations and Media in the General Intelligence Service in
the Hebron Governorate, Abdul Hafeez Al-Hashlamoun, said that officers from the service in Hebron today inspected the conditions of schools and kindergartens in the Old City and the closed areas of the city of Hebron. They were informed of their conditions and listened to an explanation of the difficulties they face.

Al-Hashlamoun said that this visit came within the ongoing instructions of the Director General of the Authority in the Hebron Governorate, Brigadier General Ali Shaker Shaheen, especially those related to the Old City and closed areas.

We conveyed the greetings of the Authority’s leadership to the teaching staff in schools and kindergartens, and we stressed our support for them to overcome the crises that may hinder the educational process.

He added, “We listened to an explanation about the opening of the school year, and it was a fruitful visit. Some requests were presented to us, and thus they will be submitted to the management of the agency to make decisions about them. We hope for all ou
r children to succeed and excel.”

Source: Maan News Agency

Ramallah – Ma’an – Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa chaired the second meeting of the government emergency committee on Monday evening in his office in Ramallah, to discuss and follow up on the progress of the technical teams in dealing with the effects of the occupation’s aggression on the northern West Bank governorates, specifically removing rubble and rehabilitating infrastructure, including roads, and repairing water, sewage and electricity networks, in conjunction with the work of the technical teams to assess the damage to buildings, facilities and citizens’ properties.

The Prime Minister stressed the continuation of the efforts made in coordination with all parties working to address and rehabilitate the effects of the aggression, and to provide all the needs of citizens in the targeted areas, praising, in the name of His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas and the government, the efforts made by all official, civil and popular parties to address the damage and stand by our people in the northern gove
rnorates of the West Bank.

The Minister of Local Government, Sami Hijjawi, reviewed the work of the technical teams in terms of assessing the damage and what has been accomplished so far, noting that a large part of the urgent needs have been implemented, and work is currently underway to assess the damage to the houses that have been partially or completely damaged, and the houses that need to be provided to complete the process of sheltering citizens whose homes have been damaged, and rehabilitating the internal roads without asphalt at the present time, until the security situation stabilizes, and rehabilitating the water and sewage lines, and the damage to the facilities and shops.

For his part, the head of the Jenin and Tulkarm Reconstruction Committee, Eng. Mohieddin Al-Arda, reviewed the developments of the field work, especially the rehabilitation of what was destroyed by the occupation in the northern West Bank governorates, and the technical teams’ ability to reopen various roads destroyed by the
occupation, and that work is underway to complete the delivery of water services to the destroyed areas for the fifth time in a row after their repair, stressing that the committee is paying special attention to housing citizens whose homes were damaged by renting temporary homes for dozens of families, until their targeted homes are repaired and rehabilitated.

In turn, Interior Minister Major General Ziad Hab Al-Rih reviewed the efforts of the security establishment to restore stability and security in the northern West Bank governorates, and to protect citizens and their property.

Minister of Social Development Samah Hamad presented the ministry’s contribution to providing and distributing more than 10,000 parcels in the targeted areas in the northern West Bank, and providing financial aid to about 6,000 affected families for one time, which began to be transferred today to the beneficiaries’ accounts via electronic wallets, while Minister of National Economy Mohammad Al-Amour presented the ministry’s con
tribution to identifying the economic damages, relief efforts, and the strategic vision for the work of the government emergency committee.

Minister of Labor Inas Dahadha presented the ministry’s contribution to the emergency response, especially working to provide job opportunities for hundreds of craftsmen from various specialties, and placing them under the supervision of the Jenin and Tulkarm Reconstruction Committee to work on repairing the property and infrastructure destroyed by the occupation.

The Chairman of the Energy Authority, Zafer Melhem, and the Acting Chairman of the Water Authority, Ziad Al-Fuqaha, also reviewed the contributions of their institutions in providing the needs of local authorities in the northern governorates for water and electricity network supplies for emergency relief.

In turn, the representative of the Ministry of Public Works, Nael Zaidan, presented the Ministry’s efforts in recruiting the Ministry’s machinery and equipment to rehabilitate and open roads and remove rubb
le in the northern governorates, in cooperation with various local authorities.

The committee will follow up the work of the technical teams as soon as possible to assess the damage, provide the necessary requirements for the emergency response to enhance the steadfastness of our people, and assign the competent authorities to prepare detailed plans to address the effects of the aggression.

Source: Maan News Agency

RAMALLAH, Ma’an – Today, the children of Gaza are supposed to be celebrating the end of the school year, but instead of attending classes, they are experiencing another day of a brutal war that has deprived them of education for nearly a full year.

Some 625,000 school-age children in Gaza have been out of school since October 7, after an Israeli military incursion into the territory ended the semblance of normal life. Since then, almost all residents have been displaced from their homes – many multiple times – and schools have been transformed from places of learning into shelters hosting thousands of displaced people.

Today is supposed to be the first day of school for children after the summer. Since October 7, more than 25,000 school-age children have been killed or injured in Israeli military attacks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, while the United Nations says 261 teachers and 95 university professors have been killed in the first six months of the crisis alone. The

past 11 month
s have had a devastating impact on Gaza’s educational infrastructure. Some 90% of Gaza’s 307 public school buildings have been destroyed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, while all of Gaza’s 12 universities have been damaged or destroyed.

Children, traumatized and exhausted from living in a war zone without adequate food, water and other basic necessities, crave the routine and normalcy that school represents. ‘I really miss my school and I wish I could go back to learning,’ said 9-year-old Raed. ‘I haven’t been to school, I haven’t studied for 10 months now.’

In the West Bank, too, hundreds of schoolchildren are being denied their right to education, as increased restrictions on their movement, as well as incidents of harassment, intimidation and violence, prevent them from going to school.

‘Going to school is not a luxury, it is a basic right, yet hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza are being denied an education for the second school year in a row,’ said Reham Jafari, Communicati
ons and Advocacy Officer at ActionAid Palestine. ‘Today, 58,000 children were supposed to have the chance to start school for the first time – instead, they face another day living under continuous bombardment and in unimaginable humanitarian conditions. An entire generation is being denied the chance to learn and build a better future for themselves. It is past time for this crisis to end: there must be a permanent ceasefire now.’

Source: Maan News Agency

Manama, Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, Minister of Labour, confirmed that, following the royal decree issued by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa pardoning 457 individuals on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of His Majesty’s Accession, and in line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the Ministry of Labour has started implementing procedures to provide training programmes and job opportunities for the beneficiaries of the royal pardon to help them contribute to national development.

The minister explained that the beneficiaries have been requested to update their personal information and documents to facilitate their registration for unemployment insurance, allowing them to receive financial benefits and access suitable job vacancies.

Minister Humaidan also highlighted the government’s commitment to offering opportunities to citizens, helping them to be integrated into various fields, and encouraging them to contribute t
o the nation’s development.

He urged all pardon beneficiaries to update their information and submit their documents to the ministry to complete the necessary procedures for their integration into the labour market.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate confirmed the escalation in targeting journalists with live bullets in the West Bank and with missiles from aircraft in the Gaza Strip.

In a press report on the occupation’s crimes against journalists last August, issued by the Syndicate’s Freedoms Committee, it was noted that the occupation forces continued to systematically target journalists, as 8 journalists were martyred last August, all of them in the Gaza Strip, 7 of them by missile attack and one by gunfire.

The report recorded serious incidents related to the increase in direct shooting at press crews, especially in the West Bank, with the aim of intimidating and preventing them from covering the occupation’s crimes against citizens. The Freedoms Committee documented 10 incidents in the West Bank and 3 in the Gaza Strip of the occupation army firing live bullets directly, which put the lives of journalists at risk, as 62 cases were reported.

Last month witnessed 10 similar cases.

The repor
t indicated that these incidents resulted in 4 injuries that were transferred to hospitals, including 3 bloody injuries, while one of the cameras was destroyed by bullets.

Last August also witnessed a significant increase in the excessive use of toxic tear gas, which affected 36 journalists, some of whom were transferred to hospitals to receive treatment due to severe suffocation.

The detention of crews and preventing them from working continues to be practiced by the Israeli occupation army, with 21 cases recorded in this regard in the West Bank.

Direct running over and attempted running over crimes by the occupation army also increased, with 5 cases recorded, while 6 cases of arrest were recorded, 7 cases were recorded by the courts, and 2 cases of summons for investigation were recorded.

The report also showed two cases of equipment destruction, one case of travel ban, in addition to other cases of crimes, assaults and violations such as physical and verbal assault and threats.

Thus, the total number
of crimes, attacks and violations against journalists reached 153 cases.

The report warned that all data indicates a clear lack of control and a free hand by the occupation army, based on a political decision, in targeting journalists, which reflects the commission of serious and major crimes against journalists, as a prelude to committing crimes against citizens in the West Bank and escalating the genocide against citizens in the Gaza Strip.

It is worth noting that the number of martyrs among those working in the field of journalism reached 163 victims, including 102 last year and 61 this year until the end of August, according to monitoring and documentation by the Freedoms Committee of the Journalists Syndicate.

Source: Maan News Agency

Riyadh, Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the President of Customs, chaired Bahrain’s delegation in the 10th meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Customs Union Authority in Riyadh.

The most important procedures and steps for completing the implementation of the Gulf Customs Union and the minutes and reports of the technical committees and working groups were reviewed.

The meeting ended with the issuance of several recommendations.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Ramallah- Ma’an- The Ministry of Education and Higher Education launched the new academic year 2024/2025 in its schools in the West Bank; while the occupation’s aggression on the Gaza Strip deprived more than 630,000 students of their right to education since October 7, 2023, amidst insistence on saving the past academic year and compensating students according to a special plan by the ministry.

The ministry had launched its tour to open the year from the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, specifically from Qaryut Girls Secondary School, which lost the martyred student Bana Bakr from the ninth grade, in an event to support the school’s students, staff and the student’s family, where her colleagues raised pictures of her, amid feelings of sadness.

The event was attended by Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Amjad Barham, Assistant Undersecretary for Student Affairs Sadeq Al-Khudour, Director General of Buildings Eng. Wissam Nakhleh, Director General of Education in South Nablus Samer Al-Jamal,
and other representatives of official, civil and local activities.

At the beginning of the event, Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Mustafa made a phone call to the father of the martyred child Bana Bakr while her family participated in the opening of the new school year inside her school.

In his speech, the Minister stressed that the presence of the educational family today in the heart of Qaryut Girls School carries a sign of loyalty to the martyrs; especially those who ascended from our school students and educational cadres in Gaza and the West Bank, recalling that the martyr Bana who departed left behind memories and the scout dress, stressing that the Ministry will remain a guardian of history and education and confronting the occupier with knowledge and determination and building the institutions of the homeland.

The tour also included inspecting Qaryut Mixed Basic School.

In Nablus Education, Minister Barham conducted a tour that included the opening of Afif Al-Aker Mixed Basic School with a donation fr
om Hajjah Afif Al-Aker and the Education Tax, and inspected Taher Al-Hudhud Mixed Vocational School and Nablus Industrial Secondary School; in order to stand on educational developments and verify readiness for the school year to proceed according to plan.

He participated in the opening ceremony of Afif Al-Aker School; Governor of Nablus Ghassan Daghlas, Mayor of Nablus Dr. Hussam Al-Shakhshir, Al-Khudhur, Nakhleh, Director General of Nablus Education Ahmed Sawalha, and representatives of the governorate’s institutions and activities.

The participants delivered speeches in which they renewed their emphasis on protecting and supporting education, preserving the martyrs’ wills, serving the educational and learning process, insisting on education as a tool for liberation and construction, and continuing construction and giving, despite the destruction and scenes of genocide.

In Jericho Education, Barham visited the Jericho Education Directorate; where he began his tour by visiting Muscat Secondary School, in
the presence of Jericho Governor Dr. Hussein Hamayel, Director General of Education Amjad Al-Khudairi and the accompanying delegation. He met with education cadres in a working meeting; to stand on the developments and evaluate the progress of the school year at the level of the governorate’s schools, in light of the provocations witnessed by some schools by settler gangs in the early morning hours.

Source: Maan News Agency

Abu Dhabi, President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with His Excellency Umaro Sissoco Embaló, President of Guinea-Bissau.

The two leaders explored various areas of cooperation, particularly in the developmental, economic, commercial, and investment sectors, aligned with the development priorities of both countries and the aspirations of their peoples for continued growth and prosperity.

His Highness extended his congratulations to HE President Umaro ahead of Guinea-Bissau’s Independence Day later this month, expressing his best wishes for continued progress and prosperity for the country and its people.

Both sides affirmed their shared commitment to strengthening cooperation between the UAE and Guinea-Bissau and expanding opportunities aimed at benefitting both nations and their peoples.

Source: Bahrain News Agency