Most notably the aggression the most important events in the Gaza Strip during the year 2021
The year 2021 will fall over the Gaza Strip, and Israel has recently turned this geographical spot into a large prison, after it completed the construction of a 65-kilometre-long concrete wall around the Strip. Here we monitor the most important political and field events that Gaza experienced this year, most notably the May aggression.
The year 2021 passed harshly on the residents of the Gaza Strip, as it brought about a number of political and field developments, the most prominent of which was the Israeli military aggression that lasted 11 days, the delay in the reconstruction process and the failure of diplomatic efforts to bring about a real breakthrough for the economic crisis in Gaza.
These developments have exacerbated the living and economic suffering of more than two million people, due to the Israeli blockade imposed 15 years ago.
Anadolu Agency monitors the most prominent political and economic events in the Gaza Strip during 2021:
January:
January 3: Hamas abandons its condition that the Palestinian legislative, presidential and National Council elections be held simultaneously, and agrees to hold them sequentially.
January 13: The first limited escalation between Gaza and Israel. The Israeli army said at the time that "one of its engineering vehicles was fired upon by Palestinians, without casualties, near the Gaza border." The army responded by bombing two Hamas sites.
January 31: Qatar allocates a financial grant of $360 million to support the Gaza Strip.
February:
February 1: Egypt opens the Rafah crossing (south), to passenger traffic in both directions for 4 days for the first time since November 27, 2020.
February 19: The start of the internal elections for Hamas, the first phase of which ended on February 23.
March:
March 10: Hamas re-elects Yahya Sinwar as its president in Gaza.
May
May 9: Israel completely closes the Gaza sea, to announce a day later the closure of the Beit Hanoun Erez crossing, in response to rockets fired from the Strip towards its settlements.
May 10: The joint room of the resistance factions gives Israel (about two hours) to withdraw its soldiers from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the "Sheikh Jarrah" neighborhood in Jerusalem and release the detainees.
After the deadline expired, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, launched a missile strike on Jerusalem, which Israel responded to by approving an air strike against Gaza.
On this day, Israel committed its first massacre against the Al-Masry family (north), who were directly targeted by warplanes, which caused the death of 9 people, including 3 children.
May 11: The Israeli army announces the launch of a military operation in Gaza called "The Guardian of the Fences", while the factions called it "Sword of Jerusalem".
May 12: "Al-Qassam" launched a major missile strike towards Tel Aviv and Beersheba, central and southern Israel, with more than 210 missiles, and Al-Quds Brigades launched a missile strike with 100 missiles, towards Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Beersheba and Sderot.
- "Al-Qassam" announces the killing of a number of its senior leaders, as a result of the Israeli bombing, including Bassem Issa, the commander of the Gaza Brigade.
The United States of America prevents the issuance of a statement from the UN Security Council regarding the Israeli attacks on Gaza and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
US President Joe Biden supports Israel's actions towards the Palestinians, and says that he "does not see a great exaggeration in Israel's response to the rocket attacks launched by Hamas."
May 14: - Early this morning, the Israeli army launched a series of violent and unprecedented raids simultaneously against targets in the northern Gaza Strip, as 160 aircraft fired about 450 missiles at 150 targets within 40 minutes, as well as The participation of Israeli artillery.
The Israeli attack caused two massacres against two Palestinian families, the Al-Attar family, in which a mother and her three children were killed, and the Al-Tanani family, consisting of 6 members, was completely exterminated.
May 15:
- This morning, Israel targeted a house belonging to the Abu Hatab family in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza, inflicting a massacre that killed 10 Palestinians, including a mother and her four children.
- Israel destroys the civil "Al-Jalaa" tower, which housed a number of international media offices, including the offices of the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera and the American Associated Press, and Al-Qassam threatens Israel with an "earthquake" response to that.
The UN Security Council fails for the third time to agree on issuing a statement on the aggression on Gaza.
- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announces the provision of $500 million for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
- The official news agency in Egypt announces that a ceasefire has been reached between Israel and the factions under Egyptian auspices, starting at dawn on May 21, and Israel said that the cease-fire is without conditions.
-During the aggression, the factions fired more than 4,000 missiles towards cities in southern and central Israel, killing 12 Israelis and wounding about 330 others, according to Israeli sources.
May 21:
Entry into force of the cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announces that the number of victims of the aggression has risen to 248, including 66 children, 39 women, and 17 elderly people.
May 22:
- Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz is contingent on the reconstruction of Gaza, on settling the issue of Israeli soldiers, who have been detained by the Qassams in the Strip since 2014.
- Starting cleaning the streets of Gaza and removing the rubble and remnants of the aggression.
- May 26: Qatar decides to provide half a billion dollars in support for the reconstruction of Gaza.
May 31: The head of the Egyptian intelligence service, Abbas Kamel, arrives in Gaza for an hours-long visit, for the first time since he took office in 2018, to meet with Hamas leaders.
August
August 21: A Palestinian shoots an Israeli sniper with a pistol through a gap in the concrete wall surrounding the Gaza Strip, while sniping Palestinian demonstrators, killing the sniper 9 days later. Israel responded by bombing military sites in Gaza.
September
September 6: Muhammad al-Emadi, head of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, announces that an agreement has been reached on stabilizing calm in the Strip, by “opening the crossings completely to Gaza’s main needs, and disbursing the Qatari financial grant and the grant of (Hamas government) employees in Gaza.”
September 22: Hamas reveals efforts to conclude a prisoner exchange deal, but it fails.
December
December 7: Israel completes construction of a 65-kilometre-long, 6-meter-high concrete wall around the Gaza Strip.
December 12: Naji Sarhan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Works, says that "the efforts to rebuild what was destroyed by the recent aggression on Gaza are progressing slowly."
December 13: The Egyptian Committee for the Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip (affiliated with the Egyptian government) begins the second phase of the Gaza reconstruction plan, which is related to the construction of 3 residential cities and two bridges, and the development of streets, without starting with the reconstruction of houses destroyed by the recent aggression.
Reviewing the achievements of 2021 Erdogan: We will continue to work to achieve Turkey's goals
After reviewing the most important achievements of 2021, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that his government will continue to work during the next year to achieve the country's goals, with the same effort it made in previous years.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his government will continue to work next year to achieve the country's goals, stressing that it made efforts in 2021 as in previous years to achieve this.
And he added in several posts through his accounts on social networking sites: "As every year we did not stop working in 2021 in order to reach Turkey's goals, we said we will continue our path and work day and night."
He revealed the size of the social assistance and aid provided by the government to needy citizens, to overcome the conditions dictated by the spread of the Corona pandemic.
He pointed to the provision of about 6,969 job opportunities in 2021 for people with special needs in Turkish official departments, in addition to the government's completion of the construction of 50 student housing, comprising 60,339 beds.
During the same year, Turkey successfully hosted 164 sports championships, including the Formula 1 car race.
In the same context, he spoke about the importance of the "Human Rights Action Plan" announced in 2021, in order to achieve the principle of individual freedom, a strong society and a more democratic Turkey, as well as the issuance of an animal protection law.
The Turkish President pointed out that the number of terrorists has decreased to less than 156 inside the country, as a result of the effective fight against terrorism, and stressed that this will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized.
In the field of defense, in 2021 the Turkish armed marches conducted about 43,557 flying hours, within the framework of operations to maintain order and combat terrorism.
Erdogan stressed that the security forces thwarted 181 terrorist acts during 2021, in conjunction with the confiscation of hundreds of thousands of military equipment.
He stressed the continuation of military operations against the terrorist organization inside and outside the country until its elimination, pointing to the neutralization of more than 2,700 terrorists during the year.
He stressed that the proportion of domestic production in the defense industries has risen to 80 percent, and that it has become one of only 3 countries in the world that produces attack drones.
He also pointed out that his country has built the fifth frigate within the framework of the "National Ship / Milgam" project, bearing the name "Istanbul TGG Frigate".
He explained that Turkey is among 10 countries that designs and builds its own warships, noting that it has also started serial production of the first locally piloted warship "Ulak".
He pointed out that the government provided financial assistance to its citizens amounting to 64.6 billion pounds, as part of social support programs.
In the field of agriculture, the Turkish president stressed that the government would provide all kinds of necessary support to the agricultural sector.
In a related context, he pointed out that Turkish exports broke a record during the past year, exceeding 203 billion dollars in 11 months.
He stated that his country established the Environment Agency to provide more effective waste management, pointing out that the recycling rate increased from 13% to 22.4%, in addition to cleaning 11,000 cubic meters of scum in the Sea of Marmara.
He announced the government's start of handing over the houses it built to earthquake-affected people in the states of Izmir, Elazig and Malatya, in addition to building hundreds of houses for flood victims in the states of Kirsun, Kastamonu, Sinop and Bartin.
In the field of health, Turkey has started serial production of the "Turkovac" vaccine against the Corona virus, becoming one of only 9 countries that produce Corona vaccines.
President Erdoğan made it clear that a library has been established in all the country's schools as part of the "There will be no school without a library" project.
He pointed to the appointment of 1,248 teachers with special needs in schools, as well as the appointment of 21,407 teachers across the country, noting that it is planned to appoint 15,000 new teachers in January.
"Last year, the government opened the Ataturk Cultural Center in Istanbul, which is one of the most prominent landmarks of modern Turkey, and reopened the historic Sumela Monastery in Trabzon after it was temporarily closed for restoration," he said.
He stated that the revenues of the tourism sector in the country amounted to 24 billion dollars last year, and the number of visitors to Turkey reached 29 million.
He spoke about the opening of the Taksim Mosque in conjunction with the 568th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, and the hosting of major international conferences, including the summit of the Organization of Turkish States.
He also pointed to Turkey's ratification of the Paris climate agreement, and the opening of the Turkish House in New York City, a project that reflects Turkey's growing greatness and power.
He said that he also laid the foundation stone for the construction of the third reactor at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in the southern state of Mersin.
He pointed to the success of the first flow test in the Sakarya natural gas field discovered in the Black Sea, and setting a record for wind energy production.
He indicated that the volume of natural gas discovered by Turkey in the Black Sea rose to 540 billion cubic meters.
Iranian official: "Simorgh" missile fails to put its payload into orbit
Unable to reach the required speed, a missile launched by Iran into space on Thursday failed to put its payload into orbit, a spokesman for the Iranian Defense Ministry announced.
A spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Defense said, in statements carried by state television on Friday, that "the missile that Iran launched into space yesterday, Thursday, failed to put three research devices into orbit because the missile was unable to reach the required speed."
The launch attempt, which coincided with indirect talks between the United States and Iran to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, drew criticism from the United States, Germany and France.
"In order to put the payload into orbit, the missile's speed was required to exceed 7600 (meters per second). We reached 7350," spokesman Ahmed Hosseini said in a documentary report on the launch that was broadcast on state television and posted on the website.
Hosseini did not clarify, on Thursday, whether the devices had been put into orbit, but he indicated that the launch is a test before future attempts to put satellites into space.
Iran, which has one of the largest missile programs in the Middle East, has made a few attempts to send satellites into space in the past few years, all of which failed due to technical problems.
Washington says that Iran's development of space launch vehicles is a matter of concern to it, while a German diplomat said that "Berlin has demanded that Iran stop launching satellite missiles into space," adding that these missiles constitute a violation of a UN Security Council resolution.
For its part, France said, on Friday, that the launch of the missile, which was aimed at sending three research instruments into space, violated the provisions of the United Nations, describing it as "extremely regrettable" because it came at a time when progress was being made in nuclear talks with world powers.
Tehran denies that space launches are a cover for developing ballistic missiles, or that they violate a UN resolution.
Palestinian Prisoner Club: Administrative detainees begin to boycott Israeli courts on Saturday
In an unprecedented collective step, the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced the start of administrative detainees in Israeli prisons, a boycott of all Israeli courts from Saturday, January 1, 2022.
As part of their confrontation with the policy of administrative detention, the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced, in an official statement published on Friday, that prisoners administratively detained in Israeli prisons will begin a boycott of Israeli courts, starting on Saturday, January 1, 2022.
The detainees issued a statement to public opinion, saying: "We have taken a national and collective position, declaring a comprehensive, final and unprecedented boycott of all judicial procedures related to administrative detention, including judicial review, appeal, or heading to the Supreme Court."
The statement added: "We will not be part of this charade, and the beneficiary of it is the occupation and its security services, especially the Shin Bet intelligence service, the actual decision to keep the detainees in this detention."
For her part, the Director of Media in the Prisoners' Club, Amani Farahneh, said in a statement to Anadolu Agency: "This step is not the first, but there have been previous struggle steps by the administrative detainees towards the Israeli courts."
She added, "The step is part of dropping the idea of recognizing and dealing with moot courts in administrative detention. It is not possible to describe the extent of racism and injustice inflicted on the Palestinian detainee by the Israeli courts."
Administrative detention is considered a decision to imprison by an Israeli military order, for a period of up to 6 months, subject to extension, on the grounds of a security threat, without trial or indictment.
According to official statistics announced by the Prisoner's Club, Israel (administratively) detains about 500 Palestinian detainees, including four minors and one female prisoner, out of about 4600 detainees.
Palestinian institutions: Israel arrested 8,000 Palestinians in 2021
Palestinian institutions reported on Friday that the Israeli army arrested about 8000 Palestinians during the year 2021, including more than 1,300 minors and 184 women, while the number of detainees who are still in the occupation’s prisons until the end of December 2021 is about 4600 prisoners.
Palestinian institutions said on Friday that the Israeli army arrested about 8000 Palestinians during the year 2021, including more than 1,300 minors and 184 women.
The prisoners and human rights institutions stated in their joint annual report for the year, that the number of prisoners and detainees in the occupation prisons reached 4,600 until the end of December 2021.
She explained that among them are 34 female prisoners, including a minor girl, while the number of detainees are children and minors, about 160 children, and the number of administrative detainees is about 500, and the number of detainees from the Palestinian Legislative Council, in its last session, reached 9 detainees.
And administrative detention, a decision to imprison by an Israeli military order, for a period of up to 6 months, subject to extension, on the grounds of a security threat, without trial or indictment.
The institutions added that the number of sick prisoners in prisons reached nearly 600, including 4 prisoners with cancer, and at least 14 prisoners with tumors of varying degrees, including the prisoner Fouad Al-Shobaki (81 years), who is the oldest prisoner.
The number of martyrs of the captive movement, according to the institutions’ report, reached 227, following the martyrdom of Sami Al-Amour as a result of the deliberate medical negligence crime during the year, in addition to hundreds of liberated prisoners who were martyred as a result of diseases they inherited from prison, including the martyr Hussein Masalma during the year 2021.
The report stated that the number of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment reached 547, including four prisoners who were sentenced to life sentences during the year 2021.
The institutions said that the Israeli occupation continues to hold the bodies of 8 prisoners who were martyred inside prisons.
She indicated that the number of the old prisoners detained before the signing of the Oslo agreement between the PLO and Israel in 1993 is 25, the oldest of whom are the two prisoners, Karim Younis and Maher Younis, who have been detained since January 1983, continuously. He is 42 years old in the occupation prisons, 34 of which are continuous.