Al-Akhbar newspaper from political sources:

In his meetings, Hockstein told the Lebanese officials that if Hezbollah did not accept what was offered to it, the Israelis would enter Rafah and Lebanon, and we would not be able to stop it.

Then Hezbollah responded: If the Israeli enters Rafah and before he even thinks about entering Lebanon, we will be the ones who will enter northern occupied Palestine, and you will not be able to save the Israeli whom you were unable to prevent to enter Rafah.

[RT]

Anadolu:

The Saudi authorities on Friday announced the introduction of new measures to reduce the number of individuals performing Hajj illegally, without permit or registry.

According to a statement by the Kingdom's General Directorate of Public Security, the new regulations for Hajj require "residents who wish to enter Makkah to obtain a permit from the relevant authorities."

It added that the implementation of the new regulations are effective as of Saturday, May 4, 2024.

The statement stressed that the Saudi security personnel at the security checkpoints leading to Makkah will prevent entry to any individuals without the proper permits.

The new measures come as part of the Kingdom's efforts to control the flow of the pilgrims into the holy sites to control their numbers and protect their safety, especially during the Hajj season.

Saudi spying on who’s taking Hajj is something I did not see coming.

[RT]

Hikaru Kitabayashi wrote an interesting article on Israel and oil.

Israel's oil trade is such a big, genocidal, deal because local supplies of crude oil are almost non-existent and because Israel's war effort would grind to an immediate halt without an assured supply of crude oil for its refineries and petroleum products such as military jet fuel that its refineries do not produce.

The only reason Israel's blood-stained jets continue to operate is because the United States sent the necessary fuel tankers to Israel in the form of military aid.

However, Israel’s armed forces also use large amounts of diesel fuel and gasoline for their tanks, bulldozers, and personnel carriers. They can be supplied by Israel’s own oil refineries, IF they receive uninterrupted supplies of crude oil from abroad.

Since October 2023, Israel imported its crude oil from Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey, from Kazakhstan through Russia, and from Gabon and Brazil, with small amounts from the UAE, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia being routed through Egypt. Kazakhstan was the largest supplier and Azerbaijan the second largest. If these countries ceased to export crude oil to Israel, Israel's ability to wage a genocidal war of offense would come to a complete halt.

Oil from Kazakhstan travels through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) Pipeline to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. Chevron has the biggest investment. Exxon, Shell and Eni also have investments. These companies, plus Russian and Kazakh companies, own the Kazakh oil fields that are linked by the pipeline.

Israel also receives small yet constant amounts of crude oil coming from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE through Egypt where it is shipped from Alexandria. Russia also continues to send a regular supply of vacuum gas oil to a refinery in Haifa for being upgraded into gasoline and diesel fuel.

The Holocaust of the Palestinians, thus, is not merely an Israeli responsibility. It is the responsibility of the family of oil-producing and transporting nations as a whole.

[RT]

"The students who protest for the Palestinians are either uneducated or anti-Semitic," declared Aurore Bergé, the French Minister in charge of Equality and the Fight against Discrimination, during a live interview on BFMTV.

[A.k]

The emergence of a new Zionist group, Ourfight UK, and its response to the British public's overwhelming support for the Palestinian people.

Be careful!

[RT]

On World Press Day, there is no better expression for this day than what was drawn by the martyr Naji Al-Ali

[A.k]