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Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Walid al-Omari, reads from military order papers that were handed to him by Israeli soldiers at the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 22, 2024 in this screen grab from video.
Hard Numbers: Israel raids West Bank newsroom, far right comes up just short in Germany, coal mine explodes in Iran, gold breaks records, Trump looks to get cash for coins
45: Israeli soldiers on Sunday raided the office of Al Jazeera in Ramallah, the capital of the occupied West Bank, ordering it to close for at least 45 days. Israeli authorities said the facility was “being used to incite terror” without immediately supplying evidence.
31-32: Germany’s ruling Social Democratic Party narrowly edged out the far-right Alternative for Germany in local elections in Brandenburg, the former east German state that surrounds Berlin. Exit polls show the SPD earning 31-32% of the vote to the AfD’s 29%-30%. The AfD has performed well in the former East, ringing up a historical victory in Thuringia earlier this month.
51: At least 51 people died in a gas explosion at a coal mine in Iran’s South Khorasan province on Saturday, and another 20 are injured. The proximate cause seems to have been a buildup of methane, which must be properly vented from coal mines. Rescue operations were underway Sunday to evacuate workers.
2600: The price of gold broke $2,600 per ounce on Friday for the first time, as investors continued to buy the metal as a hedge against rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as well as concerns that Fed rate cuts could weaken the dollar. Other precious metals, including silver, platinum and palladium have all seen price declines in the last month. Analysts say gold’s run – up 27% on the year – may soon come to an end.
100: In other overpriced metal news, the Trump campaign has begun hawking $100 commemorative silver coins with the former president’s face on them. It’s the former president’s latest effort to grab more cash for the campaign, following Trump sneakers, Trump Bibles, Trump NFTs, Trump playing cards, and much more. In case you’re weighing, by the way, each of the $100 coins only contains only about $30 worth of silver.An Israeli medic walks near soldiers and an ambulance after Hamas claimed responsibility for an attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing near Israel's border with Gaza in southern Israel, on May 5, 2024.
Israel and Hamas deal up in smoke?
Hope for a cease-fire faded again Sunday as Hamas left the talks in Cairo. This came just days after the group said it saw the latest proposal – thought to have included a 40-day pause in fighting in exchange for the release of hostages – “in a positive light.” But Hamas’ insistence that a deal for the hostages bring an end to the war was a non-starter for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Our test is to continue and stand together until we reach victory,” Netanyahu said Sunday. Hamas plans to return to Cairo on Tuesday, but Israel, which is preparing for a ground operation in Rafah that’s set to start “soon,” ordered around 100,000 civilians living in parts of Rafah to evacuate on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, fired rockets on the Kerem Shalom crossing from Gaza into Israel on Sunday, killing three IDF soldiers and wounding 11 others. Israel closed the crossing, which will further complicate the flow of humanitarian aid, as the director of the World Food Program declared a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza – a claim disputed by Israel.
Israel also closed Al Jazeera’s operations on Sunday after Netanyahu reportedly said it was “time to expel the mouthpiece of Hamas.” The Israeli Cabinet ordered a shutdown of the Qatari-owned media company’s local operations “for as long as the war in Gaza continues.” Authorities then raided a hotel room used by the network in Jerusalem, confiscating equipment.
The decision prompted criticism from the Foreign Press Association and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which urged the Israeli government to overturn the ban.