**https://books.google.com.tw/books/about?id=9GY8EAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y 2021年的中東新世界 : The New Middle East 2021 **

**https://books.google.com.tw/books/about?id=mWo8EAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y 中國人民武裝警察大解構 **

2021.08.14 國際新聞導讀-塔利班在阿富汗勢如破竹世界各國撤僑徹使領館、黎巴嫩賣軍機拿現金、真主黨在北韓公司協助下興建全國地下大隧道系統、以色列癌症冷凍療法、以色列規劃為學童學校注射疫苗

經過： 艾格尼絲·赫洛 1天前

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黎巴嫩正在出售其五架霍克獵人戰鬥機。（黎巴嫩空軍）

貝魯特——據《防務新聞》獲悉，在黎巴嫩國防部為這架飛機進行了三場拍賣後，加拿大公司 Lortie Aviation 正在就購買 5 架黎巴嫩的 Hawker Hunter 戰鬥機進行談判。

該部授權黎巴嫩武裝部隊與這家加拿大公司簽署一份同意出售五架霍克獵人和備件的協議。相關各方現在將協商價格。該交易預計價值約100萬美元。

在 8 月 12 日舉行的第三次拍賣中，Lortie Aviation 是 Hawker Hunters 的唯一競標者。三架同樣待售的 Sikorsky S-61 直升機沒有出價，現在可能作為備件出售。

該部舉行的第一次拍賣於 5 月 11 日舉行，但有關各方的數量未能滿足政府要求，導致在 7 月 12 日進行了第二次拍賣，結果相同。

“公開招標受《公共會計法》的約束。因此，在確定日期後，至少有兩家公司必須提交競爭，而黎巴嫩空軍的情況並非如此，因此又舉行了兩次競標，”一位了解銷售過程的消息人士告訴《國防新聞》。

國防新聞此前曾報導，另外兩家公司表示對霍克獵人感興趣，但似乎他們沒有投標：英國公司霍克獵人航空和美國公司 Airborne Tactical Advantage Company（德事隆系統的子公司）。

黎巴嫩空軍司令布里格。Ziad Haikal 將軍最近告訴《國防新聞》，Lortie Aviation 一直在與該服務部門討論在公司官員訪問後採購這些噴氣式飛機。

“在採購之後，這些噴氣式飛機將被用作與美國空軍一起訓練的敵方戰鬥機。Hawker Hunter 是一種強大的飛機，機動性很強，適合這種類型的訓練，”他說。

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Hawker Hunters 自 2010 年以來一直處於非運營狀態。該國正在當地博物館中保留兩架飛機進行翻新和保存。

Haikal 在早些時候的一次採訪中告訴《國防新聞》，此次出售是該服務重新分配其資產和重組其艦隊以最大限度地利用可用資源的努力的一部分。

“霍克獵人飛機和西科斯基直升機多年來一直無法運行，因為沒有財政資源來維護它們。這次公開拍賣將是重組訓練機隊和消防能力的第一步，”他說。

黎巴嫩空軍此前曾對巴基斯坦超級馬什沙克教練機表現出興趣，但從未收到巴基斯坦當局的回應。Haikal 表示，空軍現在可能會購買配備玻璃航空電子套件 Garmin G1000 的 Cessna 172 或類似教練機，以確保與該服務已部署的 Cessna Caravan 208 的互操作性。

與此同時，消息人士告訴國防新聞，美國空軍正在與包括加拿大 Rotor Maxx 在內的幾家公司討論出售西科斯基 S-61 直升機作為備件的事宜。

在出售 S-61 直升機後，黎巴嫩軍方最初著眼於與美國公司 Air Tractor 簽訂一份類似於 AT-802 的飛機的合同，該飛機可以支持該縣的消防能力以及供應備件和飛行員和技術人員培訓。但如果備件銷售的回報不足以支持該目標，該服務計劃購買其他消防功能，如 Bambi Buckets 或 Fireflex 消防員包。

By: Agnes Helou 1 day ago

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Lebanon is selling five of its Hawker Hunter combat aircraft. (Lebanese Air Force)

BEIRUT — Canadian company Lortie Aviation is entering negotiations to buy five of Lebanon’s Hawker Hunter fighter jets after the Ministry of National Defense held three auctions for the aircraft, Defense News has learned.

The ministry authorized the Lebanese Armed Forces to issue an agreement of consent with the Canadian firm for the sale of the five Hawker Hunters and spare parts. The parties involved will now negotiate a price. The deal is expected to be worth about $1 million.

Lortie Aviation was the only bidder for the Hawker Hunters in the third auction that was held Aug. 12. Three Sikorsky S-61 helicopters also up for sale received no bids and might now be sold as spare parts.

The first auction held by the ministry took place May 11, but the number of interested parties failed to meet government requirements, leading to a second auction on July 12 that had the same result.

“Public biddings are subject to the Public Accounting Law. Hence, when after setting a date, at least two companies must submit for competition, which was not the case with the Lebanese Air Force, hence two more biddings were held,” a source with knowledge of the sales process told Defense News.

Defense News previously reported that two other companies expressed interest in the Hawker Hunters but it appears they did not submit bids: British firm Hawker Hunter Aviation and U.S.-based company Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (a subsidiary of Textron Systems).

The commander of Lebanon’s Air Force, Brig. Gen. Ziad Haikal, recently told Defense News that Lortie Aviation had been in discussions with the service to procure the jets following a visit by company officials.

“After their procurement, the jets will be used as enemy fighters in training with the U.S. Air Force. The Hawker Hunter is a powerful aircraft and very maneuverable, and it fits this type of training,” he said.

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The Hawker Hunters have been nonoperational since 2010. The country is keeping two of the aircraft type for refurbishment and preservation in a local museum.

Haikal told Defense News in an earlier interview that the sale is part of the service’s effort to reallocate its assets and restructure its fleets to maximize the utility of available resources.

“The Hawker Hunter aircraft and Sikorsky helicopters have been nonoperational for many years, in the absence of financial resources to maintain them. This public auction will be the first step to restructure the training fleet and firefighting capabilities,” he said.

The Lebanese Air Force previously showed interest in the Pakistani Super Mushshak trainers, but it never received a response from Pakistani authorities. Haikal said the Air Force might now buy Cessna 172 or similar trainers equipped with the glass avionic suite Garmin G1000 to ensure interoperability with the Cessna Caravan 208 already fielded by the service.

Meanwhile, the Air Force is discussing the sale of Sikorsky S-61 helos as spare parts with several companies, including Canadian company Rotor Maxx, the source told Defense News.

Lebanon’s military was initially eyeing a contract with American firm Air Tractor for an aircraft similar to the AT-802 that can support the county’s firefighting capabilities as well as supply spare parts and pilot and technician training, after selling the S-61 helos. But if the returns in the spare parts sale are not enough to support that goal, the service plans to buy other firefighting capabilities like Bambi Buckets or Fireflex firefighter packs.

美國機構稱七月是有記錄以來世界上最熱的月份

“新記錄增加了氣候變化為全球設定的令人不安和破壞性的道路，”高級氣候官員談到數據時說

按機構今天，晚上 9:30

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2021 年 8 月 13 日在德國西部法蘭克福舉行的一次示威活動中，一名打扮成銀行家的氣候活動家在德意志銀行總部前燃燒的德意志銀行標誌前擺姿勢。（阿曼多巴巴尼/法新社）

華盛頓——美國國家海洋和大氣管理局 (NOAA) 週五在強調氣候危機的最新數據中表示，7 月是全球有記錄以來最熱的月份。

“7 月通常是世界上一年中最熱的月份，但 2021 年 7 月成為有記錄以來最熱的 7 月和月份，”美國國家海洋和大氣管理局局長里克·斯賓拉德 (Rick Spinrad) 說。

“這一新記錄增加了氣候變化為全球設定的令人不安和破壞性的道路，”斯賓拉德在一份聲明中援引國家環境信息中心 (NCEI) 的數據表示。

美國國家海洋和大氣管理局表示，陸地和海洋表面的總溫度比 20 世紀 60.4 華氏度的平均值高 1.67 華氏度（0.93 攝氏度），使其成為自 142 年前有記錄以來最熱的 7 月。

本月比 2016 年 7 月創下的前一個記錄高 0.02 華氏度，該記錄與 2019 年和 2020 年持平。

根據歐盟哥白尼氣候變化服務中心發布的數據，上個月是全球有記錄以來第三熱的七月。

2021 年 8 月 13 日，塞維利亞的熱浪中，一對父子在噴泉旁消暑（CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP）

機構在數據上存在微小差異是很常見的。

上週，政府間氣候變化專門委員會的一份聯合國氣候科學報告引發了震驚，稱世界將在 2030 年左右升溫 1.5 攝氏度。

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“來自全球各地的科學家對氣候變化的方式進行了最新的評估，”斯賓拉德說。

“這是一份發人深省的 IPCC 報告，它發現人類影響明確地導致了氣候變化，並且證實了這種影響是廣泛且迅速加劇的。”

聯合國稱該報告為“人類的紅色代碼”。

2021 年 8 月 8 日，一名當地居民在試圖撲滅靠近希臘第二大島埃維亞（Euboea）島上 Pefki 村的森林火災時，舉著空水管做手勢（ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / 法新社）

美國國家大氣研究中心的高級氣候科學家、報告的合著者琳達·梅恩斯 (Linda Mearns) 說：“這肯定會變得更糟。” “我看不到任何安全區域……無處可逃，無處可躲。”

這份來自 234 位科學家的 3,000 多頁報告稱，變暖已經在加速海平面上升、冰層縮小以及熱浪、乾旱、洪水和風暴等極端事件的惡化。熱帶氣旋變得越來越強，越來越潮濕，而北極海冰在夏季減少，永久凍土正在融化。報告稱，所有這些趨勢都會變得更糟。

2021 年 8 月 13 日在德國西部法蘭克福舉行的一次示威活動中，德意志銀行總部旁邊的橫幅上寫著“氣候緊急情況，立即行動”（ARMANDO BABANI / AFP）

報告稱，氣候變化帶來的一些危害——冰蓋減少、海平面上升以及海洋失去氧氣並變得更酸——是“不可逆轉的幾個世紀到幾千年”。

地球上發生的幾乎所有變暖都可以歸咎於二氧化碳和甲烷等吸熱氣體的排放。報告稱，至多，像太陽這樣的自然力量或簡單的隨機性可以解釋十分之一或十分之二的變暖程度。

2021 年 8 月 11 日，一名婦女在羅馬西班牙階梯廣場的 Barcaccia 噴泉中降溫，因為隨著非洲反氣旋的加強，預計未來幾天氣溫將急劇上升。（阿爾貝托·皮佐利/法新社）

July was world’s hottest month on record, US agency says

‘New record adds to disturbing and disruptive path that climate change has set for the globe,’ top climate official says of data

By AGENCIESToday, 9:30 pm

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A climate activist dressed up as a banker poses in front of a burning Deutsche Bank logo in front of the bank's headquarters during a demonstration on August 13, 2021 in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. (ARMANDO BABANI / AFP)

WASHINGTON — July was the hottest month globally ever recorded, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Friday, in the latest data to underline the climate crisis.

“July is typically the world’s warmest month of the year, but July 2021 outdid itself as the hottest July and month ever recorded,” NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad said.

“This new record adds to the disturbing and disruptive path that climate change has set for the globe,” Spinrad said in a statement citing data from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

The NOAA said combined land and ocean surface temperature was 1.67 degrees Fahrenheit (0.93 of a degree Centigrade) above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the hottest July since record-keeping began 142 years ago.

The month was 0.02 of a degree Fahrenheit higher than the previous record set in July 2016, which was equaled in 2019 and 2020.

According to data released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, last month was the third-warmest July on record globally.

A father and son cool off at a water fountain amid a heatwave in Seville on August 13, 2021 (CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP)

It is common for agencies to have small differences in data.

Last week a UN climate science report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provoked shock by saying the world is on course to reach 1.5C of warming around 2030.

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“Scientists from across the globe delivered the most up-to-date assessment of the ways in which the climate is changing,” Spinrad said.

“It is a sobering IPCC report that finds that human influence is, unequivocally, causing climate change, and it confirms the impacts are widespread and rapidly intensifying.”

The United Nations called the report a “code red for humanity.”

A local resident gestures as he holds n empty water hose during an attempt to extinguish forest fires approaching the village of Pefki on Evia (Euboea) island, Greece’s second-largest island, on August 8, 2021 (ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP)

“It’s just guaranteed that it’s going to get worse,” said report co-author Linda Mearns, a senior climate scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research. “I don’t see any area that is safe… Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.”

The 3,000-plus-page report from 234 scientists said warming is already accelerating sea-level rise, shrinking ice and worsening extremes such as heatwaves, droughts, floods and storms. Tropical cyclones are getting stronger and wetter, while Arctic sea ice is dwindling in the summer and permafrost is thawing. All of these trends will get worse, the report said.

A banner reading “Climate emergency, act now” is pictured next to the headquarters of Deutsche Bank during a demonstration on August 13, 2021 in Frankfurt, western Germany (ARMANDO BABANI / AFP)

Some harm from climate change — dwindling ice sheets, rising sea levels and changes in the oceans as they lose oxygen and become more acidic — are “irreversible for centuries to millennia,” the report said.

Nearly all of the warming that has happened on Earth can be blamed on emissions of heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. At most, natural forces like the sun or simple randomness can explain one- or two-tenths of a degree of warming, the report said.

英國在阿富汗的前總部被塔利班佔領

英國在阿富汗戰爭期間的大部分軍事傷亡發生在赫爾曼德省，現已證實被叛亂分子俘虜

通過泛PYLAS今天，晚上 11:57

在這張 2011 年 8 月 22 日的檔案照片中，英國士兵 Lance Cpl。英國多塞特郡皇家信號兵團的賈斯汀·里夫 (Justin Reeve) 在阿富汗南部赫爾曼德省的 Combat Outpost Ouellette 建立通信系統一天后休息。（美聯社/布倫南林斯利，文件）

倫敦（美聯社）——在過去 20 年的大部分時間裡，英國軍隊努力確保阿富汗南部赫爾曼德省不會落入塔利班手中。

週五確認塔利班佔領了赫爾曼德省的首都拉什卡爾加，這在英國引起了特別的共鳴。英國 457 人傷亡中的絕大多數發生在該省，因為英國軍隊與美國和北約盟軍部隊作戰。赫爾曼德的堡壘營地是 2006 年至 2014 年英國軍事行動的總部。

隨著塔利班迅速推進，現在控制了阿富汗大約三分之二的地區，人們質疑為什麼即使在美國軍隊計劃在 9 月 11 日之前撤離後英國也不能留下來。

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英國首相鮑里斯·約翰遜警告說，沒有“軍事解決方案”來阻止塔利班的死灰復燃。

在就阿富汗不斷惡化的局勢召開緊急會議後，約翰遜表示，“大部分”英國駐喀布爾大使館工作人員將在未來幾天返回。與此同時，英國政府也在加緊努力重新安置在阿富汗期間曾協助英國軍隊的阿富汗人，如果他們落入武裝分子手中，他們現在將面臨報復。

“我認為我們必須對英國或任何強權在阿富汗強加軍事解決方案、作戰解決方案的能力持現實態度，”他說。“我們當然可以做的是與我們在該地區和世界各地的所有合作夥伴合作，他們與我們有共同利益，以防止阿富汗再次成為恐怖主義的滋生地。”

在這張 2021 年 7 月 4 日的檔案照片中，阿富汗警察在阿富汗喀布爾的一個檢查站站崗。（美聯社/拉赫馬特居爾，檔案）

美國總統喬拜登在 4 月宣布了美國撤軍的時間表，稱他決心結束美國最長的戰爭。他的決定導致北約聯盟中的其他國家，包括英國，在 9/11 襲擊事件後首次抵達阿富汗二十年後宣布他們自己的離開。

英國保守黨政府前國防部長、阿富汗退伍軍人約翰尼默瑟表示，拜登犯了一個“巨大的錯誤”，但英國不必效仿，本可以在國際安全援助部隊的其他北約盟國中爭取支持。

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“我們不能單方面採取行動並支持阿富汗安全部隊的這種想法是不正確的，”默瑟告訴 BBC。“實現對阿富汗的持久支持的政治意願並不存在，很多人將因此而死亡，對我來說，這是極其屈辱的。”

英國國防部長本華萊士表達了他對阿富汗局勢發展的擔憂，尤其是基地組織可能捲土重來，但表示政府別無選擇，只能跟隨美國的領導。

“當美國作為框架國家做出這個決定時，我們所有人的配置方式，我們進入的方式，意味著我們也必須離開，”他在天空新聞中說。

華萊士周四否認向阿富汗派遣大約 600 名英國軍隊以幫助該國剩餘的 4,000 名左右英國國民離開的決定是一種恐慌措施，稱計劃已在幾個月前製定。美國周四表示，將向阿富汗增派3000名士兵，以協助從美國駐喀布爾大使館撤離部分人員。

2021 年 8 月 12 日星期四，塔利班武裝分子在阿富汗喀布爾西南部的加茲尼市內巡邏。（美聯社照片/Gulabuddin Amiri）

作為聯軍重組的一部分，英國軍隊於 2006 年被派往赫爾曼德，最初的目的是為重建項目提供穩定和安全。然而，他們很快就被捲入了戰鬥行動；赫爾曼德的堡壘營成為英國赫里克行動的基地，有 9,500 名士兵駐紮在那裡。

士兵在該省巡邏，並不斷面臨來自叛亂分子的伏擊威脅，而叛亂分子對當地的了解往往給他們帶來優勢。

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在過去的 20 年裡，超過 100,000 名英國軍隊在阿富汗服役，儘管他們的人數在 2014 年 12 月北約戰鬥任務結束後急劇下降。從那以後，那裡的士兵表面上訓練了阿富汗軍隊，並支持了廣泛的項目，以改善教育，特別是赫爾曼德省和全國各地的女童、醫療保健、經濟增長和地方治理。

耶魯大學高級研究員、英國政府前國際發展部長、受人尊敬的阿富汗問題作家羅里·斯圖爾特批評撤軍是“完全沒有必要、危險的決定”。他警告說，數百萬阿富汗人將成為難民。

“我們基本上在一夜之間創造了另一個敘利亞，”他說。

Britain’s former headquarters in Afghanistan overrun by Taliban

Majority of the UK’s military casualties during Afghan war occurred in Helmand province, now confirmed captured by insurgents

By PAN PYLASToday, 11:57 pm

In this August 22, 2011 file photo, British soldier Lance Cpl. Justin Reeve, of Dorset, England, of the Royal Corps of Signals, rests after a day spent establishing coms, at Combat Outpost Ouellette, Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. (AP/Brennan Linsley, file)

LONDON (AP) — For a large chunk of the past 20 years, British troops fought hard to ensure that the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand did not fall into the hands of the Taliban.

Confirmation Friday that the Taliban had captured Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, had particular resonance in Britain. The vast majority of the UK’s 457 casualties occurred in the province as British troops fought with American and allied NATO forces. The Camp Bastion complex in Helmand was the headquarters for British military operations from 2006 until 2014.

With the Taliban advancing rapidly and now in control of around two-thirds of Afghanistan, questions are being raised about why the UK could not have remained even after the planned departure of US troops by September 11.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned there was no “military solution” to prevent the resurgence of the Taliban.

Following an emergency meeting over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Johnson said the “vast bulk” of the remaining UK embassy staff in Kabul would return in the next few days. Meanwhile, the British government was also stepping up efforts to relocate Afghans who had assisted British forces during their time in the country and who now face reprisals if they fall into the hands of the militants.

“I think we’ve got to be realistic about the abilities of the UK or any power to impose a military solution, a combat solution in Afghanistan,” he said. “What we certainly can do is work with all our partners in the region and around the world who share an interest with us in preventing Afghanistan from once again becoming a breeding ground for terror.”

In this July 4, 2021, file photo, Afghan Police stand guard at a checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP/Rahmat Gul, File)

US President Joe Biden announced the timeline for the US withdrawal in April, saying he was determined to end America’s longest war. His decision led the other nations in the NATO coalition, including the UK, to announce their own departures, two decades after they first arrived in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks.

Johnny Mercer, a former defense minister in Britain’s Conservative government and an Afghanistan veteran, said Biden made a “huge mistake” but that the UK did not have to follow suit and could have mustered support among other NATO allies in the International Security Assistance Force.

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“This idea we cannot act unilaterally and support the Afghan security forces is simply not true,” Mercer told the BBC. “The political will to see through enduring support to Afghanistan has not been there, and a lot of people are going to die because of that, and for me that is extremely humiliating.”

Britain’s defense secretary, Ben Wallace, expressed his concerns about the unfolding situation in Afghanistan, not least the potential for al-Qaeda to return, but said the government had no choice but to follow the US lead.

“When the United States, as the framework nation, took that decision, the way we were all configured, the way we had gone in, meant that we had to leave as well,” he said on Sky News.

Wallace denied the decision Thursday to send around 600 British troops to Afghanistan to help the 4,000 or so remaining UK nationals in the country to leave was a panic measure, saying plans had been put in place months ago. The US said Thursday that it was sending an additional 3,000 troops to Afghanistan to assist in the evacuation of some personnel from the US Embassy in Kabul.

Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Ghazni, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, August 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Gulabuddin Amiri)

UK troops were sent to Helmand in 2006, as part of a reorganization of coalition troops, initially with the intention of providing stability and security for reconstruction projects. However, they were soon drawn into combat operations; Camp Bastion in Helmand became the base of British Operation Herrick, with 9,500 troops stationed there.

Soldiers patrolled the province and faced the constant threat of ambush from insurgents, whose local knowledge often gave them an advantage.

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More than 100,000 British troops served in Afghanistan in the past two decades, though their numbers fell dramatically after December 2014, when NATO’s combat mission ended. The soldiers there since ostensibly trained Afghan army troops and supported a wide range of projects to improve education, particularly for girls, health care, economic growth and local governance in Helmand and across the country.

Yale University Senior Fellow Rory Stewart, a former international development secretary in the British government and a respected writer on Afghanistan, criticized the withdrawal as a “completely unnecessary, dangerous decision.” He warned that millions of Afghans would become refugees.

“We’ve essentially created another Syria overnight,” he said.

塔利班接近喀布爾的大門，使館準備撤離

隨著叛亂分子佔領越來越多的城市，美國和英國部署數千名士兵將其公民從首都撤離

通過埃莉斯BLANCHARD今天，晚上 7:51

2021 年 8 月 13 日，塔利班戰士站在坎大哈路邊的一輛汽車上。（法新社）

阿富汗喀布爾（法新社）——塔利班週五佔領了更多主要城市，他們競相完全控制阿富汗並逐漸靠近喀布爾，美國和英國部署了數千名士兵，將其公民從首都撤離。

撤離令發出之際，塔利班控制了位於叛亂中心地帶的全國第二大城市坎大哈，政府只剩下喀布爾和其他一些領土。

塔利班還佔領了距離喀布爾僅 50 公里（30 英里）的洛加爾省首府，當地一名立法者稱叛亂分子完全控制了普勒阿拉姆市。

週五早些時候，坎大哈的官員和居民告訴法新社，政府軍已集體撤退到南部城市外的一個軍事設施。

“坎大哈完全被征服了。聖戰者到達烈士廣場，”塔利班發言人在推特上說，指的是一個城市地標。

幾小時後，塔利班稱他們還控制了鄰近的赫爾曼德省首府拉什卡爾加。

2021 年 8 月 13 日，塔利班戰士駕駛一輛阿富汗國民軍 (ANA) 車輛穿過坎大哈的一條街道。 (法新社)

一名安全消息人士證實了這座城市的陷落，並告訴法新社，阿富汗軍方和政府官員在與武裝分子達成當地停火協議後撤離了拉什卡爾加。

在塔利班對城市中心進行為期八天的閃電戰後，政府現在實際上已經失去了該國的大部分地區，這也震驚了喀布爾的美國支持者。

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在美國及其盟國幾乎從阿富汗撤軍之後，第一波攻勢於 5 月初發起，喬·拜登總統決定在 9 月 11 日前結束長達二十年的戰爭。

'不是放棄'

拜登堅稱他並不後悔自己的決定，但最近幾天塔利班在城市取得勝利的速度和輕鬆程度令人驚訝，並迫使人們做出新的計算。

華盛頓和倫敦週四晚間宣布了從首都撤出大使館工作人員和公民的計劃。

“鑑於不斷變化的安全局勢，我們正在進一步減少我們在喀布爾的平民足跡，”美國國務院發言人內德普萊斯告訴記者，同時指出大使館將保持開放。

“這不是放棄。這不是疏散。這不是大規模撤軍。”

五角大樓表示，未來 24 至 48 小時內將向喀布爾部署 3,000 名美軍，強調他們不會被用於對塔利班發動襲擊。

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外交和官方消息人士告訴法新社，北約還定於週五晚些時候就不斷惡化的局勢舉行緊急會議。

2021 年 8 月 13 日在奎達，強硬的親塔利班政黨 Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Nazaryati (JUI-N) 的支持者在慶祝塔利班佔領阿富汗城市時吃糖果。 (Banaras KHAN / 法新社)

秘書長延斯·斯托爾滕貝格（Jens Stoltenberg）將領導與 30 個盟國的特使進行討論，其中一位消息人士稱將重點討論疏散計劃。

坎大哈的塔利班旗幟

自 5 月美國領導的部隊開始撤軍的最後階段以來，衝突急劇升級。

在佔領了被認為戰略上不太重要的農村地區數月後，塔利班將注意力集中在城市。

過去一周，叛亂分子佔領了十多個省會城市，並包圍了北部最大的城市——傳統的反塔利班堡壘馬扎里沙裡夫，現在這裡是少數幾個頑固分子之一。

2021 年 8 月 13 日，由於塔利班和阿富汗安全部隊之間的戰鬥而逃離北部省份的國內流離失所的阿富汗家庭坐在喀布爾 Wazir Akbar Khan 清真寺的院子裡。 (WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP)

在坎大哈，居民阿卜杜勒·納菲告訴法新社，在政府軍周五早些時候撤離後，這座城市很平靜。

“我今天早上出來，我在城市的大部分廣場看到塔利班白旗……我想這可能是開齋節的第一天。”

赫拉特強人被俘

週五在赫拉特，塔利班說他們已經抓獲了該市的長期強人伊斯梅爾汗，他與他的民兵戰士一起幫助領導了省會的防禦。

軍閥的發言人後來證實，在與叛亂分子談判後，汗已被允許返回他的住所。

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阿富汗前內閣部長伊斯梅爾汗於 2019 年 2 月 20 日星期三在阿富汗西部赫拉特省接受美聯社採訪時發表講話（美聯社照片 / Rahmat Gul）

親塔利班的社交媒體賬戶吹噓叛亂分子俘獲了大量戰利品，發布了裝甲車、重型武器的照片，甚至他們的戰士在廢棄的軍事基地繳獲了一架無人機。

在被圍困數週後，政府軍於週四撤離了靠近伊朗邊境的古老絲綢之路城市赫拉特，並撤退到一個地區軍營。

週四，內政部還證實了加茲尼的陷落，開闢了一條從南部塔利班中心地帶通往喀布爾的主要高速公路上的走廊。

隨著潰敗解體，阿富汗主要國際參與者之間為期三天的會議在卡塔爾結束，週四沒有取得重大進展。

在一份聯合聲明中，包括美國、巴基斯坦、歐盟和中國在內的國際社會表示，他們不會承認“通過使用武力強加給阿富汗的任何政府”。

Taliban nears gates of Kabul as embassies prepare for evacuations

US and Britain deploying thousands of troops to evacuate their citizens from capital as insurgents conquer more and more cities

By ELISE BLANCHARDToday, 7:51 pm

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Taliban fighters stand on a vehicle along the roadside in Kandahar on August 13, 2021. (AFP)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — The Taliban seized more major cities on Friday as they raced to take full control of Afghanistan and inched closer to Kabul, with the United States and Britain deploying thousands of troops to evacuate their citizens from the capital.

The evacuation orders came as the Taliban took control of Kandahar — the nation’s second-biggest city — in the insurgency’s heartland, leaving only Kabul and pockets of other territories in government hands.

The Taliban also captured the capital of Logar province, just 50kms (30 miles) from Kabul, with a local lawmaker saying the insurgents were in complete control of Pul-e-Alam city.

Earlier Friday, officials and residents in Kandahar told AFP that government forces had withdrawn en masse to a military facility outside the southern city.

“Kandahar is completely conquered. The Mujahideen reached Martyrs’ Square,” a Taliban spokesman tweeted, referring to a city landmark.

Hours later, the Taliban said they had also taken control of Lashkar Gah, the capital of neighboring Helmand province.

Taliban fighters drive an Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicle through a street in Kandahar on August 13, 2021. (AFP)

A security source confirmed the fall of the city, telling AFP that the Afghan military and government officials had evacuated Lashkar Gah after striking a local ceasefire deal with the militants.

The government has now effectively lost most of the country following an eight-day blitz into urban centers by the Taliban that has also stunned Kabul’s American backers.

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The first wave of the offensive was launched in early May after the United States and its allies all but withdrew their forces from Afghanistan, with President Joe Biden determined to end two decades of war by September 11.

‘Not abandonment’

Biden insists he does not regret his decision, but the speed and ease of the Taliban’s urban victories in recent days has been a surprise and forced new calculations.

Washington and London announced plans late Thursday to pull out their embassy staff and citizens from the capital.

“We are further reducing our civilian footprint in Kabul in light of the evolving security situation,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, while noting the embassy would remain open.

“This is not abandonment. This is not an evacuation. This is not the wholesale withdrawal.”

The Pentagon said 3,000 US troops would be deployed to Kabul within the next 24 to 48 hours, underscoring they would not be used to launch attacks against the Taliban.

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NATO was also set to hold an urgent meeting later on Friday about the deteriorating situation, diplomatic and official sources told AFP.

Supporters of the hardline pro-Taliban party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Nazaryati (JUI-N) eat sweets as they celebrate the capture of cities in Afghanistan by the Taliban, in Quetta on August 13, 2021. (Banaras KHAN / AFP)

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will lead discussions with envoys from the 30 allies, with one source saying it would focus on evacuation planning.

Taliban flags across Kandahar

The conflict has escalated dramatically since May, when US-led forces began the final stage of their troop withdrawal.

After months of taking what were considered less strategically important rural areas, the Taliban zeroed in on the cities.

The insurgents have taken over more than a dozen provincial capitals in the past week and encircled the biggest city in the north, the traditional anti-Taliban bastion of Mazar-i-Sharif, which is now one of the few holdouts remaining.

Internally displaced Afghan families, who fled from the northern province due to a battle between Taliban and Afghan security forces, sit in the courtyard of the Wazir Akbar Khan mosque in Kabul on August 13, 2021. (WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP)

In Kandahar, resident Abdul Nafi told AFP the city was calm after the government forces pulled out early Friday.

“I came out this morning, I saw Taliban white flags in most squares of the city… I thought it might be the first day of Eid.”

Herat strongman captured

And in Herat on Friday, the Taliban said they had captured the city’s long-time strongman Ismail Khan, who helped lead the defense of the provincial capital along with his militia fighters.

The warlord’s spokesman later confirmed Khan had been allowed to return to his residence following negotiations with the insurgents.

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Former Afghan cabinet minister Ismail Khan, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Herat province, western of, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019 (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Pro-Taliban social media accounts have boasted of the vast spoils of war captured by the insurgents, posting photos of armored vehicles, heavy weapons, and even a drone seized by their fighters at abandoned military bases.

After being under siege for weeks, government forces on Thursday pulled out of Herat — an ancient Silk Road city near the Iranian border — and retreated to a district army barracks.

On Thursday, the interior ministry also confirmed the fall of Ghazni, opening a corridor along the major highway to Kabul from the Taliban heartlands in the south.

As the rout unraveled, three days of meetings between key international players on Afghanistan ended in Qatar without significant progress Thursday.

In a joint statement, the international community, including the United States, Pakistan, the European Union, and China, said they would not recognize any government in Afghanistan “imposed through the use of military force.”

伊朗要求塔利班確保駐阿富汗赫拉特外交官的安全

通過路透

2021 年 8 月 13 日 10:42

2021 年 3 月 1 日，在奧地利維也納爆發冠狀病毒病 (COVID-19) 期間，在理事會會議開始之前，伊朗國旗在國際原子能機構 (IAEA) 總部前飄揚。

（照片來源：路透社/LISI NIESNER/文件照片）

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伊朗外交部周五敦促塔利班確保其駐阿富汗西部城市赫拉特領事館的外交官和工作人員的安全，塔利班稱已抓獲該城市。

伊朗外交部發言人賽義德·哈蒂布扎德在推特上說：“考慮到（塔利班）對赫拉特市的主導地位，我們提請他們認真注意確保外交官和外交設施的完全安全和健康。”

西方大使館和援助機構週五開始從阿富汗撤離文職人員，此前塔利班表示已提前佔領赫拉特和另一個大城市，這引發了人們對美國支持的政府垮台的擔憂。

2012 年 4 月 26 日，隸屬於第 82 空降師的 5-20 步兵團的美國士兵 Nicholas Dickhut 在阿富汗坎大哈省 Zharay 區巡邏時遭到塔利班的攻擊，他將步槍對準門口。（圖片來源：BAZ拉特納/路透社）

伊朗外交部官員拉蘇爾·穆薩維早些時候在推特上說：“我們的外交官，就像在赫拉特的其他三個國家的外交官一樣，身體健康，安全無虞，沒有任何擔憂。” 什葉派穆斯林占主導地位的伊朗長期以來一直對遜尼派穆斯林塔利班保持警惕。1998 年，塔利班武裝分子在阿富汗北部城市馬扎里沙裡夫的伊朗領事館殺害了至少八名伊朗外交官和一名伊朗記者，德黑蘭差點陷入戰爭。

“赫拉特政府已被伊斯蘭酋長國（塔利班）的軍隊接管。總領事、外交官和工作人員……都在大樓內。我經常與他們聯繫，”總幹事穆薩維外交部的西亞，早些時候發了推文。

“管理這座城市的部隊致力於（確保）總領事館、其外交官和工作人員的完全安全，”穆薩維說，但沒有詳細說明。

7 月，德黑蘭主辦了阿富汗政府代表和塔利班高級代表團的會議，並提出幫助結束阿富汗危機。

Iran asks Taliban to ensure safety of diplomats in Herat, Afghanistan

By REUTERS

AUGUST 13, 2021 10:42

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021.

(photo credit: REUTERS/LISI NIESNER/FILE PHOTO)

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Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the Taliban to ensure the safety of its diplomats and staff at its consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat, which the Taliban has said it has captured.

"Considering (the) Taliban's dominance over the city of Herat, we draw their serious attention to ensuring the complete safety and health of diplomats and diplomatic facilities," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Twitter.

Western embassies and aid agencies began evacuating civilian staff from Afghanistan on Friday after the Taliban said it had captured Herat and another big city in an advance that has raised fears of the collapse of the US-backed government.

US soldier Nicholas Dickhut, from 5-20 infantry Regiment, attached to 82nd Airborne, points his rifle at a doorway after coming under fire by the Taliban while on patrol in Zharay district in Kandahar province, Afghanistan April 26, 2012. (credit: BAZ RATNER/REUTERS)

Our diplomats, like the diplomats of the three other countries present in Herat, are in perfect health and security and have no concerns," Iranian Foreign Ministry official Rasoul Mousavi earlier said on Twitter. Shi’ite Muslim-dominated Iran has long been wary of the Sunni Muslim Taliban. In 1998 Tehran nearly went to war when Taliban militants killed at least eight Iranian diplomats and an Iranian journalist at the Iranian consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

"The administration of Herat has been taken over by the forces of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban). The consul general, diplomats and staff… are inside the building. I am in regular contact with them," Mousavi, director-general for West Asia at the foreign ministry, tweeted earlier.

"The forces administering the city are committed to (ensuring) the complete security of the Consulate General, its diplomats and staff," Mousavi said without elaborating.

In July, Tehran hosted a meeting of Afghan government representatives and a high-level Taliban delegation and offered to help end the crisis in Afghanistan.

真主黨擁有綿延數百公里的跨區域隧道網絡。

這個大規模網絡是在朝鮮的幫助下建立的，比哈馬斯在加沙的“地鐵”網絡要大得多。

作者：安娜·阿羅海姆

2021 年 8 月 13 日 14:47

從黎巴嫩到以色列的真主黨隧道的視圖，位於以色列北部的以色列和黎巴嫩之間的邊界

（照片來源：SRAYA DIAMANT）

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ALMA 中心發布的一份新報告揭露了一個屬於真主黨的大型跨區域隧道網絡，該網絡橫跨黎巴嫩，旨在讓該組織能夠運送人員和武器。

這份名為“隧道之地”的報告由研究以色列北部前線面臨的安全挑戰的中心於週四發布。

根據塔爾·比里少校撰寫的報告，真主黨在 2006 年第二次黎巴嫩戰爭後在朝鮮人和伊朗人的幫助下開始了其隧道工程，“比哈馬斯在加沙的‘地鐵’工程要大得多。”條。”

據推測，該網絡將貝魯特地區、真主黨的中央總部、該組織用作其後勤作戰基地的貝卡地區與黎巴嫩南部連接起來。根據該報告，它們允許“數百名裝備齊全的戰鬥人員秘密快速地通過地下”。

這些隧道也足夠大，摩托車、ATV 和其他小型車輛可以通過它們，以便部隊可以從一個地方移動到另一個地方，“以加強防禦陣地或在安全、受保護和無形的方式。”

該網絡的累計長度可達數百公里，其中一個區域綿延約 45 公里，將西頓地區與貝卡地區連接起來。

“根據我們的調查結果，該項目的一部分似乎是在 Jensnaya Wadi 的地理區域進行的 - al-Hasania 和 Wadi el Leymoun 之間的山谷 - Barti - al-Sfenta（Sniyeh 和 Bouslaiya 之間） - Mizra Kafra -南扎爾塔。此外，在 al-Tswuan-al-Roummaneh-Jabal Toura（雷達）-Louaizeh-Sejoud-Mizra'a al-Zaghrine-al-Aishia-al-Qotrani-al-Sriri-Bracha Jabour-Meidoun-的地理區域內繼續前往貝卡西部，”報告中寫道。

像哈馬斯一樣，這些隧道包含地下指揮和控制室、武器和補給站、野戰診所和用於發射所有類型導彈（火箭、地對地導彈、反坦克導彈和防空導彈）的指定豎井。導彈）。

Beeri 寫道，這些隧道也用於砲擊，豎井在立即關閉之前會打開一小段時間。這些豎井是隱藏和偽裝的，無法在地面上檢測到。

黎巴嫩的隧道不跨越與以色列的邊界，與朝鮮的隧道相同。

報導稱，真主黨的隧道網絡是在一家名為“韓國礦業開發貿易公司”的朝鮮公司的幫助下建造的，該公司專門從事地下基礎設施的開發。隧道的實際施工是由真主黨的聖戰建設基金會完成的。

2018 年，以色列國防軍發起了“北盾行動”，以發現並摧毀真主黨在以色列北部挖掘的所有跨境隧道。儘管軍方表示已經發現並摧毀了六個這樣的隧道。

他們的跨境隧道被毀對該組織來說是一個重大打擊，據以色列國防軍稱，從那以後他們就再沒有試圖重建它們。

Hezbollah has inter-regional tunnel network stretching hundreds of km.

The large-scale network was built with the help of North Korea and is much larger than Hamas' 'metro' network in Gaza.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM

AUGUST 13, 2021 14:47

View of a Hezbollah tunnel that crosses from Lebanon to Israel, on the border between Israel and Lebanon in northern Israe

(photo credit: SRAYA DIAMANT)

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A new report released by the ALMA Center has exposed a large-scale inter-regional tunnel network belonging to Hezbollah, stretching across Lebanon and designed to allow the group to move personnel and weapons.

The report, titled “Land of tunnels” was released on Thursday by the center which researches security challenges facing Israel on its northern front.

According to the report authored by Major (res.) Tal Beeri, Hezbollah began its tunnel project after the Second Lebanon War in 2006 with the help of the North Koreans and Iranians and “is much larger than the Hamas ‘metro’ project in the Gaza Strip.”

The network supposedly connects the Beirut area, Hezbollah’s central headquarters, the Beqaa area used by the group as its logistical operational rear base, to Southern Lebanon. According to the report they allow for “hundreds of combatants, fully equipped, to pass stealthily and rapidly underground.”

The tunnels are also large enough for motorcycles, ATVs, and other small vehicles to move through them to allow for troops to maneuver from place to place “for the purpose of reinforcing defense positions or for carrying out an attack in a safe, protected, and invisible manner.”

The cumulative length of the network can be in the hundreds of kilometers and in one area stretches some 45 kilometers, connecting the area of Sidon to the Beqaa.

“According to our findings, it seems that part of the project was conducted in the geographical area of the Jensnaya Wadi’s - the valley between al- Hasania and Wadi el Leymoun - Barti – al-Sfenta (between Sniyeh and Bouslaiya) - Mizra Kafra - south Zhalta. In addition, in the geographical area of al-Tswuan– al -Roummaneh– Jabal Toura (radar) – Louaizeh – Sejoud – Mizra’a al-Zaghrine – al-Aishia – al-Qotrani- al- Sriri - Bracha Jabour - Meidoun - continuing to the western Beqaa,” the report read.

Like Hamas, the tunnels contain underground command and control rooms, weapons and supply depots, field clinics, and specified designated shafts used to fire missiles of all types (rockets, surface-to-surface missiles, anti-tank missiles, and anti-aircraft missiles).

Beeri wrote that the tunnels are also used for artillery attacks, with the shafts opening for a short period of time before being immediately shut. These shafts are hidden and camouflaged and cannot be detected above ground.

The tunnels in Lebanon, which do not cross the border with Israel, are the same as the tunnels in North Korea.

The report stated that Hezbollah’s tunnel network was built with the assistance of a North Korean company called “the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation,” a company that specializes in the development of underground infrastructure. The actual construction of the tunnels was done by Hezbollah’s Jihad Construction Foundation.

In 2018 the IDF launched Operation Northern Shield to discover and destroy all cross-border tunnels dug by Hezbollah into northern Israel. Though the military said that it has found and destroyed six such tunnels.

The destruction of their cross-border tunnels was a significant hit to the group, and according to the IDF, they haven’t tried to rebuild them since.

貝內特削減了新定居點的計劃以避免激怒美國-報告

根據菅直人的說法，在計劃與拜登的首次會面之前，首相將待批准的房屋數量減少了 1,000 套

通過TOI人員今天，早上 5 點 29

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據菅直人周四晚間報導，由於不想惹惱美國政府，總理納夫塔利·貝內特 (Naftali Bennett) 將批准西岸約 2,200 套新定居點的新計劃從最初的 3,200 套削減。

根據以色列電視台的報導，這批新房被視為特別敏感，是喬拜登總統領導下的第一批獲得批准的房屋。

因此，最終名單被大約 1,000 個家庭削減了，這些家庭被專業級別認可但沒有得到貝內特的批准，貝內特急於在與拜登的第一次會面之前不激怒華盛頓。

兩國一直在討論貝內特訪問華盛頓的問題，預計以色列總理將在未來幾週內前往白宮。

新的住房計劃定於下週由民政部門批准。

一名國防官員周三向以色列時報證實，與此同時，國防部長本尼·甘茨 (Benny Gantz) 還批准在以色列控制的 C 區建造 1,000 座巴勒斯坦人的房屋，其中大部分位於傑寧和伯利恆地區。

C 區約佔西岸的 60%，完全處於以色列的安全和行政控制之下。以色列很少批准巴勒斯坦在 C 區的建設，絕大多數請求都被拒絕。這導致了猖獗的非法建築，而這些建築又經常被以色列拆除。

大多數國際社會認為定居點建設違反國際法。特朗普政府在 2018 年宣布它不認為是這種情況，支持以色列，拒絕領土被佔領的立場，稱這些領土是在防禦戰中從約旦手中奪取的。

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預計伊朗將成為貝內特 - 拜登會議的首要議程，以色列希望與美國就針對其地區敵人的政策進行密切協調。

本月早些時候，以色列新任國家安全顧問埃亞爾胡拉塔在華盛頓會見了白宮國家安全顧問傑克沙利文，會談重點是伊朗和巴勒斯坦人。

此次會晤標誌著兩國新領導人的助手首次面對面會面，因為迄今為止接觸是通過虛擬方式進行的。此次會晤被視為美國總統與以色列總理首次會晤的準備。

“先生。沙利文和胡拉塔博士討論了該地區的戰略挑戰，包括伊朗構成的威脅，並同意就這些問題進行密切磋商，”根據美國會議的宣讀內容。

聲明說：“他們還就該地區的機遇交換了意見，包括推動以色列與阿拉伯和穆斯林世界國家關係正常化，以及以色列與約旦關係最近的積極發展。”

“先生。沙利文還強調了採取與巴勒斯坦人有關的積極步驟的重要性，這對和平、安全和繁榮至關重要。”

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上個月，一名以色列官員證實，拜登政府同意推遲為巴勒斯坦人重新開放美國駐耶路撒冷領事館的計劃，直到以色列新政府於 11 月初通過預算。

這位官員匿名表示，美國對可能破壞貝內特新生聯盟的穩定並導致前總理內塔尼亞胡回歸的舉動持謹慎態度。

該領事館主要為東耶路撒冷和西岸的巴勒斯坦人提供服務，於 2019 年被美國前總統唐納德特朗普正式關閉，作為政府將大使館轉移到耶路撒冷的一部分。阿格隆街歷史使命的大部分工作人員在同一地點繼續他們的工作，儘管在美國與以色列關係更大的保護傘下成立的一個新命名的巴勒斯坦事務部門，被認為實際上降低了拜登的關係熱衷於扭轉。

這位官員說，貝內特政府要求推遲，並解釋說反對派成員將利用重新開放對耶路撒冷巴勒斯坦人的事實上的使團來向仍然綠色的聯盟發起衝擊。

由來自不同政治領域的一系列政黨組成的新政府仍需要就通過預算達成一致，然後才能被認為足夠穩定以承受反對派的此類批評。直到 11 月 4 日，否則將舉行選舉。

Bennett cut down plans for new settlement homes to avoid angering US — report

According to Kan, PM took number of houses set for approval down by 1,000 ahead of planned first meeting with Biden

By TOI STAFFToday, 5:29 am

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visits at 'Migdal Nofim' retirement home in Jerusalem, July 27, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

A new plan to approve some 2,200 new settlement homes in the West Bank was cut down by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett from an original 3,200 due to a desire not to upset the US administration, Kan news reported Thursday night.

According to the Israeli TV report, the new batch of homes is seen as particularly sensitive, being the first to be brought for approval under President Joe Biden’s administration.

Thus, the final list was cut down by some 1,000 homes that were okayed by the professional level but did not get approval from Bennett, who is anxious not to anger Washington before his first meeting with Biden even takes place.

The two countries have been discussing a trip by Bennett to Washington, and the Israeli premier is expected to head to the White House in the coming weeks.

The new housing plans are set to be approved next week by the Civil Administration.

t the same time Defense Minister Benny Gantz has also approved the construction of 1,000 Palestinian homes in the Israeli-controlled Area C, mostly in the Jenin and Bethlehem areas, a defense official confirmed to The Times of Israel Wednesday.

Area C makes up some 60 percent of the West Bank and is fully under Israeli security and administrative control. Israel rarely approves Palestinian construction in Area C, with the overwhelming majority of requests being denied. This has resulted in rampant illegal building, which is in turn often demolished by Israel.

Most of the international community considers settlement construction a violation of international law. The Trump administration in 2018 announced that it did not consider this to be the case, backing Israel, which rejects the position that the territories are occupied, saying they were captured from Jordan in a defensive war.

\Iran is expected to top the agenda of a Bennett-Biden meeting, with Israel hoping to coordinate closely with the US on policy toward its regional foe.

Earlier this month Israel’s new National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata met with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Washington, in talks focused on Iran and the Palestinians.

The meeting marked the first in-person meetings between aides to the two countries’ new leaders, as contacts have so far been held virtually. The meeting was seen as preparation for a first meeting between the US president and Israeli prime minister.

“Mr. Sullivan and Dr. Hulata discussed the strategic challenges in the region, including the threat posed by Iran, and agreed to consult closely on these issues,” according to a US readout of the meeting.

“They also exchanged views about the opportunities in the region, including advancing the normalization of relations between Israel and countries in the Arab and Muslim world and recent positive developments in Israel’s relationship with Jordan,” the statement said.

“Mr. Sullivan also stressed the importance of pursuing positive steps related to the Palestinians, which are critical to peace, security and prosperity.”

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Last month, an Israeli official confirmed that the Biden administration agreed to hold off on plans to reopen the US consulate in Jerusalem for Palestinians until after the new Israeli government has passed a budget in early November.

The US is wary of moves that might destabilize Bennett’s nascent coalition and bring about the return of former prime minister Netanyahu, the official said anonymously.

The consulate, which mainly served the Palestinian population in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, was officially shut down in 2019 by former US president Donald Trump as part of the administration’s transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem. Much of the staff at the historic mission on Agron Street have continued their same jobs at the same location, though under a newly named Palestinian Affairs Unit formed under the larger umbrella of US relations to Israel, considered a de facto downgrading of ties that Biden is keen to reverse.

Bennett’s government asked for the delay, explaining that opposition members would use the reopening of a de facto mission to the Palestinians in Jerusalem to drive a wedge into the still-green coalition, the official said.

The new government, made up of an array of parties from across the political spectrum, still needs to agree on passing a budget before it can be considered stable enough to withstand such criticisms from the opposition. It has until November 4, otherwise elections will be called.

冷凍腫瘤而不是切割，以色列開創了新的膀胱癌治療方法

在海法 Rambam 醫院使用二氧化碳從 4 名患者身上切除腫瘤；醫生監測檢查方法使癌症遠離；如果是這樣，流程預示著巨大的優勢，他們說

通過內森杰斐 今天，上午 9:05

以色列研發的新型冷凍劑噴灑膀胱癌細胞（來自 Vessi Medical 的屏幕截圖）

聲稱世界第一，以色列醫生通過冷凍而不是切除它們從膀胱中去除了癌症腫瘤。

海法 Rambam Healthcare Campus 的醫生表示，該方法在減少出血、感染風險和疼痛方面具有巨大潛力。

他們進行了四次手術，所有患者均無副作用出院。在接下來的幾週內，他們將接受監測，看看手術如何有效地消除了癌症，還有更多的患者將接受手術。

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“在這裡，我們實際上是噴灑液態二氧化碳，而不是切除腫瘤，這一過程會導致健康組織留下疤痕，”與同事 Gilad Amiel 教授一起手術的 Isaac Hoffman 博士說。“我們很高興我們成功地冷凍了腫瘤，之後癌細胞在不需要我們切除的情況下死亡。”

以目前的方法，膀胱癌患者往往容易復發，但霍夫曼表示，他希望冷凍療法能夠更有效地去除癌細胞並減少復發的機會。

他指出，冷凍療法，即使用極冷來冷凍和去除異常組織，並不是什麼新鮮事物，已被用於治療各種癌症。但到目前為止，由於腫瘤的性質，醫生還無法將其用於治療膀胱癌，膀胱癌在全球影響超過 200 萬人。

以色列開發的技術噴灑冷凍劑後癌細胞之間形成冰的插圖（來自 Vessi Medical 的屏幕截圖）

“通常情況下，通過使用針頭注射冷凍劑來冷凍腫瘤，但膀胱癌不會發生這種情況，”霍夫曼說。

一家名為 Vessi Medical 的以色列公司開發了一種適用於膀胱癌的冷凍療法，這取決於使用專門開發的噴霧劑來管理冷凍劑。

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噴灑後，癌細胞之間和內部會形成冰，而不會傷害膀胱肌肉。

霍夫曼評論說：“我們相信對患者有好處。切割後，您通常必須留一根導尿管，這會導致疼痛和尿路感染的風險。所以我們正在減少這種情況。”

霍夫曼預測，這項創新將減少患者在醫院的時間。“我們將腫瘤可視化並冷凍治療，”他說。“目的是讓患者在手術當天出院。”

Freezing tumor instead of cutting, Israelis pioneer new bladder cancer approach

Tumors removed from 4 patients using Co2 at Rambam Hospital in Haifa; doctors monitoring to check method keeps cancer away; if it does, process heralds great advantages, they say

By NATHAN JEFFAY Today, 9:05 am

New Israeli-developed sprays freezing agent on cancerous cells in the bladder (screen shot from Vessi Medical)

Claiming a world first, Israeli doctors have removed cancer tumors from the bladder by freezing them instead of cutting them out.

Doctors at the Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa say that the method has great potential to reduce bleeding, infection risk and pain.

They have conducted the operation four times, and all patients were discharged without side effects. Over the coming weeks, they will be monitored to see how effectively the operations banished cancer, and several more patients will receive the surgery.

“Here we are actually spraying liquid Co2 instead of cutting out the tumor, a process that causes scarring of healthy tissue,” said Dr. Isaac Hoffman, who operated with his colleague Prof. Gilad Amiel. “We are very happy that we succeeded in freezing the tumor, after which the cancerous cells die off without them needing us to cut them out.”

With current methods, bladder cancer patients are often prone to recurrence, but Hoffman said he expects freeze therapy to more effectively remove cancer cells and reduce the chance of recurrence.

He noted that cryotherapy, the use of extreme cold to freeze and remove abnormal tissue, isn’t new and is used on various cancers. But until now doctors haven’t been able to use it on bladder cancer, which affects more than 2 million people worldwide, because of the nature of the tumors.

Illustration of ice forming between cancer cells after an Israeli-developed tech sprays freezing agent (screen shot from Vessi Medical)

“Normally, the tumors are frozen by injecting the freezing agent using needles, but this can’t happen with bladder cancer,” said Hoffman.

An Israeli company, Vessi Medical, developed the process to adapt cryotherapy for bladder cancer, which hinges on the use of a specially developed spray to administer the freezing agent.

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After it is sprayed, ice forms between and inside the cancer cells, without harming the bladder muscles.

Hoffman commented: “We believe there are advantages to the patient. After cutting you normally have to leave a catheter in, which can cause pain and risk of urinary tract infection. So we are reducing this.”

The innovation will lead to patients spending less time in hospital, Hoffman predicted. “We visualize the tumor and treat it with a freeze,” he said. “The aim is to release the patient from the hospital on the same day as the procedure.”

衛生主管說孩子們要在學校接種 COVID 疫苗：“我們處於緊急情況”

在與教育部長爭論的過程中，霍洛維茨說，將在需要的地方進行接種，包括在學年開始時在教育機構

通過TOI人員今天下午 3:00

衛生部長尼贊·霍洛維茨 (Nitzan Horowitz) 週五表示，儘管與教育部長在這個問題上存在爭議，但在學年開始時，兒童仍將在學校接種 COVID-19 疫苗。

“在學年開始時，我們將在學校接種疫苗。我們將在任何地方接種疫苗，因為我們處於緊急情況，我們將盡一切努力去所有地方並為每個需要接種的人接種疫苗，”霍洛維茨在接受第三劑冠狀病毒疫苗時說，這是在以色列擴大接種範圍數小時後運動到 50 多歲。

部長說：“任何想要一個機構或機構的負責人都將獲得一個移動 [疫苗接種] 單位。”

週四，霍洛維茨告訴第 12 頻道新聞，學校是接觸未接種疫苗的兒童的有效地點，並在父母的許可下為他們接種。

這些聲明是在衛生官員和教育部長 Yifat Shasha-Biton 之間發生爭執時發表的，後者反對在上學期間注射疫苗，並且此前將在學校為學生接種疫苗的想法稱為“犯罪”，從而引發了爭議。

霍洛維茨週四對莎莎-比頓提出了明顯的挑戰，即誰對學校的兒童接種疫苗有最終決定權，他說，“包括學校內部在內的健康方面的權力屬於衛生部，這就是法律。”

霍洛維茨補充說：“關於疫苗接種和一切與健康有關的決定是衛生部長的決定，這是我依法享有的權力。”

以色列似乎在 6 月份將冠狀病毒大流行置於其後，在過去兩個月中，在傳染性極強的 Delta 變種的推動下，發病率迅速加速蔓延。

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根據周五早上的最新數據，有 462 人因 COVID-19 病情嚴重。衛生部數據顯示，在未接種疫苗的 60 歲以上以色列人中，每 10 萬人中有 120.9 人病情嚴重。接種疫苗的人數為 19.1，部分接種疫苗的人數為 45.3。

政府已將疫苗接種作為擊退重新流行的病毒的主要武器，現在所有 12 歲以上的人都可以接種疫苗。

第 12 頻道報導稱，在周三晚上的內閣會議上，當政府批准收緊對集會的限制以遏制病毒傳播時，部長們齊心協力支持在學校接種疫苗，同時抨擊莎莎-比頓反對方案。

在內閣會議期間，交通部長梅拉夫米凱利指出，其他疫苗接種，如破傷風或乳頭瘤病毒，也在學校進行。

“我不理解教育學的主張，”霍洛維茨說，根據該報告，該報告沒有引用其消息來源。

2021 年 8 月 11 日，一名衛生工作者從耶路撒冷的兒童身上採集樣本（Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90）

Shasha-Biton 回應說，她不反對在學校為孩子接種疫苗，但不反對在學習時間。

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“那有什麼意義呢？” 霍洛維茨回擊。“他們什麼時候到？在學習期間。之後接種疫苗有什麼意義？”

科學和技術部長 Orit Farkash-Hacohen 隨後建議在父母來接孩子的一天結束時接種疫苗，但 Shasha-Biton 反對這可能導致緊張局勢，因為公眾對 COVID-19 和疫苗接種。

“學校應該是受保護的空間、敏感的和有教育意義的，我不想把圍繞冠狀病毒的整個討論帶入學校，”Shasha-Biton 說。“讓[孩子們]安靜一點。”

上個月，Shasha-Biton 因與衛生官員不和而受到總理 Naftali Bennett 的斥責，她在上屆政府期間擔任以色列議會冠狀病毒委員會主席，取消了內閣通過的幾項病毒限制措施。

據報導，教育部將 COVID-19 疫苗排除在學校之外的決心已擴展到一項政府計劃，該計劃旨在對超過 150 萬名學生進行血清學檢測，以確定有多少人具有病毒抗體，從而使這些學生獲得隔離豁免並留在學校。教室，即使在暴露於已知的攜帶者之後。

據第 12 頻道周三報導，該部正在採取措施，使極端正統城市 Bnei Brak 的學校更難進行血清學檢測。

為學生準備了 50,000 項測試，並獲得了市政府的家長書面許可。極端正統的學校系統已於本周初開放。

然而，據報導，該部告訴市政府，不允許在上課時間進行血清學檢測，只能在父母在場的情況下進行，大大降低了進行檢測的機會。

距離新學年開學只有兩週多的時間，政府已經批准了一項關於如何在大流行期間運營學校的計劃，該計劃將依賴於對學生進行廣泛的病毒檢測，以迅速發現感染者並對其進行隔離，防止他們將病毒傳染給他人。

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但是，9 月也將迎來高假期，屆時學校將關閉。由於整個月只有 9 個預定的學習日，一些人建議將學年推遲到 10 月，這樣也可以有更多時間來遏制感染浪潮。

Health chief says kids to get COVID vaccines in schools: ‘We’re in an emergency’

Amid fight with education minister on issue, Horowitz says inoculations will be carried out wherever needed, including in educational institutions at start of academic year

By TOI STAFFToday, 3:00 pm

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Friday that children will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in schools at the start of the academic year, despite a dispute with the education minister on the issue.

“At the start of the school year we will be vaccinating in schools. We will be vaccinating everywhere, because we are in an emergency and we will make every effort we can to get everywhere and vaccinate everyone who needs it,” Horowitz said as he received a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine, hours after Israel widened its inoculation campaign to the over-50s.

“Any head of an authority or institution who wants one will receive a mobile [vaccination] unit,” the minister said.

On Thursday, Horowitz told Channel 12 news that schools are efficient locations for reaching unvaccinated children and, with the permission of their parents, inoculating them.

The statements came amid a tussle between health officials and Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, who opposes giving shots during the school day and has courted controversy by previously calling the idea of vaccinating students in schools a “crime.”

In an apparent challenge to Shasha-Biton over who has the final word on vaccinating children in schools, Horowitz said Thursday that “the authority over health, including inside schools, is that of the Health Ministry, that is the law.”

Horowitz added that “the decision regarding vaccinations and everything to do with health is the decision of the health minister, and that is my authority according to the law.”

After Israel appeared to have put the coronavirus pandemic behind it in June, the past two months have seen a rapidly accelerating spread in morbidity, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant.

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According to the latest figures on Friday morning, 462 people are in serious condition from COVID-19. Health Ministry data showed that among unvaccinated Israelis aged 60-plus, there are 120.9 people per 100,000 in serious condition. Among the vaccinated the figure is 19.1 and the partially vaccinated figure was 45.3.

The government has made vaccination its main weapon in beating back the resurgent virus, with shots now available to all those over the age of 12.

Channel 12 reported that during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday night, when the government approved a tightening of restrictions on gatherings as a way to curb the virus spread, ministers rallied together in favor of vaccinations in schools while assailing Shasha-Biton for her objections to the scheme.

During the cabinet meeting, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli noted that other vaccinations, such as tetanus or papillomavirus, are also delivered in schools.

“I don’t understand the pedagogic claims,” Horowitz said, according to the report, which did not cite its sources.

Shasha-Biton responded that she has no objection to vaccinating children at schools, but not during study hours.

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“So what’s the point in that?” Horowitz shot back. “When are they there? During studies. What is the point of vaccinating afterward?”

Science and Technology Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen then suggested administering vaccines at the end of the day when parents come to collect their children, but Shasha-Biton objected that this could lead to tensions, due to the differences of public opinion on COVID-19 and vaccinations.

“A school should be protected space, sensitive and educational, and I don’t want to bring the whole discourse around the coronavirus into the school,” Shasha-Biton said. “Let [the children] have a bit of quiet.”

Last month, Shasha-Biton was rebuked by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for feuding with health officials, and as chairwoman of the Knesset’s Coronavirus Committee during the last government, she struck down several virus restrictions passed by the cabinet.

The Education Ministry’s determination to keep COVID-19 vaccines out of schools has reportedly extended to a government plan that aims to conduct serological tests on over 1.5 million pupils, to determine how many have virus antibodies, allowing those students to obtain quarantine exemptions and remain in the classroom, even after exposure to a known carrier.

The ministry is taking steps to make it more difficult for schools in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak to carry out the serological testing, Channel 12 reported on Wednesday.

There were 50,000 tests prepared for students, and written permission from parents received by the city. The ultra-Orthodox school system already opened at the beginning of this week.

However, the ministry reportedly told the municipality that serological testing will not be permitted to take place during school hours and can only be carried out in the presence of a parent, greatly reducing the chances that they would be done.

With the opening of the academic year just over two weeks away, the government has approved a plan on how to operate schools during the pandemic that will rely on extensive virus testing of pupils, in order to rapidly spot those who are infected and quarantine them and prevent them from passing on the virus to others.

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However, September will also see the High Holidays, when schools are closed. With just nine scheduled study days scattered throughout the month, some have suggested delaying the school year until October, which would also give more time to clamp down on the wave of infections.

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