Palestinian media reports said Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), welcomed the ambassador on Monday.

“We welcome His Excellency the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the State of Palestine, who will present his official credentials to His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas within a few days,” the Palestinian official said.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that Sudairi will visit Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, on Tuesday and Wednesday. “The visit is a historic step to consolidate and develop bilateral relations between the two countries and to open more horizons for joint cooperation in all fields.”

On August 13, Sudairi, the kingdom’s current ambassador to Jordan, was named as non-resident envoy to Palestine and consul general in al-Quds. The Israeli regime back then rejected the idea of a diplomatic base in al-Quds for Saudi Arabia’s envoy.

The regime claims al-Quds as its own capital, a status recognized by the United States under then-President Donald Trump in 2017 but not by other world countries. The Israeli regime's authorities bar Palestinian diplomatic activity in the city.

The Saudi ambassador’s appointment came amid reports that the Persian Gulf kingdom is considering the prospect of establishing formal diplomatic relations with the Israeli regime under US pressure.

President Joe Biden has said a deal may be on the way after a series of talks his national security adviser had with Saudi officials in Jeddah aimed at fixing relations between Saudi Arabia and the Israeli regime.

US officials have sought for months to broker what would be a historic agreement between the two apparent adversaries – through behind-the-scenes allies – but the Saudis have remained resistant so far.

Saudi Arabia seems to be reluctant toward normalization with...

More than 200 people have been injured in an explosion at a gasoline tank on the road linking Stepanakert and Askeran in Karabakh, the Armenian 24News portal reported on Monday, citing the region’s ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan.

"The number of those injured in the gasoline tank explosion exceeds 200. Most of them are in grave and extremely grave condition. Artsakh’s capacities are not enough to save all of them. It is necessary to employ sanitary aviation," Stepanyan said.

The explosion occurred at about 8:00 local time. People were lining up at the gasoline station to refuel their cars and flee Karabakh for Armenia.

MNA/PR

The regime's military said it was reinforcing troops along the Gaza Strip border Sunday, as tensions rise along the frontier and as incendiary balloons sparked fresh fires in the occupied lands.

“In line with a situational assessment, it was decided to add a battalion to the Gaza Division,” the Israel military said according to Times of Israel.

War Minister Yoav Gallant toured the border region Sunday along with Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and the two met top commanders to review the latest developments.

On Saturday, the military carried out an airstrike on a Hamas position in the Gaza Strip following the latest attack along the border which included gunfire toward the regime's army forces.

The Israeli military said a drone struck the post, located near the scene of the day’s attack.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered along the border with the occupying Israeli regime earlier that day, in what has become a daily occurrence.

The Palestinian youth burned tires and hurled makeshift bombs, and gunmen fired toward the usurping regime's forces along the border.

Also Sunday, three Palestinian resistance groups announced plans to intensify their fight against the occupying regime and to increase cooperation between them.

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine made the statement after a meeting of top officials in Beirut.

MNA/FNA

The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces claimed in an update that Friday’s attack killed Viktor Sokolov along with 33 other officers.

“After the hit of the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers were killed, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” the Ukrainians said Monday, adding that more than 100 other Russian servicemen were wounded, CNN reported.

Moscow has said that one serviceman is missing as a result of Ukraine’s attack on Sevastopol.

Ukraine has increasingly been hitting strategic Russian targets in Crimea, the Black Sea region of southern Ukraine that has been under the control of Moscow since 2014 after annexation. 

MNA/PR

Some ammunition including several bombs and grenades belonging to the ISIL terrorists were also destroyed during the operation.

ISIL, which attacked Iraq on June 7, 2014, and managed to capture about 45% of the country's territory for a short period of time, was defeated in November 2017; However, since then, the remanent members of the terrorist group have present and operating in Iraq and Syria and carry out terrorist attacks from time to time.

Iraqi security forces keep searching, clearing, and chasing ISIL across the country to make sure that ISIL and its fugitive elements do not re-emerge.

MP/IRN85238755

Local Azerbaijani media reported on Monday that dozens were injured in an explosion in Khankendi.

A 100-ton fuel tank has exploded in Azerbaijan's Khankendi, Azeri Trend reported.

As a result, there were casualties.

Details of the incident have yet to come out.

Local Armenian social media groups claim hundreds were injured in the incident.

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Khaled Meshaal, a former Hamas chief who currently leads the group’s diaspora office, said on Monday that Israel should await a harsh response from resistance groups in Palestine because of its support for the increased presence of Jewish extremists at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Meshaal said the surge in the incursions is a plot supported by the Israeli hawkish administration to eventually destroy the mosque and build a temple there instead, Press TV reported.

He said the number of settlers trespassing on the compounds of al-Aqsa Mosque has doubled since 2017, adding that the regime has been clearly emboldened by its success in normalizing diplomatic ties with certain Arab and Muslim countries.

Meshaal said, however, that resistance groups across the occupied Palestinian territories will give a decisive response to the regime to neutralize its plots and conspiracies.

He advised countries seeking normalization with Israel to correct their mistakes, adding that closer ties with the regime would pose a serious threat to Palestine and the Arab world.

He further called on Palestinians to hold sit-ins at al-Aqsa Mosque, while urging Arab countries to take action against Israel’s crimes.

MNA