AMMAN: Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday submitted documents to run for a third term in an election scheduled for May 26, parliament’s speaker said on state media.
Parliament announced the election on Sunday. Washington and the Syrian opposition have denounced it as a farce designed to cement Assad’s authoritarian rule.
Assad’s family and his Baath party have ruled Syria for five decades with the help of the security forces and the army, where his Alawite minority dominate.
This year is the 10th anniversary of a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters which triggered a civil war that has left much of Syria in ruins.
The multi-sided conflict has sucked in world powers, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, but is now nearing its end with Assad, supported by Russian and Iranian allies, back in control of most of the country.
Candidates must have lived in Syria for the last 10 years, which prevents opposition figures in exile from standing.
Syrian President Assad to run for re-election in May
https://arab.news/4pzd8
Syrian President Assad to run for re-election in May
UN says found 225 arms caches since Israel-Hezbollah truce
- The Lebanese army has been deploying in the south as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there
- Israel’s military still carries out regular strikes in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure
BEIRUT: The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Monday that since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah it had uncovered more than 225 weapons caches in the south and referred them to the army.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem urged Lebanon’s government and the international community to act “more effectively” to make Israel comply with the November truce, which largely ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group, including two months of all-out war.
Under the deal, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River and Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon, however it has kept troops in five areas it deems “strategic.”
The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.
Since the November 27 truce began, “peacekeepers have found over 225 weapons caches and referred them” to the Lebanese army, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said in a statement.
UNIFIL also has a seat on the ceasefire monitoring committee, alongside truce sponsors France and the United States, and the Israeli and Lebanese governments.
“With UNIFIL support,” Lebanon’s army has “redeployed to more than 120 permanent positions south of the Litani,” the peacekeeping force said.
“Full (army) deployment is hindered by the presence of Israeli forces in Lebanese territory,” it added.
Israel’s military still carries out regular strikes in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure.
The ceasefire deal was based on a UN Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and that calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.
Border positions
Hezbollah’s chief said on Monday that Lebanon and Hezbollah had fulfilled their commitments under the ceasefire, and the army has deployed in south Lebanon, “while Israel has not withdrawn, has not stopped its attacks.”
In a televised speech, Qassem said that “Israel wants to end the resistance,” referring to Hezbollah.
Israel “thinks that continuing its pressure and aggression could lead to the political end of the resistance,” he said, adding: “This will not happen.”
After heavy Israeli strikes in the Nabatiyeh area of south Lebanon last week, Qassem said Israel was “playing with fire.”
He urged the Lebanese state and ceasefire sponsors Paris and Washington to act “more effectively” and to let Israel and its backers “know that we will not submit to threats and pressure.”
He also called for swift efforts toward reconstruction.
President Joseph Aoun said last month the Lebanese army was now deployed in more than 85 percent of the south and that the sole obstacle to full control across the frontier area was “Israel’s occupation of five border positions.”
Lebanese authorities have vowed to implement a state monopoly on bearing arms, though Aoun has said disarming Hezbollah is a “delicate” matter that requires dialogue.
Hezbollah, long a dominant force in Lebanon, was heavily weakened in its latest war with Israel.
UN chief welcomes release of US Israeli hostage by Hamas
- Antonio Guterres renews his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
- Militant group agreed to release soldier as gesture of goodwill to President Trump
NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the release of Edan Alexander, a US Israeli dual national who was taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
The militant group said on Sunday it would release Alexander, 21, as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire with Israel.
Alexander was believed to be the last living US hostage held in Gaza.
Guterres “is profoundly relieved that Mr. Alexander has been freed and is now returning to his family and loved ones after this harrowing ordeal,” the secretary-general’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said on Monday.
“The secretary-general renews his urgent call for an immediate permanent ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages. Hostages must be treated humanely and with dignity,” he added.
Alexander’s parents, who live in the US, traveled to Israel for the handover, and said they were grateful to the administration of US President Donald Trump for securing their son’s release.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Sunday that Hamas had agreed to release Alexander as a gesture of goodwill to the president, who is making a high-profile visit to Saudi Arabia this week.
Alexander, an Israeli soldier who grew up in New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In his statement, Guterres called on all parties to “immediately ensure the rapid, unhindered, and safe humanitarian relief, including the delivery of critical services, for all civilians in need.
“Aid is not negotiable,” he added.
The secretary-general praised the “sustained efforts” of mediators Egypt, Qatar and the US to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
All parties must “build on today’s release to reach a comprehensive agreement that will ensure the release of all hostages, an end to the hostilities, the provision of humanitarian aid and the long-overdue alleviation of the human suffering in Gaza,” he added.
Hamas had been in direct contact with the US government over the release, said Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior leader of the militant group in Gaza.
He added that Hamas is ready to “immediately start intensive negotiations” to secure a long-term truce with Israel.
The militant group said in a statement: “The Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas’ military wing) released the captured Israeli soldier, Edan Alexander, a US citizen, a short while ago, following contacts with the US administration.
“This comes as part of the efforts being made by mediators to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow aid and relief to reach our people in the Gaza Strip.”
Population of Occupied Palestinian Territories grows tenfold since Nakba, despite Israeli atrocities
Population of Occupied Palestinian Territories grows tenfold since Nakba, despite Israeli atrocities
- 77 years after the ‘catastrophe,’ the number of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip stands at 5.5 million
- Number of Palestinians in Gaza down by 10 percent since October 2023 as a result of ongoing war between Israel and Hamas
LONDON: The population of the Occupied Palestinian Territories has increased tenfold since 1948, the year in which the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” displaced almost a million Palestinians from their homes to neighboring Arab countries, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said that 957,000 people out of a population of 1.4 million were displaced by Israeli militias, many of them to other countries, some to Gaza and the West Bank, during the establishment of modern-day Israel 77 years ago this month.
The remainder, about 450,000, were already in Gaza and the West Bank, where the population now stands at 5.5 million. This represents more than a tenfold increase since the Nakba, which Palestinians commemorate on May 15 each year.
Ola Awad, the president of the bureau, said: “The atrocities of Zionist forces (in 1948) also included more than 70 massacres in which more than 15,000 Palestinians were martyred.”
According to the bureau’s statistics, Israeli forces destroyed 531 Palestinian towns and villages during the Nakba. A further 200,000 people were displaced from the occupied territories to neighboring countries by the Six-Day War in June 1967, which led to the occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.
Awad said the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which began in October 2023, has reduced the Palestinian population in the occupied territories by 10 percent, as more than 52,000 people have been killed and thousands displaced.
The statistics bureau said that since 1948, an estimated 154,000 people have been killed in the occupied territories or Arab countries as a result of Israeli attacks or armed clashes. The majority were Palestinian, but some were citizens of other Arab countries. Nearly 34 percent of them lived Gaza and were killed in the past two years.
UN says found 225 arms caches since Israel-Hezbollah truce
- “Full (army) deployment is hindered by the presence of Israeli forces in Lebanese territory,” UNIFIL said
BEIRUT: The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Monday that since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah it had uncovered more than 225 weapons caches in the south and referred them to the army.
The November truce largely ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group, including two months of all-out war.
Under the deal, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River and Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon, however it has kept troops in five areas it deems “strategic.”
The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.
Since the November 27 truce began, “peacekeepers have found over 225 weapons caches and referred them” to the Lebanese army, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said in a statement.
UNIFIL also has a seat on the ceasefire monitoring committee, alongside truce brokers France and the United States, and the Israeli and Lebanese governments.
“With UNIFIL support,” Lebanon’s army has “redeployed to more than 120 permanent positions south of the Litani,” the peacekeeping force said.
“Full (army) deployment is hindered by the presence of Israeli forces in Lebanese territory,” it added.
Israel’s military still carries out regular strikes in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure.
The ceasefire deal was based on a UN Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and that calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.
President Joseph Aoun said last month the Lebanese army was now deployed in more than 85 percent of the south and that the sole obstacle to full control across the frontier area was “Israel’s occupation of five border positions.”
Lebanese authorities have vowed to implement a state monopoly on bearing arms, though Aoun has said disarming Hezbollah is a “delicate” matter that requires dialogue.
Hezbollah, long a dominant force in Lebanon, was heavily weakened in its latest war with Israel.
Syria and neighbors urge Israel to stop bombings
- Syrian FM Asaad Al-Shaibani told the joint press conference that “our borders are constantly violated by Israeli attacks”
ANKARA: The foreign ministers of Syria, Turkiye and Jordan, meeting Monday in Ankara, called on Israel to cease attacks on Syria and to withdraw troops from the country.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria since longtime ruler Bashar Assad was ousted in December, often targeting military sites and killing dozens of people.
Israeli officials have also described Syria’s new authorities as jihadists and claimed to defend the country’s Druze minority with a recent spate of attacks.
Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a press conference with his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts that “Israel’s expansionism poses a significant threat to the security, stability and future of Syria.”
“This must come to an end. And we are on the same page about this. Syria needs to be supported to prevent terrorist organizations from settling in this region,” Fidan added, noting that Syria shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Turkiye.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani told the joint press conference that “our borders are constantly violated by Israeli attacks.”
The Israeli strikes are “calculated escalations aimed at destabilising Syria and dragging the region into a new cycle of conflict,” Shaibani said, decrying “systematic violations of international law and explicit provocations.”
He called on the international community to put Israel under “increased pressure” to halt the bombings.
Jordan’s top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, said attacks on Syrian soil “will not bring security to Israel and will bring nothing to Syria except ruin and destruction.”
