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Algerian Ambassador Returns to Spain Amid Unresolved Disputes

A general view of Algiers city, Algeria, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP)
A general view of Algiers city, Algeria, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP)
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Algerian Ambassador Returns to Spain Amid Unresolved Disputes

A general view of Algiers city, Algeria, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP)
A general view of Algiers city, Algeria, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP)

Algeria reinstated its ambassador to Madrid on Monday after a year-long protest against Spain's support for Morocco's plan for the Western Sahara. However, trade restrictions with Spain remain, showing the dispute is ongoing.

Algerian diplomat Abdelfettah Daghmoum, along with five others, presented their credentials to Spain’s King Felipe VI. The move follows talks in September at the UN General Assembly.

Algeria eased its ban on some Spanish goods after recalling its ambassador last year. The move followed Spain’s support for Morocco’s Western Sahara autonomy proposal, which Algeria strongly opposes.

Algerian officials said the ambassador’s return was prompted by signals from Spain, indicating a shift back to neutrality in the Western Sahara conflict.

They referred to comments by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at the UN, where he supported a political solution and Spain’s continued aid to Western Sahara refugees.

As Sanchez didn't directly address Western Sahara autonomy, Algeria saw this as a step back from Spain’s earlier stance.

Algerian media reported leaks from UN meetings that revealed Spanish officials had reassured Algerian counterparts of their commitment to neutrality on the Western Sahara.

This thaw followed talks in New York, leading to arrangements for Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares to visit Algeria in February to signal an end to the dispute.

Meanwhile, Algerian banks lifted the freeze on commercial operations with Spain after trade losses exceeding a billion dollars, mainly impacting Spanish institutions dealing with the North African nation.

However, a setback happened in the same month. During Sanchez’s visit to Rabat, the Moroccan royal palace announced that Spain had “reaffirmed its support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative.”

Algeria tried to pressure the premier to stress Spain’s neutrality on the issue during a scheduled visit to Algiers.

However, the plan fell apart, with the visit getting canceled at the last minute. Spanish media reported that Algeria was displeased because it wanted Spain to address the Western Sahara issue, not just focus on trade.

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Arab World

Gaza Health Sector Faces Mounting Crises, Risk of Total Collapse

A Palestinian carries a child wounded in an Israeli strike that killed the child’s parents at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 15, 2026 (Reuters) 
A Palestinian carries a child wounded in an Israeli strike that killed the child’s parents at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 15, 2026 (Reuters) 
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Gaza Health Sector Faces Mounting Crises, Risk of Total Collapse

A Palestinian carries a child wounded in an Israeli strike that killed the child’s parents at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 15, 2026 (Reuters) 
A Palestinian carries a child wounded in an Israeli strike that killed the child’s parents at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 15, 2026 (Reuters) 

Gaza’s health sector is facing a deepening series of crises amid the devastation caused by the Israeli war that followed Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

Israel has not only damaged hospitals through raids and strikes but continues to control the entry of medicines and medical supplies, as well as the departure of patients seeking treatment abroad, further complicating an already dire health situation.

Gaza’s Health Ministry warned Saturday that the operating capacity of the remaining oxygen stations had been fully exhausted and that they were working beyond their limits amid repeated breakdowns.

Only 12 of 34 oxygen stations remain operational, under highly difficult technical and mechanical conditions that make it increasingly hard to meet the needs of health facilities and other service providers. The ministry said just four of 30 oxygen-cylinder filling units remain functional and could stop at any moment because engineering teams lack the means to carry out emergency maintenance.

It warned that the remaining stations risk complete shutdown, threatening oxygen supplies to hospitals and patients receiving care at home. The ministry called for the immediate entry of spare parts and technical equipment, as well as the urgent supply of new oxygen stations.

The crisis is also placing severe pressure on kidney patients. The Hind al-Daghma Dialysis Center at Nasser Medical Complex is treating more than 200 patients from across Gaza amid acute shortages of medical supplies, medicines and equipment.

Riyad Barbakh, head of the dialysis department, said demand was rising as equipment and treatment supplies dwindled, creating harsh conditions that had contributed to patient deaths.

Dialysis sessions are the only barrier between life and death for these patients, Barbakh said, warning that any disruption to supplies or equipment could pose an immediate threat to hundreds of lives.

Cancer patients face similarly grave conditions

Mohammed Abu Nada, medical director of the Gaza Cancer Center, warned of an unprecedented deterioration in the condition of cancer patients, saying severe shortages of essential treatments and restrictions on travel threaten about 11,000 people.

Abu Nada said three cancer patients were dying each day from complications, while about 4,000 patients holding official medical referrals for treatment or diagnosis abroad remained unable to leave because of tight restrictions and continued crossing closures.

He pointed that Gaza lacks radiotherapy entirely and faces severe shortages of chemotherapy, with cancer drugs accounting for 61% of medicines in short supply. The destruction of specialized treatment centers has forced medical teams to make difficult clinical decisions, including performing full mastectomies in some early-stage breast cancer cases because radiotherapy is unavailable and travel abroad remains difficult.

Abu Nada called on international health organizations to urgently provide sufficient and sustainable supplies of chemotherapy and specialized medicines and facilitate the evacuation of patients requiring treatment abroad.

The crisis comes as Israel has failed to implement humanitarian provisions of a recent agreement reached in Cairo, including commitments to repair hospitals and allow medicines and medical equipment into Gaza.

Field tensions have also continued despite a partial reduction in Israeli strikes deep inside the enclave.

Three Palestinians were wounded shortly before noon Saturday, one seriously, in an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcycle in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. They were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Israeli artillery also shelled several areas, particularly near the Yellow Line, while major demolitions were reported east of Khan Younis. Israeli vehicles and drones opened fire in several locations, while naval vessels targeted fishing boats operating within one nautical mile of the coast off Gaza City, central Gaza and Khan Younis.

 

 

Arab World

Iraq: Security Reshuffle Reaches Green Zone Command

A view of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone (Reuters) 
A view of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone (Reuters) 
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Iraq: Security Reshuffle Reaches Green Zone Command

A view of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone (Reuters) 
A view of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone (Reuters) 

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has extended a series of changes to senior security and military posts, most recently appointing a new commander for the force responsible for protecting Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

The reshuffle comes as security and political preparations accelerate ahead of the scheduled end of the international coalition’s mission in Iraq in late September, amid mounting tensions over the weapons held by armed factions.

Iraqi security sources said Zaidi appointed Special Forces Maj. Gen. Osama Abd Tarish commander of the Special Division responsible for protecting the Green Zone. It houses key state institutions, including Baghdad Palace, the president’s official residence; the Government Palace, the prime minister’s headquarters; parliament; and the headquarters of the National Intelligence Service and National Security Service.

The district also houses offices affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, as well as the US, British and Saudi embassies and the UN mission.

Informed sources described the move as completing what amounts to a “military cordon” around vital sites in Baghdad amid concerns that tensions could escalate with armed factions refusing to disarm after the expiration of a government deadline.

Political disagreements have meanwhile prevented the appointment of permanent defense and interior ministers. Zaidi has placed both ministries under his direct authority through the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, headed by Interior Minister Gen. Abdul Amir al-Shammari.

Zaidi has made several other senior security changes in recent months, replacing Counter Terrorism Service chief Gen. Karim al-Tamimi with Lt. Gen. Zaid Houshi and Federal Police commander Maj. Gen. Saad al-Halfi with Lt. Gen. Mohammed Qasim al-Fahd.

Zaidi also referred Lieutenant General Maher Najm, the Interior Ministry’s Intelligence Affairs Undersecretary, to retirement and appointed Lieutenant General Falah Shaghati to the post. Earlier changes included the appointment of Qasim al-Aboudi as National Security Adviser, replacing Qasim al-Araji.

Alongside the security reshuffle, Zaidi has asked parliament’s Security and Defense Committee to draft legislation restricting weapons to state forces.

Informed sources said the move reflects an effort to address the armed factions through legislation as well as security measures, while groups including Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba continue to reject disarmament.

The factions are seeking support from political forces, particularly Shiite groups close to Iran, led by the Badr Organization, the sources said. Their efforts include highlighting Türkiye’s military presence in northern Iraq, which they describe as an “occupation” comparable to the US presence, and opposing Iraq’s growing engagement with Arab states.

The government regards bringing weapons under state control as part of strengthening official institutions, while factions opposed to disarmament argue that their security and ideological roles justify retaining their arms.

The dispute poses a key test for Zaidi’s government as Iraq prepares for a new security phase with the international coalition’s mission scheduled to end in late September.

 

 

 

Arab World

Syrian Detainees Held in Iraq Return to Spotlight After Zaidan’s Damascus Visit

Syrian security forces at the entrance to al-Hol camp before its evacuation. (EPA file photo)
Syrian security forces at the entrance to al-Hol camp before its evacuation. (EPA file photo)
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Syrian Detainees Held in Iraq Return to Spotlight After Zaidan’s Damascus Visit

Syrian security forces at the entrance to al-Hol camp before its evacuation. (EPA file photo)
Syrian security forces at the entrance to al-Hol camp before its evacuation. (EPA file photo)

The fate of Syrian detainees transferred to Iraq from prisons formerly run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has returned to the spotlight following a visit by Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council President Judge Faiq Zaidan to Damascus on Thursday, where talks with Syrian officials, including President Ahmed al-Sharaa, focused on their cases.

Relatives of some detainees accused of belonging to ISIS insist they had no ties to the group and were arrested by the SDF over politically motivated allegations, including opposition to ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

They renewed calls for their return to Syria, a review of the charges against them and the release of those whose guilt cannot be established.

Ibrahim Abbas, from the al-Dhahiriya village east of Qamishli in the Hasakeh province, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the SDF arrested his nephews, Abdul-Azim Ahmed and Alaa al-Din Hassan al-Abbas, in 2017 because of their opposition to Assad.

Abbas, a member of the Arab Zuweid tribe, maintained that neither of the men had any connection to ISIS.

Relatives had been allowed to visit them regularly at al-Malikiyah prison before they were abruptly transferred to Qamishli prison, he revealed.

When the international coalition requested lists of ISIS prisoners for transfer to Iraq, the SDF included both men.

“They were 20 years old when they were arrested and are now nearly 30,” Abbas said, calling for their return to Syria and fresh investigations.

Those proven to have belonged to ISIS should be prosecuted, he added, while those against whom no evidence is found should be released.

In mid-February, Iraq’s Justice Ministry published the nationalities of ISIS prisoners transferred from detention facilities in northern Syria formerly run by the SDF to Iraq in a US Central Command-led operation. The number of Syrians transferred totaled 3,543.

Syrian activist Suheb al-Yaarobi said coordination between Damascus and Baghdad over the detainees’ return had been advancing before it was disrupted by tensions stemming from the US-Israel war on Iran.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that some detainees had no connection to ISIS and had been imprisoned by the SDF on “malicious” accusations before being classified as members of the group and transferred to Iraq.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council President Judge Faiq Zaidan in Damascus last week. (SANA)

Both Baghdad and Damascus want the prisoners returned to Syria, Yaarobi said, but a key obstacle is the lack of detention facilities there.

Judge Laith Jabr, head of Iraq’s Judicial Supervision Authority, said Zaidan’s talks in Damascus focused on the Syrian detainees and their legal status. Iraqi authorities had conducted judicial investigations and provided them with all legal safeguards, he added.

The two sides agreed to establish joint judicial committees that will meet regularly to resolve issues related to the detainees’ trials.

Informed sources said Iraq and Syria were close to signing an agreement governing the transfer and prosecution of Syrian detainees held in Iraq.

International law expert Al-Moutassim al-Kilani told Asharq Al-Awsat that an accusation by the SDF or inclusion on a security list was not, in itself, sufficient legal proof of ISIS membership.

Rather than mass releases or collective trials, Kilani advocated a joint Syrian-Iraqi judicial mechanism to distinguish among detainees lacking credible evidence; those awaiting Iraqi judgments who could be transferred for prosecution in Syria; suspects accused of crimes committed in Iraq or against Iraqis; and prisoners serving final Iraqi sentences who could potentially complete their terms in Syria under a bilateral arrangement.

A fifth category should cover potential victims of arbitrary detention or torture, he suggested.

Detainees and their lawyers should be given access to case files and allowed to challenge the legality of detention and seek investigations into allegations of abuse. Convictions should not be based solely on coerced confessions or security reports that cannot be independently scrutinized, he stressed.