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Ruling Baath Party Controls Syrian Parliament

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Damascus (EPA)
Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Damascus (EPA)
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Ruling Baath Party Controls Syrian Parliament

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Damascus (EPA)
Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Damascus (EPA)

The ruling Baath Party took control of the Syrian Parliament, winning 170 seats out of 250 in the parliamentary elections announced Thursday.
The National Front parties, allied with the Baath, won 14 seats, bringing the total number of the Front alliance to 184 deputies, while 66 independent candidates reached the parliament.
According to the lists announced by the Baath Party’s regional leadership, members of the Baath Party topped the election results by a wide margin. The highest voter turnout was registered in the Homs Governorate, which accounted for more than 600,000 voters.
The Higher Judicial Elections Committee announced on Thursday the results of the People’s Assembly elections for the fourth legislative term, which took place on Monday.
The Syrian Arab Agency (SANA) quoted the head of the committee, Judge Jihad Murad, as saying that the participation rate in the elections reached 38.16 percent.
In a press conference at the Ministry of Justice, Murad announced the names of the winning candidates, noting that petitions can be submitted before the Supreme Constitutional Court on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
He added that the committee has sought to guarantee a democratic climate to ensure a smooth and fair voting process.
“The committee was keen to provide a democratic atmosphere by taking all necessary procedures to ensure freedom of voters and integrity of the elections,” he said.
Murad also pointed to the interaction of citizens and keenness to exercise their electoral right in choosing their representatives for membership in the People’s Assembly.
He stressed that the winning candidates possess scientific competence, various experiences, and social standing, which allows the new council to perform its national role to the fullest extent.
The Syrian People’s Assembly consists of 250 members. 1,516 candidates participated in the electoral race, while 8,151 polling stations were distributed in areas controlled by the Syrian government.
No elections took place in the regions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria, nor in those controlled by the Syrian opposition in the country’s north-west.

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UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
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UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)

A major offensive in the occupied West Bank which over several weeks has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged refugee camps increasingly appears to be part of Israel's "vision of annexation", a UN official told AFP.

Israeli forces carry out regular raids targeting gunmen in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, but the ongoing operation since late January is already the longest in two decades, with dire effects on Palestinians.

"It's an unprecedented situation, both from a humanitarian and wider political perspective," said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

"We talk about 40,000 people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes" in the northern West Bank, mainly from three refugee camps where the operation had begun, said Friedrich.

"These camps are now largely empty," their residents unable to return and struggling to find shelter elsewhere, he said.

Inside the camps, the level of destruction to "electricity, sewage and water, but also private houses" was "very concerning", Friedrich added.

The Israeli operation, which the military says targets gunmen in the northern West Bank, was launched shortly after a truce took hold in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.

The operation initially focused on Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, where UNRWA operates, but has since expanded to more areas of the West Bank's north.

Friedrich warned that as the offensive drags on, there are increasing signs -- some backed by official Israeli statements -- that it could morph into permanent military presence in Palestinian cities.

"There are growing concerns that the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank," he said.

- 'Political operation' -

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said troops would remain for many months in the evacuated camps to "prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism".

And Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who lives in one of dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, has said that Israel would be "applying sovereignty" over parts of the territory in 2025.

According to Friedrich, "the statements we are hearing indicate that this is a political operation. It is clearly being said that people will not be allowed to return."

Last year the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel's prolonged presence in the West Bank was unlawful.

Away from home, the displaced Palestinian residents also grapple with a worsening financial burden.

"There is an increasing demand now, especially in Jenin, for public shelter, because people can't pay these amounts for rent anymore," said Friedrich.

"Everyone wants to go back to the camps."

The UN official provided examples he said pointed to plans for long-term Israeli presence inside Palestinian cities, which should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

"In Tulkarem you have more and more reports about the army just walking around... asking shop owners to keep the shops open, going out and issuing traffic tickets to cars, so almost as if there is no Palestinian Authority," said Friedrich.

"It is very worrying, including for the future of the PA as such and the investments made by the international community into building Palestinian institutions."

The Ramallah-based PA was created in the 1990s as a temporary government that would pave the way to a future sovereign state.

- 'Radicalization' -

UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, but a recent law bars the agency from working with the Israeli authorities, hindering its badly needed operations.

"It's much more complicated for us now because we can't speak directly to the military anymore," said Friedrich.

"But at the same time, we continue to do our work," he said, assessing needs and coordinating "the actual emergency response on the ground".

Israeli lawmakers had passed the legislation against UNRWA's work over accusations that it had provided cover for Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip -- claims the UN and many donor governments dispute.

The prolonged Israeli operation could have long-term consequences for residents, particularly children traumatized by the experience of displacement, Friedrich warned.

"If people can't go back to the camp and we can't reopen the schools... clearly, that will lead to more radicalization going forward."

He said the situation could compound a legitimacy crisis for the PA, often criticized by armed Palestinian factions for coordinating security matters with Israel.

Displaced Palestinians "feel that they are kicked out of their homes and that nobody is supporting them", said Friedrich.

A "stronger international response" was needed, he added, "both to provide humanitarian aid on the ground, and secondly, to ensure that the situation in the West Bank doesn't spin out of control".