Arab League Warns Against ‘Strife’ in Syria

The Arab League headquarters in Cairo. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Arab League headquarters in Cairo. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Arab League Warns Against ‘Strife’ in Syria

The Arab League headquarters in Cairo. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Arab League headquarters in Cairo. Asharq Al-Awsat

The Arab League has warned against “strife” in Syria, saying it was “following with concern the events taking place in several Syrian cities and areas with the aim of igniting the sparks of conflict.”

It said Thursday that it “rejects the Iranian statements aimed at fueling strife among the Syrian people,” according to a statement from the secretariat.

It did not specify which statements it was referring to.

Syria's newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, said on Tuesday that Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria's sovereignty and security.

"We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the repercussions of the latest remarks," he said.

Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei lashed out on Thursday against unspecified media reports on Iran “interfering in Syria’s internal affairs” as “baseless.”

Iran was committed to “supporting the territorial integrity and national unity of Syria and the formation of an inclusive political system,” he said in a statement.

On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to "stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity.”

Khamenei forecast "that a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose,” calling the country unsafe.



Israel Says It Arrested 2,500 Palestinians in Gaza in 2024

Displaced Palestinians rush to take shelter during a storm at a makeshift camp in Gaza City on December 31, 2024, amid the continuing war between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians rush to take shelter during a storm at a makeshift camp in Gaza City on December 31, 2024, amid the continuing war between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
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Israel Says It Arrested 2,500 Palestinians in Gaza in 2024

Displaced Palestinians rush to take shelter during a storm at a makeshift camp in Gaza City on December 31, 2024, amid the continuing war between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians rush to take shelter during a storm at a makeshift camp in Gaza City on December 31, 2024, amid the continuing war between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)

Israel’s Shin Bet security service said it had arrested around 2,500 Palestinians in Gaza during 2024, of which 650 were interrogated.

The agency said, without providing evidence, that the interrogations enabled Israel to retrieve nine bodies of hostages who were kidnapped and taken to Gaza during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Additionally, 27 Israelis were indicted for spying for Iran, a nearly four-fold increase from 2023, it said. The Shin Bet released the figures in their year-end review of operations during the calendar year.

In the occupied West Bank, 3,682 Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of involvement in “terror activities,” the Shin Bet said.

Last year, Israel arrested more than 4,000 Palestinians in the West Bank between October to December, according to the UN.

The UN Human Rights Office issued a report this summer saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, dogs set on them and other forms of torture and mistreatment. Israel’s prison authorities previously said that all Palestinian prisoners are treated according to Israeli and international law.