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Arab World

Israel Ties Syria Normalization to Retaining Golan Heights

An Israeli soldier stands along the edge of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights (File photo – AFP)
An Israeli soldier stands along the edge of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights (File photo – AFP)
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Israel Ties Syria Normalization to Retaining Golan Heights

An Israeli soldier stands along the edge of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights (File photo – AFP)
An Israeli soldier stands along the edge of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights (File photo – AFP)

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he would not rule out normalizing ties with Syria, but stressed that any such agreement must guarantee continued Israeli control over the Golan Heights.

Speaking to Israel’s i24NEWS, Sa’ar said: “If there’s an opportunity for a peace agreement or normalization with Syria - provided the Golan remains in our hands- it would be a positive step for Israel’s future.”

His remarks came amid growing speculation that a normalization deal between Israel and Syria could be reached by the end of the year.

The Israeli channel quoted a “well-informed Syrian source” as saying the two countries are expected to sign a peace agreement before the end of 2025.

According to the source, the deal would include a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all Syrian territory it seized following the incursion into the buffer zone on December 8, 2024 — including the summit of Mount Hermon.

The same source said the historic agreement would fully normalize relations between the two countries and transform the Golan Heights into a “peace park.”

Neither Israeli nor Syrian officials have confirmed the report. However, other Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit to the United States next month is expected to focus on a framework for normalization with Syria, potentially under an expanded version of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Channel 12 reported cautious optimism in Washington about a broader normalization deal tied to ending the war in Gaza and widening the Abraham Accords.

Israeli officials believe a key to expanding regional normalization lies in securing a firm commitment from US President Donald Trump to bring the Gaza conflict to an end.

According to the network, a limited expansion of the Abraham Accords that includes Syria may be feasible in the near term, but Netanyahu is reportedly aiming for a more comprehensive regional deal.

Channel 12 quoted Netanyahu as saying: “Victory in Iran opens the door to expanding peace agreements, releasing the hostages, and defeating Hamas. We are working seriously toward this. Alongside the release of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas, there is a golden opportunity we must not miss — the expansion of peace. Not a single day should be wasted.”

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is expected to arrive in Washington on Monday ahead of Netanyahu to discuss Iran, the Gaza war, and to coordinate the Israeli premier’s visit.

A US official said Netanyahu’s trip is likely to take place in the second half of July. Optimism in Israel is reportedly based on a Trump plan to end the Gaza war and usher in a new phase of regional diplomacy under an expanded Abraham Accords framework.

Israeli sources also told Israel Hayom that Trump and Netanyahu have agreed to end the Gaza war within two weeks and then move forward with signing new peace deals with Arab states.

 

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Arab World

Al-Alimi Orders Closure of Illegal Prisons in Southern Yemen

The Port of Aden during sunset, in Aden, Yemen, October 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The Port of Aden during sunset, in Aden, Yemen, October 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Al-Alimi Orders Closure of Illegal Prisons in Southern Yemen

The Port of Aden during sunset, in Aden, Yemen, October 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The Port of Aden during sunset, in Aden, Yemen, October 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi ordered on Monday the closure of all illegal prisons and detention centers in southern Yemen.

The prisons are located in the governorates of Aden, Lahj and Dhaleh.

Al-Alimi met in the Saudi capital Riyadh with Tobias Tunkel, Germany’s Commissioner for the Middle East, Near East and North Africa, and German Ambassador to Yemen, Thomas Schneider, the state news agency Saba reported.

Al-Alimi ordered the immediate release of detainees who have been illegally imprisoned. He tasked the security and military agencies to coordinate with the Defense Ministry public prosecution to carry out the order.

He made the order amid accusations by rights groups that forces aligned with the dissolved Southern Transitional Council had run illegal jails.

Al-Alimi warned against supporting these illegal armed groups, saying backing them does not help in the fight against terrorism.

Security chaos and legitimizing weapons outside state control are the greatest threat to the security of Yemen, the region and international waterways, he cautioned.

Al-Alimi and the German delegation discussed the latest developments in Yemen in wake of the handover of military camps to the legitimate forces and the withdrawal of the STC.

He said the move will help consolidate internal stability and pave the way for normal work to resume at state institutions, the flow of aid and restore the international community's trust.

Arab World

Sudan Paramilitary Strike on Southeastern City Kills 27

RSF fighters. (AFP file photo)
RSF fighters. (AFP file photo)
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Sudan Paramilitary Strike on Southeastern City Kills 27

RSF fighters. (AFP file photo)
RSF fighters. (AFP file photo)

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces launched drones at an army base in the southeastern city of Sinja on Monday, killing 27 people, military and health sources told AFP.

Sinja, the capital of Sennar state, lies around 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of the capital Khartoum, along a strategic road connecting the national capital to the army-controlled east.

The strike comes a day after the army-aligned government announced its return to Khartoum after close to three years operating from its wartime base in the eastern city of Port Sudan.

Since April 2023, the war between the army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 11 million internally and across borders, and created the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.

Sinjah had largely been spared the fighting since the army recaptured the area in late 2024 as part of a wider offensive that saw it later retake Khartoum.

The military source, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to brief the media, said RSF drones "targeted the headquarters of the army's 17th Infantry Division" in Sinja.

Ibrahim al-Awad, the Sennar state health minister, said that the attack carried out by the RSF also wounded 73 people.

A security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the attack targeted the army headquarters "during a meeting attended by military, security and government officials" from several eastern and central states.

One resident of Sinja told AFP that they "heard explosions and anti-aircraft fire".

The Sennar region had last been targeted by drones in October.

- Fragile return -

In the year following its recapture, more than 200,000 people returned to Sennar state, according to the United Nations' migration agency.

But the agency has warned many such returns across the country remain "fragile", often taking place in areas with damaged infrastructure and ongoing insecurity.

Along with the government, millions of civilians had fled Khartoum early in the war when RSF fighters quickly overran it.

Since the army regained control last year, around 1.2 million have gradually returned, according to the latest UN figures.

Reconstruction efforts are underway, but the RSF, which with its allies now rules around a third of the country, sporadically launches long-range drones deep into army-controlled territory, particularly targeting infrastructure.

The army and its government control Sudan's north, east and center.

The RSF now dominates the vast western region of Darfur and has pushed through the southern region of Kordofan, aiming to capture cities that would bring it closer to Khartoum.

With multiple cities under paramilitary siege, hundreds of thousands face mass starvation in Kordofan.

The UN has called the conflict a "war of atrocities", with both sides accused of targeting civilians.

Arab World

Drone Strike Kills 3 in Gaza as Hamas Prepares to Transfer Governance to New Committee

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across an area in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across an area in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP)
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Drone Strike Kills 3 in Gaza as Hamas Prepares to Transfer Governance to New Committee

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across an area in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across an area in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP)

An Israeli drone strike on Monday killed three Palestinians who had crossed the ceasefire line near central Gaza’s Morag corridor, hospital officials said.

Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about the strike, which came as Gaza awaits an expected announcement this week of a “Board of Peace” to oversee its governance.

Hamas said it will dissolve its existing government once the new committee takes over the territory, as mandated under the US-brokered peace plan.

The Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 440 people have been killed since Israel and Hamas agreed last October to suspend their two-year war. Since then each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire, which remains in its initial stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final Israeli hostage in Gaza.

Israel’s military controls a buffer zone that covers more than half of Gaza, while the Hamas-run government retains authority over the rest.

Throughout the war, Israel has supported anti-Hamas groups, including an armed group in southern Gaza that claimed responsibility on Monday for the killing of a senior Hamas police officer in Khan Younis.

Lt. Col. Mahmoud al-Astal was gunned down in the Muwasi area, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem, in a post on Telegram on Sunday, called for a speeding up of the establishment of the Palestinian technocratic committee set to govern Gaza.

Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority have not announced the names of who will sit on the committee and it remains unclear if they will be cleared by Israel and the US.

Officials say that Trump will announce his appointments to the Board of Peace in the coming days.

Under Trump’s plan, the board would supervise the new Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli troops and reconstruction. The US has reported little progress on any of these fronts so far.

According to Turkish officials, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan participated on Monday in a video conference with the US and others meeting to discuss “preparations for the second stage” of the ceasefire agreement. The talks, held as a continuation of the meeting in Miami at the end of December, also included officials from Egypt and Qatar.

Dozens of Palestinians, including medical workers, held a protest in Gaza City on Monday to demand the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners still being held in Israeli prisons. The protest was organized by the Palestinian Prisoners Committee outside the building of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City.

Meanwhile, groups that advocate for Palestinian prisoners said that Israeli authorities have confirmed the death of a detainee from Gaza.

In a statement Sunday, the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said that Hamza Abdullah Abdelhadi Adwan died in prison on Sept. 9, based on information the family received from the Israeli military.

Adwan, 67, a father of nine with serious health problems, had been detained at a checkpoint on Nov. 12, 2024. Two of his children were killed in the Gaza war.

Since the start of the war, 87 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli prisons — including 51 from Gaza — according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission. They said that more than 100 detainees — some not yet identified — had died of torture, starvation, medical neglect, and abuse.