Saudi Arabia's KSrelief, UNHCR Sign Agreement to Boost Protection, Healthcare Services in Yemen

Officials at the virtual meeting between KSrelief and UNHCR. (UNHCR Office in Riyadh)
Officials at the virtual meeting between KSrelief and UNHCR. (UNHCR Office in Riyadh)
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Saudi Arabia's KSrelief, UNHCR Sign Agreement to Boost Protection, Healthcare Services in Yemen

Officials at the virtual meeting between KSrelief and UNHCR. (UNHCR Office in Riyadh)
Officials at the virtual meeting between KSrelief and UNHCR. (UNHCR Office in Riyadh)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed a $3.1 million agreement to strengthen protection and healthcare services for forcibly displaced people in Yemen.

The agreement will provide nearly 45,000 people with access to essential services, including civil documentation, legal aid, voluntary refugee return support, and primary healthcare, helping vulnerable families maintain stability and dignity amid Yemen’s deepening humanitarian crisis.

Under the agreement, UNHCR and its partners will support thousands of internally displaced people and refugees in obtaining identity and civil registration documents, enabling them to regain access to basic rights, protection mechanisms, and public services. The initiative will also offer legal assistance to address displacement-related challenges, including eviction threats, housing and property disputes, and personal status issues.

The effort is particularly critical as many displaced families lost identification documents while fleeing conflict, preventing them from enrolling children in school, accessing public services, or securing livelihoods.

The agreement will also support Somali refugees seeking voluntary return to Somalia through counseling services, documentation assistance, and safe sea and air transportation, helping reduce reliance on dangerous irregular migration routes.

Funding will further support services at three healthcare centers in Sana’a, Aden, and Kharaz Refugee Camp in the Lahij governorate, providing medical consultations and essential medicines to refugees and vulnerable host communities.

The agreement was signed during a virtual meeting between Eng. Ahmed bin Ali Al-Baiz, Assistant Supervisor General for Operations and Programs at KSrelief, and Dr. Khaled Khalifa, Senior Advisor to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and UNHCR Representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Al-Baiz reaffirmed KSrelief’s commitment to continuing its strategic partnership with UNHCR to strengthen protection services and expand access to essential assistance for displaced families, refugees, and host communities in Yemen.

He said the project reflects Saudi Arabia’s broader humanitarian efforts to alleviate suffering and build sustainable resilience among vulnerable populations.

Khalifa described the agreement as evidence of the deep strategic humanitarian partnership between UNHCR and Saudi Arabia, represented by KSrelief.

The contribution would help thousands of vulnerable people gain access to protection services, healthcare, and legal assistance, enabling them to live with greater dignity and security, he added.

Armen Yedigarian, Acting UNHCR Representative in Yemen, stressed that the support from KSrelief demonstrates a strong commitment to protecting Yemen’s most vulnerable communities and helping displaced families rebuild their lives with dignity.



Saudi Arabia, Arab and Muslim Countries Condemn Israeli E1 Settlement Plan

Israeli settlers move into the former Israeli settlement of Kadim near the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 August 2026. (EPA)
Israeli settlers move into the former Israeli settlement of Kadim near the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 August 2026. (EPA)
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Saudi Arabia, Arab and Muslim Countries Condemn Israeli E1 Settlement Plan

Israeli settlers move into the former Israeli settlement of Kadim near the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 August 2026. (EPA)
Israeli settlers move into the former Israeli settlement of Kadim near the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 August 2026. (EPA)

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Qatar, and Egypt condemned on Friday “Israel’s continued illegal settlement policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, categorically rejecting the E1 settlement plan and related settlement activities east of occupied East Jerusalem.”

In a statement, they further reiterated their condemnation “of the violations and acts of violence perpetrated by settlers, with the support of the Israeli occupying authorities, against the Palestinian people and their property.”

They stressed that such acts “in no way diminish the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and constitute violations of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, while posing a serious threat to regional and international peace and security.”

The ministers warned that the E1 settlement plan “constitutes a dangerous escalation that further advances settlement expansion and annexation and undermines the geographical contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, thereby threatening the viability and realization of an independent, contiguous Palestinian State based on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Such actions “are a direct challenge to international efforts aimed at achieving peace,” foremost among them US President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan, “including its unequivocal rejection of annexation and forced displacement, and the mechanisms envisaged for its implementation through the Board of Peace.”

It is also a violation Trump’s “firm commitment to not allow annexation of the West Bank, with a view to achieving stability and bringing the conflict to an end.”

The ministers reaffirmed that the two-state solution, in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, “remains the only viable path towards a just, comprehensive and lasting peace.”

They warned that “actions aimed at undermining this solution risk further escalating tensions, threatening regional and international peace and security, and jeopardizing prospects for lasting peace and stability in the region.”

The ministers expressed their support for “all efforts aimed at ensuring accountability, including through appropriate international measures and sanctions against entities and individuals responsible for illegal settlement activities, including the E1 settlement plan, as well as those supporting, facilitating or implementing policies of settlement expansion and annexation.”

They called for an end to “any support or financing that contributes to the establishment, expansion or entrenchment of illegal settlements.”

They stressed that “the lack of accountability contributes to the continuation of violations and further undermines prospects for a just and comprehensive peace.”

The ministers called for “immediate action” to halt the E1 settlement plan, rescind all measures taken in connection with it, and cease all settlement activities and other measures “aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

They called on the UN Security Council, all states and relevant international actors “to uphold their responsibilities under international law and take urgent and effective measures to halt illegal settlement expansion, and to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people, safeguard their inalienable rights, including their right to self-determination, and realize their independent state, in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions."


Saudi Crown Prince Heads to France on Official Visit

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
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Saudi Crown Prince Heads to France on Official Visit

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, traveled to France on Friday on an official visit.

In a statement, the Royal Court said the visit is taking place upon the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and in response to an invitation extended by French President Emmanuel Macron.


Saudi Arabia Condemns Bombing Near Educational Center in Kabul

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Condemns Bombing Near Educational Center in Kabul

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom’s condemnation and denunciation of the bombing near an educational center in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which left dozens injured, SPA reported on Friday.

In a statement, the ministry reiterated the Kingdom's absolute rejection of all forms of violence, extremism, and terrorism, expressing solidarity with the Afghan government and people.

The ministry extended Saudi Arabia's wishes for a swift recovery to the injured and for lasting security, peace, and stability across Afghanistan.