Syria’s War Has Cost $327 Billion

 Aleppo, June, 2016. (AFP / Karam Al-masri)
Aleppo, June, 2016. (AFP / Karam Al-masri)
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Syria’s War Has Cost $327 Billion

 Aleppo, June, 2016. (AFP / Karam Al-masri)
Aleppo, June, 2016. (AFP / Karam Al-masri)

Moscow is in a hurry to discuss the file of Syria’s reconstruction as western and regional powers link their involvement in the reconstruction process to “finding a genius political solution” to the war-torn country.

According to the National Agenda for the Future of Syria (NAFS) initiated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) and which is run by Syrian and international experts, the cost of the Syrian war has reached $327.5 billion including $227 billion lost on unemployment and $100 billion on ruin.

According to NAFS, the level of destruction reached 30 percent in the residential sector, while it was near 18 percent in the industrial sector, 9 percent in the electricity and water sectors and 7 percent in the agricultural sector.

Those numbers do not involve the level of destruction in the two cities of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa.

Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister sent a letter to UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura to encourage him on launching “the humanitarian reconstruction” in Syria.

The file of rebuilding Syria was also brought up by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit to Oman.

Observers expect that the issue of Syria’s reconstruction will be tackled during the meetings of the UN General Assembly in New York.

On the other hand, several western countries were still linking their contribution in the reconstruction process to achieving “a genius political solution” based on UNSC Resolution 2254.

Gareth Bayley, Britain's special representative for Syria wrote on his twitter account on Wednesday that the “EU reconstruction aid to Syria will be achieved only when a genuine, comprehensive, and inclusive transition is firmly under way, and not before.”

For its part, Iran seeks to preserve its share in the reconstruction of Syria after signing with Damascus an agreement to repair parts of the country's power grid.

According to SANA, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday during a visit by the regime’s electricity minister to Tehran, including building a power plant in the coastal province of Latakia with a capacity of 540 megawatts.



Israeli Settlers Accused of Killing 117 Sheep in West Bank Attack

Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
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Israeli Settlers Accused of Killing 117 Sheep in West Bank Attack

Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta

Palestinian Bedouins accused Israeli settlers on Friday of killing 117 sheep in an overnight attack and stealing hundreds of others in an apparent effort to chase farmers off their land in the occupied West Bank.

The incident comes amid what the United Nations described this week as intensifying attacks by Jewish settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the West Bank and record mass displacements, according to Reuters.

The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment about the mass slaughter of the animals belonging to the Arab al-Kaabaneh Bedouin community, in the Jordan Valley.

Veterinarians were called in to treat a handful of sheep which had survived the knife and gun attack, some of the animals shaking uncontrollably and in apparent shock.

Salem Salman Mujahed, a resident of Arab al-Kaabaneh, said multiple groups of settlers working in coordination had orchestrated the assault, and accused the army of standing by.

"(Settlers) came near the houses. I asked them what are you doing here then we started fighting with each other," he said. "The army detained me, and they handcuffed me."

He said other groups of settlers then attacked the sheep, which are vital to his community's survival.

Palestinian Minister Moayad Shaaban condemned the incident, calling it part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians from the region.

"These sheep and animals were slaughtered and shot at," he told Reuters. "They are using these tools to terrify these people to leave these areas, which have been inhabited for dozens of years."

MOVING AWAY

The attack prompted at least one family to begin relocating.

Bedouin Tareq Kaabaneh said he could no longer withstand what he called settler intimidation.

"They were armed, they steal donkeys and sheep. In the night they come here and start shooting toward us," Kaabaneh said.

"I am moving now from here, I want to protect my kids and my sheep, my livelihood ... yesterday I was safe, but I don't know what will happen to me tomorrow," he added.

The United Nations reported this week that mass displacements in the West Bank had reached levels unprecedented since Israel first took military control of the territory nearly six decades ago.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva also said there had been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties since January - a 13% increase from the same period last year.

At least 964 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Over the same period, 53 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or in armed clashes.

The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demanded this week a full investigation into the killing of a Palestinian American who was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank on July 11, describing it as a "criminal and terrorist act".

The United Nations' highest court said last year that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, was illegal and should end as soon as possible.

Israel disputes this, citing security needs as well as historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories Palestinians seek for an independent state.