Sudan’s Bashir Secretly Visits Damascus to Revive Ties

Sudan’s Bashir Secretly Visits Damascus to Revive Ties
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Sudan’s Bashir Secretly Visits Damascus to Revive Ties

Sudan’s Bashir Secretly Visits Damascus to Revive Ties

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir made a surprise visit to Damascus on Sunday and met with Syria Regime President Bashar al-Assad, in a sign of revival of bilateral relations since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011.

Assad received the Sudanese president at Damascus airport - according to SANA, the official Syrian news agency - and accompanied him to the People’s Palace where discussions touched on “bilateral relations and developments in Syria and the region.”

The news agency noted that the two officials stressed that circumstances and crises in many Arab countries “necessitate new approaches to Arab action based on respect for the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs.”

“Developments in the region, especially in Arab countries, emphasize the need to invest all energies and efforts in order to serve Arab issues and confront schemes that target countries and peoples of the region,” SANA quoted the two officials as saying.

Bashir said he hoped Syria would recover its important role in the region as soon as possible. He also affirmed Sudan’s readiness to provide all that it could to support Syria’s territorial integrity.

Assad, for his part, thanked the Sudanese president for his visit, asserting that it would give strong momentum for restoring relations between the two countries “to the way it was before the war on Syria,” according to the Syrian news agency.

In Khartoum, State Minister in the Foreign Affairs Ministry Osama Faisal said in a brief statement at the airport upon Al-Bashir’s return from Damascus that the two presidents “agreed to find new approaches to Arab action based on respect for the sovereignty of States and non-interference in their internal affairs.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Sudanese presidential press sent an urgent call to journalists and correspondents to come to the airport and informed them that Bashir would return from a “secret” visit.



Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Christian leaders accused Israeli settlers on Monday of attacking sacred sites in the West Bank, in violence that one said was forcing some to consider quitting the occupied territory.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III - visiting the Christian town of Taybeh with other Jerusalem-based clerics - said settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th century church there last week.

"These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community ... but also to the historic and religious heritage," the patriarch told diplomats and journalists at a press conference in Taybeh.

Settlers had also attacked homes in the area, he said.

"We call for an immediate and transparent investigation on why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished," he added.

Israel's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Israel's government had previously said that any acts of violence by civilians are unacceptable and that individuals should not take the law into their own hands.

During the visit, the heads of the churches led locals in prayer as candles flickered in the ruins of the 5th century church of St George. They spoke with residents who described their fears.

B'Tselem and other rights groups say settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023.

Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.

Palestinian health authorities and witnesses said two men, including a US citizen, were killed by settlers during a confrontation on Friday night.

Fears over violence were pushing Christians to leave the West Bank, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem since 2020, said.

"Unfortunately, the temptation to emigrate is there because of the situation," he added. "This time it's very difficult to see how and when this will finish, and especially for the youth to talk about hope, trust for the future."

Around 50,000 Christian Palestinians live in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, an area that includes many of the faith's most sacred sites including Bethlehem where believers say Jesus was born.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, which Palestinians see as part of a future state.