Tunisia Summit: US Move on Golan Discussed in Syria’s Absence

Security forces stand guard outside the conference center where Arab leaders will hold the 30th Arab League Summit which opens Sunday, in Tunis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Security forces stand guard outside the conference center where Arab leaders will hold the 30th Arab League Summit which opens Sunday, in Tunis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
TT
20

Tunisia Summit: US Move on Golan Discussed in Syria’s Absence

Security forces stand guard outside the conference center where Arab leaders will hold the 30th Arab League Summit which opens Sunday, in Tunis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Security forces stand guard outside the conference center where Arab leaders will hold the 30th Arab League Summit which opens Sunday, in Tunis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The 30th Arab League Summit in Tunisia will focus on consolidating unity and avoiding disputing among Arab states, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.

The sources asserted that the Palestinian cause, fostering of the Arab Peace Initiative and defending the identity of Jerusalem would top the agenda of the summit that is scheduled to be held in the Tunisian capital on Sunday.

The summit would also highlight the Syrian war, the situation in Libya, Yemen and Sudan, in addition to needed consensus on Turkey’s violation of Iraqi sovereignty and Iranian interference in Arab affairs.

According to the same sources, the summit would also discuss settling 75 percent of Iraq’s debt and another clause on Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people in Arab states.

The recent US decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty on the Golan Heights was highly present during Friday’s preparatory meetings of Arab foreign ministers.

The US move came as Syria, whose Arab League membership was suspended at the start of its eight-year civil war, remains absent from the summit.

At the meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Friday, the Tunisian and Saudi FMs respectively Khemaies Jhinaoui and Ibrahim al-Assaf condemned the US decision on the Golan.

Assaf said the Kingdom is working to unify the position of the Syrian opposition before sitting at the negotiating table with the regime, to reach a political solution that guarantees security and stability, in the war-torn country.

He also slammed the Iranian threat as the main challenge facing Arabs, calling for action to confront Tehran.

"One of the most dangerous forms of terrorism and extremism is what Iran practises through its blatant interference in Arab affairs, and its militias ... the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, which requires cooperation from us to confront it," he said.

For his part, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that Arab foreign ministers decided to task the General Secretariat with preparing a plan that deals with the US decision.



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)
TT
20

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.