Abul Gheit: Palestinian Cause Remaining Unsolved Has Led to Regional Instability

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit | Photo: Reuters
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit | Photo: Reuters
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Abul Gheit: Palestinian Cause Remaining Unsolved Has Led to Regional Instability

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit | Photo: Reuters
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit | Photo: Reuters

Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit has underpinned that as long as the Palestinian cause remains unsolved, instability will remain in the Middle East and the Arab region.

The continuity of the Israeli occupation to the Palestinian lands has led to mounting rage among Arabs, impacting the stability, security, economic growth, and joint action, he added.

Abul Gheit continued that the Arab region needs economic and social reforms to fulfill the ambitions of the youth, who represent more than 60 percent of the population.

A source from the AL said that these statements were made on the sidelines of the two-day conference 'Roma MED – Dialoghi mediterranei' (Mediterranean Dialogues) on Friday.

The conference, hosted by Rome annually, is seen as a key platform to discuss the region’s issues and possible ways to tackle them. A number of leaders and foreign ministers take part in the conference.

Abul Gheit was keen during his intervention to shed light on the huge movements in the Arab world, especially in Iraq and Lebanon, the source added, saying that they represent the people’s rejection of failure in fulfilling economic aspirations and their refusal to regional intervention from non-Arab parties.

The Secretary-General affirmed that the region suffered from strategic void for several reasons including the inconstancy of the US administration and the rising international rivalries, which encouraged terrorist groups and regional parties to seek to fill this void.

The only project that deserves support, he continued, is that of "a national state that rejects sectarianism and terrorism and is based on good governance."



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.