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Friedman’s Talk About 'Next Leader' Sparks Palestinian Anger

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman - Reuters
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman - Reuters
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Friedman’s Talk About 'Next Leader' Sparks Palestinian Anger

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman - Reuters
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman - Reuters

The Palestinian presidency rejected what it described as the US “policy of threat, pressure and intimidation” against Palestinian President, in response to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who said that the US administration might consider Mohammad Dahlan, who was dismissed from Fatah Movement, as a future leader for the Palestinians.

“The policy of threats, constant pressure, and attempts to intimidate President Mahmoud Abbas and the leadership will be doomed to failure,” Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeina said on Thursday.

“Only our Palestinian people can choose their leader according to the democratic foundations laid by the Palestine Liberation Organization,” he added.

Friedman’s comments, quoted by Israel Hayom, sparked anger and controversy, which forced the Israeli daily to edit the ambassador’s statements.

The ambassador reportedly said that the US administration was thinking about Dahlan becoming the leader of the Palestinians. But the newspaper later revised the article, quoting Friedman as replying to a question on Dahlan: “We’re not thinking about it,” we have no desire to engineer the Palestinian leadership.

Member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Ahmed Majdalani, warned of US efforts to harm Abbas, similar to what happened with the late leader Yasser Arafat, in order to pass the so-called deal of the century.

“The coming stage will witness more US punitive measures against the Palestinian leadership,” Majdalani told Voice of Palestine radio station.

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said for his part: “The statements of the US ambassador about the desire to appoint Mohammad Dahlan as head of the Authority represent an unacceptable interference in internal affairs, and there will be no Palestinian president except through the Palestinian will.”

In response, Dahlan said on his Facebook page: “I have all faith that Palestine is in dire need of renewing the legitimacy of all Palestinian leaderships and institutions. This will only be achieved through comprehensive and transparent national elections.”

“I hope no one will fall into the trap of such carefully engineered tactics,” he continued. “Let us work together to restore our national unity and agree on our national constants and the means to achieve them.”

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Arab World

Iraq in Talks with Iran to Safeguard Oil Tanker Traffic Through Hormuz

Vehicles enter and exit an underpass road during rainfall in Baghdad on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Vehicles enter and exit an underpass road during rainfall in Baghdad on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Iraq in Talks with Iran to Safeguard Oil Tanker Traffic Through Hormuz

Vehicles enter and exit an underpass road during rainfall in Baghdad on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Vehicles enter and exit an underpass road during rainfall in Baghdad on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

Iraq's oil minister said Baghdad is talking to Iran about allowing some of the country's oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the state news agency reported on Tuesday, as Iraq seeks to ease disruptions to crude exports following recent attacks on tankers in its own waters.

Iraq is also working to restore a disused pipeline that would allow oil to be pumped directly ‌to Türkiye's ‌Ceyhan port without passing through the ‌Kurdistan ⁠region, Oil Minister ⁠Hayan Abdel-Ghani said in a video statement released on Monday.

Iraq will complete an inspection of a 100-km (62-mile) section of the pipeline within a week to enable direct exports from Kirkuk, he added.

The reopening of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which has been shut for ⁠more than a decade, would offer ‌an alternative export route ‌at a time when shipping through the strategic Strait ‌of Hormuz is severely disrupted by the conflict ‌in the Middle East.

Exports via the 960-km pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global supply, were halted in 2014 after repeated attacks by ISIS militants.

The ‌oil ministry has said exports via the route could initially reach around 250,000 ⁠barrels ⁠per day, rising to about 450,000 bpd of crude from fields in the Kurdistan region is included.

Baghdad has sought to use the Kurdistan pipeline as a temporary route for crude flows but said the Kurdistan Regional Government had set arbitrary conditions for its use, warning it may take legal action if exports are blocked.

Kurdish authorities have rejected the accusations, saying they are not obstructing exports and that Baghdad has failed to address security and economic challenges facing the region’s oil sector.

Arab World

‘Unprecedented’ 36,000 Palestinians Displaced in West Bank in One Year, Says UN

Palestinians men walk with children on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in a market in the West Bank city of Jenin, 13 March 2026. (EPA)
Palestinians men walk with children on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in a market in the West Bank city of Jenin, 13 March 2026. (EPA)
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‘Unprecedented’ 36,000 Palestinians Displaced in West Bank in One Year, Says UN

Palestinians men walk with children on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in a market in the West Bank city of Jenin, 13 March 2026. (EPA)
Palestinians men walk with children on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in a market in the West Bank city of Jenin, 13 March 2026. (EPA)

The UN on Tuesday urged Israel to immediately halt its dramatic settlement expansion in the West Bank, raising concerns of "ethnic cleansing" with over 36,000 Palestinians displaced in a single year.

A fresh report from the United Nations rights office, looking at the 12 months up to October 31, 2025, warned that Israel's accelerating expansion of unlawful settlements and annexation of large parts of the West Bank was driving "unprecedented" displacement.

"The displacement of more than 36,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank represented the mass expulsion of Palestinians on a scale previously unseen, amounting to unlawful transfer that is prohibited under international humanitarian law," the report said.

Alongside "the extensive displacement of Palestinians in Gaza", it "appears to indicate a concerted Israeli policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the occupied territory, aimed at permanent displacement, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing".

The report pointed to the advancement or approval by Israeli authorities of 36,973 housing units in settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and around 27,200 in the rest of the West Bank.

Also during the 12-month-period, "an unprecedented 84 settlement outposts were established across the occupied West Bank, bringing the total number to more than 300", the report said.

In addition to roughly three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

There has also been a spike in deadly attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Iran war, Palestinian authorities and the United Nations have said, with at least six Palestinians killed since the start of March.

- 'War crime' -

According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,045 Palestinians -- many of them gunmen, but also scores of civilians -- in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.

Official Israeli figures say that 45 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.

In Tuesday's report, the UN rights office said it had documented 1,732 incidents of settler violence resulting in casualties or property damage over the course of the reporting period.

That compares to 1,400 during the previous 12-month period, it said.

"Settler violence continued in a coordinated, strategic and largely unchallenged manner, with Israeli authorities playing the central role," the report said.

UN rights chief Volker Turk called on Israel to "immediately and completely cease and reverse the establishment and expansion of settlements".

In a statement, he also urged "the evacuation (of) all settlers, and an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territory".

And he insisted that Israel "must also enable the return of displaced Palestinians, and stop all practices of land confiscation, forced evictions and house demolitions".

The report also decried that advancing settlement plans were heightening the risk of displacement faced by thousands of Palestinians from Bedouin communities located northeast of East Jerusalem.

"Unlawful transfer of protected persons constitutes a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, constituting a war crime," it stressed.

"Under certain circumstances, it may also amount to a crime against humanity."

Arab World

Nowruz to Be Celebrated in Damascus for First Time in Syria’s Modern History

People celebrate Nowruz in central Damascus in 2025. (Facebook)
People celebrate Nowruz in central Damascus in 2025. (Facebook)
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Nowruz to Be Celebrated in Damascus for First Time in Syria’s Modern History

People celebrate Nowruz in central Damascus in 2025. (Facebook)
People celebrate Nowruz in central Damascus in 2025. (Facebook)

Syria’s capital is witnessing an unprecedented cultural development as preparations got underway for official and popular celebrations of Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, marking the arrival of spring on March 21.

For the first time in modern Syrian history, festivities will take place openly in Damascus, reflecting growing recognition of the Kurdish identity and culture.

The celebrations follow a decree issued two months ago by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with expectations of broad participation from across society. Events are set to begin Friday night and continue through Saturday.

A Nowruz concert will be held in Umayyad Square - one of Damascus’s most prominent landmarks. The Ministry of Culture has invited audiences to a performance by the Kurdish heritage group Ashti at the Damascus Opera House, while a major celebration is planned at Al-Fayhaa Stadium in the Mazzeh area. Additional festivities are expected in Kurdish-populated neighborhoods such as Rukn al-Din and Wadi al-Mashari.

Nowruz symbolizes freedom, renewal and Kurdish national identity. Traditions include lighting bonfires, performing folk dances and wearing traditional dress.

Kurdish political analyst Zaid Safouk said the occasion would resonate both domestically and regionally. “For the first time in the history of the Syrian Republic, there is official recognition of a Kurdish holiday,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat, describing the celebration as “a message of hope that peace remains the only path for societies.”

For decades under Baath Party rule and later under Bashar al-Assad, Nowruz celebrations were banned, along with public expressions of Kurdish identity. Authorities often viewed such activities as separatist threats.

That has now changed. Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Damascus saw its first unrestricted Nowruz celebration in March 2025.

In January 2026, al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 13, granting broader rights to Kurdish citizens. The decree recognizes Nowruz as a national holiday, restores citizenship to previously stateless Kurds, and designates Kurdish as a national language.

Kurdish writer and political researcher Mohammed Wali described the decree as a break from decades of marginalization.

“Syrian Kurds view these steps with great positivity and have welcomed it,” he said, noting that official recognition of their language and culture represents a major milestone.

He added that acknowledging Kurdish rights within a national framework could help build “a future based on legal recognition and pluralism,” while strengthening trust among Syrians during a sensitive transitional period.

The presidency has also included Nowruz for the first time in the official holiday calendar, alongside Revolution Day, Eid al-Fitr and Mother’s Day, with public institutions closed from March 18 to 23.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said the move reflects “deep respect for all components of the Syrian population,” stressing that a free Syria must embrace its diverse cultures and heritage.

Damascus also hosted a rare public condolence ceremony for Kurdish politician Salih Muslim, a senior figure in the Democratic Union Party (PYD), who died on March 11. His funeral in Kobani drew Kurdish leaders and political representatives from across the region.