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Arab League Resumes Activities In Damascus, Mauritanian Ambassador Begins Duties

A beekeeper showcasing his honey production at a festival in Damascus last month (EPA)
A beekeeper showcasing his honey production at a festival in Damascus last month (EPA)
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Arab League Resumes Activities In Damascus, Mauritanian Ambassador Begins Duties

A beekeeper showcasing his honey production at a festival in Damascus last month (EPA)
A beekeeper showcasing his honey production at a festival in Damascus last month (EPA)

The Arab League resumed some of its activities in Damascus for the first time since Nov. 2011, when Arab foreign ministers decided to suspend Syria’s membership in the Arab organization.

On Sunday, the Arab Union for Productive Families and Traditional and Developed Industries launched its regional office in Damascus, during a ceremony held at the Opera House, under the auspices of the Syrian Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

The Union is affiliated with the Council of Arab Economic Unity, and aims to promote social and solidarity economy, assist productive families and workers in small occupations and crafts, in addition to traditional industries. The Union also works to help the unemployed, empower them socially and economically and improve their living standard.

During a meeting in Cairo in Nov. 11, the Arab foreign ministers decided to suspend Syria’s participation in the Arab League Council and all affiliated organizations and agencies until it fully implements its pledges and provides protection for Syrian civilians. The decision was followed by the closure of Arab embassies in Damascus or the reduction of their diplomatic representation.

However, sources in Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that the activities of some of the organizations and agencies affiliated to the Arab League in Damascus have not stopped over the past years, such as the Radio and TV Training Center, the Arab Academy for E-Business and others.

As the Syrian regime regained control of the capital and most of the Syrian territory in 2018, with the support of Russia, the country resumed its efforts, through delegations and informal contacts, to return to the Arab League.

During a press conference in Moscow with Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in mid-January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed that his country and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed on several points related to Syria, including “its return to the Arab family (the League of Arab States).”

In this context, a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Damascus said that Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Meqdad received, on Sunday, the credentials of Ahmed Adi Muhammad Al-Razi, the new ambassador of Mauritania in Damascus.

The Mauritanian embassy is the third Arab country to resume its diplomatic work in Damascus, following the UAE and Bahrain, which re-opened their embassies there in 2018 without appointing an ambassador.

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Arab World

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights
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Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Speaker of the Arab Parliament Mohamed Alyammahi welcomed the UN General Assembly’s decision to renew the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for another three years, saying the vote reflects broad international support for Palestinian rights and a clear rejection of efforts to undermine their cause.

Alyammahi stressed that the mandate’s renewal is particularly critical amid the continued aggression and blockade facing Palestinians, ensuring the agency can maintain its essential services. He noted the strong backing for related resolutions calling for an end to the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The speaker urged leveraging this growing international consensus to halt the assault on Gaza, facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, intensify legal and diplomatic action against the occupation, and advance a credible political process that can help ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Arab World

Israeli Soldiers Kill 55-Year-Old Palestinian and Teenager in West Bank

28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. (dpa)
28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. (dpa)
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Israeli Soldiers Kill 55-Year-Old Palestinian and Teenager in West Bank

28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. (dpa)
28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. (dpa)

Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian teenager who was driving a car towards them as well as a Palestinian bystander in the West Bank on Saturday, according to an Israeli security official.

The military said that an "uninvolved person" was hit in addition to the driver of the car who had "accelerated" towards soldiers at a checkpoint in West Bank city of Hebron.

In an earlier statement, the military said two "terrorists" were killed, before later clarifying that only one person was involved.

An Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a 17-year-old was driving the car and a 55-year-old was the bystander.

Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported that 55-year-old Ziad Naim Abu Dawood, a municipal street cleaner, was killed while working. It said another Palestinian was killed but did not report the circumstances that led the soldiers to open fire.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the second Palestinian as 17-year-old Ahmed Khalil Al-Rajabi.

The military did not report any injuries to the soldiers.

The motive for the 17-year-old's actions was not immediately clear, and no armed group claimed responsibility.

Since January, 51 Palestinian minors, aged under 18, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Violence has surged this year in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians have risen sharply, while the military has tightened movement restrictions and carried out sweeping raids in several cities.

Palestinians have also carried out attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians, some of them deadly.

Arab World

Reconstruction Delays in South Lebanon Fuel Anger against the State, Hezbollah

Lebanese soldiers stand in front of a building targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the village of Deir Kifa in south Lebanon last month. (AFP file)
Lebanese soldiers stand in front of a building targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the village of Deir Kifa in south Lebanon last month. (AFP file)
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Reconstruction Delays in South Lebanon Fuel Anger against the State, Hezbollah

Lebanese soldiers stand in front of a building targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the village of Deir Kifa in south Lebanon last month. (AFP file)
Lebanese soldiers stand in front of a building targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the village of Deir Kifa in south Lebanon last month. (AFP file)

Mounting protests across frontline villages in south Lebanon are exposing deep frustration over stalled reconstruction efforts and long-delayed compensation for war damage, delays that have pushed many families to abandon their homes and rebuild their lives elsewhere.

In Taybeh, a resident recently blocked the road outside his damaged house, which had been struck by an Israeli raid. Earlier, villagers in Deir Siryan blocked a main road and burned tires to protest the lack of compensation for destroyed vehicles. In Houla, a local man appeared in a video claiming losses exceeding six million dollars and demanding equal treatment for border communities compared with other regions that previously received compensation.

These demonstrations come more than two years after border residents were first displaced by recurring Israeli strikes during its conflict with Hezbollah that turned into a full blown war in October 2024. Many residents continue to live away from their homes, with no clear timetable for reconstruction support.

The almost daily Israeli bombardments since a November 2024 ceasefire have increased the scale of destruction, intensifying the sense of abandonment.

For many villagers, the central question is not which authority - Hezbollah or the Lebanese state - should assume responsibility. Instead, they want whichever side can deliver funds that would allow them to rebuild shattered neighborhoods. Their protests increasingly target both the government and Hezbollah, which has a strong presence in the South.

Tarek Mazraani, coordinator of the Coalition of Southern Border Villages, said these “relatively modest” protests will continue as residents seek to make their voices heard.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that demands are directed at the state and political parties alike: “People don’t care who pays. What matters is that compensation arrives.”

While the state remains largely absent from reconstruction efforts, Mazraani noted slight improvements in services such as electricity and water.

He added that protesters are also calling for urgent support for displaced families. Many have lost businesses, savings, and all sources of income, leaving them unable to cover rent, medical expenses, or basic living costs in their temporary housing.

Although residents recognize that reconstruction funding may be difficult to secure under current conditions, Mazraani said they still expect the government and influential parties to help ease their burden.

Since the coalition’s founding six months ago, he said, its advocacy has had an impact, “but we have yet to see any concrete decisions on the ground.”

Last month, the Development and Liberation Bloc of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, hosted a coordination meeting in Msayleh village to outline a reconstruction strategy with government and civil society representatives.

Yet southerners still await parliamentary approval of a $250 million World Bank loan to rebuild damaged infrastructure. The relevant legislation stalled because several political blocs are boycotting parliamentary sessions over electoral law disputes.

Political analyst Ali Al-Amin said the growing protests are an unsurprising reaction from communities that feel “virtually abandoned.”

He argued that residents blame Hezbollah for policies they believe have closed off political options for a national solution, noting that reconstruction cannot proceed without addressing the issue of weapons outside state control.

Israel’s continued strikes, alongside talk of imposing a buffer zone in the South under direct or indirect Israeli oversight, further obstruct recovery.

Under such conditions, “reconstruction is simply not possible now,” added Al-Amin.