Opposition Conference in Syria Commits to Political Transition

A general view of Damascus in June 2105. (Getty Images)
A general view of Damascus in June 2105. (Getty Images)
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Opposition Conference in Syria Commits to Political Transition

A general view of Damascus in June 2105. (Getty Images)
A general view of Damascus in June 2105. (Getty Images)

Opposition forces within Syria, led by the National Coordination Committee, are seeking “diplomatic protection” from Damascus’ allies, especially Moscow and Tehran, to hold their expanded meeting on Saturday.

The conference is aimed at forming the “National Democratic Front” and will express its commitment to the “political transition” and implementation of the Geneva declaration and United Nations Security Council resolutions 2118 and 2254.

The committee is continuing its negotiations with the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) to complete the agreement on principles between them. The two parties had previously resolved disputes related to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Kurdish autonomous administration in the area east of the Euphrates River.

General Coordinator of the Coordination Committee, Hassan Abdulazim told Asharq Al-Awsat that invitations have been sent out to governments that enjoy diplomatic representation in Damascus, including Russia, Iran, China and Egypt, to attend the opening of the conference on Saturday.

Secretary-General of the Arab Democratic Socialist Union Party, Ahmed al-Asrawi said there were no guarantees that the conference will be held and that diplomatic presence at the meeting does not “protect it.” The party is a member of the National Coordination Committee.

A member of the party revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that a former member of the Coordination Committee, Abdulaziz al-Kheir had “disappeared” shorty after arriving in Damascus from an official visit to China.

Blocs and conferences
The National Coordination Committee was formed in June 2011. It is comprised of 11 parties and opposition forces inside Syria and beyond. It is aimed at introducing national democratic change in Syria and rejecting foreign meddling in the country. It also demands political transition in line with the 2012 Geneva declaration and resolutions 2118 and 2254.

In September 2012, the committee held a “national salvation conference” in Damascus. The event was attended by representatives and ambassadors of Russia, Iran and Egypt. It demanded “radical democratic change” in the country.

At some point, a rift emerged between the Arab Democratic Socialist Union Party and Coordination Committee. The party would then form alliances with the SDF, which is backed by the United States and had spearheaded battles against the ISIS terrorist group.

In late 2015, Riyadh hosted an expanded meeting for the opposition. It led to the formation of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC). It is formed of 36 members: eight members from the coalition, four from the Moscow platform, four from the Cairo platform, five from the Coordination Committee, seven from military factions, eight independent figures and a Kurdish member of the coalition.

Wider alliance
Abdulazim told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that Saturday’s conference will witness the participation of 11 members of the HNC and ten other bodies with the aim of achieving a “wider alliance of national forces that are committed to the political solution”. The solution would be based on the Geneva declaration and resolutions 2118 and 2254.

Asrawi said the idea of the conference was proposed some two years ago. It is “not a substitute” to the opposition or coalition, he told Asharq Al-Awsat. The coalition has come under criticism for growing “too close” to Turkey.

Abdulazim said the coalition, which is present outside Syria, has a reach within the country, while “we are on the inside and have a reach outside the country. We therefore, complement each other.”

Presidential elections
Abdulazim and Asrawi said the conference is not related to the upcoming presidential elections, which are set for the summer.

The elections have been a point of contention between Moscow and Tehran, which want to hold them according to the 2012 constitution, and between Washington and western countries, which refuse to recognize elections that are not held according to resolution 2254,

Abdulazim has called for a boycott of the elections, which he described as a farce. He underscored the opposition’s boycott and urging the people to reject them as well. He explained that the polls undermine attempts to reach a negotiated political solution in line with the UN resolutions and the Geneva declaration.

Asrawi, meanwhile, remarked that opposition forces inside Syria have not taken part in elections since 1973.



To Get Their Own Cash, People in Gaza Must Pay Middlemen a 40% Cut

A destroyed branch of the Bank of Palestine in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
A destroyed branch of the Bank of Palestine in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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To Get Their Own Cash, People in Gaza Must Pay Middlemen a 40% Cut

A destroyed branch of the Bank of Palestine in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
A destroyed branch of the Bank of Palestine in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Cash is the lifeblood of the Gaza Strip’s shattered economy, and like all other necessities in this war-torn territory — food, fuel, medicine — it is in extremely short supply.

With nearly every bank branch and ATM inoperable, people have become reliant on an unrestrained network of powerful cash brokers to get money for daily expenses and commissions on those transactions have soared to about 40%.

"The people are crying blood because of this," said Ayman al-Dahdouh, a school director living in Gaza City. "It’s suffocating us, starving us."

At a time of surging inflation, high unemployment and dwindling savings, the scarcity of cash has magnified the financial squeeze on families — some of whom have begun to sell their possessions to buy essential goods.

The cash that is available has even lost some of its luster. Palestinians use the Israeli currency, the shekel, for most transactions. Yet with Israel no longer resupplying the territory with newly printed bank notes, merchants are increasingly reluctant to accept frayed bills.

Gaza’s punishing cash crunch has several root causes, experts say.

To curtail Hamas’ ability to purchase weapons and pay its fighters, Israel stopped allowing cash to enter Gaza at the start of the war. Around the same time, many wealthy families in Gaza withdrew their money from banks and then fled the territory. And rising fears about Gaza’s financial system prompted foreign businesses selling goods into the territory to demand cash payments.

As Gaza’s money supply dwindled and civilians’ desperation mounted, cash brokers' commissions — around 5% at the start of the war — skyrocketed.

Someone needing cash transfers money electronically to a broker and moments later is handed a fraction of that amount in bills. Many brokers openly advertise their services, while others are more secretive. Some grocers and retailers have also begun exchanging cash for their customers.

"If I need $60, I need to transfer $100," said Mohammed Basheer al-Farra, who lives in southern Gaza after being displaced from Khan Younis. "This is the only way we can buy essentials, like flour and sugar. We lose nearly half of our money just to be able to spend it."

In 2024, inflation in Gaza surged by 230%, according to the World Bank. It dropped slightly during the ceasefire that began in January, only to shoot up again after Israel backed out of the truce in March.

Cash touches every aspect of life in Gaza

About 80% of people in Gaza were unemployed at the end of 2024, according to the World Bank, and the figure is likely higher now. Those with jobs are mostly paid by direct deposits into their bank accounts.

But "when you want to buy vegetables, food, water, medication -- if you want to take transportation, or you need a blanket, or anything — you must use cash," al-Dahdouh said.

Shahid Ajjour’s family has been living off of savings for two years after the pharmacy and another business they owned were ruined by the war.

"We had to sell everything just to get cash," said Ajjour, who sold her gold to buy flour and canned beans. The family of eight spends the equivalent of $12 every two days on flour; before the war, that cost less than $4.

Sugar is very expensive, costing the equivalent of $80-$100 per kilogram (2.2 pounds), multiple people said; before the war, that cost less than $2.

Gasoline is about $25 a liter, or roughly $95 a gallon, when paying the lower, cash price.

Bills are worn and unusable

The bills in Gaza are tattered after 21 months of war.

Money is so fragile, it feels as if it is going to melt in your hands, said Mohammed al-Awini, who lives in a tent camp in southern Gaza.

Small business owners said they were under pressure to ask customers for undamaged cash because their suppliers demand pristine bills from them.

Thaeir Suhwayl, a flour merchant in Deir al-Balah, said his suppliers recently demanded he pay them only with brand new 200-shekel ($60) bank notes, which he said are rare. Most civilians pay him with 20-shekel ($6) notes that are often in poor condition.

On a recent visit to the market, Ajjour transferred the shekel equivalent of around $100 to a cash broker and received around $50 in return. But when she tried to buy some household supplies from a merchant, she was turned away because the bills weren’t in good condition.

"So the worth of your $50 is zero in the end," she said.

This problem has given rise to a new business in Gaza: money repair. It costs between 3 and 10 shekels ($1-$3) to mend old bank notes. But even cash repaired with tape or other means is sometimes rejected.

People are at the mercy of cash brokers

After most of the banks closed in the early days of the war, those with large reserves of cash suddenly had immense power.

"People are at their mercy," said Mahmoud Aqel, who has been displaced from his home in southern Gaza. "No one can stop them."

The war makes it impossible to regulate market prices and exchange rates, said Dalia Alazzeh, an expert in finance and accounting at the University of the West of Scotland. "Nobody can physically monitor what’s happening," Alazzeh said.

A year ago, the Palestine Monetary Authority, the equivalent of a central bank for Gaza and the West Bank, sought to ease the crisis by introducing a digital payment system known as Iburaq. It attracted half a million users, or a quarter of the population, according to the World Bank, but was ultimately undermined by merchants insisting on cash.

Israel sought to ramp up financial pressure on Hamas earlier this year by tightening the distribution of humanitarian aid, which it said was routinely siphoned off by militants and then resold.

Experts said it is unclear if the cash brokers’ activities benefit Hamas, as some Israeli analysts claim.

The war has made it more difficult to determine who is behind all sorts of economic activity in the territory, said Omar Shabaan, director of Palthink for Strategic Studies, a Gaza-based think tank.

"It's a dark place now. You don't know who is bringing cigarettes into Gaza," he said, giving just one example. "It's like a mafia."

These same deep-pocketed traders are likely the ones running cash brokerages, and selling basic foodstuffs, he said. "They benefit by imposing these commissions," he said.

Once families run out of cash, they are forced to turn to humanitarian aid.

Al-Farra said that is what prompted him to begin seeking food at an aid distribution center, where it is common for Palestinians to jostle over one other for sacks of flour and boxes of pasta.

"This is the only way I can feed my family," he said.