Palestinians in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah Fear for Future

Israeli activists have also protested against the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers in Sheikh Jarrah, here seen in this May 28 photograph - AFP
Israeli activists have also protested against the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers in Sheikh Jarrah, here seen in this May 28 photograph - AFP
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Palestinians in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah Fear for Future

Israeli activists have also protested against the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers in Sheikh Jarrah, here seen in this May 28 photograph - AFP
Israeli activists have also protested against the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers in Sheikh Jarrah, here seen in this May 28 photograph - AFP

Aref Hammad's neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem shot to recent world attention, but he fears without continued international pressure he will still be expelled from his home.

"I'm scared that they'll throw us out into the street -- that they'll kick out the whole neighborhood," said 70-year-old Hammad, who moved to the district as a child.

Hammad is among at least seven Palestinian families waiting for a legal ruling on whether they must surrender their homes there to Jewish settlers.

It is a battle Hammad and his neighbors have been waging since the 1970s, but he says lawsuits against them have recently gained pace.

"The situation is really bad," Hammad said, inside the home he shares with 17 relatives, just across the street from a house taken by force from a Palestinian family, now draped with Israeli flags, AFP reported.

On Monday, Israel's attorney general refused to intervene in their case, meaning their last recourse is the supreme court.

Protests early last month at the planned expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah spread to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, sparking a crackdown by Israeli security forces.

That triggered an 11-day war between the Jewish state and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, which ended in a ceasefire.

But residents and activists say they face a bleak future if international pressure fades.

"We're urging foreign governments to try to pressure the Israeli government," Hammad said. "There is no justice in their courts."

- 'Two laws' -

Like many others, Hammad moved to Sheikh Jarrah after his family fled his home in Haifa in the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel.

In 1956, when east Jerusalem was under Jordanian control, Jordan leased plots of land to 28 families in Sheikh Jarrah, and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees built homes for them.

Amman promised to register them in their name.

But in 1967, Israel occupied east Jerusalem, then annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.

In 1970, the state enacted a law under which Jews could reclaim land in east Jerusalem they lost in 1948, even if Palestinians by then already lived on it.

No such option exists for Palestinians who lost homes or land.

Another resident, 72-year-old Mohammad al-Sabbagh, said the planned expulsions revealed a broader state-sponsored discrimination.

"What kind of law kicks people, a family, families out of their home after 65 years?" he asked.

"There are two laws," said Sabbagh, the representative of 32 family members in Sheikh Jarrah, whose forefathers once owned homes and an orange grove around Jaffa.

"One law for them that allows them to get back their property, and one for us -- that says it is forbidden to demand ours. It's racism."

Behind the recent lawsuits is settler organization Nahalat Shimon, which claims Jews held land in Sheikh Jarrah in the 19th century under Ottoman rule.

But lawyer Husni Abu Hussein, who has been representing the families since 1994, said he travelled to Turkey to consult Ottoman archives -- and found no trace.

- 'Forged' documents -

He said the Turkish foreign ministry gave him a letter ascertaining "the settlers have no right, that the documents they have are forged."

"As long as there is no decision on who the owner is, residents cannot be evicted," he said.

The Israeli government has dismissed the Sheikh Jarrah case as a "real-estate dispute between private parties".

But rights groups say the forced evictions are part of a broader move to drive Palestinians from their homes, in a city coveted by both sides as their capital.

Human Rights Watch, in an April report accusing Israel of "apartheid", described "discriminatory laws and policies" that "enable settler and settler organizations to take possession of Palestinian homes".

Since 1967, Israeli authorities have expropriated nearly one third of the land in east Jerusalem from Palestinians, largely for settlements, it said.

Amy Cohen, of Israeli anti-settlement group Ir Amim, said the slow trickle of eviction court cases was deceptive.

In Sheikh Jarrah and the nearby neighborhood of Silwan, more than 100 Palestinian families are facing lawsuits at different stages, she said.

"Over 1,000 Palestinians are at risk of mass displacement from these two areas alone," she said.

Ateret Cohanim, another settler organization behind forced eviction lawsuits in Silwan, says it aims to establish "sovereignty over the whole city" of Jerusalem.

Cohen, of Ir Amim, said the only successful strategy so far to stem ever-growing settlements had been diplomatic pressure.

"International intervention is really the only solution," she said.



Syria's Aviation Comeback Struggles amid Regional Turmoil

An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Syria's Aviation Comeback Struggles amid Regional Turmoil

An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Poor infrastructure, regional conflict and sporadic Israeli airstrikes are holding back more airlines from returning to Syria, industry officials told Reuters, hampering efforts to rebuild a shattered economy after 14 years of civil war.

This month, at least 11 foreign airlines are scheduled to fly into Syria, up from just three a year ago, as sanctions are scaled back following the overthrow of long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

These include the world's largest international carrier, Dubai's Emirates, and the first two European Union-based airlines to fly into Syria since 2011: Romania's Dan Air and Greece's Air Mediterranean, Reuters said.

But airlines such as Royal Jordanian, FlyDubai, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways last month were forced to cancel many of their recently launched flights as airspace across the Middle East closed to civil air traffic due to air and missile attacks involving Israel, the US and Iran.

There are dangers closer to home too. Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria for a second day on Tuesday, vowing to keep the area demilitarized and to protect the Druze minority there.

At the same time, airlines are worried about the state of Syria's aviation infrastructure and management of the industry.

"Progress is needed in regulatory oversight, infrastructure investment, and compliance with international safety and operational standards," industry body the International Air Transport Association said.

Major carriers such as Lufthansa and Air France KLM, which used to fly to Syria pre-war, have visited Damascus airport to assess the infrastructure and former offices, officials at Damascus airport and Syria's aviation regulator told Reuters.

However, both airlines told Reuters they had no current interest in resuming flights.

Small Romanian airline Dan Air launched its Bucharest to Damascus route last month.

"What held back operators until now were the logistical and regulatory complexities," Dan Air CEO Matt Ian David told Reuters, adding that eased sanctions would now make Syria more accessible.

Emirates at the end of May resumed flying over Syria for the first time since the civil war, shaving up to an hour off a Dubai to Beirut flight.

However, several countries, including Britain and the United States, still advise their airlines to avoid flying over Syria. Europe's aviation regulator EASA says "there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft".

Syria completely reopened its airspace on June 24, its civil air authority said.

Damascus Airport's two runways were bombed during the civil war, but have been repaired. The airport was also looted during the chaos of Assad's fall.

Alaa Sallal, director of public relations at Syria's Civil Aviation Authority, told Reuters a number of airlines had been to inspect security and infrastructure at the airport.

"The airport's construction was dilapidated, the equipment was worn out and some missing," Sallal said.

Radar equipment was lacking, leaving the country reliant on Lebanese or Turkish radar to monitor air traffic, he said.

The head of Syria's General Authority for Civil Aviation earlier this month said it wanted to build new airports in Damascus, Aleppo and in the country's central region. But that will take time and money that the war-ravaged country may struggle to find on its own.

NEW AIRLINES

The mostly Iranian and Iraqi carriers that served Syria through its long conflict have largely stopped flying there, reflecting a new political landscape after Iran- and Russia-backed Assad's overthrow.

The flag carriers of Qatar and Türkiye, countries that backed Syria's rebels through the war, were the first big airlines to resume flights in January under President Ahmed al-Sharaa's new leadership.

Türkiye, a close ally of the new government, has been helping improve Syria's airports, its transport ministry has said.