Pedersen: Syria Remains One of World’s Most Dangerous Conflicts

Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, speaks to the media about the sixth session of the Constitutional Committee Small Body, during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (AP)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, speaks to the media about the sixth session of the Constitutional Committee Small Body, during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (AP)
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Pedersen: Syria Remains One of World’s Most Dangerous Conflicts

Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, speaks to the media about the sixth session of the Constitutional Committee Small Body, during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (AP)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, speaks to the media about the sixth session of the Constitutional Committee Small Body, during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (AP)

Geir Pedersen, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, admitted on Thursday that significant differences remain between the Syrian government and opposition delegations on writing the country’s new Constitution.

Briefing the 15-member Council on the penultimate day of the seventh session of the Small Body of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, he said it remains possible to find and build on common points, if the will exists to do so.

“Serious attempts should be made by all delegations to begin to narrow differences,” Pedersen said, calling for efforts that explore compromise as a way to build public trust and confidence in the process — “something sorely lacking among the Syrians at present.”

The Envoy said that Syria remains of the most dangerous conflicts in the world.

Recalling that the war marked the grim milestone of 11 years of conflict this month, he appealed to the members of that Committee to “work this week with the sense of seriousness and spirit of compromise that the situation demands.”

He said that so far, members of the Constitutional Committee have discussed draft constitutional texts in four areas of constitutional principles: basics of governance; State identity; State symbols; and regulation and functions of public authorities.

Turning to the situation on the ground, the envoy cited growing humanitarian needs, as well as the ongoing human impacts of the country’s destruction and of the economy’s collapse.

He urged all concerned to take steps to reverse those trends, and to expand the delivery of cross-line and cross-border humanitarian assistance.

“While there have been no shifts in the front lines for two years, violence has nonetheless flared between several actors — including two listed terrorist groups and five foreign armies — in the past month,” Pedersen stressed, calling for efforts to de-escalate and build a true nationwide ceasefire and for the parties to cooperate against terrorists.

Meanwhile, he said Syrians on all sides continue to be affected by the plight of the detained, the abducted and the missing. “Any credible attempt to build trust and confidence must include serious steps forward on this issue,” he stressed.

The Envoy said much could be done by Damascus and outside actors to address the challenges and concerns expressed by Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons, namely safety and security, lack of opportunities, inadequate housing, military service requirements and inadequate basic services.



Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
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Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, his spokesperson said, prompting strong condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian group Hamas.

The firebrand politician was visiting the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, in occupied east Jerusalem after returning to the Israeli government last month following the resumption of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Ben-Gvir had quit the cabinet in January in protest at the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

Since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022, Ben-Gvir has made several trips to the Al-Aqsa compound, each time triggering international outcry.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation.”

Hamas called it a “provocative and dangerous escalation,” saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people.”

“We call on our Palestinian people and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation... in defense of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said in a statement.

The site is Islam’s third-holiest and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Ben-Gvir’s spokesperson told AFP the minister “went there because the site was opened (for non-Muslims) after 13 days,” during which access was reserved for Muslims for the festival of Eid al-Fitr and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In recent years, growing numbers of Jewish ultranationalists have defied the rules, including Ben-Gvir, who publicly prayed there in 2023 and 2024.

The Israeli government has said repeatedly that it intends to uphold the status quo at the compound but Palestinian fears about its future have made it a flashpoint for violence.