Syria's Idlib Region Shifts Power Towards Solar

Across Syria, at least 90 percent lack a stable power supply, according to the United Nations' Development Program (UNDP), and panels are one solution - AFP
Across Syria, at least 90 percent lack a stable power supply, according to the United Nations' Development Program (UNDP), and panels are one solution - AFP
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Syria's Idlib Region Shifts Power Towards Solar

Across Syria, at least 90 percent lack a stable power supply, according to the United Nations' Development Program (UNDP), and panels are one solution - AFP
Across Syria, at least 90 percent lack a stable power supply, according to the United Nations' Development Program (UNDP), and panels are one solution - AFP

Huge solar panels poke out of pumpkin and tomato fields in Syria's northwest, where after infrastructure was destroyed during a decade of war, many have switched to renewable energy.

"We used to rely on diesel-powered generators, but it was a struggle with fuel shortages and price hikes," said Khaled Mustafa, one of dozens of farmers who set up panels in the Idlib region.

"So we opted for solar power instead," he said, AFP reported.

More than three million people live in the Idlib region in Syria's northwest.

Across Syria, at least 90 percent lack a stable power supply, according to the United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP).

In opposition areas, there is little hope of state-provided electricity.

Instead, the dark blue silicon panels have become common -- installed on roofs, in hospitals or between tents in massive displacement camps.

Once small and smoky diesel generators used to power many homes.

But with regular fuel shortages sending prices soaring, solar panels are now viewed as a cheaper, more efficient and reliable alternative.

In Mustafa's plot, solar panels hooked to rotating metal plates turn to follow the movement of the sun.

They are among 200 solar panels purchased two years ago by an agricultural cooperative of nearly 20 farmers, costing some $4,000.

The panels power water pumps from a well, irrigating three hectares (seven acres) of cooperative farmland, as well as neighboring fields.

"Even if (state) electricity is restored, solar energy will remain cheaper," said Mustafa.

- 'Valid alternative' -

Syria's electricity production was slashed by at least half during the conflict, but as fighting has calmed, renewable energy sources have increased, the UN says.

"Since armed clashes have decreased, and most of the country is in a more stable situation, solar energy production has spiked as a valid alternative," UNDP said.

In regime-controlled areas, solar panels provide power for both homes and public institutions like universities.

As for those under opposition control, one survey found eight percent used solar as the main source of power in their homes, according to a report in the Education and Conflict Review, published by Britain's University College London.

It also found a tenth of people used solar for heating water, and a third of people used solar as a secondary source of power, for lighting and charging batteries.

In town of Dana, shimmering solar power installations cover rooftops.

"Sales increased by 300 percent between 2018 and 2021," said solar panel salesman Abdulhakim Abdul Rahman. Farmers account for most of his clients.

A single agricultural project can require "100 panels, sometimes even 500", the trader said.

Abdul Rahman said the panels he imports -- mostly from Turkey, but also from Germany and China -- can last up to 20 years.

- Powering hospitals -

In his small apartment, Zakariya Sinno turns on a ceiling fan and blasts Syrian revolutionary anthems from a loudspeaker to show off the power of his solar set-up.

Like many of his neighbors, he has installed three panels on his roof.

"It's enough to power the fridge, the washing machine, and lighting," said Sinno.

Hospitals have also installed solar panels.

In 2017, the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM) launched its "Syria Solar" initiative to introduce renewable power for Idlib's hospitals.

It has since installed 480 panels in one general hospital, and 300 others in a separate orthopaedic facility.

It has also helped more than 40 other clinics in Idlib and northern Aleppo with technical assistance, so they can install solar systems.

Even if fuel shortages mean generators grind to a halt, solar power keeps "sensitive hospital departments, namely intensive care units, operating rooms and emergency departments" functional, said Talal Kanaan, a founder of the Syria Solar initiative.

"With solar energy, you can cover between 30 to 40 percent of the hospital's energy consumption," he said.



Iran-Israel War: A Lifeline for Netanyahu?

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Iran-Israel War: A Lifeline for Netanyahu?

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

The Iran-Israel war has helped strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu domestically and overseas, just as his grip on power looked vulnerable.

On the eve of launching strikes on Iran, his government looked to be on the verge of collapse, with a drive to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews threatening to scupper his fragile coalition.

Nearly two years on from Hamas's unprecedented attack in 2023, Netanyahu was under growing domestic criticism for his handling of the war in Gaza, where dozens of hostages remain unaccounted for, said AFP.

Internationally too, he was coming under pressure including from longstanding allies, who since the war with Iran began have gone back to expressing support.

Just days ago, polls were predicting Netanyahu would lose his majority if new elections were held, but now, his fortunes appear to have reversed, and Israelis are seeing in "Bibi" the man of the moment.

– 'Reshape the Middle East' –

For decades, Netanyahu has warned of the risk of a nuclear attack on Israel by Iran -- a fear shared by most Israelis.

Yonatan Freeman, a geopolitics expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Netanyahu's argument that the pre-emptive strike on Iran was necessary draws "a lot of public support" and that the prime minister has been "greatly strengthened".

Even the opposition has rallied behind him.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is my political rival, but his decision to strike Iran at this moment in time is the right one," opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote in a Jerusalem Post op-ed.

A poll published Saturday by a conservative Israeli channel showed that 54 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the prime minister.

The public had had time to prepare for the possibility of an offensive against Iran, with Netanyahu repeatedly warning that Israel was fighting for its survival and had an opportunity to "reshape the Middle East."

During tit-for-tat military exchanges last year, Israel launched air raids on targets in Iran in October that are thought to have severely damaged Iranian air defenses.

Israel's then-defense minister Yoav Gallant said the strikes had shifted "the balance of power" and had "weakened" Iran.

"In fact, for the past 20 months, Israelis have been thinking about this (a war with Iran)," said Denis Charbit, a political scientist at Israel's Open University.

Since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Netanyahu has ordered military action in Gaza, against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as targets in Syria where long-time leader Bashar al-Assad fell in December last year.

"Netanyahu always wants to dominate the agenda, to be the one who reshuffles the deck himself -- not the one who reacts -- and here he is clearly asserting his Churchillian side, which is, incidentally, his model," Charbit said.

"But depending on the outcome and the duration (of the war), everything could change, and Israelis might turn against Bibi and demand answers."

– Silencing critics –

For now, however, people in Israel see the conflict with Iran as a "necessary war," according to Nitzan Perelman, a researcher specialized in Israel at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France.

"Public opinion supports this war, just as it has supported previous ones," she added.

"It's very useful for Netanyahu because it silences criticism, both inside the country and abroad."

In the weeks ahead of the Iran strikes, international criticism of Netanyahu and Israel's military had reached unprecedented levels.

After more than 55,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, and a blockade that has produced famine-like conditions there, Israel has faced growing isolation and the risk of sanctions, while Netanyahu himself is the subject of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.

But on Sunday, two days into the war with Iran, the Israeli leader received a phone call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has held talks with numerous counterparts.

"There's more consensus in Europe in how they see Iran, which is more equal to how Israel sees Iran," explained Freeman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Israel was doing "the dirty work... for all of us."

The idea that a weakened Iran could lead to regional peace and the emergence of a new Middle East is appealing to the United States and some European countries, according to Freeman.

But for Perelman, "Netanyahu is exploiting the Iranian threat, as he always has."