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EU Voices Concerns over Migration Deal with Tunisia

European Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen shakes hands with Tunisian President Kais Saied after announcing a strategic deal with Tunis on economic development and irregular migration - AFP
European Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen shakes hands with Tunisian President Kais Saied after announcing a strategic deal with Tunis on economic development and irregular migration - AFP
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EU Voices Concerns over Migration Deal with Tunisia

European Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen shakes hands with Tunisian President Kais Saied after announcing a strategic deal with Tunis on economic development and irregular migration - AFP
European Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen shakes hands with Tunisian President Kais Saied after announcing a strategic deal with Tunis on economic development and irregular migration - AFP

The European Union's Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, on Friday expressed concerns about a migration deal inked last July between the European Commission and Tunisia, saying the Commission should explain how the pact will not breach human rights standards.

“Did the Commission carry out a human rights impact assessment of the MoU before its conclusion and consider possible measures to mitigate risks of human rights violations?” asked O’Reilly who opened a rights probe into the agreement.

In the letter published on Friday, sent to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the Ombudsman said the EU executive needs to conduct a human rights assessment before signing deals with foreign countries.

“Does the Commission intend to carry out a periodic, systematic and effective HRIA [human rights impact assessment] of actions undertaken in the course of the implementation of the MoU?” O’Reilly wrote in the letter.

The Ombudsman is an independent overseer employed to handle complaints about the work of EU institutions and agencies and to investigate alleged administrative failures.

O’Reilly asked how the EU intends to safeguard rights in the migrant agreement signed over the summer with Tunisia's government.

She also asked whether the Commission has defined criteria for suspending funding if human rights are not respected.

O’Reilly has asked the Commission to reply by 13 December 2023. She said “where fundamental rights are not respected, there cannot be good administration.”

Last July, the European Union and Tunisia signed a memorandum of understanding for a “strategic and comprehensive partnership” on irregular migration, economic development and renewable energy. The deal was inked in the presence of von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte.

But international human rights organisations and MEPs from the left have criticised Brussels for forming an anti-migration partnership with President Kais Saied’s increasingly authoritarian regime.

O’Reilly’s letter also comes a day after Tunisia denied entry to a five-member delegation of the European Parliament and further increases scrutiny over the contentious deal.

Tunisia lies about 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa, and has long been a departure point for migrants risking perilous sea journeys on makeshift boats in hopes of reaching Europe.

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Arab World

Facing Settler Violence, Palestinian Farmers Race to Harvest

Palestinians are rushing to gather in their crops against a backdrop of violence from Israeli settlers. Zain JAAFAR / AFP
Palestinians are rushing to gather in their crops against a backdrop of violence from Israeli settlers. Zain JAAFAR / AFP
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Facing Settler Violence, Palestinian Farmers Race to Harvest

Palestinians are rushing to gather in their crops against a backdrop of violence from Israeli settlers. Zain JAAFAR / AFP
Palestinians are rushing to gather in their crops against a backdrop of violence from Israeli settlers. Zain JAAFAR / AFP

With pitchforks and a makeshift combine the size of a golf cart, Hamad Jazi and his nephews race under the blazing sun to collect wheat from their West Bank field.

Israeli settlers have recently set fire to crops in the area, and Jazi fears his wheat could suffer a similar fate.

Their village of As-Sawiyah, in the center of the occupied West Bank, sits in a valley dominated by hills on top of which three settlements stand.

"The settlers have set fires twice already -- yesterday and the day before," Jazi told AFP.

"If you think back 10, 15 or 20 years ago, this season used to be a season of abundance. Today, you are racing against time just to harvest quickly and leave," he added.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank in settlements that are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Shielded by what rights groups describe as impunity from the law, some settlers have harassed rural Palestinian communities, vandalizing property and crops, committing arson and sometimes killing.

By all metrics, 2026 has been one of the most violent years to date, with an average of six attacks per day, according to data from UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

The surge in violence goes hand in hand with the proliferation of settlements in the West Bank, which part of the Israeli political class is threatening to annex.

Settlers in rural areas vandalize property and start fires, at times sowing terror in villages, as shown in videos posted on social media, sometimes by the perpetrators themselves.

The attacks have sparked criticism inside Israel, where the opposition accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and his far-right allies of turning a blind eye to acts of settler violence.

According to Mahmud Fatafta of the Palestinian Authority's agriculture ministry, settlers killed or stole 8,000 goats or sheep in the West Bank in 2026.

According to his ministry's data, 41,000 olive trees, a crop as emblematic to Palestinians as it is ubiquitous in the West Bank's rocky hills, were damaged by settlers or Israel's military in 2026.

- 'Steal our own crops' -

"In the past, when we went out into the fields, the olive harvest was a celebration; the grain harvest was a celebration," Jazi, his face worn by the sun, told AFP.

Now, "we live those moments like thieves. We go and 'steal' our own olives or our own crops", he said, complaining that the Israeli military requires him to coordinate with it before entering his fields.

Hikmat Abu Ras, head of As-Sawiya's village council, told AFP that his and neighboring communities have faced near daily attacks from settlers since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

"They constantly carry out these practices in order to drive us off our land and prevent us from entering it," he said.

Abu Ras lamented increasing movement restrictions that further isolate communities like his.

"Gates block the entrances to villages, camps, and cities. Movement is restricted. You race against time just to make sure the settler does not come and seize what is on your land."

Arab World

Egyptian Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Syria Nominates New Ambassador Instead of Al-Ahmad, Approval Under Way

Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart during a previous meeting in Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart during a previous meeting in Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egyptian Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Syria Nominates New Ambassador Instead of Al-Ahmad, Approval Under Way

Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart during a previous meeting in Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Syrian counterpart during a previous meeting in Cairo. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

The crisis surrounding Syria's nomination of Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad as its ambassador to Egypt, first revealed in an Asharq Al-Awsat report published on June 1, appears to be heading toward a resolution. An Egyptian official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Cairo has received the name of a new nominee from the Syrian side and is in the process of approving him.

Asharq Al-Awsat previously published a widely discussed report on what it described as "Egyptian reservations" that had delayed Cairo's acceptance of several members of the Syrian diplomatic mission. At the time, an informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that there were objections to some members of the delegation, including Egypt's refusal to approve Syria's nominee for ambassador to Cairo.

The source explained in the June 1 report that the Syrian government had formally nominated Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad as ambassador to Egypt. While the Egyptian government did not explicitly reject the nomination, it conveyed unofficial messages indicating that it did not consider him an acceptable candidate because of his political background.

Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad currently serves as director of the Arab Affairs Department at Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. He earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Aleppo in 2007, a master's degree in the financial and economic evaluation of agricultural projects from Cairo University in 2012, and a doctorate in agricultural development from the University of Idlib in 2020.

He held several ministerial positions in the Syrian Salvation Government before being appointed to his current position at the Foreign Ministry in May 2025. The following month, he was appointed head of the People's Assembly election committee.

The Syrian foreign minister during talks in Cairo last month. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Another Nominee

An Egyptian official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Syrian government has submitted another nominee to head the Syrian diplomatic mission in Cairo," noting that "the process is moving toward approval of the new nominee by the Egyptian authorities."

The source said that "matters are proceeding normally and positively with the Syrian side," without disclosing the nominee's identity.

Since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad, Egyptian-Syrian relations have been marked by cautious bilateral engagement, driven by Cairo's concerns over the issue of armed groups, before gradually shifting toward economic cooperation.

In late April, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the Arab-European Consultative Summit in Cyprus. Media outlets in both Cairo and Damascus reported at the time that the two presidents held a "cordial discussion" on regional developments and ways to strengthen cooperation.

While the Egyptian source declined to reveal the name of the new nominee to head Syria's diplomatic mission in Cairo, Firas Al-Khalidi, coordinator of the Cairo Platform, a member of Syria's Constitutional Committee and a member of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, said that "the Syrian side has nominated Yahya Diab, a former diplomat who defected from Bashar Al-Assad's regime, as ambassador to Cairo."

Al-Khalidi told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Egyptian side has accepted Diab's nomination to head the Syrian mission in Cairo."

The crisis over Syria's ambassadorial nomination to Cairo appears to be heading toward a resolution. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Cautious Relations

Former Egyptian assistant foreign minister Ambassador Hussein Haridy said that "the Egyptian government has the right to reject any nominee to head a diplomatic mission, or any other diplomat, if it possesses information indicating that the nominee engaged in activities affecting its national security."

Haridy told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Syrian side publicly announced Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad's nomination to the embassy in Cairo before obtaining Egypt's approval," describing the move as contrary to established diplomatic practice.

In Haridy's view, "relations between Cairo and Damascus will remain cautious given the background of the current Syrian government."

He said that "the Egyptian side distinguishes between the historic people-to-people relationship between the two countries and its channels of communication with Syria's current government. There remain areas for cooperation between Cairo and Damascus, particularly at the economic level."

In January, Damascus hosted the first Egyptian-Syrian Economic and Investment Forum, with the participation of 26 leaders from Egyptian chambers of commerce and business organizations. The event aimed to build effective partnerships between the two countries' commercial chambers and explore opportunities for cooperation in trade, industry, services, infrastructure and reconstruction.

At the time, the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce said that the forum sought to create Syrian-Egyptian-European alliances through the Union of Mediterranean Chambers and to promote Syrian exports to Africa through the Federation of African Chambers.

Arab World

Lebanon Launches Rehabilitation of its Second Airport

An aerial view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows smoke rising, after Israeli strikes following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. (Reuters)
An aerial view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows smoke rising, after Israeli strikes following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Launches Rehabilitation of its Second Airport

An aerial view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows smoke rising, after Israeli strikes following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. (Reuters)
An aerial view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows smoke rising, after Israeli strikes following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanon launched the rehabilitation of its second airport on Saturday, in preparation for an opening within months, at a time when the country faces constant fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lebanon currently has one international airport, in Beirut next to the capital's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that has been subjected to heavy Israeli bombardment during successive wars.

The new airport, in the town of Qlayaat in Lebanon's northernmost province of Akkar, near the border with Syria, has been used as a military base by the Lebanese army for decades, according to AFP.

Lebanese Minister of Transport and Public Works Fayez Rasamny inaugurated the airport on Saturday "after more than fifty years of promises, delays and waiting".

"Today we are moving from promise to execution," Rasamny said, adding that the goal is for the airport to be "operational in a few weeks" to serve travellers to Mersin, Istanbul and Dubai, adding there are plans to expand the destinations to Saudi Arabia, Cairo and Athens at a later stage.

Lebanon is also in contact with low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair and Pegasus, he said.

Rehabilitation is due to begin next week and will take at least three months, going through a pilot phase before the airport is put into full service in November 2026, according to local media.

The work is being carried out by the Lebanese company Sky Lounge, which on Saturday posted on its Instagram page a video of a test flight between Beirut airport and Qlayaat airport.

In a speech during the opening ceremony, the company's chairman, Ziad Munla, said, the passenger terminal will be completed "within 90 days after completing the required approvals and licenses".

The airport will be able to handle about 114,000 passengers in its first year, rising to more than 600,000 by its fourth year, he said.

The opening of the airport aims to create jobs in Akkar, one of Lebanon's poorest governorates with a high unemployment rate.

Rene Mouawad Airport, named after a former Lebanese president who was elected in the 1980s, was built by the French army as an airstrip in the 1930s.

It was used for civilian purposes in the 1960s and was bombed by Israel during an earlier war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Beirut airport has continued to operate despite during the Israel-Hezbollah war that began on March 2, and an earlier war in 2023 and 2024.

Lebanon has been forced to repeatedly pursue international guarantees that Israel will not target Beirut airport, which it has previously accused Hezbollah of using to transport money and weapons.

Lebanese authorities have repeatedly denied the Israeli allegations.