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Israeli Soldiers Kill Five Palestinians in West Bank

An Israeli soldier loads a guided mortar munition system at an area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, 01 January 2024. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
An Israeli soldier loads a guided mortar munition system at an area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, 01 January 2024. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
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Israeli Soldiers Kill Five Palestinians in West Bank

An Israeli soldier loads a guided mortar munition system at an area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, 01 January 2024. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
An Israeli soldier loads a guided mortar munition system at an area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, 01 January 2024. EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Israeli soldiers killed five Palestinians in exchanges of fire in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Israeli military said.
There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials, Reuters reported.
A statement from the military said that soldiers on a “counter-terrorism” operation killed four armed militants who had fired at them from within a house in the Palestinian village Azzun and one Israeli soldier was wounded in the fire exchange.
In Qalqilya, soldiers shot and killed a gunman who opened fire at them while they were on a raid to seize weapons, the military said.
Israeli security forces have stepped up raids across the West Bank since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel and the subsequent Israeli offensive now raging in the Gaza Strip.

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Syria’s Finance Minister Says Foreign Investors Welcome after US Sanctions Move

A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
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Syria’s Finance Minister Says Foreign Investors Welcome after US Sanctions Move

A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)

Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh made a call to global investors on Wednesday to come do business with Syria after US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement that he would lift all of Washington's sanctions on the country.

"Syria today is a land of opportunities, with immense potential across every sector—from agriculture to oil, tourism, infrastructure, and transportation,” Barnieh said in an interview with Reuters at the Finance Ministry in Damascus.

"We envision a central role for the private sector in the new Syrian economy. The finance ministry's role is not to spend indiscriminately or act as a regulatory enforcer over businesses, but rather to enable and support growth."

A wall outside his office still bore the discolored outline of one of the many posters of former strongman Bashar al-Assad that used to hang in Syria's public buildings before his ousting by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) last year.

Changes in Syria have been swift since Assad fled to Russia in December of last year.

HTS commander Ahmed Sharaa was appointed president, formed a government and had quick success garnering Gulf Arab support and getting most European sanctions lifted.

The stunning turn of events was capped by a meeting between Sharaa and Trump in Riyadh on Wednesday after Trump's pledge to cease US sanctions imposed on Syria under Assad-family rule, measures widely seen as the biggest external obstacles to the country's economic recovery.

Trump has not set out a timeline for removal.

"One of the most critical outcomes of lifting sanctions would be Syria's reintegration into the global financial system," Barnieh said.

"This would allow us to restore financial flows and attract investments, which are urgently needed across all sectors,” he said, adding that Syrian authorities have already seen strong interest from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and several EU countries, among others.

He noted that the government is undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of public financial management, including reforms to the tax system, customs, and banking -- part of a broader effort to modernize an economy long burdened by an oversized public sector.

He also struck a cautioning tone, saying that the removal of sanctions would be just the first step in a years-long recovery for a country ruined by 14 years of war.

"The lifting of sanctions is not the final chapter," he said.

"We cannot afford to become complacent. We are entering a new phase that demands real results and visible progress on the ground."