Morocco to vote on abolition of death penalty

December 12, 2024

by MEMO

A FAVORITE FLAG

Flag of Morocco [Kristin Harvey/Flickr]

Morocco is set to vote on the abolition of the death penalty for the first time, marking a milestone in the country’s human rights history. Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi announced on 9 December that Morocco will support the UN resolution for a moratorium on the death penalty to be discussed at the UN General Assembly on 15 December.

“This is a commitment to protecting the right to life, in line with the Moroccan Constitution,” Ouahbi told Parliament, referencing Article 20 of the national document. The vote will introduce a two-year moratorium on executions, with plans to amend the penal code for permanent abolition.

The Moroccan Justice and Development Party (PJD) reaffirmed its position following an extraordinary leadership session on Tuesday and a communiqué issued yesterday. While acknowledging Morocco’s anticipated support for the UN resolution, the PJD stressed its principled stance on retaining the death penalty for the gravest crimes.

“We have reaffirmed our principled stance on maintaining the death penalty for the gravest crimes, such as premeditated murder and violations of the right to life, in line with the sanctions prescribed by the Holy Qur’an,” said the party.

The PJD argued further that the death penalty provides a “sense of justice” to victims’ families and serves as both a deterrent and a means of calming societal unrest.

Morocco has abstained from previous UN resolutions for over two decades. The country has not carried out an execution since 1993, although courts continue to sentence individuals to death, particularly for crimes like murder and terrorism. Currently, 88 people remain on death row, notes the New Arab.

Human rights activists see the decision as a significant step. The Moroccan Coalition for Human Rights stated: “We will continue our struggle until Morocco abolishes the death penalty from all civil and military laws.”

The National Human Rights Council reported that of Morocco’s 41 executions, 38 were politically motivated. Since 2020, 161 death sentences have been commuted to life imprisonment, reflecting Morocco’s gradual shift away from capital punishment.

Opinion

The most difficult question about stopping the war in Sudan

December 18, 2024 

by MEMO

A stuffed panda and a Sudanese flag are placed at a military checkpoint in Khartoum North on November 3, 2024.

 [AMAURY FALT-BROWN/AFP via Getty Images]

by Shafie Khader Saeed

Defining and understanding the nature of the civil war in Sudan which started on 15 April, 2023 is important if we are to develop the essence of the vision required for negotiating its end. Formulating this vision is at the core of the efforts of Sudanese civil society and political groupings.

Arguably the most important and most difficult question is related to the future of the Sudan Army and its leadership and the options available for its post-war role. The armed forces need to be reformed, and modernised, as do the police and security agencies in such a way that recognises and accepts their nationalism, professionalism and monopoly over the military’s regular role in Sudan, subject to democratic standards and under civilian supervision.

There is also a need to address this along with a decision on the future of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other militias. The options possible need to be explored for them to accept the principle of Sudan having a single, professional army as above.

Of course, a ceasefire and an end to hostilities require both parties, the army and the RSF, to be at the negotiating table, in the Jeddah forum or any other agreed-upon format. This is not only for the purpose of discussing the mechanisms provided by regional and international experts for a ceasefire and redeployment of forces, but also for negotiations to be based on the national vision that includes answers to the difficult question I have referred to, and which are presented by Sudanese civil society and political groupings as a main project for a permanent ceasefire.

READ: RSF attacks main hospital in Sudan’s Al-Fasher, says health official

As for the future of the army and RSF, I believe it is necessary to begin by discussing the legal responsibility for the war as a crime against the country and its citizens. Those responsible for igniting it should be held to account, as should those guilty of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as other horrific violations of the laws of war.


A commission of inquiry should be established

With this in mind, a commission of inquiry should be established, possibly with local, national regional and international members examining the evidence of all that has taken place, including the massacres in Darfur, and then making recommendations for legal action, similar to what was done with the Serbian leaders in the Bosnian war. Any talk of amnesty or transitional justice must remain governed by international law, which stipulates justice for the victims and preventing impunity for war crimes. This process should be followed by discussions about the future role of the leaders of both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF.

There are many options for the armed forces, ranging from an exit strategy to contributions to national solutions through the Defence and Security Council or National Security Council. This should be led by the head of the civilian authority, the Prime Minister, according to a law that defines its tasks and powers, including the preparation of national security policies and coordinating them in a way that serves the unity of Sudan and the safety and security of its sovereign territories. It would also supervise the integration and demobilisation processes and related steps agreed upon with the armed movements.

As noted above, this would plan and implement programmes to reform and modernise the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as the police and security agencies, and secure their resources. I believe that there is no choice but to dissolve the RSF, though, disarm and demobilise its members and develop reintegration procedures for them below the leadership levels. These individuals can be absorbed by the armed and other regular forces, as well as civil service institutions in strict accordance with the law and the normal conditions for joining the state security forces and civil service. Comprehensive security arrangements should be put in place for other armed movements to govern their transition to civilian life, including allowing those who wish to become political organisations to do so.

As far as the investments and economic resources of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF are concerned, they should be handed over to the civilian executive authority and invested in the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the war. Compensation can be paid from these resources to the victims of the war and those affected by it, and to develop and modernise the Sudanese Armed Forces, the police and security agencies.

These are just a few initial ideas which are open to discussion and development. There is no doubt that there are many other options that can be put on the table, but they must be presented with a genuine desire to find a way out of the incessant fighting which is damaging Sudan.

All involved must remember that accountability is important, especially for those guilty of war crimes.


No options come without a price to pay.

To sum up, the main goal of the process should be to reconcile the security and military sector with civil society and restore the lost trust between them. Also, it is not just a matter of dismantling and replacing, but rather developing and modernising the sector to keep pace with the concepts of civilian transformation.

Moreover, this cannot be done overnight. It requires a series of complex operations to be initiated during the transitional period, and its completion and the adoption of its results must be carried out by elected institutions. Reforms of the armed forces, police and security agencies have to be linked to the comprehensive reform of all other state institutions.

The decisions to be taken are not merely political, administrative or technical, and are not subject to political and media input. Rather, they should be based on internationally-agreed concepts and guided by successful experiences in other countries.

Finally, changes must be implemented from within the military and security institutions and their members, subject to the supervision of civilian institutions, including the government and the legislative council.

READ: Erdogan offers to mediate between UAE, Sudan

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

Facebook restricts war-related content in Palestinian territories, BBC investigation claims

A similar investigation by Arab News revealed widespread reports of pro-Palestinian posts and accounts being suspended or banned during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. (AFP/File)

Arab News
December 18, 2024

Local news outlets report 77% drop in audience engagement

‘Any implication that we deliberately suppress a particular voice is unequivocally false,’ Meta says


LONDON: A BBC investigation has claimed that Facebook significantly restricted access to news in Palestinian territories, limiting local news outlets’ ability to reach audiences during the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

Research conducted by the BBC Arabic team found that 20 newsrooms in Gaza and the West Bank reported a 77 percent decline in audience engagement — a measure of the visibility and impact of social media content — following the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

In contrast, Facebook pages belonging to 20 Israeli news outlets, including Yediot Ahronot, Israel Hayom and Channel 13, saw a 37 percent increase in engagement for similar war-related content during the same period.

“Interaction was completely restricted and our posts stopped reaching people,” said Tariq Ziad, a journalist at Palestine TV, which experienced a 60 percent drop in engagement despite having 5.8 million Facebook followers.

With international journalists restricted from accessing Gaza due to Israeli-imposed limitations, local media and social platforms have become critical sources of information around the world. But the disparity in engagement has underscored concerns about a growing “war of narratives” on social media.

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has previously faced allegations of “shadow banning” Palestinian content. Critics, including human rights groups, claim the platform fails to moderate online activity fairly.

According to an independent report commissioned by Meta in 2021, the company said the loss of engagement was never deliberate, attributing it to a “lack of Arabic-speaking expertise among moderators,” which led to some Arabic phrases being inadvertently flagged as harmful or sensitive.

To test these claims, the BBC analyzed 30 prominent Facebook pages from Arabic news outlets and found an almost 100 percent increase in engagement.

Meta admitted to increasing moderation of Palestinian user comments in response to a “spike in hateful content” but rejected allegations of bias.

A spokesperson told the BBC: “Any implication that we deliberately suppress a particular voice is unequivocally false.”

However, internal communications reviewed by the BBC showed that Meta-owned Instagram’s algorithm had been adjusted shortly after the conflict began, with at least one engineer raising concerns about potential new bias against Palestinian users.

“Within a week of the Hamas attack, the code was changed essentially making it more aggressive toward Palestinian people,” the engineer told the BBC.

Although Meta said these policy changes were reversed, it did not specify when.

A similar investigation by Arab News revealed widespread reports of pro-Palestinian posts and accounts being suspended or banned during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 144 media workers have been killed since the start of the conflict, 133 of whom were Palestinians, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history.

'There's no willingness to understand': Exposing the wellbeing industry's silence on Palestine

Since the onset of Israel's war on Gaza, the wellbeing industry's silence on the crisis highlights a failure to uphold empathy, social justice, and support

Yanar Alkayat
04 December, 2024

For over a year, my psychotherapy sessions have been dominated by one central issue – Gaza and Palestine. From the grief of witnessing harrowing scenes daily to navigating friendships that have gone silent, I’ve had space to discuss it all.

This contrasts sharply with Seth* from London, whose therapist quickly changed the subject when he brought up Gaza.

“When I explained the massacres were what I wanted to discuss, they visibly disconnected and looked bored. In my next session, they said, ‘We’re here to talk about you, not other people’. That’s when I knew I had to leave that therapist.”

"The professions of psychiatry, psychology and social work are based on the basic principle of empathy, to put yourself in other people's shoes and feel their pain, their anguish and emotional difficulty, which is completely lacking in this situation. They are not adhering to their basic ethical duties at this point"

It’s not just in the therapy room where politics has been met with bias. In November 2023, during a stay at a yoga ashram in India, I faced a similar dissonance: while figureheads expressed condolences for Israelis, they failed to acknowledge the killing of more than 10,000 Palestinians by then. This omission was glaring and concerning.

I’m not alone in noticing such exclusive compassion. Gabor Mate, a prominent voice in trauma psychology, has openly criticised therapy and spiritual leaders for their silence on the grief, rage and despair felt by those within and beyond Gaza.


The psychological need extends beyond those directly impacted by unimaginable loss, forced displacement, starvation and siege.

Millions worldwide bear the emotional weight of collective grief. This is further compounded by the denial, censorship, ignorance and apathy of governments, workplaces and society.

“There’s a raw exposure to these atrocities… [people are] seeing it on their cell phones …and they’re not able to express themselves because many providers are hesitant to discuss these issues in therapy [because of] so-called neutrality,” says Mansoor Malik, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Pro-Palestine activists took to the streets of London in November for the National Demonstration for Palestine calling for a ceasefire and a stop to arming Israel [Getty]

Mansoor critiques the profession for abandoning its core principle of empathy, stating, “The professions of psychiatry, psychology and social work are based on the basic principle of empathy, to put yourself in other people's shoes and feel their pain, their anguish and emotional difficulty, which is completely lacking in this situation. They are not adhering to their basic ethical duties at this point.”

When such needs are met with silence or inadequate support from professionals and institutions meant to foster mental wellness, the harm is magnified.
Related

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Narrated

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Palestinian trauma ignored

After 7 October 2023, key medical and psychiatric associations in the UK and US released position statements only condemning the Hamas attack and loss of life in Israel.

The World Psychiatric Association (WPA), condemned the “unimaginable slaughter and hostage-taking” while the American Psychiatric Association (APA), explicitly condemned “the brutalities of Hamas”, expressing allegiance with Jewish people.

Both statements raise questions about neutrality.

The WPA has since expressed no concern for the catastrophic suffering in Gaza, while the APA’s follow-up statement in April 2024 spoke of escalating mental health concerns but refrained from naming Israel as the aggressor, highlighting inconsistencies in language and tone. The New Arab questioned the WPA and APA about this but has yet to receive a response.

Speaking to this, Mansoor says, “Either they should not have condemned [the Hamas attacks], and if they did, they cannot now hide behind the facade of neutrality when even worse atrocities have been happening every day for over a year.”


Mansoor adds, “I think there is a lot of pressure from funders of these organisations; they do not want [criticism of] Israel…whatsoever. That is what we are running up against.”


"Western psychology is rooted in white-cis-hetero supremacist delusion, seeking to not only gain dominance over but to eliminate those that do not fit into its narrow, nonsensical supremacist ideals"

In contrast, a few organisations and institutions have publicly recognised the suffering of Palestinians and called for immediate action. These include the American Public Health Association, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, the American Medical Students Association and the World Medical Association.

This disparity highlights the deeper systemic issues at play. Melody Li, licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Inclusive Therapists, in an open letter with Dr Jennifer Mullan, founder of Decolonizing Therapy and Hammam Farah, therapist and activist at Elham Fund, call out the mental health field’s complicity.

“Western psychology is rooted in white-cis-hetero supremacist delusion, seeking to not only gain dominance over but to eliminate those that do not fit into its narrow, nonsensical supremacist ideals,” says Melody.

“The fact that the mental health industrial complex, including academic institutions, refuse to respond to the traumas of Palestinians is on one hand, predicted (this is by colonial design) and on the other, is deeply cruel, hypocritical, and shameful,” she adds.
Related


In Gaza's mental health crisis, no respite from the trauma
Voices
Emad Moussa
No grief should be sidelined

How professional bodies position themselves matters and silence is a stance.

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)’s philosophy states a “desire for social justice determines everything we do”.

At the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, it released a solidarity statement acknowledging “devastating human tragedy” and that “people will be dealing with indescribable losses”.

A few weeks later, the BACP organised an emergency summit to contribute to “global peace and justice” and continued to share psychological support for practitioners and clients.

Yet, despite the death and destruction being exponentially greater than in Ukraine – The Lancet estimates life lost in the Gaza Strip at around 7-9% of the population – the BACP has remained silent.



"If mental health providers and therapists are not actively, vocally, and continually protesting against the genocide of Palestinians, we are complicit in upholding these structures of violence and are enacting harm"

A BACP spokesperson stated: “We’re committed to an inclusive, anti-racist stance that reflects the ethics and integrity that is at our professions’ heart.” When questioned about their rationale for ignoring Palestine, they declined to respond.

“The lack of recognition of… [Gaza’s] humanitarian perspective is causing anguish among individual providers… and in patient populations from various backgrounds – not only Muslims,” says Mansoor.

“I have Jewish patients who say they feel very torn about the situation when friends or family support it. We should provide avenues to express and process their feelings. We cannot shut down this internal debate around consciousness. This will only increase their internal distress,” Mansoor continues.

“It’s worth noting that many members of the Jewish medical community, as well as Israeli and human rights organisations, have been vocal in speaking up against the Gaza genocide. The inhumane Israeli actions are fuelling both Islamophobia and anti-semitism in the US, adding to psychological distress,” adds Mansoor.

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid a hunger crisis [Getty]

Melody further emphasises the impact, “If mental health providers and therapists are not actively, vocally, and continually protesting against the genocide of Palestinians, we are complicit in upholding these structures of violence and are enacting harm.”

Mustafa Jayyousi, a Palestinian psychotherapist living in Norway, highlights another barrier to effective support: Western psychology’s emphasis on individualism over collective wellbeing, which he argues, often exacerbates the cultural disconnect and systemic ignorance faced by Palestinians.

“Telling people to switch off the news to look after themselves ignores or fails to realise the need or importance for some people to focus on the Palestinian cause,” he says.

Mustafa sees the gap between his Palestinian pain and the lack of care and attention from his peers as a cultural disconnect. “There’s no willingness to understand. It’s systemic ignorance for us Palestinians.”

When I ask Mustafa about the underlying factors, he highlights the influence of a strong Zionist narrative and the media’s role in failing to convey the truth. He adds: “European guilt for the Holocaust makes it harder for people to distinguish between Judaism as a religion and Zionism.”

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This detachment is echoed by Sheena Sood, a founding member of Yogis for Palestine, set up in 2021 to promote advocacy for Palestinian self-determination.

She notes a similar challenge in the yogic communities, “There’s this aspiration towards enlightenment but when it comes to politics or suffering the approach is reduced to neutrality or prayer without any material action. It becomes a kind of political apathy or inaction.”

Melody underscores the need for appropriate emotional support. “In these critical times, we need aligned spaces to grieve together, to process what we hold in our bodies… as the media and institutions continue to bombard us with propaganda and lies. We must allow ourselves to feel, or risk becoming numb, sick or disconnected.”

Alongside this, there is a strong call for accountability. “I’d like to see these professional bodies held accountable for denying and enabling genocide and colonial violence,” says Melody.

Ultimately, it’s about the sanctity of life and human rights, says Mansoor. “Sanctity of life is enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath and medical ethics, AMA medical ethics principle IX demands that physicians and medical organisations should support access to medical care for all people," he explains.

"Yet there is complete silence about the wanton destruction of healthcare infrastructure in Gaza and the intentional killing of thousands of medics. The lack of condemnation of medical war crimes in Gaza is even more astounding in the case of mental health organisations that claim to espouse the highest standards of professional ethics," Mansoor adds.

"By refusing to support the calls for a ceasefire, medical organisations have violated their basic ethical principles. If there is no safety there’s no health. Sanctity of life precludes any kind of health.”

For those seeking support in the UK, the UK Palestine Mental Health Network engages mental health professionals to take a stance against policies exacerbating the oppression of Palestinians; Healing Justice Ldn provides resources for movements that centre empathy and action and Thrive Ldn provides community-led support for Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities.

After all, no grief should be sidelined.

Yanar Alkayat is a health and fitness content editor for magazines such as Women's Health, Runner's World, and Men's Health. She is also a registered Yoga Therapist

Follow her on Instagram: @yanarfitness

WAR IS ECOCIDE

To confront famine in Gaza, Palestinians are hunting wild birds as a last resort

"I realise that what I am doing is an adventure that carries great risks, but there is no other option to provide food for my children," said Tariq Al-Sheikh.

Rasha Jalal
Gaza
19 December, 2024

A Palestinian man is seen preparing for bird hunting with a net near the Israeli border, in the east of Gaza City, Gaza on 22 August 2022. [Getty]

32-year-old Tariq Al-Sheikh is forced to resort to hunting wild birds to feed his children's hunger amid the famine prevailing in the Gaza Strip.

Every morning, Al-Sheikh leaves his tent in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, to hunt. Since he and his family of six were forcibly displaced from their home in Gaza City to Khan Younis due to Israel's genocidal war, he has been unemployed after an Israeli strike destroyed his home and his small grocery store.

Al-Sheikh places some grain on the ground, then raises a net on top of them with a stick tied to a long rope, making a trap. He moves away from the site holding the end of the string, waiting for the birds to start discovering the grains and then descend to them. At a crucial moment when the birds multiply under the trap, he pulls the rope, closing the net on them.

"I catch about 30 birds each time, then I take them to my wife to prepare food for us from them, as the meat of the birds is special and delicious," he told The New Arab,

Gaza's residents are experiencing the most severe famine since the beginning of the war on 7 October 2023 since Israel restricts humanitarian aid, while it completely prevents the entry of meat such as poultry and beef. Israel claims it is doing this to fight the sources of Hamas's money.


Al-Sheikh learned to hunt birds during his childhood, accompanying his relatives on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip.

The most prominent challenge facing him while hunting birds is the lack of empty spaces west of Khan Younis because of the overcrowding of displaced people, which forces him to move east near the presence of the Israeli army where the agricultural lands are destroyed.

"I fear that the [Israeli] planes deployed in the air will bomb me. I realise that what I am doing is an adventure that carries great risks, but there is no other option to provide food for my children," he remarked.
'Terrible daily struggle'

Ajith Songhai, head of the United Nations Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territories, said in a press conference in Geneva via video link from Jordan on 29 November 2024, "Large groups of women and children are searching for food amidst piles of garbage in parts of the Gaza Strip."

"Accessing basic necessities has become a terrible daily struggle for survival," he added.

In the northern Gaza Strip, the practice of bird hunting to combat famine is more widespread than in the south due to the Israeli military ground invasion in the area since this past October, followed by a strict siege policy against the people. Those remaining in northern Gaza Strip were previously forced to eat chicken and rabbit feed to avoid starvation.

In order to combat famine, Salah Shahin, a 34-year-old resident of the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, also hunts for wild birds to feed his family.

"There is no food in the northern Gaza Strip except for some types of canned food such as peas preserved with preservatives," Shahin told TNA.

He added that the Israeli army sometimes allows some types of vegetables to enter northern Gaza in order to avoid international pressure, "but they are small quantities and expensive, making it difficult for most of the population to buy them."

He explained that he and his family of five have not eaten meat for several months, "We have lost a lot of weight and our bones have become visible."


Shaheen pointed out that eating sparrow meat "of course does not make us feel full, but it is important in order to obtain the protein needed to fight famine."

Shaheen divides the sparrows he hunts into two parts, one that he feeds his children and the other he sells in local markets.

"I sell what I catch to people for a low price, as a pair of birds costs only seven shekels ($2)," he remarked.

A policy of starvation

Food security and human health expert Zayed Abu Bakr remarked to TNA that the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip "has caused a loss of food security and malnutrition among Palestinians, who have become dependent on aid as their main source of food."

Abu Bakr further elaborated that most food aid are canned food containing grains and legumes preserved with preservatives, "which is unhealthy because it contains chemical preservatives, and does not contain essential nutrients such as protein and vitamins."

He explained that Israel imposes a policy of starvation on the residents of the northern Gaza Strip, "as a form of collective punishment because they refused the army's orders to move and evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that Israeli authorities "facilitated just over 40 per cent of the approximately 320 humanitarian movements through the Gaza Strip during November 2024, with the rest denied, obstructed or cancelled."

In the same time, a UN report confirmed that the entire population of Gaza—some 2.2 million people—"are experiencing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity."

The report said that the threshold for acute food insecurity for famine has been significantly exceeded, and that acute malnutrition among children under five is advancing at a record pace towards the second threshold of famine.

The report stated that half the population, 1.1 million people in Gaza, have completely exhausted their food supplies, coping capacities, and are suffering from catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) and starvation.

Israel’s deprivation of water in Gaza is act of genocide – Human Rights Watch

The Human Rights Watch report said the Israeli government stopped water being piped into Gaza and cut off electricity and restricted fuel which meant Gaza’s own water and sanitation facilities could not be used. (AFP)

Reuters
December 19, 2024

‘What we have found is that the Israeli government is intentionally killing Palestinians in Gaza by denying them the water that they need to survive’

Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins


THE HAGUE: 

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Israel has killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.

“This policy, inflicted as part of a mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, means Israeli authorities have committed the crime against humanity of extermination, which is ongoing. This policy also amounts to an ‘act of genocide’ under the Genocide Convention of 1948,” Human Rights Watch said in its report.

Israel has repeatedly rejected any accusation of genocide, saying it has respected international law and has a right to defend itself after the cross-border Hamas-led attack from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 that precipitated the war.

Although the report described the deprivation of water as an act of genocide, it noted that proving the crime of genocide against Israeli officials would also require establishing their intent. It cited statements by some senior Israeli officials which it said suggested they “wish to destroy Palestinians” which means the deprivation of water “may amount to the crime of genocide.”

“What we have found is that the Israeli government is intentionally killing Palestinians in Gaza by denying them the water that they need to survive,” Lama Fakih, Human Rights Watch Middle East director told a press conference.

Human Rights Watch is the second major rights group in a month to use the word genocide to describe the actions of Israel in Gaza, after Amnesty International issued a report that concluded Israel was committing genocide.

Both reports came just weeks after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. They deny the allegations.

The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines the crime of genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

The 184-page Human Rights Watch report said the Israeli government stopped water being piped into Gaza and cut off electricity and restricted fuel which meant Gaza’s own water and sanitation facilities could not be used.

As a result, Palestinians in Gaza had access to only a few liters of water a day in many areas, far below the 15-liter-threshold for survival, the group said. Israel launched its air and ground war in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border 14 months ago, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.

Amnesty honours Gaza journalists with 2024 Human Rights Defenders Award


December 12, 2024 

by MEMO



Amnesty Australia has recognised Palestinian journalists with its 2024 Human Rights Defender Awards.

Naming a number of journalist who have continued to highlight the situation in Gaza during the ongoing genocide, Amnesty International said the award was also for all those who have lost their lives while covering events on the ground.

“To honour the extraordinary resilience, bravery and courage of journalists working in the most perilous conditions,” the rights group explained.

Bisan Owda, Plestia Alaqad, Al Jazeera’s Anas Al-Sharif were named during the ceremony. While journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was also honoured individually for his work.

The rights watchdog said this year’s award recognise journalists based on the significant impact of their fearless reporting on the genocide in Gaza, their innovative use of social media and citizen journalism to challenge traditional narratives and their ability to inspire action for justice.

Al-Sharif dedicated the award to “every Palestinian journalist who has covered the events and crimes of the Israeli occupation in light of the ongoing war and siege on the Gaza strip” including his colleague, wounded Al Jazeera cameraman Fadi Al-Wahidi.

He noted that he is receiving this award on the commemoration of his father’s death in their home as a result of Israeli army fire a year ago. “I dedicate this award to the soul of my father; may God have mercy on him,” Al-Sharif said.

Shihab-Eldin said: “I am honoured and humbled to be included amongst the bravest journalists I know who are risking it all to keep us informed. They have taught me so much about what it means to bear witness, and what it means to be human.”

While Alaqad dedicated her award to “every Palestinian child… every mother who refuses to give up hope, and every voice that refuses to be silenced.”

Gaza protesters disrupt Blinken's testimony in Congress

December 11, 2024 

by MEMO

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators with their hands painted the colour of blood hold a demonstration to call for a ceasefire in Gaza as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, United States on December 11, 2024

 [Celal Güneş/Anadolu Agency]

A group of pro-Palestinian protestors repeatedly disrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s testimony, Wednesday, before a House of Representatives panel on the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Anadolu Agency reports.

One protester shouted: “Bloody Blinken” and “Butcher of Gaza” as Blinken began his remarks.

A second demonstrator, holding a sign that read: “Stop Bombing Kids”, yelled: “Stop killing kids in Gaza” and “I don’t know how you can sleep at night when you’re killing so many kids in tents.” The protester was arrested and removed from the chamber.

Blinken continued his testimony, despite the disruptions.

The US, Israel’s primary supporter, provides nearly 70 per cent of its weapons, along with significant diplomatic backing. The support has drawn growing criticism amid the escalating civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip from Israel’s ongoing military onslaught.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 44,800 people, mostly women and children, since a 7 October, 2023 attack by the Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former Defence chief, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.

Opinion

Haaretz tells Israelis, ‘It’s time to choose life over death’

December 18, 2024 

by MEMO

Thousands of Israelis gathering with banners and Israel flags to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for not signing the ceasefire agreement with Gaza in Tel Aviv, Israel on September 14, 2024 

[Saeed Qaq – Anadolu Agency]

The self-declared “liberal and progressive” Israeli newspaper Haaretz is committed to “in-depth reporting and insightful analysis” of Israel’s domestic issues and international affairs. And despite it being founded by “Zionist immigrants” in Jerusalem in 1919, it is true to say that you can read criticism of the Zionist state and its leadership on its pages of a kind that would be self-censored by the so-called free press in the West.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that in what one reader has called a “courageous” editorial yesterday, Haaretz reminded its readers that what is being seen today in Gaza is “terrifying”, under a headline that proclaims: “Israel has reached a pivotal crossroads in Gaza. It’s time to choose life over death.”

It goes on to point out that, “Two million people in Gaza, the overwhelming majority of whom are innocent civilians, are witnessing one of the most dangerous humanitarian disasters in the world today.” This, said Haaretz, is because around “90 per cent of them have been displaced from their homes and are crowded into large tent cities, without sufficient food, clean water, health services, or means to face the winter.” All of this is happening while the Israeli army continues to bomb them killing “dozens” almost daily, “including many women and children.”

Most “Gazans” — the newspaper doesn’t describe them as Palestinians, despite its “liberal and progressive” credentials — “have lost their sense of personal security, honour, privacy, property and hope for the future. They have lost everything that makes human beings human.”

The editorial noted that “Israel created a ‘humanitarian zone’ where Gazans could flee to save their lives.” However, the IDF has recently intensified its bombing, even in the humanitarian zone, killing “dozens of civilians”. Indeed, said Haaretz, “Two days ago, the IDF admitted in response to a question from Haaretz that this isn’t a safe zone, but merely a ‘safer’ place than other parts of Gaza.”

According to the Israeli newspaper, “The bloody Netanyahu government, which dragged Israel into the worst disaster in its history, has also failed in this war — namely, in its ability to provide its citizens with security while complying with Israeli and international law and preserving Israel’s image and standing overseas and Israeli society’s moral backbone.”

Instead, said Haaretz, the government is relying on Israelis to accept “revenge, at the expense of tens of thousands of Gazan civilians as well as 100 Israeli hostages.” It calls out the “abysmal apathy” of “most Israelis” to the “disaster [that] the government is perpetrating in their name.” In a damning critique of Israeli society, it notes that, “On social media, thousands have even voiced joy over the terrible human suffering in Gaza.” The need to fight Hamas, it added, “cannot justify everything the IDF has done” in the coastal enclave.

The “pivotal crossroads” that Israel is now facing, concluded the editorial, is this: “One road would lead to the hostages’ deaths, more war crimes, a cycle of bloodshed and revenge, international isolation and a deep economic crisis. The other would lead to saving the hostages who are still alive, ending the war and starting the reconstruction of both Israel and Gaza. At this moment, the Israeli public must take to the streets and demand, using every nonviolent tactic possible, that the government choose the right road.”

READ: Stray dogs mauling bodies of lifeless Palestinians in northern Gaza amid Israeli assault, video shows

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

Lebanon ceasefire panel meets as Israeli settlers cross border

Three weeks since the ceasefire came into effect, Israel has shown no signs of ending its violations in southern Lebanon as it continues to destroy villages.

The New Arab Staff
19 December, 2024

Naqoura's mayor said the destruction in his town had doubled since the ceasefire came into effect with Israel's ongoing attacks [AFP/Getty]

A committee overseeing the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah met Wednesday, as Israeli forces bulldozed a village and settlers crossed into southern Lebanon in a gross violation of the deal.

The committee monitoring the US-brokered deal, which came into effect on 27 November, met in Ras Naqoura near the Israeli border. The multinational panel includes generals from the US - which is leading the committee - France, Israel, Lebanon, and the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL.

The meeting took place as Israel continued to demolish Lebanese border towns and villages, violating the ceasefire with airstrikes and shelling. Under the deal, Israel has 60 days by the end of January to withdraw its military entities still present in parts of southern Lebanon.

Israeli drones and war planes have also continued to conduct reconnaissance flights over the Lebanese capital.

"The United States, France, UNIFIL, LAF, and IDF met again on December 18 in Naqoura. UNIFIL hosted the meeting, with the United States serving as chair, assisted by France, and joined by the LAF and IDF," a joint statement read.

"The Mechanism will continue to meet in this format regularly and coordinate closely to support implementation of the ceasefire agreement and UNSCR 1701."

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 was adopted in 2006 to end the summer war that year between Hezbollah and Israel was but was never implemented.

Hezbollah and Israel began firing at each other on 8 October last year in a fallout over the Gaza war, but the fighting escalated into a full-blown war on 23 September, which saw swathes of southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the eastern Baalbek-Hermel region devastated.

Israeli forces then invaded southern Lebanon on 1 October, claiming it was a "limited incursion" to push Hezbollah back from the border.

Thousands were killed in Lebanon and the war triggered the country’s worst displacement crisis with more than a million being forced to leave their homes.

While the Israeli military gradually pulls out of south Lebanon, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) must be deployed in their thousands, especially south of the Litani River, UNIFIL’s area of operations. Hezbollah must move its fighters and heavy weaponry behind the river.

Related

Will Lebanon's army be able to uphold the ceasefire with Israel?

Analysis

Dario Sabaghi

'Naqoura is 70 percent destroyed'

Continuing its scorched earth policy, Israel claims it is clearing southern Lebanon of all installations belonging to Hezbollah, and says its airstrikes are targeting the Shia militant group’s military infrastructure and personnel.

While the LAF and UNIFIL are both obliged to dismantle what remains of Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the region, and the Lebanese army must stop any weapons being smuggled into the country and disarm all militias, observers say Israel is taking advantage of the 60-day deadline to destroy what it can.

Israel had warned that it would continue to target what it deemed "active threats" from Lebanon even if a ceasefire deal was reached. A side deal between Washington and Tel Aviv is believed to have given Israel the right to strike if the LAF and UNIFIL do not act after being informed of an "imminent threat."


In the village of Naqoura, where UNIFIL is based and where the panel met on Wednesday, the situation is bleak like in much of southern Lebanon, where entire towns and villages were flattened in Israel’s relentless offensive.

The mayor of Naqoura, Abbas Awada, revealed that the percentage of destruction in his town increased from 35 percent to 70 percent after the ceasefire came into effect, expressing his surprise at the lack of action by UNIFIL forces to stop the Israeli violations.

"The Israeli enemy is systematically destroying the town located only three kilometres from the border, where the percentage of destruction has risen to 70 percent since the truce took effect," Awada said in a statement, according to Lebanese media.

He said the municipality is unable to inspect the full extent of the damage yet as the Israeli army continues to prevent residents from entering the village.

Since 27 November, the Israeli military has frequently warned people from approaching the no-go border zone as long as Israeli forces remain there. So far, Israeli troops have started pulling out of the town of Khiam, making way for LAF soldiers to move in.

"The videos and photos received from there [Naqoura] confirm that the Israeli enemy army brought its vehicles to bulldoze homes, shops, and civilian facilities in an attempt to take revenge on the town and its people…despite the cessation of hostilities," Awada said.

Awada said he was surprised by the lack of action show by UNIFIL and authorities in charge of monitoring the ceasefire, despite the UN peacekeepers being located there.

Related

For the people of southern Lebanon, the war is far from over

MENA

Alex Martin Astley

Israeli settlers cross into Lebanon

In another serious violation of the ceasefire deal, a group of far-right Israeli settlers from the Uri Tzafon group crossed into southern Lebanon from Israel and put up a tent settlement.

The Times of Israel reported 10 days ago that the group, advocating the annexation and settlement of southern Lebanon as they claim it is part of their "Promised Land", said they had crossed the border and established an outpost.


The Israeli army said it removed the group of settlers on Wednesday, saying the "serious incident" was under investigation.

"The preliminary investigation indicates that the civilians indeed crossed the blue line by a few metres, and after being identified by IDF forces, they were removed from the area," said a statement by the Israeli military.

"Any attempt to approach or cross the border into Lebanese territory without coordination poses a life-threatening risk and interferes with the IDF's ability to operate in the area and carry out its mission," the statement said.

The Times of Israel said the area the group claimed to have entered was in the no-go zone still being occupied by Israeli forces.

Uri Tzafon, or The South Lebanon Settlement Movement, was established after a similar extremist movement was formed among Israeli settlers, seeking to reoccupy and settle the war-torn Gaza Strip. The latter is backed by far-right and hardline parliamentarian settlers in Israel such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 at the height of the Lebanese Civil War and occupied parts of the south until withdrawing in May 2000.

Israel military confirms settlers crossed into Lebanon, established outpost before dispersing them

December 18, 2024 

Middle East Monitor – 


A general view of the southern Lebanese village of Zahire as seen from the northern Israeli village of Aramsha near the Lebanon border on December 04, 2024 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]

Israel’s military has confirmed that a group of illegal Jewish settlers crossed over the border into southern Lebanon earlier this month, claiming that soldiers were forced to remove them due to an ongoing ceasefire deal with Beirut.

Earlier this month, Israeli settlers – led by the extremist settler group, Uri Tzafon – claimed to have crossed the northern border into Lebanese territory and established an outpost settlement. The Israeli military, however, said at the time that those claims were false.

Occupation forces have now acknowledged and confirmed that the illegal settlers did enter Lebanon and attempt to establish an encampment, according to Reuters news agency, stating today that the military’s “preliminary investigation indicates that the civilians indeed crossed the blue line by a few metres, and after being identified by IDF forces, they were removed from the area”.

The alleged dispersal of the settlers by Occupation soldiers was reportedly due to the area being a closed military zone, with the Israeli military stressing that “Any attempt to approach or cross the border into Lebanese territory without coordination poses a life-threatening risk and interferes with the IDF’s ability to operate in the area and carry out its mission.”

According to The Times of Israel, a military source has claimed that the army has, in recent weeks, worked to block various entry points into Lebanon along Israel’s border fence.

READ: Israel violates ceasefire in Lebanon 12 times on Tuesday, bringing total violations to 248

UN Security Council denounces illegal Israel settlements in Palestine

December 18, 2024

Middle East Monitor – 

Members of the United Nations Security Council attend a meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the United Nations headquarters on December 17, 2024 in New York City [Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images]

UN Security Council members warned on Wednesday about Israel’s illegal settlements and violent actions in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Anadolu Agency reports.

Some demanded a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Khaled Khiari, UN assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific, told the Security Council of the “relentless Israel settlement expansion near the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” and said that “in Gaza, the ceasefire is long overdue.”

“The continued collective punishment of the Palestinian people is unjustifiable. The relentless bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces, the larger number of civilian casualties, the blanket destruction of Palestinian neighbourhoods and the worsening of the humanitarian situation are horrific,” he said.

Expressing deep concern about the continued illegal expansions by Israeli settlers, Khiari said it fuels tensions and impedes the possibility of an “independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State”.

“I reiterate that all Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have no legal validity and are in flagrant violation of international law and UN resolutions,” he said.

The UK’s deputy, James Kariuki, pointed to the “shocking increase in cases of acute malnutrition in children” in Gaza, and said, “Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world.”

Urging Israel to do more to protect civilians and abide by international obligations, Kariuki said: “The UK calls on Israel to stop settlement expansion on Palestinian land, which is illegal under international law and to hold violent settlers to account.”

“Continued instability and settler violence in the West Bank should not be tolerated by Israel and the culture of impunity must end,” he said.

He rejected attempts at the “forcible transfer of Gazans from or within Gaza”, and said: “There must be no reduction of the territory of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s expansion of military infrastructure and the destruction of civilian buildings and agricultural land across the Strip is unacceptable.”

Switzerland’s envoy, Pascale Baeriswyl, denounced the starvation of Gazans, “the use of which as a method of warfare constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

She demanded an immediate ceasefire and condemned Israeli officials’ statements that announced plans to expand illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Russian envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, noted the US’ repeated vetoes on ceasefire resolutions at the Security Council and claimed that the reason is to “make sure that the Israeli military operation can continue in Gaza, and therefore that the lives of hostages continue being endangered.”

Describing Israel’s actions in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem as “illegal”, he said it also violates relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.

“We are particularly concerned by the statements made by the Israeli officials about forcibly changing the demographics of Gaza so as to recolonise the Strip,” he said.

China’s deputy envoy, Geng Shuang, urged the Council to use all options “in its toolbox and taking all necessary actions to end the conflict in Gaza, and urge the relevant country not to block Council actions anymore,” referring to the US.

Geng demanded Israel “immediately cease military operations in Gaza, fulfil its obligation on international humanitarian law, lift the blockade of Gaza and restrictions on humanitarian access.”

US envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, voiced concern that “Israeli actions in the West Bank undercut the Palestinian Authority’s ability to meet the needs of the Palestinian people, and more broadly, dampen the prospects of a two-state solution.”

“We reiterate our position that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are an obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution,” she said, adding that Israel’s illegal settlements are “inconsistent with international law and only serves to weaken Israeli security”.

She highlighted “alarming” reports of a record number of Palestinians killed in the Occupied West Bank and urged Israel to “intervene and stop them from, better yet, prevent them in the first place.”

“We urge Israel to halt efforts to legalise outposts in the West Bank and to do everything possible to de-escalate tensions and hold all perpetrators of violence accountable, no matter the background of the perpetrator or the victim,” she said.

READ: Israel has killed at least 12,800 Palestinian students since October 2023

Palestinian detainees go on hunger strike in protest at conditions

December 18, 2024 

Palestinian prisoners were brought to Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah in south of Gaza as a result of the torture inflicted upon them during detention by Israeli forces in inhumane conditions [Firas Al-Shaer]

Palestinian prisoners held in Israel’s Menashe detention camp have gone on hunger strike in protest at the harsh conditions in the camp, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported. According to the Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, the detainees told their lawyers of their protest during a video conference call in one of the occupation regime’s courts.

The two organisations said in a joint statement today that 100 detainees are being held in Menashe camp as of yesterday. The pointed out that the camp is one of several established by the occupation regime since the escalation of its arrest campaigns in the occupied West Bank since the onset of the genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023. Menashe is in the north of the West Bank near Salem camp and is run by the occupation army. So too are the Etzion and Huwara detention centres, which were established during the second intifada (2000-2005). The conditions in the latter two camps are said to be among the worst of all the Israeli detention centres.

The joint statement highlighted the fact that there are dozens of reports from human rights groups documenting the harsh and degrading detention conditions over the years. These have now, it is reported, got worse since October 2023. Torture and abuse are said to be a feature of life for detainees, especially in the Etzion camp.

One detainee told his lawyer through the court that the camp does not provide warm water, not even during severe cold spells, and it lacks a clinic, with neither a doctor nor a nurse on site. Some detainees suffer from health issues while all suffer from hunger and a shortage of adequate clothing.

Despite numerous calls from specialist institutions to close the Etzion and Huwara camps, the occupation regime insists on using them for the army’s abuse and torture of detainees. Instead of closing such “torture camps”, the Israeli regime is expanding the network of army-run camps built to house Palestinians from Gaza.

The detainees’ organisations stressed that lawyers are making every effort to have the conditions within such camps improved, and for detainees to be allowed visits from relatives, something that is usually denied.

Ousted Assad regime leaves Syria, economy in ruins

December 18, 2024 

Middle East Monitor – 

People gather to celebrate with the ‘Syrian revolution flag’ after performing the first Friday prayer following the collapse of the 61-year-long Baath regime in Syria and the end of the Assad family’s rule in Aleppo, Syria on December 13, 2024 [Kasım Rammah – Anadolu Agency]

Syria’s collapsed regime of Bashar Al-Assad left the country and its economy in ruins, turning it into a den for terrorist organisations and illegal activity, Anadolu Agency reports.

The country suffered from displacement and uncountable deaths, while its capital stock and economic activities were plagued by the civil war and international sanctions, as the country’s production, foreign trade and foreign exchange earnings plummeted. Its economic indicators, budget balances and exchange rates have also been destabilised.

Syria’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have halved in 2010-2020 and the country’s dependence on imported goods soared, including staple food products, and its local industrial and agricultural production collapsed, according to various sources, such as the World Bank, the UN, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Gold Council.

Syria’s GDP is estimated to have been $37.1 billion in 2022, $39.5 billion in 2023, and $29.3 billion in 2024—a stark difference from $60 billion in 2010, before the civil war.

The country’s GDP per capita declined from $2,800 in 2010 to $2,100 in 2022 and 2023, and it is estimated to fall further towards $1,600 by the end of the year.

READ: Russia dismantles air defence system at Hmeimim air base in Syria

At the same time, the overthrown regime’s revenues fell 35 per cent year-on-year in real terms in 2023 versus 2022, and 85 per cent compared to the pre-civil-war period, before 2010.

Oil production, exports down

Meanwhile, Syria, once the largest oil exporter in the Eastern Mediterranean, lost its key position in oil production and oil exports as a result of the capture of oil-rich regions by non-regime forces. Syria’s oil production of 383,000 barrels per day before the civil war dropped to 90,000 barrels per day last year.

Syria ran a foreign trade deficit of between $7 billion to $10 billion annually from 2007 to 2011 but the country’s foreign trade declined rapidly as the unrest that started in March 2011 grew into a full-blown civil war, which resulted in international sanctions and, consequently, the country’s foreign trade volume fell from $29 billion in 2010 to $4 billion in 2023.

Syria ranked 176th in the world last year, with its exports reaching $650 million, and 163rd in the world with imports totalling $3.4 billion.

The country’s most important exports were olive oil, calcium phosphate, cotton, spices, canned vegetables, cast iron scrap, shelled fruits and wheat, while its imports were sunflower oil, wheat flour, petroleum, animal feed, rice, sugar, cement, tea, electricity and construction iron.

Syria’s rapidly growing population reached 22 million in 1990-2011 and recent estimates show the population stands at 18.5 million.

Meanwhile, the civil war in the country led to serious losses in employment, as the unemployment rate is estimated to have reached 57 per cent.

Depreciating currency, rising inflation

The Syrian pound depreciated 270 times against the US dollar in 2011-2023, which further fuelled inflation, while inflation reached 64 per cent in 2022 and 141 per cent in 2023. Inflation projections show it is estimated to be at 95.1 per cent by the end of this year and 69.4 per cent in 2025.

READ: US officials warn of ‘imminent’ threat of new Turkiye military incursion into Syria

Syria used to be one of the prominent countries in the Middle East in gold and oil reserves, with an estimated gold reserves of 25.8 tons in 2011, and although this figure is estimated to have remained relatively the same after the civil war and the fall of the regime, there is reportedly no reliable data to be found on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Meanwhile, the largest oil and gas fields in the country are occupied by the PKK/YPG terrorist organisation. The organisations operating in gas and oil-rich areas, which are concentrated in the north-east, are estimated to have extracted at least 150,000 barrels on a daily basis.

Despite the Caesar Act imposed by the US on Syria, which sanctioned Assad for war crimes against Syrians under the first Trump administration, the PKK/YPG is reported to have sold most of its crude and processed oil to the regime, and its annual income from the oil sold to the Assad regime and Northern Iraq is estimated to have exceeded $1.2 billion.

Prior to the civil war, Syria was one of the most dynamic markets in the Middle East and the steps towards the transition to a free market economy and rising oil reserves triggered rapid growth in the country’s economy, creating business opportunities for foreign firms and investments, as the booming oil and gas industry and infrastructure projects made Syria an attractive market, though the conflict, starting in 2011, put a pause to foreign direct investments.

Syria has 11 safe zones, and in these designated zones, foreigners can establish companies and projects in line with incentives and five-year tax exemptions.

Agriculture badly hit

However, the decline in all sectors of Syria also hit its agriculture, as the cultivated land in the country fell 25 per cent, versus the pre-civil-war period. The World Bank reported that the access of farmers to seeds, fertilisers, fuel and machinery spare parts, which are needed to grow crops, became increasingly more difficult, resulting in diminishing agricultural production.

Syria became a major producer and seller of the highly addictive Captagon drug, a brand name for the prohibited psycho-stimulant fenethylline, reportedly with the influence of the PKK/YPG. The World Bank reported that the drug business is estimated to have yielded a revenue of up to $5.6 billion in 2020-2023, while those involved in the Captagon sales are said to have profited $1.8 billion per year.

GUST ARBITER

Study: 80,000 Syrians work in Germany in professions lacking specialised personnel

December 18, 2024 

Middle East Monitor

In response to Al-Jolani’s call, Syrian people take to the streets in celebration in Hanover, Germany, on December 14, 2024 [Somaya Abdelrahman/Anadolu Agency]

The results of a study indicated that the return of Syrian refugees living in Germany to their homeland could negatively affect the German economy and increase the gap in the shortage of skilled workers.

A study issued by the German Economic Institute (IW) showed that about 80,000 Syrians in Germany work in professions that suffer from a shortage of skilled workers.

For example, the number of Syrians working as technicians in the car mechanic sector has recently reached more than 4,000.

The Institute reported that about 7 out of 10 vacant positions in the field of automotive technology cannot be filled with specialists possessing the appropriate qualifications.

Many Syrians also work in other professions that suffer from a shortage of workers. Statistics indicate that about 2,470 Syrians work in the field of dentistry with contracts subject to compulsory social security; 2,260 Syrians work in the field of childcare and education; 2,160 in the field of nursing and health care; 2,100 in climate-related jobs in the field of electrical engineering and 1,570 Syrians work in the field of plumbing, heating and air-conditioning.

Fabian Semsarha, an economist at the IW and author of the study, stated that “Syrian workers are important to the German labour market, as they contribute significantly to alleviating the shortage of specialised personnel in Germany.” The study also indicates that many Syrians work in other professions, such as doctors, with the number of Syrian doctors working in Germany estimated at around 5,300. The study confirmed that their return to their homeland could worsen the shortage of personnel and lead to problems in providing health care.

Semsarha believes that the contribution by Syrian personnel is often underestimated in the debate about the possibility of their return.

“In many professions, it may become difficult to fill positions if these people leave the country,” he said, calling on politicians to provide safe residence opportunities for working Syrians.

According to the Federal Employment Agency, there were an average of 213,500 people of Syrian origin working in jobs covered by social insurance in Germany between June 2023 and May 2024.

Of the total number, 86,000 are employed in support jobs, while 127,000 are employed in skilled jobs that require vocational training or university studies. There are also around 155,000 Syrians who have registered as unemployed, making it possible for them to immediately enter the labour market.

A Christmas miracle in Syria

(RNS) — Assad was the King Herod of our time. Like Herod, he slaughtered the innocent.

Syrians gather during a celebratory demonstration following the first Friday prayers since Bashar al-Assad's ouster, in Damascus' central square, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Thomas Reese
December 16, 2024

(RNS) — At a time when most of the international news is full of gloom and doom, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria is a happy surprise, almost a Christmas miracle. Bashar al-Assad, the last scion of the family that ruled Syria for 50 years through fear and terror, is gone.

Assad was a King Herod of our time. He arrested, tortured and killed thousands of Syrians and forced millions more into exile. He used barrel bombs and chemical weapons against his own people. Cities harboring opponents to his regime were leveled with no regard for the cost in civilian deaths, children or adults. Nowhere was safe, not churches, not hospitals. Like Herod, he slaughtered the innocent.

Assad was aided and abetted by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon. The West imposed economic sanctions to try to squeeze him out of power, but in latter years was more concerned about quashing the Islamic State group and al-Qaida than the plight of the Syrian people under Assad. American troops are still in Syria to attack Islamic State group fighters. We also support the Kurds in Syria, who have been one of our most loyal and effective allies.

RELATED: Despair in the Holy Land

Meanwhile, Western intelligence and the media failed to see how weak the Assad regime had become. Its economy was in shambles. Its allies were occupied elsewhere: Russia in Ukraine, Iran and Hezbollah with Israel. Its soldiers were poorly paid and unwilling to die for a regime that did nothing for them. In hindsight, the fault lines were evident.

The fall of Assad has rearranged the Middle Eastern chessboard. Turkey, which backed the rebels, will have more influence in Syria and elsewhere. Russia is confined to a narrow strip on the coast of Syria and may soon have to evacuate the country, where they are not welcome.

Iran has lost its most strategic ally in the Middle East. Without a land route through Syria, Iran cannot resupply Hezbollah, which is already crippled because of its war with Israel. With a severely weakened Hezbollah and Syrian refugees departing for home, the politics of Lebanon will now change. Iraq, too, could be safer if Syria is no longer a safe zone for terrorists.

But all is not well in Syria. Soldiers of its new rulers, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have liberated Damascus, Aleppo and Hama, but they do not control the whole country. Numerous rebel groups will compete for dominance, including pockets of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Bringing the country together will not be easy.

The more radical groups will not lay down their arms. The Kurds, who opposed Assad, fear the Sunni Arab majority that has now taken over the country. The Assads belonged to a minority Shia sect called the Alawites. They and other minority groups that allied themselves with Assad also now fear for the future.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is labeled a terrorist group by the United States and other Western countries. Its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has a U.S. bounty of $10 million on his head. In the past, he opposed the Islamic State group’s attempts to take over his forces. He was allied with Al-Qaida but broke with the group in 2016. He is focused on Syria not on a global jihad.

According to The New York Times, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is described as pragmatic and disciplined by those who have studied it or interacted with it in Idlib Province, the territory it controlled in northern Syria prior to the fall of Assad.

So far, al-Julani has said and done all the right things. He has disarmed Syrian soldiers and sent them home. He has told civil servants to stay at their jobs and told his supporters not to take revenge on Assad supporters. All religious and ethnic groups are to be left in peace. Looting will not be tolerated. He has told his soldiers not to hassle women about their clothing.

It is as if he learned from the mistakes the U.S. made after conquering Iraq.

On the other hand, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has jailed its critics in Idlib. And Facebook and other social media are full of threats against groups allied with Assad, especially the Alawites.

What should the United States and Western governments do in response to the Syrian revolution?

First, it should immediately suspend the $10 million bounty on al-Julani. Nothing could be more disastrous for American foreign policy in the Middle East than an American-backed assassination of the liberator of Syria.

Second, the U.S. should suspend the classification of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist group as long as they do not carry out terrorist activities in the future. It can always be reclassified as a terrorist group in the future if needed.

Third, the United States should welcome the positive words coming out of Damascus and lift economic sanctions if their actions continue to be consistent with what the new rulers are saying. International aid organizations should be allowed to help the Syrian people immediately.

Fourth, we should do all we can to facilitate the safe return of refugees to Syria. Many of these refugees have the skills needed to rebuild Syrian society and its economy.

Most importantly, we should not try to micromanage the future of Syria. We want to ensure the protection of Christians, Kurds and other minority groups, but Syria is unlikely to become a Western-style democracy. We should talk with everyone and be willing to facilitate dialogue but not choose sides.

If Syria maintains peace with its neighbors (including Israel) and rejects global jihad, we should see the new Syria as a potential ally, not an enemy. If it is willing to give up or destroy its chemical weapons, we should be happy to help it root out Al-Qaida and the Islamic State group from Syria with intelligence and logistics, but not boots on the ground.

The new Syria provides hope but no guarantees. It may all go up in flames if internal factions war with each other or the victors take vengeance on the defeated. The United States should do what it can to encourage peace and reconciliation, but should not pour gasoline on the fire by taking sides.