Arab states and the EU agreed on Monday (27 November) that a two-state solution should be the answer to the Israel-Palestine conflict, with EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell saying the Palestinian Authority should rule Gaza after the war. Over the past years, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), founded 15 …

After several weeks of tense diplomatic negotiations and saber-rattling between Niamey and Paris, President Emmanuel Macron’s government withdrew Ambassador Sylvain Itte and diplomatic staff from Niger in late September. France’s military mission plans to withdraw by the end of 2023. Niger’s junta government appears totally uninterested in a continuing security …

The Syrian Observer sits with Bassam al-Kuwatli, one of the co-founders of Ahrar, a liberal political party. The Syrian opposition’s story after the revolution was a story of coalitions. A countless number of coalitions have been formed. No one claimed that they own a platform that leads them in the …

Clashes in Eastern Syria curiously coincided with the claims of an impending American military operation Iyad al-Jaafari writes in Syria TV. The Iranian response to the ongoing protests in As-Suweida, which could potentially spread across Syria, stands in contrast to their actions during the early stages of the 2011 revolution. …

From his military coup in 1970 until his death in 2000, Hafez al-Assad failed to appreciate Syria’s diverse regions, according to Bassam Youssef for Syria TV. Deir-ez-Zor has endured significant suffering under the rule of the Baath regime, particularly during the Assad family’s leadership. Apart from intentional marginalization, impoverishment, and …

It is evident that the Iranian axis is not willing to sacrifice the Syrian regime to protect the Hamas movement, according to Ibrahim Rayhan in Syria TV. Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon were featured prominently in Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s speech last Friday, but the Syrian regime was notably absent. …

Sunday saw Israeli airstrikes rendering Damascus airport non-operational, leading to the redirection of incoming flights, according to both the Syrian army and a pro-government newspaper. Simultaneously, Syrian government forces shelled a northwestern village on Saturday, resulting in the tragic death of at least 10 people, including seven children who were …

The Syrian Islamic Council announced the re-election of Sheikh Osama al-Rifai for a new term. On Monday evening, the Syrian Islamic Council announced the re-election of Sheikh Osama al-Rifai for a new term. The Council’s statement highlighted, “The General Assembly, convened at the conclusion of its sessions, elected 21 members …

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel killing at least 1,200 people and kidnapping at least 240 men, women, and children. In response, Israel declared war on Hamas and launched a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders watched …

Ilkka Salmi has served as the European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator since October 2021. He previously served as the Director of the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Directorate at the European Commission between January 2020 and September 2021. Prior to that, he was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior in …