How Israel’s forced school closures are placing Palestinian students in limbo

Palestinian schoolgirls embrace as they leave a school run by the UNWRA in the Shoafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem on May 8, 2025, as Israeli security forces reportedly prepare to close the school. (AFP)
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Updated 18 May 2025
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How Israel’s forced school closures are placing Palestinian students in limbo

  • Closure of UN-run schools in East Jerusalem draws international condemnation, raises fears of wider educational collapse
  • With checkpoints, closures and raids multiplying, nearly 800 Palestinian students have lost access to their schools, sparking alarm

LONDON: On May 8, the last bell rang for hundreds of Palestinian schoolchildren in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces raided and forcibly closed three UN-run facilities in the Shuafat refugee camp, leaving 550 students in limbo just weeks before the academic year’s end.

The UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, said Israeli forces were also stationed that morning outside three additional schools it operates. Teachers dismissed 250 students early for their safety.

Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, slammed the raids and forced school closures as “a blatant disregard of international law.”

“By enforcing closure orders issued last month, the Israeli authorities are denying Palestinian children their basic right to learn,” he wrote on the social platform X. “UNRWA schools must continue to be open to safeguard an entire generation of children.”

The closures follow similar incidents last month, when Israeli officials, backed by armed police, raided six schools and issued 30-day closure orders. The actions are part of a broader push to enforce new Israeli laws banning UNRWA operations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

 

“Roughly four weeks ago we received notifications from the Israeli Ministry of Education that the three schools we operate in Shuafat refugee camp and another three schools we operate inside East Jerusalem shall be closed,” said Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA Affairs for the West Bank.

He told UN News that students enrolled in the shuttered institutions “have no adequate access to education beyond these schools.”

“This is very concerning for the children, for their families, and it comes while the school year is still ongoing,” he added. “This is unprecedented. It’s a grave threat to the rights of those children.”




Palestinian schoolgirls embrace as they leave a school run by the UNWRA  in the Shoafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem on May 8, 2025, as Israeli security forces reportedly prepare to close the school. (AFP)

The Israeli Ministry of Education said it was closing the schools because they were operating without a license.

The enforcement orders that took effect May 8 have now left more than 800 Palestinian children, ages six to 15, without access to education. “Now, nearly 800 girls and boys — some as young as six years old — are left in shock and trauma,” Lazzarini wrote.

In late January, two Israeli laws banning UNRWA in the occupied Palestinian territories took effect. While implementation was initially slow, the second half of February saw the first moves to forcibly close several agency facilities in East Jerusalem.

For children whose schools were forcibly closed, the affected classrooms were more than just places of learning — they were sanctuaries in the midst of conflict and uncertainty.

“When we see school closures in places like the West Bank, it not only means that children are missing out on their right to learn, but they are also being stripped of a sense of security and normalcy,” said Alexandra Saieh, head of humanitarian policy and advocacy at Save the Children International.

“It also helps them in terms of their long-term physical and mental wellbeing,” she told Arab News. “It improves future prospects, and it also ensures that Palestinian society continues to prosper.

“So, when children miss out on schooling, it impacts future generations of Palestinians.”




Palestinian Bedouin students play at a primary school near the village of Kafr Malik in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on September 21, 2023. (AFP)

The Israeli Ministry of Education said earlier it would place the students affected by the closures into other Jerusalem schools.

Parents, teachers and administrators say closing the main schools in East Jerusalem will force their children to go through crowded and dangerous checkpoints daily, and some do not have the correct permits to pass through.

Now, with the threat of broader closures looming over nearly 50,000 Palestinian refugee students in the West Bank, the future of their education — and childhood — hangs in the balance.

The Israeli government’s opposition to UNRWA predates this year’s legislative changes. Officials have long criticized the agency’s school curriculum, accusing it of promoting incitement, and have objected to its continued recognition of refugee status for Palestinians displaced during the 1948 war.

Tensions escalated after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel alleged that around 10 percent of UNRWA staff in Gaza, or about 1,200 individuals, were affiliated with Palestinian militant groups involved in the assault, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.




Palestinians check the destruction at a UNRWA school housing displaced people, following an Israeli strike in the Bureij refugee camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip, on May 7, 2025. (AFP)

UNRWA, however, has strongly denied the accusations, saying it has not received any supporting evidence from Israel or any UN member state.

A series of investigations found some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its main allegation. It also said last August that nine staff working for UNRWA would be dismissed because they may have been involved in the attacks.

Saieh said Palestinian children’s right to education is “under siege, not just in Gaza, of course, where we’ve seen a total destruction of the education system, including the destruction of schools, the killing of both teachers and students, but also in the West Bank.”

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have either entirely or partially destroyed almost all school buildings by July 2024, according to the Occupied Palestinian Territory Education Cluster.

IN NUMBERS

50k+ Refugee children in occupied Palestinian territories who go to UN schools.

96 UNRWA schools in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in total.

As of August 2024, OCHA reports figures from Gaza’s health authorities that identify these attacks have killed 10,627 children and 411 teachers. But until today, the Israeli onslaught has killed at least 52,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than 17,000 of them children, according to the local Education Ministry.

While the closure of schools in East Jerusalem before the academic year’s end is unprecedented, disruptions to education in the West Bank have been a regular part of life for decades.

In the West Bank, Saieh highlighted that Palestinian children’s access to education is “under continued threat of disruption due to Israeli military operations, and, of course, the threats that UNRWA faces due to an Israeli government ban on its ability to work in many places, including in refugee camps.”

She noted that “students and teachers are often blocked from reaching their schools by constant movement restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities through the proliferation of checkpoints across the West Bank and other roadblocks as well as violence.”




School children call it a day at a UN-run school in Balata camp east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on February 6, 2025. (AFP)

These daily obstacles, Saieh said, take a heavy psychological toll on students and educators alike.

“In parts of the West Bank, especially where there are checkpoints and roadblocks, there is a great deal of fear, anxiety, and stress associated with the journey to and from school — affecting both children and teachers,” she said.

The impact, she added, extends beyond missed classroom time. Disruptions not only erode children’s emotional well-being and sense of safety, but also impacts “their ability to learn in the future” and “their relationships with families and teachers.”




Children participate in an activity aimed to support their mental health, at UNRWA's Tal al-Hawa Elementary Girls School in Gaza City on April 30, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP)

Citing data from the Education Cluster in the West Bank, Saieh noted that from October 2023 to March 2024, children in some areas were forced to reduce in-person school attendance to merely two days a week due to escalating insecurity and access restrictions.

In September last year, the Education Cluster and the West Bank Protection Consortium raised alarm over a Sept. 16 Israeli settler attack on the Arab Al-Kaabneh Basic School in Al-Muarrajat, northwest of Jericho.

“In the first three months of this year, we’ve seen attacks by Israeli forces and settlers on education rise




Palestinian students attend a training course on trade at a school run by the UNRWA in the Qalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on November 14, 2024. (AFP)

significantly,” Saieh said, warning that such incidents “deepen barriers to safe education for children.”

She added that the Palestinian Ministry of Education has documented thousands of Israeli attacks on schools over the past year. 

“These attacks include breaking into schools, smashing windows, desks, electronic devices, the use of firearms in the vicinity of schools, the detention of students and staff, and delaying and harassing students and teachers on the way to work,” she said.




Palestinian students are evacuated in buses from a school in coordination with deployed Israeli forces during an army raid in Qabatiyah south of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on September 19, 2024. (AFP)

Similarly, teachers are not immune to the rising tensions. “Teachers often face immense obstacles just getting to the classroom,” Saieh said. “We know that teachers have been often blocked from reaching schools due to Israeli movement restrictions and violence, so they are also under threat.”

She emphasized that Israeli military raids near schools, settler violence, and the destruction of educational infrastructure all hinder teachers’ ability to do their jobs. “We’ve seen teachers alongside students being subjected to violence as well.”

On top of these security threats, many educators face financial hardship. Saieh noted that many Palestinian teachers are not receiving full salaries, making it difficult to retain staff and provide consistent education in the occupied Palestinian territories.

These challenges unfold in a broader context of ongoing occupation. Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. In 1980, it annexed East Jerusalem — a move not recognized by most of the international community — and considers the entire city its capital.




Palestinian school girls attend class at an UNRWA school in the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem on May 6, 2025.

Palestinians, however, view East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state.

Today, about 230,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem alongside some 390,000 Palestinians.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank illegal under international law, a stance supported by a recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice. Israel rejects this interpretation.

On May 2, the ICJ concluded public hearings on Israel’s legal responsibilities toward allowing UN agencies and humanitarian groups to operate in the occupied Palestinian territories. A formal opinion, requested by the UN General Assembly in December, is expected after several months of deliberation.

This ongoing tension is reflected in Israel’s recent closure of UN-run schools in East Jerusalem, a move that has drawn condemnation from the international community.

The British Consulate in Jerusalem, in a statement on X, said the UK, Belgium, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Turkiye, and others “strongly oppose the closure orders issued against six UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem.”

 

 

Noting that “UNRWA has operated in East Jerusalem under its UN General Assembly mandate since 1950,” the consulate stressed that “Israel is obliged under international humanitarian law to facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the education of children.”

“Education is a right, not a privilege,” the consulate added in its statement. “Palestinian children, like all children, deserve safe, uninterrupted access to school. We stand in solidarity with students, parents, and teachers.”

Saieh of Save the Children called on the international community to protect UNRWA.

 

 

“UNRWA provides critical education services to Palestinian children in the West Bank,” she said. “UNRWA schools are critical for children’s learning, and ensuring that UNRWA is able to continue to operate is essential to ensuring that children are able to continue to learn.”

She also highlighted the deep desire of Palestinian children to attend school. “Palestinian children want to go to school. We hear this consistently from the children we work with across the occupied Palestinian territories.”

Saieh further stressed the value Palestinians place on education. “Palestinian society, as a whole, highly values education. Historically, Palestinians have had some of the highest literacy rates globally, and they continue to prioritize sending their children to school.”


 

 


Israel intercepts Yemen missile, Houthi rebels claim attack

Updated 03 June 2025
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Israel intercepts Yemen missile, Houthi rebels claim attack

  • In a video statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group’s “missile force... carried out a military operation” targeting Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said it intercepted a missile launched Monday from Yemen, whose Houthi rebels claimed an attack targeting Israel’s main airport.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted,” the army said in a statement, as loud booms were heard in the skies over Jerusalem.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023 with Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel.
In a video statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group’s “missile force... carried out a military operation” targeting Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
Monday’s interception followed another the day before that was claimed by the Iran-backed rebels.
The Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, paused their attacks during a two-month Gaza ceasefire that ended in March, but began again after Israel resumed its military campaign in the territory.
While most of the projectiles have been intercepted, one missile fired in early May hit inside the perimeter of Ben Gurion airport for the first time.
Israel has carried out several strikes in Yemen in retaliation for the attacks, including on ports and the airport in the capital Sanaa.
 

 


Can sanctions relief deliver quick wins for Syria’s economy?

Updated 47 min 25 sec ago
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Can sanctions relief deliver quick wins for Syria’s economy?

  • A major boost came when Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced they would jointly fund salary support for Syrian state employees
  • Experts want legal clarity and investor safeguards to be put in place quickly for loans, grants and investments to start flowing in

LONDON: Like a relic from another era, its promise long faded, the Syrian pound still lingers in the wallets of shopkeepers and shoppers in Damascus. Yet, green shoots of hope are sprouting across the war-weary nation.

That rekindled sense of optimism owes much to US President Donald Trump’s pledge to ease sanctions and signs of regional support for Syria’s economic recovery.

A major boost came on May 31, when Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced they would jointly fund salary support for Syrian state employees, many of whom have struggled for years on paltry and irregular wages.

The pledge builds on earlier Gulf efforts to stabilize Syria’s economy and signals a deeper commitment to reconstruction. On May 12, Saudi Arabia and Qatar settled Syria’s $15.5 million in arrears to the World Bank’s International Development Association — a key step that reopened access to loans and grants.

The international backing comes at a crucial moment. After 14 years of war and isolation, Syria’s economy has nearly collapsed. Exports have dried up, foreign reserves have fallen to just $200 million, the currency has lost 99 percent of its value, and more than 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line.

The new interim government, led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, inherited a damaged economy and the sanctions that helped undermine it. (AFP)

Trump’s March 13 announcement in Riyadh sparked spontaneous celebrations in the capital’s streets. But even amid the jubilation, many Syrians recognized that true recovery would take more than a policy shift — and much longer to materialize.

“Partial sanctions relief sends a political signal, not a legal guarantee,” Harout Ekmanian, public international lawyer at Foley Hoag LLP in New York, told Arab News.

“Investors remain cautious, and there is a risk of overcompliance with any remaining sanctions that are in place, particularly in sensitive sectors like banking,” he said.

He added that the need for “a complete lifting of the tangled web of sanctions to facilitate investment from compliance sensitive investors from the US and Europe” cannot be overstated.

Delaney Simon, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group’s US program, concurred. “If Trump is actually planning to lift all or even most sanctions on Syria, he is doing something virtually unprecedented in the recent history of sanctions relief,” he told Arab News.

He cautions, though, that “lifting sanctions is not straightforward.”

“It will require a massive bureaucratic and possibly political lift in Washington, including mobilization of different arms of the US government including the Treasury, State and Commerce departments and Congress,” Simon said.

Even with formal relief, private firms may be slow to re-engage. “Relief on paper might not translate to relief in practice,” he said. “The private sector may be wary of engaging with Syria once the restrictions are lifted.”

Despite those concerns, Simon urges patience. “President Trump has a tough road ahead to make good on this commitment, but he should persevere,” he said. “He is right that lifting sanctions gives Syria a chance at greatness.”

For now, such an outcome remains uncertain. The most severe Western sanctions were imposed in 2011 by the US, EU, UK, and others in response to the Assad regime’s crackdown on protesters.

Following the ousting of Bashar Assad in December, the new interim government, led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, inherited a damaged economy and the sanctions that helped undermine it.

Washington’s measures were among the most sweeping: a near-total trade embargo, asset freezes, and secondary sanctions targeting foreign firms doing business with Syria. The Caesar Act of 2020 imposed additional restrictions, further isolating Assad’s regime.

Renewed violence has erupted in several areas, including rural Damascus, Homs, and the Alawite-dominated coast, now largely controlled by HTS, the group that led the offensive to oust Assad. (AFP)

Signs of change came on May 23, when the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 25, lifting most of those restrictions. The relief, however, comes with conditions: political reform, respect for human rights, and counterterrorism commitments from Damascus.

Soon after, the EU and UK followed suit, underscoring a broader Western alignment with the Al-Sharaa government. Still, experts say sanctions relief alone will not revive an economy ravaged by years of conflict.

A key next step is rejoining the SWIFT financial network. Bankers in Damascus expect the connection to be restored within weeks, enabling smoother international transactions and potentially unlocking billions in remittances from Syrians abroad.

Nevertheless, global banks remain cautious, awaiting clearer legal guidance from Western governments. “Syria’s financial system is a black box that nobody understands,” Stephen Fallon, a banking and sanctions expert, told The Economist newsmagazine. “If I run a Western bank and I accidentally receive funds from terrorists, it’s me the American regulators will come after.”

Foley Hoag’s Ekmanian sees potential short-term gains but says they depend on legal clarity. “Sanctions relief can act as a pressure valve by easing immediate economic distress, but without legal clarity on asset recovery and investor protections, quick wins may remain elusive,” he said.

INNUMBERS

• $15.5m World Bank arrears paid by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

• $200m Left in Syria’s foreign currency reserves.

• $400m Frozen assets that, if recovered, could support reform.

(Sources: World Bank, Central Bank of Syria, & Reuters)

Access to frozen reserves could help stabilize liquidity. But long-term recovery, he added, depends on structural reform and investor confidence — both difficult to achieve.

Syria’s central bank holds just $200 million in foreign exchange reserves, Reuters news agency reported — a steep decline from the $18.5 billion the International Monetary Fund estimated before the war. It also retains nearly 26 tonnes of gold, currently valued at over $2.6 billion.

The interim government hopes to unlock up to $400 million in frozen overseas assets to fund reforms, including recent salary hikes for public workers. But the actual value, location, and timeline for repatriation remain unclear.

Switzerland has identified $118 million in local banks, according to Reuters, while The Syria Report estimates another $217 million is in the UK.

US President Donald Trump pledged to ease sanctions and signs of regional support for Syria’s economic recovery. (AFP)

Ekmanian emphasized that even modest gains “hinge on the credibility of the sanctions relief architecture.” He noted that “if businesses fear snapback sanctions or regulatory ambiguity, even the thawing of restrictions won’t translate into meaningful economic movement.”

Predictability, he said, underpins international investment. “International investment law tells us that predictability is key,” he said.

“While sanctions relief can unlock trade routes and aid, without legal assurances and investment protection commitments, Syria risks a piecemeal recovery vulnerable to geopolitical shifts.”

Beyond legal guarantees, Syria must overhaul its domestic institutions. “Legal frameworks must catch up with policy signals,” Ekmanian said.

“Re-engagement with Syria under international economic law requires more than opening bank accounts,” he explained. “It demands credible reforms to the domestic legal framework, judiciary, arbitration frameworks, debt transparency, and governance of sovereign assets.”

He also warned of legal risks that could deter investors: a growing docket of war-related tort and atrocity litigation in European and US courts under universal jurisdiction and terrorism exceptions to sovereign immunity.

“Even with various US sanctions and EU Council Regulation 36/2012 partially relaxed, this needs to be accompanied by steps to ensure that the new government and Syrian people are not unduly burdened by the prior regime’s liabilities,” he said.

Ultimately, he said, “modest sanctions relief can ease humanitarian transactions and marginally bolster foreign-exchange buffers, but it cannot deliver a durable uplift in trade, investment or debt restructuring without parallel movement on governance, transparency, and human-rights benchmarks that anchor international economic law.”

Syria’s external debt is another major obstacle, estimated by the new government to be between $20 billion and $23 billion — high relative to its 2023 GDP of about $17.5 billion. Much of it was accrued under Assad through military and oil-related loans from allies such as Iran and Russia, complicating restructuring efforts.

Despite these hurdles, some see progress. “US sanctions relief will be a major step not only towards economic recovery, but also towards ending the cycles of violence that have trapped Syria for over a decade,” said Nanar Hawach, a senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group.

Many Syrians recognize that true recovery would take more than a policy shift — and much longer to materialize. (AFP)

He argued that economic collapse has contributed to insecurity by weakening services, deepening grievances and driving recruitment into armed groups. “Lifting sanctions could help reverse that dynamic,” he told Arab News.

Syria’s post-Assad transition remains unsettled. Renewed violence has erupted in several areas, including rural Damascus, Homs, and the Alawite-dominated coast, now largely controlled by HTS, the group that led the offensive to oust Assad.

The group has since absorbed rival factions, some still having Daesh-aligned extremists in their ranks. Elsewhere, sectarian clashes have hit Homs and rural Damascus, while the interim government struggles to contain unrest among Druze in the south and Kurds in the northeast.

Still, the psychological effect of sanctions relief may prove powerful. “The most immediate benefit is psychological: a clear boost in investor confidence,” Hawach said.

“Even when sanctions were partially eased in the past, most banks and companies, especially international ones, avoided Syria out of fear of getting blacklisted,” he said. “Simply put, the word ‘Syria’ was enough to trigger overcompliance,” but a shift is noticeable now.

He noted that some regional investors are already engaging with Syria. “Some have already taken the decision to invest and are now looking into the technical aspects of it,” he said. “There’s a lot of momentum. It’s looking very promising.”

Since May 13, several regional investors have announced major projects. On May 29, Syria signed a strategic agreement with a consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Holding to build four gas power plants and a 1,000-megawatt solar facility — a $7 billion investment expected to meet over half the country’s electricity needs.

In another sign of momentum, DP World, the Dubai-based ports operator, signed an $800 million agreement to develop and expand the port of Tartus — the largest foreign investment in Syria since sanctions relief began.

After 14 years of war and isolation, Syria’s economy has nearly collapsed. (AFP)

Diaspora entrepreneurs are also stepping in. Mohamed Ghazal, managing director of Startup Syria, a community-led initiative supporting Syrian entrepreneurs, says Syrian startup founders are targeting key sectors for recovery: infrastructure, public services, agriculture, digital services, and food security.

“These sectors can generate jobs quickly, particularly in construction, agriculture, and tech,” Ghazal told Arab News. He also cited healthcare, education, and fintech as areas for investment, especially given Syria’s push to reconnect with global financial systems.

“Vocational training, online learning, digital health services — these are where youth and diaspora professionals can really contribute,” he said.

As Syria begins its journey back into the international community, the road ahead is still rocky and the challenges daunting. Yet, for the first time in years, the nation appears to be moving toward a new era — one shaped not by conflict and sanctions, but by constructive diplomacy, reform and cautious optimism.

 


Syria reopens Lebanon border crossing for Eid Al-Adha travel

Updated 02 June 2025
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Syria reopens Lebanon border crossing for Eid Al-Adha travel

  • Parliament tackles drug smuggling crisis amid health safety concerns

BEIRUT: Syrian authorities announced the reopening of Al-Arida border crossing with Lebanon, which closed in December 2024 due to an Israeli raid during the war with Hezbollah.

Syria’s Land and Sea Ports General Authority said in a statement that the border crossing located in Rif Tartus was reopening.

It informed travelers that Al-Arida border crossing would be manned on Tuesday morning, despite ongoing restoration and maintenance work, to facilitate movement during Eid Al-Adha.

The crossing is located on Lebanon’s northern border and connects the ports of Tripoli and Tartus.

Israeli warplanes struck the crossing on Nov. 27, 2024.

Ten days after the Syrian authorities removed the rubble and rehabilitated the crossing, it was struck again by Israel, leading to its permanent closure.

Dozens of Syrian families who had fled to Lebanon are now returning to their villages in Syria, while legal crossings are witnessing active overland tourism between Syria and Lebanon.

The two countries share five legal border crossings, including the Masnaa crossing, which is the closest to Damascus, and the Jdeidet Yabous crossing located in the Rif Dimashq Governorate.

Additionally, there is the Aboudieh crossing, which consists of a 45 km bridge passing through the Syrian village of Dabousieh, and the Jousieh crossing, situated in the Qusayr area of Rif Homs, which serves as the gateway from northern Bekaa to Homs and is located 40 km from the city.

The Talkalakh crossing in the Wadi Khaled area of northern Lebanon connects to Syrian territory in western Rif Homs, alongside Al-Arida crossing.

It was primarily designated for transporting goods and trucks carrying phosphate and sand from Syria to Lebanon, and other goods in the other direction.

Despite the measures that Syrian and Lebanese authorities have started to implement to regulate border crossings and close many illegal routes in the mountainous border regions, smuggling activities have resumed on both sides.

Recently, the Syndicate of Pharmaceutical Importers in Lebanon raised concerns, urging action to combat the issue of illegal, smuggled, and counterfeit medicines flooding the Lebanese market.

The Lebanese judiciary is continuing its investigations into the smuggling of medications from Egypt and Turkiye into Lebanon.

So far, they have detained several Lebanese and Syrian nationals suspected of being involved in these operations.

The investigations have focused on around 50 pharmacists and 60 pharmaceutical traders in Lebanon.

The Parliamentary Health Committee held a meeting dedicated to the issue of smuggled and counterfeit medicines.

Lebanon previously lifted subsidies on medicines — except for those designated for patients with chronic illnesses — during the economic crisis that struck the country in 2019. 

Public Health Minister Rakan Nasreddine, Justice Minister Adel Nassar, and representatives from the Interior and Defense Ministries participated in the meeting, along with the heads of relevant security agencies.

MP Bilal Abdallah told Arab News the committee thoroughly discussed methods to regulate the pharmaceutical market in Lebanon and safeguard citizens from medication smuggling operations.

“The danger arises from smuggled medicines, which may be expired, improperly stored, or non-compliant with safety standards.

“This poses a serious threat to patients, particularly since smuggling often targets costly medications intended for cancer patients and individuals with chronic illnesses.

“The Ministry of Health has documented dozens of cases where citizens’ health deteriorated after consuming such medicines.”
 
Abdallah, who is both a legislator and a practicing physician, stated that the parliamentary committee had instructed customs and security forces to enhance inspection protocols.

He highlighted the positive influences of Syria’s political transition, stating that “Syrian authorities are now more effectively monitoring the situation and preventing smuggling through unauthorized border points.”

The Lebanese Pharmaceutical Importers Association, participating in parliamentary hearings, confirmed that all medications registered with the Health Ministry and distributed by international manufacturers are continuously available in Lebanese markets.

However, the association emphasized an important distinction regarding smuggled substances, clarifying that “products entering Lebanon through illegal channels cannot be regarded as legitimate pharmaceuticals, as authentic medications require verified component analysis and official documentation submitted to authorized regulatory bodies.”


Syrian government and Kurdish force exchange prisoners

Updated 02 June 2025
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Syrian government and Kurdish force exchange prisoners

  • The 400 prisoners are released as part of a deal reached earlier this year between the two sides

ALEPPO, Syria: Syrian authorities and a Kurdish-led force exchanged Monday more than 400 prisoners as part of a deal reached earlier this year between the two sides.
The exchange in the northern city of Aleppo is a step in the process of confidence- building measures between the government in Damascus and the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. A similar exchange took place in April.
Mulham Al-Akidi, the deputy governor of Aleppo province, said 470 prisoners were released by both sides adding that the exchange “aims to reduce tensions on the ground.” He added that if there are more prisoners they will be released in the near future.
Yasser Mohammed Hakim said he was detained six months ago after he drove into an SDF-controlled area by mistake. The man added that he was held in a jail where members of the Daesh group are held in Syria.
“They put us with the biggest terrorists,” Hakim told The Associated Press after his release by the SDF. “I am a civilian who took the wrong road. I lost six months of my life.”
In March, Syria’s interim government signed a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the main US-backed force there into the Syrian army.
Since the deal was signed, the clashes between the SDF and the Syrian National Army, a coalition of Turkiye-backed groups, almost stopped in northern Syria after months of fighting that left dozens killed or wounded on both sides.
Syria’s new rulers are struggling to exert their authority across the country and reach political settlements with different ethnic and religious groups in the war-torn nation.


UN chief condemns killing of Palestinians at aid center in Gaza, calls for probe

Updated 02 June 2025
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UN chief condemns killing of Palestinians at aid center in Gaza, calls for probe

  • ‘It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food. I call for an immediate and independent investigation,’ says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
  • At least 31 Palestinians killed and 176 wounded in attack on Sunday by Israeli forces near a controversial, US-backed aid site in the city of Rafah

NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned the killing of more 30 Palestinians who were seeking food at a controversial, US-backed aid-distribution center in Gaza. He called for an “immediate and independent investigation” into the incident and demanded that those responsible “be held accountable.”

At least 31 Palestinians were killed and 176 wounded in the attack by Israeli forces near the aid site in the city of Rafah in the south of the territory.

“I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday,” Guterres said.

“It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food. I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”

The aid center close to the scene of the attack is managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American organization with which the Israeli government is working to implement a new aid-distribution system in Gaza that circumvents the traditional UN-led approach.

The UN has chosen not to work with the organization, citing concerns about its impartiality. Some humanitarian groups have said the aid initiative seems to have been tailored to align with Israeli military interests.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday the international organization and its humanitarian partners continue to urgently call for the full lifting of all restrictions on the delivery of aid and essential supplies, to ensure the basic needs of civilians in Gaza are met at a time when dire conditions persist in the territory.

He said that civilians there face repeated water shortages as the main pipeline in Deir Al-Balah, which previously delivered at least 12,000 cubic meters of water a day, remains out of service. Despite several attempts, humanitarian workers have been denied permission to carry out coordinated repair missions, Dujarric said. Five planned operations to distribute potable water to camps for displaced persons in Jabaliya were also blocked by Israeli authorities, he added.

Over the weekend, humanitarian teams managed to pick up more than 100 truckloads of food and medical supplies from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, bringing the total number collected to more than 300 since its recent reopening. However, access remains inconsistent and unpredictable, Dujarric said.

“Today, one of our attempts to collect supplies from that crossing was denied,” he added. “Another is still ongoing, awaiting a green light from Israeli authorities, a pause in the bombing along the route, and the allocation of a viable path.

“Because of the Israeli weekend and holiday, the border was kept closed, blocking us from bringing more supplies through Kerem Shalom since Saturday. Even when the crossing is open, severe restrictions on what we can bring in, both in terms of volume and variety, means it’s still just a trickle of what people need.”

In his statement, Guterres said: “Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid.

“The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately. The UN must be allowed to work in safety and security under conditions of full respect or humanitarian principles.”