To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. If you continue browsing, you accept our use of cookies. You can review our privacy policy to find out more about the cookies we use.
Triumph Of Immunity: Why Assad's Return To The Arab League Matters
Two pressing factors have weighed on the Arab League to reintegrate the accused war criminal: refugees and narcotics. But it speaks to a larger weakness of the international community to see that justice is carried out.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
PARIS — Sweet revenge! That's how it looked for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, arriving Thursday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to attend the Arab League summit. It's a first appearance in more than a decade, since the exclusion of Damascus from the regional organization. Syria was reintegrated on May 7 and Assad’s presence at the Jeddah Summit marks his great return.
Syria had been excluded from the Arab League when Assad’s regime repressed what was initially a peaceful, popular uprising in 2011, in the wake of the Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. It's since been a decade in which he tortured and slaughtered, used chemical weapons, besieged cities. And yet, he’s still here, fundamentally thanks to the support of Russia and Iran.
And even if millions of Syrians are still taking refuge abroad, even if the country is still divided and partly beyond the control of the central power in Damascus, Assad survived. The man himself can now revel in this unexpected success.
Refugee dilemma
Instead, for those hoping for a political solution in Syria, as well as those seeking justice for the crimes committed, Syria's reintegration in the Arab League marks a critical failure. Call it, the triumph of immunity.
Understanding why this has happened means looking at two factors agitating the region: the first is the presence of millions of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
How will millions be expected to go back to live in the same system that drove them away?
In Turkey, which is not a member of the League, part of the population wants the refugees gone as the country is going through tough times, high inflation and the aftermath of the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake. Even the opposition candidate in the current presidential race, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has turned it into a campaign argument. In Lebanon, a country that is also experiencing an economic and social descent into hell, the presence of 2 million Syrians has become similarly very political.
When it rejoined the Arab League, Damascus pledged to create the conditions for the return of refugees, but without a political solution or promise of justice. How will millions of people be expected to go back to live in the same system that drove them away?
A Syrian mother and her baby wait at the Turkish border to return home after the devastating earthquake.
The second subject is drugs. Syria has become the top producer and exporter of Captagon, a newly popular addictive amphetamine wreaking havoc in the Middle East and beyond. Saudi Arabia and Jordan are particularly affected, and are putting pressure on Damascus to control trafficking.
There again, Syria pledged, at a cost, to act against Captagon trafficking. The problem is that it has become a major source of income for the country, but even more so for the government: investigations point to the direction of Assad’s own brother, Maher, chief of the 4th Syrian Armored Division.
There may well be a fool’s bargain in this reintegration, and at least some tension ahead. For Syrians, notably those forced into exile, it's a bitter pill to swallow to see the survival of the regime that pushed so many to leave.
It is also a dilemma for the West, which continues to be pushed to the sidelines by a Middle East in flux — and neither has the means to exert influence after a tragedy they all could not prevent. Today is a victory for Assad alone.
Triumph Of Immunity: Why Assad's Return To The Arab League Matters
Two pressing factors have weighed on the Arab League to reintegrate the accused war criminal: refugees and narcotics. But it speaks to a larger weakness of the international community to see that justice is carried out.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
PARIS — Sweet revenge! That's how it looked for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, arriving Thursday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to attend the Arab League summit. It's a first appearance in more than a decade, since the exclusion of Damascus from the regional organization. Syria was reintegrated on May 7 and Assad’s presence at the Jeddah Summit marks his great return.
Syria had been excluded from the Arab League when Assad’s regime repressed what was initially a peaceful, popular uprising in 2011, in the wake of the Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. It's since been a decade in which he tortured and slaughtered, used chemical weapons, besieged cities. And yet, he’s still here, fundamentally thanks to the support of Russia and Iran.
And even if millions of Syrians are still taking refuge abroad, even if the country is still divided and partly beyond the control of the central power in Damascus, Assad survived. The man himself can now revel in this unexpected success.
Refugee dilemma
Instead, for those hoping for a political solution in Syria, as well as those seeking justice for the crimes committed, Syria's reintegration in the Arab League marks a critical failure. Call it, the triumph of immunity.
Understanding why this has happened means looking at two factors agitating the region: the first is the presence of millions of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
How will millions be expected to go back to live in the same system that drove them away?
In Turkey, which is not a member of the League, part of the population wants the refugees gone as the country is going through tough times, high inflation and the aftermath of the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake. Even the opposition candidate in the current presidential race, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has turned it into a campaign argument. In Lebanon, a country that is also experiencing an economic and social descent into hell, the presence of 2 million Syrians has become similarly very political.
When it rejoined the Arab League, Damascus pledged to create the conditions for the return of refugees, but without a political solution or promise of justice. How will millions of people be expected to go back to live in the same system that drove them away?
A Syrian mother and her baby wait at the Turkish border to return home after the devastating earthquake.
The second subject is drugs. Syria has become the top producer and exporter of Captagon, a newly popular addictive amphetamine wreaking havoc in the Middle East and beyond. Saudi Arabia and Jordan are particularly affected, and are putting pressure on Damascus to control trafficking.
There again, Syria pledged, at a cost, to act against Captagon trafficking. The problem is that it has become a major source of income for the country, but even more so for the government: investigations point to the direction of Assad’s own brother, Maher, chief of the 4th Syrian Armored Division.
There may well be a fool’s bargain in this reintegration, and at least some tension ahead. For Syrians, notably those forced into exile, it's a bitter pill to swallow to see the survival of the regime that pushed so many to leave.
It is also a dilemma for the West, which continues to be pushed to the sidelines by a Middle East in flux — and neither has the means to exert influence after a tragedy they all could not prevent. Today is a victory for Assad alone.
A top Hamas spokesman appeared in a video late Monday to address the ongoing hostage situation, saying that between 200 and 250 hostages are currently being held in Gaza. Abu Obayda, the spokesman for Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the' military wing of Hamas, said that hostages with a foreign passport are "our guests," who will be protected and released when conditions on the ground permit, Times of Israel is reporting.
Obayda, who appeared with his face covered in a keffiyah Palestinian scarf, repeated an earlier Hamas claim that 22 hostages have been killed in Israel air raids.
Also late Monday, the first video of a hostage was circulated, showing Maya Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli dual citizen captured during the musical festival last Saturday, with her arm being wrapped in a bandage. (See below) Israeli officials criticized the video as propaganda and psychological warfare. Schem's family released a statement that they were "happy" to see her alive.
The timing of the videos appeared to be a response to a report earlier Monday by the Israeli army on the hostage situation. Israel reported that Hamas is holding 199 hostages, higher than the 155 previously stated by the army. The top spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, Daniel Hagari, says the military has notified the families of all those confirmed held in Gaza after last Saturday’s massive attack by Hamas in southern Israel.
“We are making valiant efforts to try to understand where the hostages are in Gaza, and we have such information,” Hagari was quoted by Israeli media. “We will not carry out an attack that would endanger our people.”
Israel has been conducting massive air raids in Gaza aimed at hitting Hamas, which have come with an enormous price in Palestinian civilian casualties, with the total death count now above 2,700. Families of the hostages have feared that their loved ones could be among those killed by Israel’s air strikes.
For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.
The hostages include at least 13 children and at least eight people over the age of 60, including at least two over 80. UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Sunday that up to 10 British people may be being held in Gaza. The U.S. has also confirmed a number of its citizens have been captured by Hamas, and that 13 of its citizens are missing. Thai officials say 17 of the country's nationals are also being held in Gaza, while France says 13 of its citizens remain missing. Eight Germans, two Mexicans and one Russian-Israeli are among the hostages.
Hamas has said it has hidden its hostages in "safe places and tunnels" within Gaza, and has threatened to kill them if civilian homes are bombed by Israel without warning. Plans for a likely Israeli ground invasion will have to take into account the fate of the hostages.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Hamas was potentially ready to release the hostages if Israel stops their airstrikes on Gaza. But the militant group has not acknowledged making such an offer.
Speaking on Monday to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is in touch with the families of those being held by Hamas. "We are relentless in this effort to bring back our brothers and sisters, men and women, children and babies," he said.
Among those being held by Hamas is also Yaffa, 85 years old. Since the confirmation of her grandmother’s kidnapping, her family holds onto the hope of her being freed through international pressure. “If the whole world puts pressure on Hamas, the hostages will come back,” the hostage’s granddaughter Orian Adar tells France24 “I don't want my grandmother to die in captivity.”
First video released of hostage in Gaza
Israel has killed 11 Palestinian journalists
🔊Today on Reuters World News podcast, we pay tribute to our colleague Issam Abdallah who was killed while filming Israeli missile attacks at the Israeli-Lebanon border.
Israel has killed 11 Palestinian journalists in airstrikes in Gaza since the Hamas incursion into southern Israel, according to Reuters. It cited the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. Among those killed was Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, 37, who died on Friday while filming Israeli missile attacks at the Israeli-Lebanon border.
Blinken back in Israel
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. The U.S. top diplomat had already been in Israel last week, days after Hamas launched its attacks in Israel, and traveled to neighboring Arab countries, trying to prevent the conflict from escalating further.
Blinken's return comes as the U.S. seeks to help American citizens trapped in Gaza make their way across the only remaining exit from the besieged strip, the Rafah crossing to Egypt. The U.S. is also working with regional partners to help secure the release of hostages, including American citizens, taken by Hamas. Meanwhile, earlier Monday, the Israeli prime minister's office denied there were any arrangements to open the Rafah border crossing.
Read Cairo-based Mada Masr’s analysis of how the situation in Gaza is squeezing Egypt from all sides.
"The Enemy's Obsession"
Beirut-based daily Al Akhbar features a front page Monday on “the enemy’s obsession,” reporting on the multiplying airstrikes on Gaza. The Arabic-language publication notes that Israel is for now “stuck in the air” as the launch of a ground offensive is proving more complex than anticipated.
Israel evacuates its towns
In a joint statement on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced a "plan to evacuate residents of northern Israel living in an area up to 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) from the Lebanese border," reports French daily Le Monde.
Residents will be taken to hotels and guesthouses, and their accommodation will be financed by the Israeli government. The Northern Israeli border area has been tense following repeated exchanges of fire between Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Israeli army since the attack on October 7.
Hezbollah announced in the afternoon that it had hit three targets in Israel, resulting in Israeli fire. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon reported that a rocket had hit a peacekeepers' building in southern Lebanon, without causing any casualties.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to visit Israel on Tuesday to express his solidarity according to German daily Die Welt. Israeli newspapers such as Israel Hayom and Haaretz also reported on the visit.
In a speech to the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, on Thursday, the Chancellor affirmed Germany's unwavering support for Israel. "Germany's only place is with Israel", he said, adding that the "historical responsibility resulting from the Holocaust" imposed on the country the "permanent duty to defend Israel's existence and security." The head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, had already visited Israel on Friday to express her solidarity, before traveling to Egypt on Saturday.
French columnist Pierre Haski wonders if its not getting too late for Western allies to contain Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s thirst for revenge.
Siege update
The communications director of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has called for border crossings with Gaza to be opened to allow humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.
UNRWA said 1 million people in Gaza had been forced to flee their homes with at least half of them sheltering in UN facilities, with the need for food and fuel growing urgent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told CNN on Sunday that Israel has restored water to southern Gaza. But on Monday, the director of Gaza’s water authority Munther Shublaq disputed that claim, telling CNN that water has not been supplied to the enclave.
Israeli military airstrikes have killed at least 2,750 people and injured more than 9,700, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said in a statement Monday. In the West Bank, 58 people have been killed and more than 1,250 injured, the ministry added. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 are still missing under houses and buildings destroyed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, according to the Palestinian civil defense.
New Russian propaganda campaign tries to link Kyiv and Hamas
Russian Telegram channels and media outlets have launched a coordinated propaganda campaign aiming to undermine Ukraine and its Western allies by propagating disinformation about Ukraine and the Middle East.
Central to this disinformation effort are false claims that Ukrainian weapons are being utilized by Hamas, Kyiv-based Livy Bereg reports.
In a recent instance, a video surfaced on the "Reporter Rudenko V" Telegram channel, allegedly depicting Ukrainian weapons in the hands of Hamas. However, the authenticity of this video is highly questionable, as it presents a collection of weapons without credible confirmation of their Ukrainian origin.
Prominent Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov also played a role in propagating similar unverified narratives. Solovyov cited an alleged screenshot from a foreign news story, reporting that Israeli soldiers had apprehended terrorists armed with weapons from Ukraine. No link to the referenced report was provided, and attempts to locate the article on search engines like Google proved futile.
Furthermore, the disinformation campaign extended to distributing a fabricated video falsely attributed to the BBC and Bellingcat. Both organizations categorically refuted the authenticity of these videos. Russian propagandists have also seized upon this disinformation to undermine Ukraine's Western partners, particularly the United States, insinuating that they are incapable of providing military support on multiple fronts.
Unconfirmed reports have circulated on Iranian and Italian language media of an assassination attempt against a top Iranian intelligence official in Tehran.
Rome-based La Repubblica daily says Mohammad Akiki, a top member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was shot in Tehran and is in critical condition.
There is speculation that the attack was orchestrated by Israel’s Mossad intelligence services, as payback for the assault against Israeli civilians last Saturday.
