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  • Syria

A member of the Internal Security Forces stands watch at a checkpoint in the village of Al-Mazra'a, after days of violence in Sweida between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions, on 20 July 2025. Karam al-Masri/Reuters

Solution needed: Sweida’s ceasefire is a pause, not peace

The guns may have fallen silent but in Syria's Druze-dominated southern city, they have enforced the status quo. That is dangerous, since it fails to recognise that Syria has now fundamentally changed

Haid Haid 21 July 2025
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen backs the central government's desire for sovereignty over its territory but says that, in a transition period, this is best done through dialogue and by building trust. Al Majalla/AFP

UN envoy to Syria: true loyalty to the state cannot be coerced

Geir Pedersen condemns Israeli strikes and urges genuine dialogue between Syrian authorities and the local Druze community in Sweida.

Ibrahim Hamidi 18 July 2025
The Great Colonnade (Decumanus Maximus) at Palmyra, one of six Syrian sites on the UNESCO elite list of world heritage. All of them sustained some level of damage in the 13-year civil war. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP

The plundering of Syria's cultural heritage - Part 2

The second instalment of a two-part investigation into the unprecedented looting of Syria's archaeological sites, Al Majalla uncovers the destruction of a rich archaeological landscape

Abdul Rahman Mazhar Halloush 18 July 2025
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf testifies during a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the US Capitol on November 8, 2023. Alex Wong/Getty Images via AFP

Barbara Leaf: sectarian power-sharing not the answer in Syria

Al Majalla spoke to a seasoned diplomat who helped shape American policy on the Middle East during Joe Biden's presidency, asking her about Syria, US engagement, Iran, and Palestine.

Ahmed Maher 17 July 2025
A visitor makes sketches at Palmyra. During their occupation of the site from 2015, Islamic State (IS) jihadists reduced several temples, columns, and other treasures to heaps of stone. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP

The plundering of Syria’s cultural heritage - Part 1

The first instalment of a two-part investigation into the unprecedented looting of Syria's archaeological sites, Al Majalla uncovers the destruction of a rich archaeological landscape

Abdul Rahman Mazhar Halloush 16 July 2025
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa with Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and others in Damascus on 21 December 2024. They are now trying to create a parliament. Reuters

Between hope and doubt: the making of Syria’s new Parliament

While sham elections have been seen before, a genuinely representative elected legislature has not. The opportunity is huge, and early signs are good, but there are still far too many questions.

Haid Haid 13 July 2025
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. Reuters

Fading hopes that the SDF will agree to Syrian integration

The autonomous Kurdish-led group in Syria's north-east has been protected by the US for a decade, but the move now is towards integration with Damascus. Unfortunately, the SDF has not got the memo.

Charles Lister 11 July 2025
Israeli army soldiers add zip ties to the mast of an Israeli flag flying at a special area for exercises during a military drill in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on July 8, 2025. Jalaa Marey/AFP

Why Syria and Israel should walk, not run, towards peace

This is a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to agree a détente between two hostile neighbours, but getting there is tricky. Several issues must (but can) be overcome.

Michael Harari 11 July 2025
A member of the Syrian security forces searches a defunct drug factory inside an abandoned building near the village of Hawik in the countryside of Al-Qusayr on February 12, 2025. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

Redefining counter-narcotics in a new Syria

Challenges lie ahead for the new Syrian government as it seeks to close the gap in security policy

Caroline Rose 07 July 2025
A Syrian rebel fighter holds a container of pills of Captagon discovered at a drug manufacturing facility in the city of Douma on the eastern outskirts of Damascus on December 12, 2024. Bakr ALKASEM / AFP

Wasim al-Assad’s arrest is a big win for Syria's war on crime

The arrest of a key player in the former regime's security and illicit apparatus represents a new level of capacity for Syria's new leaders

Caroline Rose 03 July 2025
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US President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House on 18 November 2025, in Washington, DC. Win McNamee / Getty
Politics

Saudi Arabia and the US: renewing a long partnership

28 November 2025

Al Majalla's December cover story highlights the signficance of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington in November

Al Majalla - London
Palestinian novelist Basem Khandakji
Culture & Social Affairs

Basem Khandakji on exile, imprisonment, and purpose

26 November 2025

The Palestinian novelist who won the Arabic Booker Prize in 2023 from behind Israeli prison walls speaks to Al Majalla about his extraordinary life and literary journey

El-Sayed Hussein
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi attend a welcoming ceremony for participants of the BRICS summit in Kazan on 22 October 2024. Maxim Shemetov / POOL / AFP
Politics

Egypt's multipolar balancing act is paying off

26 November 2025

With nuclear know-how from Russia, weapons from America, infrastructure from China, and money from the Gulf, Egypt is making the most out of a world with many powers.

Amr Emam
Lina Jaradat
Business & Economy

The Moroccan dirham emerges as an alternative currency in African markets

25 November 2025

As European banks retreat, debt balloons, and price volatility spooks central banks, Morocco's national currency is increasingly being used in continental trading.

Mohamed Sharki
Pope Leo XIV presides over the Holy Mass at the Volkswagen Arena, during his first apostolic journey, in Istanbul, Türkiye, on 29 November 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Politics

Why Pope Leo XIV chose Türkiye as his first foreign trip

29 November 2025

Anatolia's foundational role in early Christianity is why it is at heart of the Catholic Church's efforts to build closer ties with the Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul

Omer Onhon

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OPINIONS

Netanyahu's idea of a reshaped Middle East

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet

The Moroccan dirham emerges as an alternative currency in African markets

Mohamed Sharki
Mohamed Sharki

Saudi Arabia and the US: renewing a long partnership

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

No US-Saudi defence treaty yet, but a good first step

Abdullah F. Alrebh
Abdullah F. Alrebh
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