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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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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump at the White House, Washington, on 18 November 2025.
 SPA
Politics

Saudi Arabia scores ally upgrade in Washington

19 November 2025

Trump elevates Saudi Arabia to 'major non-NATO ally' status, but bigger issues of normalisation with Israel and a binding security treaty need more time. Nonetheless, this is a huge step forward.

Abdullah F. Alrebh
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
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) looks on during a meeting with US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 20 November 2025. AFP
Politics

Trump presents Ukraine with a ‘very tough choice’

24 November 2025

Zelensky said he's being asked to decide between Ukraine losing its dignity or losing a key partner

Sam Skove and John Haltiwanger
AFP-Reuters-Al Majalla
Business & Economy

UK chancellor aims to strike a balance with her 2025 budget

27 November 2025

Policymakers' main worry ahead of Rachel Reeves' announcements this week centred on the reaction of the bond markets. So far, they have received a cautious welcome.

Bassam Mahfouz
US political commentator Tucker Carlson speaks during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 18 July 2024. ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Politics

How Tucker Carlson put Arab Christians on America's map

25 November 2025

Prominent conservative journalists and politicians have broken ranks to call out Israeli crimes against Arab Christians. The effects continue to ripple through Donald Trump's support base.

Kamal Alam

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OPINIONS

Putin holds the fate of the Ukraine war in his hands

Con Coughlin
Con Coughlin

Basem Khandakji on exile, imprisonment, and purpose

El-Sayed Hussein
El-Sayed Hussein

How Tucker Carlson put Arab Christians on America's map

Kamal Alam
Kamal Alam

UK chancellor aims to strike a balance with her 2025 budget

Bassam Mahfouz
Bassam Mahfouz
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