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النسخة العربية
  • Politics
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  • Tag
  • Syria

Netanyahu's revolving wars

Fares Garabet 05 December 2024
A militant poses for a picture after anti-government fighters seized Syrian army military equipment on 3 December 2024. Omar Haj Kadour / AFP

Syria’s fresh crisis is an opportunity for the Arab world to step up

The signs are bad but there is international agreement when it comes to Syria. If they act now, Arab states can still re-establish control over events, but the usual statements of support won't cut it

Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy 03 December 2024
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist fighters fire towards Syrian Army troops in the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on 29 November 2024. Bakr Alkasem/AFP

Why a new ceasefire in Syria is likely before long

The opposition fighters making such strides on the battlefield want to carry on all the way to Damascus. For everyone else, there are reasons to call a halt to proceedings sooner rather than later

Robert Ford 02 December 2024
An HTS fighter mans a position in the eastern outskirts of the town of Atarib, in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, on November 27, 2024, as smoke rises in the distance after clashes with the Syrian army. Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP

As Lebanon's battlefield closes, Syria's reignites

A surprise offensive by the Turkish-backed HTS came after Israel warned Damascus it would pay a 'heavy price' if it keeps arming Hezbollah. How might Syria's stakeholders respond? Al Majalla explains.

Ibrahim Hamidi 30 November 2024
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 24, 2024. Valery SHARIFULIN/AFP

Why Russia is reasserting itself in Syria

Moscow has boosted its military presence in southern Syria near deconfliction lines with Israel, and its revitalised interest in being a key regional player hasn't gone unnoticed in Israel

Haid Haid 18 November 2024
Al Majalla

Syria’s 2025 budget is bigger but light on subsidies and detail

Damascus has artificially lowered prices for years, but Syrians today cannot afford basics like fuel without them, meaning its budget has become a delicate balancing act

Joseph Daher 14 November 2024
Rateb Al-Shallah speaks with President Carter in the presence of Hajj Badr al-Din.

The life and legacy of Syrian businessman Rateb Shallah

The story of Shallah, who recently passed away at 92, and that of his illustrious family tell plenty about the history of Damascus and its business community over the past 100 years

Sami Moubayed 09 November 2024
Lina Jaradat

Captagon throws al-Assad a crucial financial lifeline

The drug trade is bankrolling the Damascus government through an illicit trade valued at around $57bn. Al Majalla explains why it started and how it's shaping Syrian society.

Haroun al-Aswad 30 October 2024
Lina Jaradat

Syria's highly sophisticated Captagon industry goes global

Criminal enterprise in the country is not new, but the past decade's unstable landscape has created the perfect conditions for it to flourish. Al Majalla explains how Syria became a drug lord.

Caroline Rose 28 October 2024
This file photo from October 10, 1973, shows a building destroyed by an Israeli bombing in Damascus during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. AFP

Damascus under bombs: From Ottomans to French to Israelis

Israel has attacked Damascus multiple times this past year, but the Syrian capital is no stranger to such tactics. It has come under shelling from occupation powers numerous times in the past century.

Sami Moubayed 18 October 2024
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Grace Russell
Politics

Gulf states should steer clear of attritional war traps

01 April 2026

The US-Israeli war against Iran aims to draw in Gulf states, but history has shown that entering wars is far easier than exiting them. Prudence is needed now more than ever.

Khairuldeen Al Makhzoomi
Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin speaks at a press conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 25 August, 2025. Luka Dakskobler / Getty
Politics

'Israel is exploiting Iran war to kill a Palestinian state'

01 April 2026

PA Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin tells Al Majalla that Israel is taking advantage of the fact that the world is distracted by the US-Iran war to create irreversible facts on the ground

Ahmed Maher
Ewan White
Politics

Iraq's internal battle for influence comes to a head

31 March 2026

New fronts have opened up across the region in light of the US-Israeli war on Iran, as non-state actors with links to Tehran fear for their futures

Rustum Mahmud
People gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) at the Umayyad Square, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, 20 December, 2024. Reuters / Ammar
Business & Economy

US-Iran war gives Syria's global economic pitch more urgency

01 April 2026

Given the effective closure of the Hormuz Strait and Houthi threats to close off the Red Sea, Syria may emerge as a corridor and conduit to bypass these embattled maritime chokepoints

Charles Lister
Farid al-Madhan Reuters/ Al Majalla
Politics

Farid al-Madhan: Assad's fingerprints were on every picture

31 March 2026

A former army forensics employee who later became known as Caesar tells Al Majalla how he risked his life to expose the torture and killing of countless Syrians in regime prisons

Ibrahim Hamidi

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OPINIONS

Drones vs interceptors: cost disparity sparks defence rethink

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

Will the 'Syria First' promise hold up under pressure?

Alia Mansour
Alia Mansour

New study finds deep sleep better than long sleep

Mohammed Mansour

The US-Iran war has thrown Asia into crisis

The Economist
The Economist
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