Global Outlook

  Israel’s Defense Minister just made a shocking admission — the military isn’t leaving Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria.  Ever. What does this mean for the future of the Middle East? Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s April 16 declaration confirms what many feared: Israel has no intention of withdrawing from occupied territories in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. Framed as “security zones,” these areas are effectively permanent military footholds, designed to expand Israeli control under the guise of self-defense. Katz’s statement — that the IDF will not evacuate seized land, regardless of agreements — reveals a long-term strategy of entrenchment, not temporary security measures. The creation of the “Morag Corridor” in Gaza, which isolates Rafah, and the continued enforcement of the Netzarim Corridor, splitting the Strip in two, are clear moves to fragment Palestinian territory. These actions mirror Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank, reinforcing accusations of deliberat...

  In a significant shift, the European Union has announced the easing of sanctions on Syria’s energy, transport, and banking sectors. This decision, approved during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, aims to support Syria’s reconstruction efforts following the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The sanctions were originally imposed to target al-Assad’s regime during the devastating civil war that erupted in 2011. However, with new leadership in Damascus, the EU now seeks to facilitate engagement with Syria's people and businesses, hoping to boost key economic areas and pave the way for much-needed humanitarian aid and rebuilding initiatives. Syria’s new leaders have been pressing the West to lift the sanctions, which have long crippled the nation’s economy. While the EU has been cautious, reluctant to act without clear signals of an inclusive transition from Damascus, this move suggests a tentative shift in stance. The recent decision includes suspending sanctions on energy and t...

  The current emergence of Islamist groups in Syria most especially Hayat Tahir al-Sham has raised damaging discourses concerning their goals as well as the future of Syria. One of them is their operational topping in the seizing of state institutions, which if achieved, will really alter the socio-political landscape of the Syria in a big way. New policies as the reform of the education system show how HTS tries to exercise control over institutions. The changes in curriculum proposed are eradicating all references to Assad’s regime, changing the religious material, and erasing concepts like evolution. Opponents state that these changes insert an Islamists’ attributes, which might completely eliminate Syrian secular learning legacy and make the divides in society wider. The Islamists continue with the appointment of people with extremists linkages to other strategic governmental positions, the above strategies confirm. For example, the appointment of Shadi al-Waisi, who used to be...

  A Nation in Crisis Syrian civil war has crowned the country into great humanitarian issues. The crisis has claimed more than 250 thousand lives and forced over 11 million people either within the country or outside. This has made millions of people in the country to lack the most basic needs that hail from the destroyed infrastructure of the country by the war. Economic Devastation As evidenced by the data above the war has almost paralyzed the Syrian economy. More than ninety percent of Syrian pound has been devalued leaving the country in hands of hyper inflation and high poverty level. Housing and food have become expensive, for many people, and the level of unemployment has hugely increased. Healthcare System Collapse All these years the permanent infrastructure has been reported severely affected with many hospitals either being completely damaged or used by the fighting forces. Essential medicine is lacking and there is a shortage of health care human resource. Neglect of m...

  The recent modifications made to the Syrian curriculum in the past three years raised a lot of high stakes and concerns among the schools’ stakeholders and the global society. The current HTS which now runs the providence has made several changes that many regard as other extreme policies being rolled in to change the youth. These reforms of textbooks to the first primary to the third secondary grades have given a different view on the future of Syrian education and their corresponding consequence on the society. It is pertinent to note that the last regimes song and dance, including but not limited to, the anthem have been wiped clean of existence. Such kind of detachment of education from the Assad era may look like a desire to remain neutral, however, the content substitution points to the contrary. The old concept of ‘defending the homeland ’Has thus been replaced by the new concept of ‘for the sake of God’ indicating a shift from nationalist, to religious motivation. This al...

  The effectiveness of the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) has always come under strong question in regard to its ability to govern, especially after it failed disastrously to administer Idlib in 2017. In the course of that period, internal fighting between different groups, including HTS, emerged, which objectively worsened the situation, leaving the population without even the most basic needs for life. Apparently, in the course of of 2017 the SIG failed to take full control over Idlib province, which can be described as an area filled with various forms of rebels and local councils. They had no clear state and military command and control and an ineffective and inconsistent fractious governance policy led to a state of systematic dysfunction. These fundamental needs like clean water, electrical power, and appropriate medical care were at some point ceased causing worsening off the quality of life of the populace. The lack of good governance also led to further vacum that helped ...