DUBAI: Arab League foreign ministers adopted a decision to readmit Syria after more than a decade of suspension on Sunday, a spokesperson for the league said, consolidating a regional push to normalize ties with President Bashar Al-Assad.
The decision was made at an Arab foreign ministers meeting at the league’s headquarters in Cairo, the spokesman for its Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Gamal Roshdy, said.
Syria’s membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after a bloody crackdown on street protests against Assad that led to a devastating civil war, and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus.
Recently, several Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have re-engaged with Syria in high-level visits and meetings, though some, including Qatar, remain opposed to full normalization without a political solution to Syria’s conflict.
Arab states have been trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to an Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh to discuss the pace of normalizing ties and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.
Arab League readmits Syria at Cairo meeting after more than a decade
https://arab.news/rwppr
Arab League readmits Syria at Cairo meeting after more than a decade
- Syria’s membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after a bloody crackdown on street protests against Assad
- The situation in Syria ultimately led to a devastating civil war, making many Arab states pull their envoys from Damascus
Elderly Palestinian shot dead in Rafah
- Death toll from Israel’s aggression on Gaza rises to 71,795 since start of assault in October 2023
GAZA: An elderly Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire in Rafah on Sunday afternoon, bringing the number of fatalities since morning to two, according to local and medical sources.
The sources reported that Khaled Hammad Dahleez, 63, was shot dead by an Israeli drone northwest of Rafah.
Earlier in the day, another man was killed and several others injured in a drone strike north of Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestinian News Agency reported.
BACKGROUND
On Saturday, at least 31 Palestinians, including children and women, were slaughtered in a series of Israeli airstrikes on several locations across the enclave — one of the deadliest days since the start of the ceasefire agreement on Oct. 11, 2025.
On Saturday, at least 31 Palestinians, including children and women, were slaughtered in a series of Israeli airstrikes on several locations across the war-ravaged enclave — one of the deadliest days since the start of the ceasefire agreement on Oct. 11, 2025.
Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11, the number of people killed has risen to 523, with 1,433 injuries recorded, while 715 bodies have been recovered during the same period.
Medical sources said on Sunday the death toll from Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip had risen to 71,795 Palestinians killed and 171,551 injured since the start of the assault in October 2023.
The sources reported that 26 fatalities and 68 injuries were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past 48 hours, noting that numerous victims were trapped under rubble or in the streets, with ambulance and rescue crews unable to reach them.
The ceasefire’s first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, a surge in humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.
The second phase is more complicated. It calls for installing a new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, and taking steps to begin rebuilding.
Hamas has so far rejected disarmament and Israel has repeatedly indicated that if the Islamist militant group is not disarmed peacefully, it will use force to make it do so.
