News Report -10/03
Arab states counter Trump’s reconstruction plan for Gaza
On Tuesday, March 4, Arab League members met in Cairo for an emergency summit to settle on a plan for the future of Gaza. The emergency meeting came in response to US President Trump’s vision, labeled as a “Middle East Riviera”, to “take over Gaza” and move out more than two million Palestinians, as per Al Jazeera. Without directly referring to Trump, the secretary general of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit stated that "the Arab stance is to reject any displacement, whether it is voluntary or forced", cited the BBC. This stance is reflected in the plan adopted by Arab nations, which was originally put forward by Egypt. The $53 billion plan entails the reconstruction of the Strip, in which more than 90% of homes are destroyed or damaged, as per the UN cited by the BBC. The plan also proposes a temporary governance solution for Gaza, in which it would be run by a "Gaza management committee under the umbrella of the Palestinian government" consisting of qualified technocrats.
According to the Middle East Eye, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the UK have expressed their support for the Arab-led plan for Gaza, issuing a joint statement saying that "the plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza.” According to Reuters, the White House responded to the Egypt-initiated plan by stating that the plan “did not address Gaza's reality and that Trump stood by his proposal.” The New York Times suggested that the report left some questions unanswered: Ghassan Khatib, a political scientist at Birzeit University in the West Bank, described it as “very technical, as if it came from an engineering consultancy,” highlighting that “we need a political plan.” According to the NYT, political challenges include the question of demilitarizing Hamas and Palestinian statehood that would certainly face objections from Israel.
Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters, The New York Times, Middle East Eye
Tunisia begins mass trials of opposition members, human rights groups denounce
On Tuesday, March 4, the collective trial of around 40 opposition members began in Tunis, with human rights groups denouncing the case as politically motivated. According to Al Jazeera, the charges against the defendants, many of whom are vocal critics of President Kais Saied, vary from “plotting against the state security” to “belonging to a terrorist group.” Human Rights Watch (HRW) has described the charges as “unfounded and based on no credible evidence.” According to lawyers cited by France 24, the charges could lead to substantial sentences and even capital punishment. Those being prosecuted in the case include politicians, former diplomats, lawyers and high-profile media figures, with more than 20 having fled abroad, as per Middle East Monitor. Lawyers denounced the trial as “unfair” as some defendants were only allowed to participate remotely, wrote France 24. HRW noted that “the practice of trial by video is inherently abusive,” preventing judges from fully assessing the well-being of defendants.
The trials sparked activists and members of human rights groups to protest in front of the Tunis courthouse, while relatives of the defendants chanted “freedom” in the courtroom, told France 24. According to Middle East Monitor, Bassam Trifi, the head of the Tunisian Human Rights League described the case as “one of the darkest injustices in Tunisia’s history.” The United Nations, cited by France 24, urged Tunisian authorities in February to bring "an end to the pattern of arrests, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment of dozens of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians.”
President Kais Saied, elected in 2019, staged a power grab in 2021, and has extended his power since then, for instance over the judiciary as he dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council in 2022, as per rights groups cited by Middle East Monitor.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Human Rights Watch, France 24, Middle East Monitor
Dozen reported killed in worst violence in Syria since Assad’s fall
On Thursday, March 6, pro-Assad fighters attacked Syrian security forces and the fighting has continued on Saturday in several places in Latakia and Tartous governorates in Syria’s coastal region, reported Al Jazeera. The fighting between the security forces and fighters loyal to deposed President Bashar al-Assad has led to the worst violence in the country since the Assad regime was toppled in December, with the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) saying on March 7 that more than 70 people have been killed, cited the BBC. On March 8, the death toll was reported to have risen to over 500, with the SOHR stating that 120 insurgents, 93 government troops and 340 civilians have been killed, cited France 24. The civilians killed were of the Alawite minority, to which the al-Assad family also belongs, as the region is home to the sect. The SOHR reported that the civilians were killed in "executions" carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters" and accompanied by "looting of homes and properties", as per France 24. The SOHR stated that the fighting occurred after the arrest of a wanted individual by security forces in a predominantly Alawite village. On March 7, the interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa urged the insurgents to "lay down your weapons and surrender before it's too late".
The clashes come against the backdrop of interim President al-Sharaa’s efforts to consolidate control and seek funds to reconstruct the nation devastated by the civil war. The country is struggling to get US sanctions lifted and with other security challenges, especially in the southwest where Israel has said it will halt Damascus from deploying forces, as per Al Jazeera.
Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera, France 24
