Palestine's UNGA Membership, Collapse Of Syrian Regime Among Major '24' Events

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT, Dec 30 (KUNA) -- The Arab countries witnessed many events in 2024, foremost Palestine winning UN General Assembly's (UNGA) membership to join the 193 members, collapse of Syrian Regime of Bashar Al-Assad, and holding urgent Arab and Islamic summits amidst critical regional circumstances.
The Palestinian cause overshadowed all issues with the Israeli occupation's ongoing aggression on the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, along with the collapse of Al-Assad's regime.
Fourteen years after the eruption of the Syrian revolution, quick Political and military developments took place which allowed the opposition forces control many key areas in the north, namely Hama, Idleb and Aleppo before announcing the capture of Homs and the capital city, Damascus.
Al-Assad and his family fled the country. Later, Russia said it granted him asylum on humanitarian grounds.
The Arab countries reaffirmed their support for the Syrian people and their aspirations, as well as the importance of preserving Syria's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In Gaza the Israeli occupation's war machine killed more than 10 percent of the population, committing over 9,900 massacres, used over 90,000 tons of explosives, erased some 1,410 families from the Palestinian civil records and destroyed nearly 80 percent of residential buildings.
The Israeli occupation's parliament, Knesset, passed a bill on October 28 which banned the UN Palestinian refugees agency (UNRWA), and informed the UN of the cancellation of a 1967 agreement that organinzed relations with the UN agency.
The Israeli occupation committed assassinations in Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, killing Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh who was on a visit to Tehran in August and Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in a massive airstrike in southern Beirut.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh resigned in protest of the Israeli occupation's unprecedented aggression and President Mahmoud Abbas assigned Mohammad Mustafa as his successor.
The Arab countries adopted initiatives and launched mediation efforts, all aimed at ending the war on Gaza and support the Palestinian people's quest for freedom and their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Bahrain hosted in May the first Arab summit which aimed at rallying support against the regional challenges in order to achieve security and stability.
The summit called for an end of the Israeli occupation's aggression, lifting the blockade on the Palestinians, opening all crossings and allowing UN agencies to operate.
The Arab leaders rejected forced displacement of the Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank including East Jerusalem. They also called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the Sino-Arab ministerial cooperation conference, held in Beijing in May, reiterated concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip, in addition to boosting cooperation to address regional conflicts.
Arab and Islamic countries' leaders held an extraordinary summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November, with the aim of having a united position against the Israeli occupation war in Gaza and to launch a serious political process for a comprehensive and lasting peace. They also discussed the growing humanitarian crises.
At the development front, many Arab countries adopted a series of economic reforms coupled with development projects amidst severe pressure on economies caused by geopolitical tension.
While some countries suffered piling debts, others realized leaps in international indices.
The Arab League acted to boost inter-Arab economic integration and expand international partnerships at the economic and development levels.
The Arab Economic Unity Council approved, in June, the establishment of the Arab e-commerce union.
The Sino-Arab ministerial cooperation conference also adopted the 2024-26 document to promote multilateral political, economic, trade, investment, financial, environment, cultural, space, health, educational and infrastructure cooperation.
According to Ernst and Young, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) took the lion's share of acquisitions and mergers in the Middle East and North Africa, an increase of four percent than 2023.
The Arab League, on the other hand, took actions in a bid to address sticky issues like ending the conflict and stop bloodshed in Sudan, in additin to ending the military and political dispute in Libya.
In December, Turkiye brokered a conciliation agreement between Ethiopia and Somalia to end months of tension in the Horn of Africa region due to Ethiopia's quest to have a passage to the sea through Somaliland.
Iraq and the US announced in September the mandate of the international coalition fighting so-called Islamic State (IS) would end in the next 12 months.
A ceasefire between the Israeli occupation and Hezbollah entered force by end of November.
Algerian, Tunisian and Mauritanian Presidents, Abdulmajeed Tabboune and Kais Saied and Mohammad Oul Al-Sheikh Ghazwani respectively, won new presidential terms.
Arab Athletes won seven gold medals at the Paris Olympics compared with five in the previous Olympic games in Tokyo. (end)
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