Refugees

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa depart after speaking to the media following talks at the Chancellery on March 30, 2026, in Berlin, Germany.

Analysis

Why Germany may struggle to meet Merz’s 80% Syria repatriation goal

Germany, which hosts the EU’s largest Syrian refugee population, is pushing to repatriate Syrians, but Syria’s domestic issues and legal protections for asylum seekers complicate those efforts.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

From Egypt to Lebanon: What’s at stake for regional states on Trump’s visa ban list?

The State Department claimed that citizens from the affected countries are more likely to use social welfare services at a high rate.

TOPSHOT - Syrian and Lebanese people in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli celebrate on December 9, 2024, after Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by Fathi AL-MASRI / AFP) (Photo by FATHI AL-MASRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Clashes and protests in Lebanon over Syria's anniversary: What we know

As celebrations erupted in Lebanon to commemorate the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Hezbollah supporters held counter-rallies.

A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, UNRWA’s Tamara Alrifai said the upcoming Turkey office would help the agency to expand its operations not only in Gaza but also in Syria.

Tamara Alrifai

Latest News

After 13 hours, 150 Gazans allowed to enter South Africa: What to know

A South African Airways (SAA) flight is seen on the tarmac before departing from the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Sept. 23, 2021.

Culture

London photography exhibition documents daily life in wartorn Gaza

Against erasures

Lebanon begins disarming Palestinian factions after refugee camp hands over weapons

Lebanese army soldiers are stationed at the Burj al-Barajneh camp for Palestinian refugees in Beirut's southern suburbs on Aug. 21, 2025, as armed Palestinian groups in the refugee camps start handing over their weapons.

Taliban slams Iran after 1.8M Afghans deported in past 3 months: What to know

Afghan refugees are pictured at the Islam Qala border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran on June 28, 2025, following their deportation from Iran.

Turkish police try to arrest an ultranationalist protester.

Erdogan unveils plans to send 1 million Syrians back as anti-refugee sentiment escalates

As anti-refugee sentiment rises higher in Turkey during the Eid, Erdogan pledges a build-and-return project enabling more than a million Syrians to return “voluntarily” to northern Syria.

Palestinian children burn tyres following an earler an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on April 12, 2022.

Is Israel ready to invade Jenin camp?

Residents of the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank fear yet another invasion by the Israeli army, 20 years after the Battle of Jenin.

Iranians visit the spot in the courtyard of Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad on April 6, 2022.

Iran closes Afghanistan consulates after angry protests

Furious Afghans threw rocks at the Iranian Embassy in Herat after videos went viral of Afghan refugees being mistreated in neighboring Iran.

UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinians Francesca Albanese.

Interview

Israel’s occupation has crossed the ‘red line of legality,’ says new UN rapporteur

In an interview with Al-Monitor, the newly appointed UN special rapporteur for the Palestinians, Francesca Albanese, speaks about her plans to address human rights violations in the Palestinian territories, while fending off a smear campaign launched against her by Israel.

Francesca Albanese

Francesca Albanese

UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories

People who have just crossed from war-torn Ukraine into Poland wait to board buses provided by Polish authorities at the Medyka border crossing, Medyka, Poland, March 11, 2022.

Young Egyptian rescues Arab families trapped in Ukraine

Social media outlets were abuzz over the past few days with news about Islam al-Ashiri, an Egyptian man who rescued a number of families stuck in Kyiv following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s quota plan for refugees alarms rights activists

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu is advocating quotas for foreigners to prevent ghettos and clashes, but activists worry relocations would cut vulnerable refugees' access to work and services.

BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images

Afghan evacuees in UAE protest US resettlement delay

From their shelter in Abu Dhabi, the protesters demanded they be resettled in the United States.

United Arab Emirates

Britain law

UK appeals court says woman in Syria unlawfully stripped of citizenship

The woman, who is living in the Al-Roj camp in northeast Syria, had sought repatriation to the United Kingdom.

Iraqis play at the snow-covered Safin Mountain on Jan. 18, 2022, near the city of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdish autonomous region.

Rare snowstorm hits Iraq and Syria

Many people in the Kurdistan Region rejoiced while playing in the snow, but such conditions can be dangerous for others, especially those living in displaced people camps.

NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

UN agency seeks urgent support for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

The UNRWA said $87.5 million in new funding is needed to continue operations in crisis-ravaged Lebanon.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meets with Emirati Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, Dec. 13, 2021.

The Takeaway: Did Israeli PM help break deadlock over US weapons sale to UAE?

Also: The Gulf and climate; Syrian refugees return from Belarus; Israel expands Golan settlements; Egypt wants assurances on gas pipeline; China-Ethiopia ties unsettle Egypt; Iran threatens sanctions on US; Building Sharjah … all in less than 1,200 words!

Andrew Parasiliti

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Joe Snell

By Andrew Parasiliti , Elizabeth Hagedorn , Joe Snell

Youths wave a Palestinian flag outside of the White House on Aug. 9, 2014, in Washington, DC.

US, Palestinian officials hold first economic dialogue in five years

The US-Palestinian Economic Dialogue covered infrastructure development, access to US markets, US regulations, free trade and other financial issues.