Beyond the Headlines

The UK's National Crime Agency has been intensifying its campaign to crack down on people smugglers operating in the Iraqi Kurdish region. Thousands of Iraqi Kurds make the risky journey each year trying to reach Europe and the UK. Many are smuggled there on crowded, ill-equipped boats across dangerous seas in search of a better life. A months-long investigation by The National traced direct links between some of the most notorious smuggler gangs operating from Kurdish towns in Iraq, and in France and the UK. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to the reporting team about what they uncovered: a teenage girl stuck in a northern French town, struggling to cross the English Channel; an infamous ringleader who has gone into hiding; and a sham car wash in Wales that pulls the strings from behind the scenes. Sunniva Rose, Aveen Karim and Tariq Tahir recount the details of their investigation and talk about the impact of recent police raids on both smugglers and migrants.

A resolution adopted by Arab states to rebuild Gaza has been met with praise across the region after 15 months of a brutal war that has battered the strip, but a difficult path lies ahead. The Egypt-led plan lays out a phased reconstruction effort that ensures Palestinians remain in Gaza. It was drawn up in response to a deeply controversial project for the strip that US President Donald Trump announced last month. The $53 billion plan proposes establishing a technocratic committee unaffiliated with any political faction to oversee the rebuilding process and administer public services. This would mean Hamas would have to give up its authority. But Israel and the US have rejected the Arab states’ plan, saying it fails to address the uninhabitable conditions in Gaza. Palestinians in the strip say they are worried reconstruction efforts will fail without US approval. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to The National’s correspondent in Cairo, Hamza Hendawi, and Crisis Group’s senior Palestine analyst, Tahani Mustafa, to examine the details of the resolution and the delicate matter of Palestinian political leadership. She also speaks to Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute and a columnist for The National. They discuss the challenges that may impede the Arab plan for Gaza if Israel and the US cannot be convinced to support it.

Israel’s army deployed tanks in the West Bank for the first time in 20 years this week, bulldozing streets, destroying infrastructure and conducting mass arrests in the process. More than 40,000 Palestinians from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams have been forced to flee their homes indefinitely after Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops would remain there for the coming year. Israeli officials have said their campaign is about combating terrorism. But the military offensive is causing alarm after healthcare facilities came under attack in the area and violence by settlers against Palestinians intensified. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has also expressed concern about the growing threat of annexation. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to Palestinian and Israeli political and security analysts to discuss the nature of and threat posed by Israel’s objectives in the West Bank.

After President Trump stated that the US would “take over” Gaza, Egypt has come up with a counter-proposal for reconstruction of the war-ravaged territory that would not displace Gazans into neighbouring countries. Under the plan, revealed this week by The National and set to be presented at an emergency summit in Riyadh on Friday, safe zones would be established while essential services are restored and temporary shelters set up. Other important details include the creation of an independent Palestinian agency that would oversee the enclave. Since Israel’s war in Gaza escalated and the extent of the destruction drastically increased, the conversation about what will happen “the day after” has become a contentious issue. Questions over who will govern and administer day-to-day affairs remain unanswered. Another challenge will be defining the roles that Arab states will play in the transitional phase, with regional stability and security remaining a priority. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, Ghaith Al-Omari and Elizabeth Dent, senior fellows from the Washington Institute, discuss the strengths and challenges of Egypt’s proposal, and the relationship that Arab states must navigate as they negotiate with the US.

On February 14, 2005, a massive explosion ripped through the heart of downtown Beirut, killing the former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri and 21 others. In a targeted attack, a bomb had detonated just as his motorcade drove near the St George Hotel, along Beirut's seafront.   The killing of one of Lebanon's dominant political figures sent shockwaves across the country. Tensions had been simmering with Syria as it exerted its growing influence in Lebanese affairs, maintaining a military presence and cherry-picking government candidates to serve its interests.   Mr Hariri had been tasked with rebuilding Lebanon after its civil war but he had to navigate a challenging political landscape that was tainted by power struggles, foreign intervention and government corruption. He tried to push back against Syria’s presence but this made him a target and eventually led to his assassination.   In the two decades following his death, the country descended into unrest and economic turmoil. But Lebanon today stands at a crossroads in the aftermath of Israel’s spillover war from Gaza, the weakening of Hezbollah and the fall of the Assad government in Syria.   This episode of Beyond the Headlines, marking the 20th anniversary of Hariri’s death, looks back at the spiral of events that swept across Lebanon in its wake, how they shaped the country, and how the long-awaited new government has a fresh opportunity to bring much-needed reform.

During a media conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this week, US President Donald Trump said his country would take ownership of Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”. It is not the first time Mr Trump has made provocative statements about Gaza since starting his second term in office, but this may be his most controversial yet. He also claimed that Palestinians did not want to live in Gaza because it was in such a dire state, suggesting that if they had an alternative option, they would leave. This came after earlier remarks that the enclave should be “cleaned out” and that its population should be displaced into Egypt and Jordan. But both countries, along with other Arab and western states, have strongly rejected any notion of Palestinians being pushed out of their homeland. Despite global condemnation of Mr Trump's proposal, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has since ordered the army to prepare a plan to allow for the “voluntary” departure of Gaza’s residents. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to Amr Hamzawy, director of the Carnegie Middle East Programme, and Jordanian geopolitical analyst Amer Sabaileh. They discuss the likelihood of Mr Trump executing his plan in Gaza and the challenges it poses for Palestinian statehood, as well as for Egypt, Jordan and the wider region.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was this week ordered to stop its operations in occupied East Jerusalem, three months after Israel’s parliament voted to ban it. UNRWA is the main provider of humanitarian aid and other public services for Palestinians. In East Jerusalem, it runs 12 facilities that provide critical public services, including schools where more than 1,200 children are enrolled and free clinics that serve more than 70,000 people. But the impact of the ban would extend across the West Bank as well, where the organisation offers primary healthcare services and 47,000 children go to UNRWA schools. The move would also affect its work in Gaza. During Israel's war on the enclave, up to a million people at a time have sought refuge in UNRWA shelters. Pressure from the international community and pleas by UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini at the UN Security Council to stop the ban from being put into effect have failed so far. Israel insisted the ban would not be reversed and the US backed its “sovereign decision”, saying UNRWA is not the only provider of aid to Palestinians. Despite the legislation, UNRWA has stated it will continue to do its work for as long as it can, but fears are growing that the ban will have far-reaching consequences. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA's director of external relations and communications, about the toll this could take on Palestinians in dire need of humanitarian assistance, and how the agency will be able to carry out its work going forward.

Days after the guns fell silent in Gaza, violence erupted less than 200km away in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.   Israel’s military deployed tanks, snipers and special forces in the city on Tuesday, where it began an operation named “Iron Wall”, cracking down on what it described as terrorists within the Iranian axis. But videos have surfaced showing unarmed Palestinians being shot by Israeli forces. Twelve people have been killed in the raid so far and scores more injured.   At the same time, Israel has tightened security across the rest of the West Bank, drastically increasing the number of checkpoints and conducting mass arrests. This comes after 90 Palestinian detainees were released from Israeli prisons in exchange for three Israeli hostages being freed by Hamas in Gaza, as part of the first phase of the ceasefire that took effect there on Sunday.   Jenin had already been the site of another security offensive by the Palestinian Authority (PA) since December last year to root out what it called outlaws, drawing many questions about the back-to-back timing of these operations. The UN has said that Jenin’s sprawling refugee camp has become almost uninhabitable; Jordan’s foreign minister warned on the sidelines of Davos that Israel’s incursion could lead the West Bank to “explode”.   In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher talks with Ahmed Fattouh, spokesperson for Fatah, the leading party within the PA, and with Palestinian political analyst Khalil Sayegh. They discuss whether the West Bank could be another flashpoint for long-term violence and what this escalation could mean for Gaza’s fragile truce.

Four years after his first term, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th US president, marking his second inauguration as one of America’s most unpredictable leaders.   An ocean away in the Middle East, where war, regime changes and power shifts have altered the political landscape forever, all eyes will be on the new president to see how he will shape his foreign policy in the region.   Mr Trump walks into office with a Gaza ceasefire already in effect, earning him a great deal of credibility with both Arab Americans and Arabs abroad. Outgoing president Joe Biden and his Democratic party leave the White House with an unfavorable legacy in the eyes of many Arabs around the world, who had pinned their hopes on Mr Biden taking a more supportive approach to Palestinians. And now many are now choosing to invest their trust in Mr Trump instead.   But there are still many questions about how the new president will balance foreign policy in the Middle East with America-first positions, and even his own personal business interests. On this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher discusses Mr Trump’s role in the region with former US ambassador Douglas Silliman, president of the Arab Gulf States Institute, and Hala Rharrit, an American diplomat who resigned from the state department over Mr Biden’s policy in Gaza.

Cheers echoed through the streets of Gaza on Wednesday night, even before a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was finally announced. Much-needed respite appears to be in sight after 15 months of almost uninterrupted bombing, death and destruction.   But the jubilant reaction of Gazans stands in stark contrast to the bleak environment that surrounds them – their homes destroyed, their loved ones maimed, killed or missing and their livelihoods crushed. Gaza, as it once was, no longer exists.   Across the border, the families of Israeli hostages are also conflicted. They wait anxiously for their relatives to return, dead or alive, but are frustrated that not all of the captives in Gaza will be released under the terms of the agreement.   The details of the 42-day truce, announced on Wednesday by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, include the return of a number of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. Israeli forces are expected to withdraw to border areas and humanitarian aid will start to flow into the enclave.   But the agreement does not come into effect until Sunday and, on Thursday morning, the ceasefire was plunged into doubt when Israel accused Hamas of creating a “last-minute crisis”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that would delay putting the deal to the security cabinet for approval.   Hamas refuted the claim and by Friday the agreement was back on track, after Mr Netanyahu said a hostage release deal was reached.   In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to The National’s foreign correspondent Hamza Hendawi and Israeli former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin. They discuss the fine print of the agreement and what comes after the initial truce.