Al Shara in Saudi Arabia and Netanyahu in the US - Trending

Syria’s leader Ahmad Al Shara arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. It is his first trip overseas since he was declared President last week.

Mr Shara, formerly known as Abu Mohammad Al Jolani, is the head of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham. The group, formerly linked to Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front, played a leading role in the downfall of former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad in December.

The National’s correspondent Khaled Yacoub Oweis reports: Saudi Arabia is a key regional player and an important US ally. Its support for Mr Al Shara is important and could prove crucial, first in restoring Syria’s position as a significant Arab country and second in bringing financial flows and also curbing, or at least freezing, western sanctions on the country, which could hinder reconstruction from about 14 years civil war that started with a peaceful uprising against the Assad regime.

It is a move thought to signal a shift away from reliance on Iran. At a meeting in Riyadh of western and Arab powers last month, Saudi Arabia called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted – a major boost for the HTS government.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet US President Donald Trump this week. Mr Netanyahu left for the US from Israel on Sunday.

He was last week invited to be the first foreign leader to meet the Mr Trump since he started his second term following his re-election as US President.

Mr Netanyahu said: "In this meeting we’ll deal with important issues, critical issues facing Israel and our region: victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components – an axis that threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world."

His office said negotiations would begin on Monday for the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, which began last month.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman called on Israel and Hamas to begin negotiating the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. On Sunday, he said Qatar was engaging with Israel and Hamas to prepare for the talks, which should start on Monday.

His country was hoping to see some movement in the “next few days”, he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces launched raids on Far’a refugee camp and the town of Tamoun, Tubas governorate, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. It is the latest escalation of violence in the West Bank since the ceasefire in Gaza was announced.

The military reportedly entered the camp at dawn and raided homes. Israeli bulldozers also blocked the road between Tamoun and the village of Atouf with debris.

Najeh Bani Odeh, Mayor of Tamoun, told Wafa that Israeli forces ordered families to leave their homes and seized their keys.