Makkah, Madinah and Riyadh harbor 60% of Saudi population

Arab News

September 18, 2017

Riyadh, Sept 18: The Makkah, Madinah and Riyadh regions harbor about 60 percent of the population in the Kingdom which reached 32.6 million people as of the first half of 2017, a research study revealed.

According to preliminary data of the General Authority for Statistics, this is an increase of about 870,000 people compared to the end of 2016.

The area of these combined areas amounts to about 20 percent of the Kingdom’s total area of about 2,150,000 square kilometers.

The study was conducted by member of the municipal council, member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Makkah, Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Sindi, and titled “Approach to urban development and management of urban communities through quality of life indicators.”

“It demonstrates that Saudi Arabia, under the reign of King Salman and the crown prince, is booming in various fields of development — industrial, technical and others,” Sindi said.

This boom includes the Red Sea island projects, alternative energy and industrial areas, as well as the Al-Ghedia project south of the capital of Riyadh, Al-Faisaliah Smart City project and several others, he added.

The study showed that these projects will play an effective role in decentralizing services from the main cities that include education, health services, universities, government departments, recreational services, urban environment and employment opportunities, which are the main reasons people migrate from rural to urban areas.

According to the study, the social structure in Saudi society has become more flexible and more attractive, resulting in a change in lifestyle. The intensity of social disparity has become minimal and the degree of conflict between individuals has diminished.

The state has taken into account modern planning and future programs, managing urban development, including a platform to manage development of new urban communities.

“The state has also developed solutions to improve quality of life indicators through the creation of new cities and the reorganization, structuring and expansion of small cities throughout the Kingdom by the Department of Urban Development,” the study explained.

All this helps to create new cities, and this causes a reverse migration from cities to new integrated areas.

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Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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