UAE FNC to discuss call for holidays during last 10 days of Ramadan

May 16, 2015

Abu Dhabi, May 16: Musapah Al Ketbi, a member of the Federal National Council (FNC) from Sharjah had called for issuing a decision to consider the last 10 days of Ramadan as holiday for government sector employees.

Hussain Al Hamadi, the UAE Minister of Education and the head of The Federal Authority For Government Human Resources will respond to Musapah Al Ketbi's request during the next session of the FNC on Tuesday, May 19.

Al Ketbi had submitted the request to the General Secretariat of the FNC, which set the meeting to discuss the issue raised.

The request was based on several reasons among which he had said that holidays during the last 10 days of Ramadan will offer an opportunity for better i'tikaaf and worship.

He also mentioned that the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the UAE, allocated 29th Ramadan each year as official holiday.

He pointed out that the 10 days requested would have two weekends between them (four days), therefore, in the last 10 days of Ramadan, only five extra days would be given off to government employees.

Balagid said several countries give holidays during the last 10 days of the Holy Month, such as Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, he also based his request on the fact that by the last 10 days of Ramadan, the body gets exhausted. Especially, the elderly, pregnant women and adolescents could be stressed out and experience fatigue after fasting during the first 20 days of Ramadan.

It would also give an opportunity to people to perform Umrah.

He also stressed that the fears of downtime during the requested 10 days can be overcome by organizing work on shifts in each ministry or government department, as done in Saudi Arabia.

Al Ketbi appealed to decision-makers to respond to his request.

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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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