UN envoy for Syria urges sanctions relief following al-Assad’s fall

Geir Pedersen has called for a quick end to Western sanctions after the removal of al-Assad. “We can hopefully see a quick end to the sanctions so that we can see really a rallying around the building of Syria,” Pedersen told reporters during a visit to Damascus.

“We need to get the political process under way that is inclusive of all Syrians,” Pedersen said. “That process obviously needs to be led by the Syrians themselves.”

Pedersen came to the Syrian capital to meet with officials of the new interim government set up by the former opposition forces who toppled al-Assad, led by the fighter group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The Syrian government has been under strict sanctions by the United States, European Union and others for years.


How can Syria rebuild if not given the chance... Guilty until proven innocent.

EU top diplomat: No lifting of Syria sanctions until rights and unity are guaranteed.

The EU will not lift sanctions on Syria before its new rulers ensure minorities are not persecuted and women’s rights are protected within a unified government that disavows religious extremism, the EU’s top diplomat has said.

An EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Monday, which had Syria on the agenda, would not discuss expanding financial support to the country beyond that already provided by the EU through UN agencies, the EU’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said.

“One of the questions is whether we are able to, in the future, look at the adaptation of the sanctions regime. But this clearly is not the question of today, but rather in the future where we have seen that the steps go in the right direction,” Kallas told Reuters in an interview.

While the EU has in place a tough sanctions regime against Syria, the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has also been under sanctions for years, complicating matters for the international community.

The EU was already the biggest donor of humanitarian aid to Syria, Kallas said. “We need to discuss what more can we do. But as I say, it can’t come as a blank cheque,” Kallas added.

“Syria faces a hopeful but uncertain future,” said Kallas, who is making her first visit to the Middle East in her new post. Syria’s new interim leaders had made “positive signals” but these were not enough, she said.

“What everybody is looking at is, of course, the treatment of women and girls also, which shows the society and how it goes, how the institutions are built up, so that there is a government that takes on board everybody,” she added.

Ukraine offers to supply food to Syria

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered his government to set up supply mechanisms to deliver food to Syria. Ukraine has been one of the world’s top grain and oilseeds exporters and has been exporting wheat and corn to Middle Eastern countries, but not to Syria.

Damascus, under al-Assad, had been importing food from Russia. But Russian wheat supplies have been suspended amid uncertainty and payment delays, the Reuters news agency reported, citing Russian and Syrian sources.

“We are ready to assist Syria in preventing a food crisis, particularly through the humanitarian program ‘Grain from Ukraine’,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “I have instructed the government to establish food supply mechanisms in cooperation with international organizations and partners who can help.”

Palestinians returning to Yarmouk hope other refugees come back, too

As we reported earlier, Palestinians have been returning to the Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus. Taghrid Halawi was among those who went back to see her old home.

“You really feel that your Palestine is here, even though you are far from Palestine,” she told the Associated Press news agency. “Even with all this destruction, I feel like it’s like heaven. I hope that everyone returns, all the ones who left the country or are living in other areas.”

Built to host Palestinian refugees in 1957, Yarmouk grew into a bustling suburb of some 1.2 million people, including 160,000 people from Palestine. After Syria’s war broke out in 2011, the al-Assad regime bombed the suburb heavily, targeting fighters there. The camp was all but abandoned, and the number of Palestinian refugees in the areas now stands at 8,160, according to the AP.

Syria’s new administration sends ‘major military convoy’ to Latakia

SOHR says the Administration of Military Operations has brought a “major military convoy” to the coastal province of Latakia to “arrest gunmen supporting the former regime”. The offensive also aims to “cleanse the area of weapons,” the war monitor said. It added that the fighters have closed the area for civilians.

Latakia, home to the Alawite Shia minority, had previously been a stronghold for al-Assad’s family.

The Reuters news agency reported last week that the forces that overthrew al-Assad met elders in the former president’s hometown of Qardaha in Latakia and received a statement of support from them.

Landmine explosion kills six, including three children, in Hama

The Syrian civil defence is reporting that six civilians from the same family, including three children, were killed after a landmine left from the war exploded in the eastern Hama countryside.

The White Helmets said the family was travelling by car near the village of Rahjan on Saturday when its members were killed by unexploded ordnance.

The organisation called the landmines “a deferred death left by the criminal former al-Assad regime in the Syrian regions, threatening the lives of civilians”. The White Helmets cautioned civilians to stay away from any military sites and roads near them.

At least 24 civilians had been killed by landmines since last week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported earlier.

Former al-Assad soldiers gather in Hama to settle legal status

Exclusive footage obtained by Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency today shows large crowds of former Syrian regime soldiers gathering outside the Hama police headquarters to begin the process of settling their legal and military statuses.

The video captures significant numbers of ex-regime soldiers, including those who surrendered to the military operations directorate following the liberation of Hama province and others who had defected during the military operations.

The directorate previously announced the establishment of settlement centres for former regime soldiers in the recently liberated provinces. These centres are issuing temporary identification cards to those seeking status resolution.

Turkiye ready to offer military training to Syria: Minister

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler says the new administration in Syria should be given a chance to govern after their constructive messages.

“The new administration that toppled al-Assad announced that it would respect all government institutions, the United Nations and other international organisations,” Guler told reporters in Ankara, according to the Reuters news agency.

“We think that we need to see what the new administration will do and to give them a chance,” he added.

NATO member Turkiye backed the Syrian rebels who toppled President al-Assad last weekend, ending a 13-year civil war. Since 2016, Turkiye has mounted four military operations across growing swaths of northern Syria, citing threats to its national security.

Turkiye is estimated to maintain a few thousand troops in towns including Afrin, Azez and Jarablus in northwestern Syria and Ras al-Ain and Tell Abyad in the northeast. Ankara may discuss and reevaluate the issue of Turkiye’s military presence in Syria with the Syrian administration “when necessary conditions arise”, Guler said.

Turkiye-backed forces vow to ‘completely remove’ Kurdish fighters from Syria

Even as Syrians continue to celebrate in Damascus, fighting is still happening in other parts of the country.

In the north, the Turkish-backed SNA and Kurdish-led SDF are still fighting and competing for control. There are reports that Turkiye, which accuses the SDF of harbouring groups like the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, has been providing air support. Kurdish fighters

Saif Polat, who leads an SNA brigade that spearheaded recent operations in the cities of Tal Rifaat and Manbij, says his forces aim to clear PKK all the way to the Iraqi border.

“There will be no ceasefire until every PKK member is completely removed from Syrian territory,” he told Al Jazeera. “We are not fighting on behalf of anyone else. Our mission is to eradicate terrorism from Syrian soil.”

Israeli forces destroy streets, water networks in Quneitra

We are at the centre of the Quneitra governorate in the southeastern part of Syria. Here, Israeli military tanks have made incursions into a number of nearby villages and towns. Al-Hamidiyah city is at the end of the street that I am standing on. And that’s where an Israeli tank is positioned.

Israeli tanks and vehicles have damaged the streets here. They have cut down the trees on both sides of the road and destroyed electricity poles.

The Israelis asked the residents to evacuate the cities and towns which they have entered. But when a large number of residents refused to leave, Israeli forces destroyed water supply networks and power lines in a deliberate attempt to cut off life support to these areas so that the residents would leave.

Yesterday, Israeli forces conducted a manoeuvre into an empty command centre of the Syrian military here. They passed through this road into the command centre and conducted a search operation.

According to witnesses, Israeli forces searched for weapons in these areas. They conducted their military operations with support from the Israeli air force, as every now and then we hear the sound of warplanes above.

Israel’s latest attacks

Israeli air strikes leave Homs military airport heavily damaged

The Israeli military has targeted the military airport in Homs in some of its approximately 800 attacks on Syria in the past week.

مشاهد تظهر الدمار في مطار الضبعة بريف #حمص #فيديو pic.twitter.com/hC5r1f4yzC

— الجزيرة سوريا (@AJA_Syria) December 15, 2024

Israeli forces block road between Quneitra and Daraa in Syria: Monitor

Israeli soldiers have moved to block a road at the administrative border between Quneitra and Daraa near the occupied Syrian Golan Heights inside Syria, according to a war monitor.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the village of Al-Muallaqa, on the administrative border between Quneitra and Daraa, witnessed a field escalation after groups of Israeli forces entered the area and cut off the road between the village and the town of Saida, near the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Israeli forces have taken advantage of the downfall of Bashar al-Assad to occupy more parts of Syria as they continue to launch air strikes across the country to destroy its military infrastructure.

Israel approves Netanyahu’s plan to expand settlements in occupied Golan Heights

The Israeli government has unanimously approved a plan put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “promote demographic growth” in the occupied Golan Heights.

The plan comes in light of the developments in Syria and aims to double the population of Israelis living in the occupied Syrian areas, according to a statement by the prime minister’s office.

It said the plan, which received 40 million shekels (over $11m) in funding, strengthens the Israeli settlements, including Katzrin, in areas including education and renewable energy, and supports the establishment of a student village.

“Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the state of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold on to it, make it flourish, and settle it,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu wants to double Golan Heights settlements ahead of Trump’s return to office

The Golan Heights is Syrian territory, and it was occupied by Israel in 1967 along with the West Bank, including [East] Jerusalem and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. The international community and international law consider it to be an occupied territory.

In 2019, Donald Trump, when he was in the White House, recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, much like he did over occupied [East] Jerusalem. There was an international uproar. This has no relevance to international law, but Netanyahu capitalized on that.

What Israel has done in the Golan Heights is restrict the ability of Syrians to build in their own communities, land grabs, building settlements, and now, they want to double those settlements.

Why? Because Trump is coming back to office and Netanyahu wants to expand control over the Golan Heights and make it permanent. He was also encouraged by the Biden administration, which didn’t change Trump’s policy on the Golan Heights.

Israel to close embassy in Ireland after Dublin backs Gaza genocide case

Israel says it will close its embassy in Ireland, citing Dublin’s recognition of a Palestinian state and support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its actions in Gaza.

“The decision to close Israel’s embassy in Dublin was made in light of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement on Sunday.

“Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide, prioritising those that align with Israel’s interests and values,” Sa’ar added.

The Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris condemned Israel’s decision, calling it “deeply regrettable”.

“I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights, and pro-international law,” Harris added. “Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract that.”

Last week, Ireland announced that it supported South Africa’s legal action against Israel at the ICJ, adding to Israel’s growing international isolation, even as it refuses to end its attacks on Gaza and its illegal occupation of the West Bank.

Ireland has increasingly spoken out on behalf of the Palestinians as Israel continues its war on Gaza, which has killed at least 44,976 people. The Palestinian cause is largely popular in Ireland, with parallels often drawn to the Irish struggle against the centuries-long British occupation of the country.

In May, Ireland was one of three European countries to recognise the state of Palestine and backed an ICJ case accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded by recalling its ambassador to Dublin.

As Israel announced the closure of its embassy in Ireland, it also revealed plans to open a new embassy in Moldova as soon as possible.

Israeli forces storm Gaza school sheltering displaced, killing at least 15

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza school sheltering displaced people, sources have told Al Jazeera, amid a wave of attacks across the besieged Palestinian territory killing dozens more, including two journalists overnight.

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that several others were also injured in the Israeli attack on Khalil Oweida School in Beit Hanoon in northern Gaza on Sunday.

_{The deadly Israeli raids and bombings on Sunday come just a day after Israeli forces killed several people after hitting a school in Gaza City, and just two days after a massacre in Nuseirat refugee camp}

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, quoted witnesses as saying many of those hurt during the storming of the school sustained “severe injuries”.

“They have nowhere to go because the Israeli military forces are encircling the area with tanks and armoured vehicles, and hammering the school with heavy artillery,” he said.

Among those killed were a family of four, including two children, after the classroom where they were sheltering took a “direct hit” from artillery fire.

“Many of the injured are in the courtyard of the school and inside the other classrooms. They can’t get any treatment because none of the hospitals in Beit Hanoon are operational,” he said, noting that the storming of the school happened “without prior warning”.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA also confirmed the 15 deaths.

WAFA reported that those who remained at the besieged school, many of them women and children, were being forced to leave the area and move towards a military checkpoint set up at Salah al-Din Street. Several of the men were reportedly detained.

The siege of the school is still under way.

_{An internally displaced Palestinian girl stands between destroyed tents inside al-Dura Stadium following an Israeli air attack in the west of Deir el-Balah, central Gaza Strip}

In all, at least 46 Palestinians were killed across Gaza in the last 24 hours, the besieged territory’s Ministry of Health said, adding that five “massacres” were committed by Israeli forces during the same period.

Of total death toll, at least 14 were reported in the southern Gaza City, including in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, where an Israeli raid hit a residential building in the Abu Iskandar area.

Our colleagues from Al Jazeera Arabic also reported that four of those deaths were from an Israeli raid on a house in al-Nafaq Street in the centre of Gaza City.

Three other people were killed in a separate strike on a house in Zeitoun neighbourhood south of Gaza City.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA confirmed that an Israeli air raid hit a tent sheltering displaced people in Beit Hanoon, killing several civilians and wounding many others.

Two others were reported killed following a separate Israeli attack on the area surrounding Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, WAFA added.

Four Palestinians were also killed in Shujayea, Khan Younis.

At least 135 other people were reported injured in the Israeli attacks on Sunday.


Two more journalists killed in Gaza

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud confirmed on Sunday that Palestinian journalist Mohammed Jabr al-Qrinawi was killed along with his wife and children in an Israeli air attack that targeted their home in Bureij refugee camp, in central Gaza, late on Saturday.

The Egypt-based Al-Ahram reported that al-Qrinawi was affiliated with Sanad News Agency, a distinct entity from Al Jazeera’s Sanad Verification Unit. Al-Qrinawi was the second journalist killed on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, Al Mashhad Media said its journalist Mohammed Balousha was killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza. George Eid, director of news at Al Mashhad, confirmed Balousha’s killing, saying it was a targeted attack.

Balousha was the Palestinian journalist who broke the story on the decomposing bodies of premature babies in the ICU, who were left to die by Israeli forces at al-Nasr Hospital last year.

The separate killings of al-Qrinawi and Balousha raise the death toll of Palestinian journalists to 196. The Committee to Protect Journalists has compiled records of at least 137 Palestinian journalists killed.

Israel's Syria Invasion Exposes Impunity And Hypocrisy - w/ Palestinian-American Analyst Omar Baddar

The West's Unbroken RACISM At The Heart Of The Gaza Genocide | Prof. Michael Brenner

The genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza is not the doing of Israel alone. It's the outcome of the deeply entrenched and unbroken racism of the Collective West. The very thing liberal empowerment movements fought against domestically, and mainstream pseudo-liberalism made us believe was a "thing of the past", is the engine of this crime of crimes. It's the Euro-American "classic" Anglosaxon-superiority syndrome that is fueling the ideologically, psychologically, economically, and ultimately militarily reality of the genocide.

A multi-year international system of extermination as we are seeing unfolding in front of our eyes is the result of a large, sustained, and prepared machinery of death. Such an absolute disregard for human life can only be implemented by way of a deeply seated and now openly expressed dehumanization of an entire population. A population that is blamed for their own extermination as to wash clean the hands of the perpetrators in Tel Aviv, Brussels, Berlin, Washington, and all the other capitals that keep adding and abetting the erradication effort.

To discuss this saddest of all topics, I'm again joined by Dr. Michael Brenner, a Professor Emeritus of International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and a Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at John Hopkins.



Israel's BIGGEST Lie Destroyed By Horrifying New Report

Israel's claims it protects civilians was always an unhinged lie - and a new report by Airwars destroys it entirely. Read it here: https://gaza-patterns-harm.airwars.org/

"Unleashed": Report Details How Israeli Soldiers Brutalize West Bank Palestinians in Hebron

A new report by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem documents a shocking rise in harassment, detention and abuse of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

The report includes testimony from 20 Palestinians who were attacked by soldiers in the city center of Hebron between May and August 2024, apparently chosen at random and detained for spurious or arbitrary reasons. The victims describe being punched, kicked and sexually abused, beaten with rifles, clubs or chairs, being whipped with a belt, having foul-smelling liquid poured on them, and, in one case, even being stabbed by Israeli soldiers.

The violence in Hebron is part of a larger Israeli "war against the entire Palestinian people" and directly connected to the genocidal assault on Gaza, says B'Tselem international outreach director Sarit Michaeli. She says that given the dehumanization of Palestinians by top officials in Israel since October 7 of last year, "it's not surprising that Israeli soldiers who listen to Israeli leaders will act in a way that reflects this dehumanization." Michaeli adds that such abuses are often broadcast and celebrated. "None of this is being done in a secretive way. It's all being done in broad daylight."