World

European Ministers Visit Syria to Strengthen Ties With New Government

Published

2 days ago

January 3, 2025

European Ministers Visit Syria to Strengthen Ties With New Government

Syria’s new leaders met the French and German foreign ministers in the capital, Damascus, on Friday in one of the highest-level Western diplomatic visits since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last month.

Annalena Baerbock of Germany and her French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, arrived in Damascus for the first such trip in years on behalf on the European Union, as world powers have begun building ties with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group that leads the new Syrian government.

Ms. Baerbock and Mr. Barrot met with Ahmad al-Shara, the group’s leader, after visiting the notorious Sednaya prison, where Mr. al-Assad’s regime had tortured and killed thousands of detainees.

“We are traveling to Damascus today to offer our support, but also with clear expectations of the new rulers,” Ms. Baerbock said in a statement before the meeting. “A new beginning can only happen if all Syrians, no matter their ethnicity and religion, are given a place in the political process.”

The visits are among a flurry of contacts between rebel leaders and Western officials looking to gradually open channels to the new Syrian authorities. Mr. al-Shara has worked to project a moderate image since taking power.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is still blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United States and the United Nations because of its past ties to Al Qaeda. Mr. al-Shara has called on the international community to remove that designation and sought to reassure minority groups, saying he wants to focus on rebuilding Syria after years of civil war.

“The current events demand the lifting of all sanctions on Syria,” he said in a televised interview last month.

Mr. Barrot said that France was urging the new rulers in Damascus to pursue a political transition that would allow “all the communities in Syria, in all their diversity, to be represented.” Part of that included reaching a “political solution” with the Kurdish minority, he said, which has carved out an autonomous region in northeastern Syria.

The diplomacy comes during a realignment across the Middle East, where Mr. al-Assad’s regime was a core part of Iran’s regional coalition. His family’s decades of iron-fisted rule were opposed by many Syrians, spurring the 2011 uprising and civil war. At least six foreign militaries were involved in the fighting, including those from Iran, Russia and Turkey.

Many countries — including the United States — have begun forging ties with the new government. In late December, Barbara Leaf, the senior State Department official for the Middle East, met with Mr. al-Shara in Damascus and told him that Washington would no longer pursue an outstanding bounty for his arrest.

Some Syrians — particularly Christians and other minority groups — are uncertain about Mr. al-Shara, pointing to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s conservative Islamist roots. In Idlib, a province controlled by the group since 2017, its leaders banned buying and selling alcohol and opened a chain of free religious schools. But Mr. al-Shara’s faction has eschewed the draconian decrees and brutal punishments of extremists like the Taliban and the Islamic State.

In a sign of the jitters among some Syrians, a posting on a Facebook page run by the Education Ministry this week described a new curriculum that was interpreted by some as taking a more Islamist slant.

It was not clear whether any of the changes had been implemented, but the minister of education, Nadhir Al-Qadri, said in a statement that the curriculum was unchanged except for the removal of “content glorifying the Assad regime” and the addition of images of the Syrian revolutionary flag.

Officials in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have laid out an ambitious plan for establishing a new government, and rebel leaders have assumed key positions to oversee a transition. They say they are establishing a caretaker government in consultation with Syrians of all backgrounds, as well as a committee to draft a new Syrian constitution.

Many in the region are also wary of the new Syrian government, including Gulf States like the United Arab Emirates, which has long tried to prevent the rise of groups that embrace political Islam, as well as Israel.

Overnight on Friday, Israeli warplanes bombed Syrian defense research sites near Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israel declined to comment on the report.

Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against Syrian military sites since the fall of Mr. al-Assad in an effort to eliminate sophisticated arms like chemical weapons and long-range missiles. Mr. al-Shara has said he will uphold a longstanding cease-fire agreement with Israel, saying that Syria poses no threat to its neighbors.

Here are other developments in the region:

Houthi missile attacks: The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at Israel before dawn on Friday, setting off air-raid sirens across central Israel, including in Jerusalem. The Israeli military said it had intercepted the missile and there were no reports of serious casualties. Israeli fighter jets have flown over 1,000 miles to strike Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen but Israel has struggled to stop the attacks, which have escalated over the past month.
Northern Gaza hospital: The Israeli military is operating near the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, from which many doctors and patients have already fled, health officials there said, noting that the sound of gunfire could be heard outside. The Israeli military said it did not intend to evacuate the hospital. The Israeli military raided Kamal Adwan, another northern Gaza hospital, last week, charging that Hamas was operating in the compound. Israeli troops apprehended at least 240 people they said were militants, including Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital director; Amnesty International has called for his release.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon: The Israeli military said on Thursday night that it had bombed Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, while a 60-day truce largely continues to hold. Since the agreement went into effect in late November, Israel has repeatedly bombarded what it says are Hezbollah fighters violating the agreement. Hezbollah has generally refrained from responding militarily. The current cease-fire is set to expire in late January, although the United States and its allies hope it becomes permanent.

Abu Bakr Bashir and Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting.

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World

Exclusive: New US ethics czar starts vetting incoming Trump officials

Published

19 minutes ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Exclusive: New US ethics czar starts vetting incoming Trump officials

The top U.S. ethics official charged with preventing government workers’ conflicts of interest is about to take the hotseat in Washington, as President-elect Donald Trump’s new Cabinet and other appointees declare their financial assets and prepare for their new jobs.

World

Zelenskyy says Trump could be ‘decisive’ in bringing an end to the war

Published

1 hour ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Zelenskyy says Trump could be ‘decisive’ in bringing an end to the war

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a hopeful tone on Thursday during a televised interview and said he believes President-elect Donald Trump could be “decisive” in ending the war as Kyiv stares down the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

“Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” Zelenskyy said according to a Reuters report. “His qualities are indeed there.

“He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin,” he added. “He is able to do this.”

Then-former President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in New York City. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

UKRAINE: HOW THE WAR SHIFTED IN 2024

Zelenskyy said Trump assured him that Kyiv would be among his first presidential visits following his inauguration later this month as Ukraine looks to stabilize the front lines.

Stopping Russian advances early in the new year is a top priority for Zelenskyy, who also reportedly claimed that Putin feared negotiations as it would be seen by the Kremlin chief as tantamount to a Russian defeat.

Despite nearly three full years of war, Russia has been unable to achieve not only its initial war aims, but even Putin’s amended plans, which he announced last year when he said his main goal is now to take all the Donbas – a region in eastern Ukraine encompassing much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

However, it is not only Putin who views potential peace negotiations with apparent trepidation.

Zelenskyy has said he welcomes peace talks, but he has also made it clear that any negotiations on ending the war will only be accepted if Ukraine is granted certain security guarantees – like the possibility of joining NATO.

Fellow soldiers carry the coffin of leading actor of the music and drama theatre Petro Velykiy, 48, who was killed in a battle with the Russian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, during a farewell ceremony in Chernyhiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER BLASTS UKRAINE PEACE DEAL REPORTEDLY FLOATED BY TRUMP’S TEAM: ‘NOT HAPPY’

“Naturally, any security guarantees without the United States are weak security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said, though he added that Washington must take into account Kyiv’s future security.

“It cannot be otherwise,” he added. “We are Ukraine, and it’s our independence, our land and our future.”

Putin, on the other hand, has said he will not accept any cease-fire negotiations that do not include guarantees that bar Kyiv from joining the 32-member body, which under Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty says an attack on one member will trigger an attack from all NATO nations and would effectively ensure a united strike on Moscow should it once again target Ukraine.

A serviceman of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fires a 2s5 “Hyacinth-s” self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops at a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Nov. 18, 2024. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS )

Zelenskyy, who has led the country since 2019, was also asked if he would consider re-running for the presidency.

The Ukrainian president reiterated that the nation cannot hold elections while in a state of war under the nation’s existing constitution but said he may consider it once the conflict has ended.

“I don’t know how this war will end,” he said. “If I can do more than I am able, then I will probably view such a decision [seeking re-election] more positively. For now, this is not an objective for me.”

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Trump transition team for comment.

World

‘I refuse a cheap death’: Israel kills Palestinian journalist in Gaza

Published

2 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

‘I refuse a cheap death’: Israel kills Palestinian journalist in Gaza

A Palestinian writer, poet and journalist has been killed in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, according to his family, taking the total number of journalists killed in the Israel-Palestine conflict since October 7, 2023 to 220.

Mohammad Hijazi was among nearly 90 Palestinians slain in Israeli bombardment across the besieged territory in the last 24 hours, according to a Gaza Health Ministry statement on Sunday.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the Jabalia camp since Israel imposed a military siege of northern Gaza on October 5 and intensified bombardment, forcing thousands to flee. Israel has prevented even aid groups from supplying basic food items to the area.

“I don’t know if I will write to you again. I keep what I have written and am writing. Maybe it will come to light one day. I refuse a cheap death. I curse the murderer,” Hijazi wrote on Facebook in August of last year.

“Let us in this bottom that we have finally reached, arm ourselves with patience and prayer, and count the days we have lived as a historic achievement, while awaiting what is coming with a broken heart, an extinguished eye, a head held high, and a spirit that fights until the end of the road.”

It was not immediately clear whether Hijazi was working for a specific media organisation when he died.

Since the beginning of its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 220 journalists and media workers, including Hijazi.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday that at least 88 Palestinians had been killed and 208 others injured in the past 24 hours.

The latest fatalities bring the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza to at least 45,805 since October 2023, while an estimated 109,064 have been injured.

Among those killed in the latest Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday were three Palestinians who were living in a tent in Deir el-Balah, according to Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from central Gaza.

A family of 15 people were also buried under the rubble in the northwest of Gaza City, following a separate strike, Mahmoud reported.

“The Palestinian Civil Defence is doing its best to remove bodies from under the rubble, but has only removed four of the family members,” he said.

“It’s estimated there are at least 15 family members under the three-storey building that was flattened to the ground.

“These repeated attacks – deliberate against families – continue to unfold, causing more tragedies among Palestinians.”

“I refuse to die cheaply… I curse the killer.”
This morning, writer and journalist Mohamed Hijazi, the author of these words, was killed by the Israeli army in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. #GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/LWsCak8IPr
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— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) January 5, 2025

In the last three days, Israeli forces have killed more than 200 people in Gaza, Mahmoud noted.

The last few remaining hospitals across Gaza are now overwhelmed, he added.

At the emergency department at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, many people were left on the floor and others were waiting to be admitted into the operating theatre, Mahmoud said.

“By the time it’s their turn, it’s too late – they have already bled to death. [Many] burns are quite severe, and no pain medication is available at the hospital,” he said.

“There’s a silent death going on. In the past weeks, due to the ongoing attacks, people are dying quietly because of the lack of medical supplies.”

On Sunday, the Israeli military claimed that it had struck more than 100 “terror targets” in the Gaza Strip over the past two days. Several of the strikes targeted sites from which Palestinian fighters had been firing projectiles into Israel in recent days, the military said.

The latest violence in Gaza comes as indirect negotiations for a captive release deal resumed in Qatar.

Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been engaged for months in efforts to strike a deal to end the war and secure the release of dozens of captives still held in Gaza.

Israel has detained more than 10,000 Palestinians since launching its devastating war, which has brought it global condemnation. Rights groups have termed Israel’s military offensive as a genocide, while the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top United Nations court, said in March 2024 that the Israeli operation “plausibly” amounted to genocide.

Seperately, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.