World
Ukraine's Yermak meets senior Trump advisers, source says
Ukrainian delegation met on Wednesday with senior representatives of President-elect Donald Trump, a source familiar with the meeting said, as Ukraine seeks support from the incoming team in its war to repel Russian invaders.
The Ukrainian delegation was led by Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The group met in Washington with Trump’s choice for White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and his Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, the source said, without providing details.
The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment about the meeting.
Trump has vowed to bring about a negotiated end to the nearly three-year-old conflict between Ukraine and Russia, but has thus far not provided details.
World
Israel deploys paratroopers to Syria in 'defense activities' after fall of Assad
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deployed paratroopers into Syria to conduct “defense activities” on Sunday, after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
The IDF said the deployment was meant to “proactively ensure the defense of Golan” amid the instability in Syria. Footage and images show paratroopers and heavily armored tanks deploying to the buffer zone. The move comes as both the U.S. and Israel have struck multiple targets within Syria following Assad’s ouster.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said early Monday morning that Israel also conducted strikes on suspected Syrian chemical weapons sites. Assad infamously used chemical weapons on his own civilians when former President Barack Obama was in office. The U.S. and Israel are taking steps to ensure that those weapons do not fall into the hands of the Islamist rebels now in control of Syria.
“The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens,” Saar said Monday. “That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they will not fall in the hands of extremists.”
TRUMP URGES US TO STAY OUT OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, BLAMING OBAMA FOR FAILURE AS ISLAMISTS CLOSE IN ON CAPITAL
Leaders in the U.S. and Israel have praised the toppling of Assad but also expressed concern about who will lead the country moving forward. The main rebel group at play is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which translates to Organization for the Liberation of the Levant. The organization is a terrorist group with links to both ISIS and al Qaeda.
ISLAMIST REBELS IN SYRIA CATCH ASSAD, PUTIN, IRAN REGIMES OFF GUARD GIVING US NEW MIDEAST HEADACHE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Assad’s fall in a statement on Sunday, going on to announce Sunday’s troop movements in order to “take action against possible threats.”
“One of them is the collapse of the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria. This agreement held for 50 years. Last night, it collapsed,” Netanyahu said. “The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”
Netanyahu closed by offering a “hand of peace” to people in Syria, including to “Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel.”
President Biden echoed Netanyahu’s cautious optimism in his statement responding to Assad’s fall.
“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen. The fall of this regime is a fundamental act of justice. It is a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their country. It is also a moment of risk and uncertainty,” Biden said.
“New opportunities are now opening up for the people of Syria and for the entire region,” he added.
For his part, Assad fled Damascus with his wife and three children shortly before the country fell to rebel forces this weekend. He has since been granted asylum in Moscow.
World
How have Palestinian groups reacted to the ouster of Syria’s al-Assad?
Palestinian factions have largely expressed support for the Syrian people after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad while saying that they hope the new authorities will support the Palestinian cause.
As daylight broke in Damascus in the early hours of Sunday morning, Syrians woke up to a dramatically changed country after opposition forces swept into Syria’s capital less than two weeks into a lightning offensive.
Palestinian factions have supported opposing sides of the Syrian war over the past 13 years. Syria – home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees – has played a major role in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Here’s how leading Palestinian groups reacted to the fall of al-Assad over the past days:
Palestinian Authority (PA)
The State of Palestine, run by the PA, said on Sunday that it stands by the Syrian people, “respecting their will and political choices, in a way that guarantees their security and stability and preserves their achievements”.
The Palestinian presidency added in a statement that it affirms “the need to respect the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, and to preserve its security and stability, wishing continued progress and prosperity for the brotherly Syrian people”.
The presidency stressed that political parties should prioritise the interests of the Syrian people and back Palestinians’ “just cause towards freedom and independence”.
Hamas
Hamas congratulated the Syrian people on Monday for achieving their “aspirations for freedom and justice”.
“We stand strongly with the great people of Syria … and respect the will, the independence, and the political choices of the people of Syria,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
It also urged Syrians to unite and “rise above the wounds of the past”, condemning what it called the “brutal aggression” by Israel against Syria.
Hamas added that it hopes that Syria will continue “its historical and pivotal role in supporting the Palestinian people”.
Hamas sided with the uprising against al-Assad early in the crisis despite its alliance with Iran, which backed the government in Damascus. The Palestinian group’s position cooled down ties with Tehran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, but the alliance was eventually revived despite disagreements over Syria.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
The Palestinian faction, which is allied with Hamas and Iran, said the recent developments are a Syrian matter that relates to the “choices of the brotherly Syrian people”.
“The Islamic Jihad hopes Syria will remain a true supporter and backer for the Palestinian people and their just cause, as it has always been,” Ziad al-Nakhala, the head of the PIJ, said in a statement.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
The left-wing group that has previously voiced support for the Syrian government, did not address al-Assad’s fall in its first official statement after opposition fighters captured Damascus.
Instead, the PFLP focused on condemning ongoing Israeli attacks on Syria.
“This Zionist aggression against Syrian territory carries dangerous dimensions that require solidarity to confront them,” the group said.
“The Front stresses that the Zionist enemy’s air strikes against Syria and its incursion into Syrian territory amount to a dangerous escalation in the aggression against the people and states of the region,” it added.
“The enemy is trying to take advantage of the phase of internal changes in Syria to achieve renewed goals of aggression against Syria and its people.”
The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces in Damascus
The coalition, which includes several Palestinian factions, described the ouster of al-Assad as an internal Syrian affair.
“The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces in Damascus looks forward sincerely to the Syrian people’s right to determine their future and build a unified, fully sovereign Syria in a framework of freedom, justice, democracy and equal citizenship without discrimination,” the coalition said.
It added that it hopes for a “Syria that continues to fulfil its brotherly and national duties towards the Palestinian people”.
World
US searching for journalist Tice in Syria prisons, White House says
“This is a top priority for us – to find Austin Tice, to locate the prison where he may be held, get him out, get him home safely to his family,” Sullivan said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“”We are talking through the Turks and others to people on the ground in Syria to say, ‘Help us with this. Help us get Austin Tice home.’”
Assad fled to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family’s autocratic rule.
President Joe Biden said on Sunday the U.S. government believes Tice is alive.
“We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence to that yet. And Assad should be held accountable,” Biden said. “We have to identify where he is.”
Tice’s parents said on Monday they were watching families reunited in Syria and know that will be possible for them as well.
“Austin Tice is alive, in Syria, and it’s time for him to come home. We are eagerly anticipating seeing Austin walk free and we are asking anyone who can do so to please assist Austin so he can safely return home to our family,” Marc and Debra Tice said in a statement.
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Reporting by Doina Chiacu, additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Heather Timmons, Timothy Heritage and Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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