1 nov 2013
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An unnamed US government official says that Israeli warplanes have struck a military base in western Syria.
The official said on Thursday that the Israeli warplanes struck the base near the coastal city of Latakia, Reuters reported. Neither Israel nor Syria have commented on the report. Israel has carried out strikes on Syria several times this year. Damascus says the attacks were aimed at helping the foreign-baked militants fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. |
On January 30, the Syrian army said two people were killed and five others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a research center in Jamraya, near Damascus.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.
On October 7, the UN said over four million other Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 due to the escalating conflict in the country.
Two million Syrians are expected to take refuge outside the country while another 2.25 million are predicted to be internally displaced next year.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the violence.
On October 7, the UN said over four million other Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 due to the escalating conflict in the country.
Two million Syrians are expected to take refuge outside the country while another 2.25 million are predicted to be internally displaced next year.
29 oct 2013
The Oslo-based UFree Network and the London-based Action Group for Palestinians of Syria released a joint report on victims of torture and enforced disappearances among Palestinian refugees in Syria. The report documented daily human rights violations against Palestinians in Syria's refugee camps during the period between August 2012 and September 2013, PNN quoted the human rights report.
It documented 105 executions and killings under torture in detention centers in violation of national, regional and international conventions.
The human rights report detailed cases of enforced disappearances to injured people from hospitals, arrests at checkpoints, cases of torture and collective executions to detainees during raids carried out by Syrian regime forces.
Moreover, the whereabouts of many cases of executions and torture of arrested detainees remained unknown, according to the report which also spotted cases of enforced disappearances carried out by groups affiliated to Syrian opposition.
The report questioned the fate of victims who were declared dead by the Syrian regime which refuses to hand their bodies over to their families.
UFree Network and the Action Group called on the Syrian regime and armed opposition groups to disclose the identities, fate and whereabouts of all detainees and executed victims.
Both institutions also called upon international community and human rights organizations to bear their responsibilities towards the serious violations carried out in Syrian prisons and detentions centers.
UFree Network and the Action Group expressed their intention to submit their joint report to embassies, international human rights organizations and international media outlets, as well as the European Parliament and the Human Rights Council.
It documented 105 executions and killings under torture in detention centers in violation of national, regional and international conventions.
The human rights report detailed cases of enforced disappearances to injured people from hospitals, arrests at checkpoints, cases of torture and collective executions to detainees during raids carried out by Syrian regime forces.
Moreover, the whereabouts of many cases of executions and torture of arrested detainees remained unknown, according to the report which also spotted cases of enforced disappearances carried out by groups affiliated to Syrian opposition.
The report questioned the fate of victims who were declared dead by the Syrian regime which refuses to hand their bodies over to their families.
UFree Network and the Action Group called on the Syrian regime and armed opposition groups to disclose the identities, fate and whereabouts of all detainees and executed victims.
Both institutions also called upon international community and human rights organizations to bear their responsibilities towards the serious violations carried out in Syrian prisons and detentions centers.
UFree Network and the Action Group expressed their intention to submit their joint report to embassies, international human rights organizations and international media outlets, as well as the European Parliament and the Human Rights Council.
Three Palestinians, including a newborn baby girl killed on Monday as a result of the blockade imposed on al- Yarmouk refugee camp and the continues bombing in the conflict in Syria. The Working Group for Palestinians in Syria confirmed in a statement the death of the baby in the besieged camp where medical care is missing.
The group also reported the the death of Abdul Hadi al-Baradei in the same camp whose house was shelled in Mashrou’ neighborhood last Friday, in addition to Baraa’ Ayesh " from Dara’a refugee camp.
“Al-Yarmouk refugee camp was bombed," the statement confirmed, "a number of shells targeted the camp's main street, Loubieh and al-Waseem mosque’s surroundings which left a number of injuries,”
It pointed out that the detained poet Amjad Hussain Ebrahim from Handarat refugee camp was transferred to the central prison in Hama after three months of arrest.
The group also reported the the death of Abdul Hadi al-Baradei in the same camp whose house was shelled in Mashrou’ neighborhood last Friday, in addition to Baraa’ Ayesh " from Dara’a refugee camp.
“Al-Yarmouk refugee camp was bombed," the statement confirmed, "a number of shells targeted the camp's main street, Loubieh and al-Waseem mosque’s surroundings which left a number of injuries,”
It pointed out that the detained poet Amjad Hussain Ebrahim from Handarat refugee camp was transferred to the central prison in Hama after three months of arrest.
27 oct 2013
Action Group for the Palestinians in Syria said that two Palestinian refugees died on Saturday as a result of the ongoing conflict in Syria. The group said in a press statement on Sunday that the child Qais Ajou died following the aerial shelling that targeted the vicinity of the Quds Mosque in Daraa camp, while Mahmoud Alaa El Din from the Yarmouk refugee camp died after eating, along his family members, wheat grains contaminated with rat poison.
It stated that several of mortar shells hit Daraa camp, causing no injuries, and pointed that the power outage has continued, along with the severe shortage of food, flour and fuel.
The group said that the residents in Qudsaya in Damascus started leaving the area, because the regular army closed all its entrances and exits and started imposing a blockade on the region.
It pointed out that despite the calm that has prevailed in the streets of the Yarmouk refugee camp, its inhabitants still suffer from the continuation of the blockade imposed by the regular army for the 104th day, and which led to the closure of most hospitals and bakeries, and the shortage of food, medicines and fuel.
Khan Sheikh Refugee camp on Saturday night was also exposed to bombing that caused material damages.
The Action Group the Palestinians in Syria reported that two refugees from the Aydin refugee camp in Homs were arrested by the Syrian security forces.
It stated that several of mortar shells hit Daraa camp, causing no injuries, and pointed that the power outage has continued, along with the severe shortage of food, flour and fuel.
The group said that the residents in Qudsaya in Damascus started leaving the area, because the regular army closed all its entrances and exits and started imposing a blockade on the region.
It pointed out that despite the calm that has prevailed in the streets of the Yarmouk refugee camp, its inhabitants still suffer from the continuation of the blockade imposed by the regular army for the 104th day, and which led to the closure of most hospitals and bakeries, and the shortage of food, medicines and fuel.
Khan Sheikh Refugee camp on Saturday night was also exposed to bombing that caused material damages.
The Action Group the Palestinians in Syria reported that two refugees from the Aydin refugee camp in Homs were arrested by the Syrian security forces.
22 oct 2013
A Palestinian group in Syria on Monday identified five Palestinian refugees who have been killed recently in the ongoing unrest in Syria.
The Workforce for Palestinians in Syria said Amjad Ammouri, a refugee from the Yarmouk refugee camp in the Syrian capital Damascus, had succumbed to wounds he sustained from a shell which landed near a bakery in the camp.
The group added that four Palestinian refugees from the Killish family had died in the shipwreck off the Malta coast on October 11. The victims were identified in a statement as Husam Addin Killish, 40, as well as Wisam Killish, 39, his daughter Leen, 7, and his son Muhammad, 3.
The statement highlighted that about 200 Palestinian refugees were aboard the boat which capsized off the Malta coast fleeing the ongoing deadly conflict in Syria. Dozens died in the incident, while the others were saved by rescue teams after falling into the sea.
The Workforce for Palestinians in Syria said Amjad Ammouri, a refugee from the Yarmouk refugee camp in the Syrian capital Damascus, had succumbed to wounds he sustained from a shell which landed near a bakery in the camp.
The group added that four Palestinian refugees from the Killish family had died in the shipwreck off the Malta coast on October 11. The victims were identified in a statement as Husam Addin Killish, 40, as well as Wisam Killish, 39, his daughter Leen, 7, and his son Muhammad, 3.
The statement highlighted that about 200 Palestinian refugees were aboard the boat which capsized off the Malta coast fleeing the ongoing deadly conflict in Syria. Dozens died in the incident, while the others were saved by rescue teams after falling into the sea.
The "Euro-Mid" Observer for Human Rights, with headquarters in Geneva, has revealed that tens of bodies of Palestinian and Syrian refugees remain in the wreckage of a sunken ship off the Italian coast,despite it being more than ten days since the incident.
The Observer stated in a press statement on Tuesday (22/10),that contact made with the sinking ship indicates that there are still more than a hundred bodies stuck in the wreckage of the sunken ship at the bottom of the sea, with the Italian authorities failing in their role to recover the victims' bodies, claiming the need for a substantial financial budget estimated at thirty million Euros.
The human rights organization has accused the Italian authorities of "abject failure" in dealing with the sinking of the ship that carried Syrian and Palestinian refugees, considering the incident "Completely inconsistent with international standards and human rights principles. It further clearly demonstrates the failure of the Italian authorities in dealing with refugees humanely.
This calls into question the blatant discrimination for which the authorities in Rome bear responsibility for, deliberately not providing sufficient information about the incident, in addition to its refusal to take DNA samples from the unidentified victims' bodies.
"Euro-Mid" stated that the Italian authority's records "indicate that the bodies of the deceased must be dealt with respect, with Italian law stipulating the right to a dignified burial. Contrary to this however, the way in which such bodies have been buried and the failure to recover a large number of them constitutes a form of discrimination".
The Observer pointed out that the Italian authorities did not allow the surviving refugees of the sunken ship to participate in the burial of the victims in Malta or the Italian island of Lampedusa. Rather, the official authorities buried the victims, whose bodies had been recovered by divers at the beginning of the incident, in cemeteries around Sicily, failing to perform funerals and without affording the victims and their families their established right to perform a burial and observe religious rites.
A memorial service was held yesterday on Monday near the port of San Leon, southern Italy, to commemorate the tens of victims who drowned on two ships on the 3rd and 11th of October. 36 Palestinian refugees were among the victims who drowned on the 3rd of this month.
Furthermore, testimonies collected by the Euro-Mid Observer indicate that more than 450 people were onboard the ship that set out from Libya. Taking into consideration the number of bodies that have been retrieved so far, the number of missing victims amounts to over 200, consistent with the estimates made by the Maltese authorities.
"Euro-Mid" has stressed that what has happened "is a violation of the families' right to know the fate of their children, constituting one of the many violations against the human right to a family life and respect for the family. It further represents a violation of the right of every person to have legal personality from the registration of his birth until his the registration of death.
Consequent to this there are rights and obligations related to the deceased and surrounding family, particularly in regard to personal property."
The Observer stated in a press statement on Tuesday (22/10),that contact made with the sinking ship indicates that there are still more than a hundred bodies stuck in the wreckage of the sunken ship at the bottom of the sea, with the Italian authorities failing in their role to recover the victims' bodies, claiming the need for a substantial financial budget estimated at thirty million Euros.
The human rights organization has accused the Italian authorities of "abject failure" in dealing with the sinking of the ship that carried Syrian and Palestinian refugees, considering the incident "Completely inconsistent with international standards and human rights principles. It further clearly demonstrates the failure of the Italian authorities in dealing with refugees humanely.
This calls into question the blatant discrimination for which the authorities in Rome bear responsibility for, deliberately not providing sufficient information about the incident, in addition to its refusal to take DNA samples from the unidentified victims' bodies.
"Euro-Mid" stated that the Italian authority's records "indicate that the bodies of the deceased must be dealt with respect, with Italian law stipulating the right to a dignified burial. Contrary to this however, the way in which such bodies have been buried and the failure to recover a large number of them constitutes a form of discrimination".
The Observer pointed out that the Italian authorities did not allow the surviving refugees of the sunken ship to participate in the burial of the victims in Malta or the Italian island of Lampedusa. Rather, the official authorities buried the victims, whose bodies had been recovered by divers at the beginning of the incident, in cemeteries around Sicily, failing to perform funerals and without affording the victims and their families their established right to perform a burial and observe religious rites.
A memorial service was held yesterday on Monday near the port of San Leon, southern Italy, to commemorate the tens of victims who drowned on two ships on the 3rd and 11th of October. 36 Palestinian refugees were among the victims who drowned on the 3rd of this month.
Furthermore, testimonies collected by the Euro-Mid Observer indicate that more than 450 people were onboard the ship that set out from Libya. Taking into consideration the number of bodies that have been retrieved so far, the number of missing victims amounts to over 200, consistent with the estimates made by the Maltese authorities.
"Euro-Mid" has stressed that what has happened "is a violation of the families' right to know the fate of their children, constituting one of the many violations against the human right to a family life and respect for the family. It further represents a violation of the right of every person to have legal personality from the registration of his birth until his the registration of death.
Consequent to this there are rights and obligations related to the deceased and surrounding family, particularly in regard to personal property."
19 oct 2013
Hamas' former representative in Lebanon and its foreign relations official Osama Hamdan said that the Syrian people should decide their own future without any external interference, denying media rumors that his Movement is involved in the internal Syrian events. Hamdan made his remarks in an interview conducted last week by Russia Today (RT) satellite channel.
Hamadan categorically denied that the Palestinian resistance participates in the Syrian events and affirmed that his Movement does not take sides in any regional conflict.
"As for Syria, everybody knows that we had good relations with the Syrian government. These were very specific relations. When problems started in Syria in March 2011, we took a certain approach. We did everything we could to help our Syrian friends find a peaceful solution and start a political dialogue. We believe that the Syrian people should decide on their future without any outside interference. We did all we could for 10 months, trying to come up with solutions and ideas."
"We respected the position of our Syrian friends, but we could not go against our own political principles, it would have destroyed us politically. So we had to say that we could not take sides. When the situation demanded that, we made a choice and left the country. We have become nobody's enemy, we just left."
"We released a statement [in the first two weeks of the internal events in Syria] saying that the Syrian government supported the Palestinian cause and Hamas, that we had good relations, we respected it, but we also respected the Syrian people and believed that everybody must respect the will of the Syrians."
"What is happening in Syria now is very sad, towns being destroyed, people being killed, and there is constant gunfire. We believe that it is up to the Syrian people to find a solution. It has to be a Syrian decision, not something imposed from the outside. "
The Hamas official emphasized that his Movement's only goal is to resist the Israeli occupation in order to liberate the land and restore the usurped rights.
"The goal of Hamas is to oppose the occupation and establish the Palestinian state that I am sure will maintain a good relationship with the brotherly Arab and Islamic nations and the international community. The reason we are fighting the occupation is not for the sake of fighting. Not at all. We are only fighting because there is no other way to liberate our land. Over 20 years, the peaceful settlement process has not produced any results for the Palestinian people, thus the only way there for us is to fight the occupation."
"The lesson that history teaches us is that you cannot obtain freedom without fighting against the occupation."
Hamadan categorically denied that the Palestinian resistance participates in the Syrian events and affirmed that his Movement does not take sides in any regional conflict.
"As for Syria, everybody knows that we had good relations with the Syrian government. These were very specific relations. When problems started in Syria in March 2011, we took a certain approach. We did everything we could to help our Syrian friends find a peaceful solution and start a political dialogue. We believe that the Syrian people should decide on their future without any outside interference. We did all we could for 10 months, trying to come up with solutions and ideas."
"We respected the position of our Syrian friends, but we could not go against our own political principles, it would have destroyed us politically. So we had to say that we could not take sides. When the situation demanded that, we made a choice and left the country. We have become nobody's enemy, we just left."
"We released a statement [in the first two weeks of the internal events in Syria] saying that the Syrian government supported the Palestinian cause and Hamas, that we had good relations, we respected it, but we also respected the Syrian people and believed that everybody must respect the will of the Syrians."
"What is happening in Syria now is very sad, towns being destroyed, people being killed, and there is constant gunfire. We believe that it is up to the Syrian people to find a solution. It has to be a Syrian decision, not something imposed from the outside. "
The Hamas official emphasized that his Movement's only goal is to resist the Israeli occupation in order to liberate the land and restore the usurped rights.
"The goal of Hamas is to oppose the occupation and establish the Palestinian state that I am sure will maintain a good relationship with the brotherly Arab and Islamic nations and the international community. The reason we are fighting the occupation is not for the sake of fighting. Not at all. We are only fighting because there is no other way to liberate our land. Over 20 years, the peaceful settlement process has not produced any results for the Palestinian people, thus the only way there for us is to fight the occupation."
"The lesson that history teaches us is that you cannot obtain freedom without fighting against the occupation."
14 oct 2013
By Nicola Nasser
More than two and a half years on, Israel's purported neutrality in the Syrian conflict and the United State's fanfare rhetoric urging a "regime change" in Damascus were abruptly cut short to unveil that the Israeli factor has been all throughout the conflict the main concern of both countries.
All their media and political focus on "democracy versus dictatorship" and on the intervention of the international community on the basis of a "responsibility to protect" to avert the exacerbating "humanitarian crisis" in Syria was merely a focus intended to divert the attention of the world public opinion away from their real goal, i.e. to safeguard the security of Israel.
Their "Plan A" was to enforce a change in the Syrian regime as their "big prize" and replace it by another less threatening and more willing to strike a "peace deal" with Israel and in case of failure, which is the case as developed now, their "Plan B" was to pursue a "lesser prize" by disarming Syria of its chemical weapons to deprive it of its strategic defensive deterrence against the Israeli overwhelming arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. Their "Plan A" proved a failure, but their "Plan B" was a success.
However, the fact that the Syrian humanitarian crisis continues unabated with the raging non – stop fighting while the United States is gradually coming to terms with Syria's major allies in Russia and Iran as a prelude to recognizing the "legitimacy" of the status quo in Syria is a fact that shutters whatever remains of U.S. credibility in the conflict.
President Barak Obama, addressing the UN General Assembly on last September 24, had this justification: "Let us remember that this is not a zero-sum endeavor. We are no longer in a Cold War. There's no Great Game to be won, nor does America have any interest in Syria beyond the well-being of its people, the stability of its neighbors, the elimination of chemical weapons, and ensuring it does not become a safe-haven for terrorists. I welcome the influence of all nations that can help bring about a peaceful resolution."
This U – turn shift by the U.S. dispels any remaining doubts that the U.S. ever cared about the Syrian people and what Obama called their "well being."
The U.S. pronounced commitment to a "political solution" through co-sponsoring with Russia the convening of a "Geneva – 2" conference is compromised by its purported inability to unite even the "opposition" that was created and sponsored by the U.S. itself and the "friends of Syria" it leads and to rein in the continued fueling of the armed conflict with arms, money and logistics by its regional Turkish and Gulf Arabs allies, which undermines any political solution and render the very convening of a "Geneva – 2" conference a guess of anybody.
Israeli "Punishment"
Meanwhile, Israel's neutrality was shuttered by none other than its President Shimon Peres.
Speaking at the 40th commemoration of some three thousand Israeli soldiers who were killed in the 1973 war with Syria and Egypt, Peres revealed unarguably that his state has been the major beneficiary of the Syrian conflict.
Peres said: "Today" the Syrian President Basher al-Assad "is punished for his refusal to compromise" with Israel and "the Syrian people pay for it."
When it became stark clear by the latest developments that there will be no "regime change" in Syria nor there will be a post- Assad "Day After" and that the U.S. major guarantor of Israel's survival has made, or is about to make, a "U-turn" in its policy vis-à-vis the Syrian conflict to exclude the military solution as "unacceptable," in the words of Secretary of State John Kerry on this October 6, Israel got impatient and could not hide anymore the Israeli factor in the conflict.
On last September 17, major news wires headlined their reports, "In public shift, Israel calls for Assad's fall," citing a report published by the Israeli daily the Jerusalem Post, which quoted Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, as saying: "We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren't backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran."
"The greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc," Oren added.
And that's really the crux of the Syrian conflict: Dismantling this "arc" has been all throughout the conflict the pronounced strategy of the U.S.-led so-called "Friends of Syria," who are themselves the friends of Israel.
The goal of this strategy has been all throughout the conflict to change the regime of what Oren called the Syrian "keystone in that arc," which is supported by a pro-Iran government in Iraq as well as by the Palestinian liberation movements resisting the more than sixty decades of Israeli military occupation, or otherwise to deplete Syria's resources, infrastructure and power until it has no choice other than the option of yielding unconditionally to the Israeli terms and conditions of what Peres called a "compromise" with Israel as a precondition for the return of the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Syria the Odd Number
This strategic goal was smoke-screened by portraying the conflict first as one of a popular uprising turned into an armed rebellion against a dictatorship, then as a sectarian "civil war," third as a proxy war in an Arab-Iranian and a Sunni-Shiite historical divide, fourth as a battle ground of conflicting regional and international geopolitics, but the Israeli factor has been all throughout the core of the conflict.
Otherwise why should the U.S.-led "Friends of Syria & Israel" care about the ruling regime in a country that is not abundant in oil and gas, the "free" flow of which was repeatedly pronounced a "vital" interest of the United States, or one of what Obama in his UN speech called his country's "core interests;" the security of Israel is another "vital" or "core" interest, which, in his words, "The United States of America is prepared to use all elements of our power, including military force, to secure."
The end of the Cold War opened a "window of opportunities" to build on the Egyptian – Israel peace treaty, according to a study by the University of Oslo in 1997. A peace agreement was signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Hebrew state in 1993 followed by an Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty the year after. During its invasion of Lebanon in 1982 Israel tried unsuccessfully to impose on the country a similar treaty had it not been for the Syrian "influence," which aborted and prevented any such development ever since.
Syria remains the odd number in the Arab peace - making belt around Israel; no comprehensive peace is possible without Syria; Damascus holds the key even to the survival of the Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian peace accords with Israel. Syria will not hand over this key without the withdrawal of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) from Syrian and other Arab lands and a "just" solution of the "Palestinian question."
This has been a Syrian national strategy long before the Pan-Arab Baath party and the al-Assad dynasty came to power.
Therefore, the U.S. and Israeli "Plan A" will remain on both countries' agendas, pending more forthcoming geopolitical environment.
* Nicola Nasser is a veteran Arab journalist based in Birzeit, West Bank of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
More than two and a half years on, Israel's purported neutrality in the Syrian conflict and the United State's fanfare rhetoric urging a "regime change" in Damascus were abruptly cut short to unveil that the Israeli factor has been all throughout the conflict the main concern of both countries.
All their media and political focus on "democracy versus dictatorship" and on the intervention of the international community on the basis of a "responsibility to protect" to avert the exacerbating "humanitarian crisis" in Syria was merely a focus intended to divert the attention of the world public opinion away from their real goal, i.e. to safeguard the security of Israel.
Their "Plan A" was to enforce a change in the Syrian regime as their "big prize" and replace it by another less threatening and more willing to strike a "peace deal" with Israel and in case of failure, which is the case as developed now, their "Plan B" was to pursue a "lesser prize" by disarming Syria of its chemical weapons to deprive it of its strategic defensive deterrence against the Israeli overwhelming arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. Their "Plan A" proved a failure, but their "Plan B" was a success.
However, the fact that the Syrian humanitarian crisis continues unabated with the raging non – stop fighting while the United States is gradually coming to terms with Syria's major allies in Russia and Iran as a prelude to recognizing the "legitimacy" of the status quo in Syria is a fact that shutters whatever remains of U.S. credibility in the conflict.
President Barak Obama, addressing the UN General Assembly on last September 24, had this justification: "Let us remember that this is not a zero-sum endeavor. We are no longer in a Cold War. There's no Great Game to be won, nor does America have any interest in Syria beyond the well-being of its people, the stability of its neighbors, the elimination of chemical weapons, and ensuring it does not become a safe-haven for terrorists. I welcome the influence of all nations that can help bring about a peaceful resolution."
This U – turn shift by the U.S. dispels any remaining doubts that the U.S. ever cared about the Syrian people and what Obama called their "well being."
The U.S. pronounced commitment to a "political solution" through co-sponsoring with Russia the convening of a "Geneva – 2" conference is compromised by its purported inability to unite even the "opposition" that was created and sponsored by the U.S. itself and the "friends of Syria" it leads and to rein in the continued fueling of the armed conflict with arms, money and logistics by its regional Turkish and Gulf Arabs allies, which undermines any political solution and render the very convening of a "Geneva – 2" conference a guess of anybody.
Israeli "Punishment"
Meanwhile, Israel's neutrality was shuttered by none other than its President Shimon Peres.
Speaking at the 40th commemoration of some three thousand Israeli soldiers who were killed in the 1973 war with Syria and Egypt, Peres revealed unarguably that his state has been the major beneficiary of the Syrian conflict.
Peres said: "Today" the Syrian President Basher al-Assad "is punished for his refusal to compromise" with Israel and "the Syrian people pay for it."
When it became stark clear by the latest developments that there will be no "regime change" in Syria nor there will be a post- Assad "Day After" and that the U.S. major guarantor of Israel's survival has made, or is about to make, a "U-turn" in its policy vis-à-vis the Syrian conflict to exclude the military solution as "unacceptable," in the words of Secretary of State John Kerry on this October 6, Israel got impatient and could not hide anymore the Israeli factor in the conflict.
On last September 17, major news wires headlined their reports, "In public shift, Israel calls for Assad's fall," citing a report published by the Israeli daily the Jerusalem Post, which quoted Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, as saying: "We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren't backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran."
"The greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc," Oren added.
And that's really the crux of the Syrian conflict: Dismantling this "arc" has been all throughout the conflict the pronounced strategy of the U.S.-led so-called "Friends of Syria," who are themselves the friends of Israel.
The goal of this strategy has been all throughout the conflict to change the regime of what Oren called the Syrian "keystone in that arc," which is supported by a pro-Iran government in Iraq as well as by the Palestinian liberation movements resisting the more than sixty decades of Israeli military occupation, or otherwise to deplete Syria's resources, infrastructure and power until it has no choice other than the option of yielding unconditionally to the Israeli terms and conditions of what Peres called a "compromise" with Israel as a precondition for the return of the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Syria the Odd Number
This strategic goal was smoke-screened by portraying the conflict first as one of a popular uprising turned into an armed rebellion against a dictatorship, then as a sectarian "civil war," third as a proxy war in an Arab-Iranian and a Sunni-Shiite historical divide, fourth as a battle ground of conflicting regional and international geopolitics, but the Israeli factor has been all throughout the core of the conflict.
Otherwise why should the U.S.-led "Friends of Syria & Israel" care about the ruling regime in a country that is not abundant in oil and gas, the "free" flow of which was repeatedly pronounced a "vital" interest of the United States, or one of what Obama in his UN speech called his country's "core interests;" the security of Israel is another "vital" or "core" interest, which, in his words, "The United States of America is prepared to use all elements of our power, including military force, to secure."
The end of the Cold War opened a "window of opportunities" to build on the Egyptian – Israel peace treaty, according to a study by the University of Oslo in 1997. A peace agreement was signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Hebrew state in 1993 followed by an Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty the year after. During its invasion of Lebanon in 1982 Israel tried unsuccessfully to impose on the country a similar treaty had it not been for the Syrian "influence," which aborted and prevented any such development ever since.
Syria remains the odd number in the Arab peace - making belt around Israel; no comprehensive peace is possible without Syria; Damascus holds the key even to the survival of the Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian peace accords with Israel. Syria will not hand over this key without the withdrawal of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) from Syrian and other Arab lands and a "just" solution of the "Palestinian question."
This has been a Syrian national strategy long before the Pan-Arab Baath party and the al-Assad dynasty came to power.
Therefore, the U.S. and Israeli "Plan A" will remain on both countries' agendas, pending more forthcoming geopolitical environment.
* Nicola Nasser is a veteran Arab journalist based in Birzeit, West Bank of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
11 oct 2013
A young Palestinian man killed on Thursday in shelling on al-Husayniyah refugee camp in Syria, a local group said.
The Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria identified the victim as Ibrahim Hamzeh.
For the third day in a row, al-Husayniyah refugee camp has been subjected to heavy and violent shelling on different areas. The shelling has caused significant damage, and regime forces have tried to enter the camp.
Palestinians in the camp are complaining about lack of food and medications due to a blockade imposed on them by the army. The army closed all the entrances and the exits of the camp two months earlier.
In Yarmouk camp, in Damascus, a state of calm ended abruptly with clashes between rebels and regime forces using light weapons.
Early in the evening, the camp was subjected to shelling. Missiles targeted Jalal Kawash street, but only material damage was reported.
Two days earlier, Hussam Othman from al-Aideen refugee camp in Homs was detained at a checkpoint. Rafiq Shawish, from Handarat refugee camp, was freed after three days of detention.
The Taskforce for Palestinians in Syria identified the victim as Ibrahim Hamzeh.
For the third day in a row, al-Husayniyah refugee camp has been subjected to heavy and violent shelling on different areas. The shelling has caused significant damage, and regime forces have tried to enter the camp.
Palestinians in the camp are complaining about lack of food and medications due to a blockade imposed on them by the army. The army closed all the entrances and the exits of the camp two months earlier.
In Yarmouk camp, in Damascus, a state of calm ended abruptly with clashes between rebels and regime forces using light weapons.
Early in the evening, the camp was subjected to shelling. Missiles targeted Jalal Kawash street, but only material damage was reported.
Two days earlier, Hussam Othman from al-Aideen refugee camp in Homs was detained at a checkpoint. Rafiq Shawish, from Handarat refugee camp, was freed after three days of detention.
10 oct 2013
Israeli sources reported on Wednesday evening [October 10, 2013] that the Israeli army fired a missile at a Syrian army base after mortar shells was fired from Syrian territory into the occupied Golan Heights.
The sources said that the army fired the missile at the source of fire, an issue that led to casualties among Syrian soldiers.
According to Israeli sources, one Israeli soldier suffered “an anxiety attack”, while another soldier was hit by shell fragmentation.
Israeli military leaders said that it is likely that the mortars fired from Syria where not meant to target Israel, as gun battles were taking place between the Syrian army and the armed militias close to the border.
Yet, Tel Aviv said it would be filing an official complaint to the United Nations.
It is worth mentioning that Israel repeatedly violated Syrian airspace and bombarded several areas, including Syrian army bases, and other army and government-run facilities leading to excessive damage and dozens of casualties.
The sources said that the army fired the missile at the source of fire, an issue that led to casualties among Syrian soldiers.
According to Israeli sources, one Israeli soldier suffered “an anxiety attack”, while another soldier was hit by shell fragmentation.
Israeli military leaders said that it is likely that the mortars fired from Syria where not meant to target Israel, as gun battles were taking place between the Syrian army and the armed militias close to the border.
Yet, Tel Aviv said it would be filing an official complaint to the United Nations.
It is worth mentioning that Israel repeatedly violated Syrian airspace and bombarded several areas, including Syrian army bases, and other army and government-run facilities leading to excessive damage and dozens of casualties.
9 oct 2013
Abbas Zaki and Bashar Assad met to discuss Palestinian refugees in Syria.
Palestinian and Syrian leaders will cooperate to protect Palestinian refugees remaining in Syria, Fatah leader Abbas Zaki told Ma’an on Wednesday.
Zaki, a member of Fatah’s central committee, met with Syrian President Bashar Assad last week.
The two leaders discussed possible solutions to Syria’s two-and-a-half-year-old crisis along with issues such as refugee camps and Palestinian prisoners in Syria, Zaki said in a telephone interview.
“We agreed to create safe passages to refugee camps,” Zaki said.
He added that Palestine’s policy of non-intervention in internal Syrian affairs had protected Palestinian refugee camps within Syria from attacks by government forces.
Although Syrian rebels have entered camps in the past, Zaki said, the Syrian army has not.
“The circumstances of refugees in Syria are very difficult,” Zaki said, pointing to Yarmouk camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp of the 14 in Syria, as an example.
“Of its population of 250,000, only 18,000 remain.”
He said that he and Assad agreed “to preserve these refugee camps as a witness to Israel’s historic crime.”
Over 700,000 refugees emerged from Palestine in the aftermath of the Arab-Israeli war and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
According to UNRWA, there are over 5 million registered Palestinian refugees.
Palestinian and Syrian leaders will cooperate to protect Palestinian refugees remaining in Syria, Fatah leader Abbas Zaki told Ma’an on Wednesday.
Zaki, a member of Fatah’s central committee, met with Syrian President Bashar Assad last week.
The two leaders discussed possible solutions to Syria’s two-and-a-half-year-old crisis along with issues such as refugee camps and Palestinian prisoners in Syria, Zaki said in a telephone interview.
“We agreed to create safe passages to refugee camps,” Zaki said.
He added that Palestine’s policy of non-intervention in internal Syrian affairs had protected Palestinian refugee camps within Syria from attacks by government forces.
Although Syrian rebels have entered camps in the past, Zaki said, the Syrian army has not.
“The circumstances of refugees in Syria are very difficult,” Zaki said, pointing to Yarmouk camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp of the 14 in Syria, as an example.
“Of its population of 250,000, only 18,000 remain.”
He said that he and Assad agreed “to preserve these refugee camps as a witness to Israel’s historic crime.”
Over 700,000 refugees emerged from Palestine in the aftermath of the Arab-Israeli war and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
According to UNRWA, there are over 5 million registered Palestinian refugees.
Israeli soldiers train in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria on Sept. 1, 2013
Two Israeli soldiers were injured in the Golan Heights on Wednesday after mortar shells were fired from Syria, Israel's army said.
"Two mortar shells hit a military post in the Golan Heights and lightly injured 2 soldiers," an Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an.
"Initial reports suggest that this was a result of errant fire from heavy fighting in Syria and the IDF retaliated towards the source of fire."
The Golan has been tense since the beginning of the conflict in Syria more than two years ago. So far, there have only been minor flare-ups as Syrian small arms fire or mortar rounds hit the Israeli side, prompting an occasional Israeli response.
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 460 square miles of the strategic plateau during the 1967 Six Day War, and later annexed it in a move the international community does not recognize.
Two Israeli soldiers were injured in the Golan Heights on Wednesday after mortar shells were fired from Syria, Israel's army said.
"Two mortar shells hit a military post in the Golan Heights and lightly injured 2 soldiers," an Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an.
"Initial reports suggest that this was a result of errant fire from heavy fighting in Syria and the IDF retaliated towards the source of fire."
The Golan has been tense since the beginning of the conflict in Syria more than two years ago. So far, there have only been minor flare-ups as Syrian small arms fire or mortar rounds hit the Israeli side, prompting an occasional Israeli response.
Israel, which is technically at war with Syria, seized 460 square miles of the strategic plateau during the 1967 Six Day War, and later annexed it in a move the international community does not recognize.
Muhannad Abu Jurouh died in a shelling at Dara' camp
Action Group for Palestinians in Syria announced on Tuesday the death of seven Palestinian refugees in Syria in the last week. Muhannad Abu Jurouh died in a shelling at Dara' camp by Syrian regime army, Ahmad Zahir and Samer Brdhua'h died from torture in Syrian regime detention, the group said.
The group also reported that Eng. Ahmed al-Khateib and Zain al-Mslamee died in clashes erupted between the Free Syrian Army and Syrian regime army in Dara' .
A sniper shot to death Mahmoud Derbas at Yarmouk refugee camp and Shehab Ahmed in Jaramana camp, the group added.
Action Group for Palestinians in Syria announced on Tuesday the death of seven Palestinian refugees in Syria in the last week. Muhannad Abu Jurouh died in a shelling at Dara' camp by Syrian regime army, Ahmad Zahir and Samer Brdhua'h died from torture in Syrian regime detention, the group said.
The group also reported that Eng. Ahmed al-Khateib and Zain al-Mslamee died in clashes erupted between the Free Syrian Army and Syrian regime army in Dara' .
A sniper shot to death Mahmoud Derbas at Yarmouk refugee camp and Shehab Ahmed in Jaramana camp, the group added.
Hamas movement has called for urgent moves to lift the siege imposed on Palestinians in the Yarmouk refugee camp, south of Damascus, for more than 90 days. Hamas said in a press release on Wednesday “We are following up with pain and anxiety the suffering of Palestinian refugees in Syria including murder, siege, displacement, and difficult living conditions”.
Hamas strongly condemned the shelling of refugee camps and besieging them, which threaten the lives of thousands of refugees mostly women, children, and elderly people. It said that the refugees were threatened with death by shelling, illness or starvation.
The movement re-asserted that the Palestinian refugees are not party to the conflict in Syria.
Hamas asked the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and human rights groups to assume their duties in protecting the refugees in Syria and to provide a dignified life for them in the countries to where they were forcibly evicted.
Hamas strongly condemned the shelling of refugee camps and besieging them, which threaten the lives of thousands of refugees mostly women, children, and elderly people. It said that the refugees were threatened with death by shelling, illness or starvation.
The movement re-asserted that the Palestinian refugees are not party to the conflict in Syria.
Hamas asked the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and human rights groups to assume their duties in protecting the refugees in Syria and to provide a dignified life for them in the countries to where they were forcibly evicted.
8 oct 2013
5 oct 2013
Two Palestinian refugees who died in the ongoing Syrian crisis last week have been identified by a Palestinian group.
The workforce for Palestinians in Syria said in a statement Saturday that the victims were from Khan al-Sheikh in the outskirts of Damascus and Deraa refugee camps near the borders with Jordan.
Samir Theib Barthua, from Khan al-Sheikh, died of torture in custody, the report added.
Khalid Ahmad Othman from Deraa camp died on Sept. 27 in a hospital in Ramtha in Jordan. He succumbed to critical wounds after he was hit by a gunshot to the head and was evacuated to Ramtha hospital.
The statement added that farms in the outskirts of Deraa camp were bombarded Friday by the Syrian army.
The Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, according to the statement, has been besieged by the Syrian forces for more than 80 days, and nobody have been allowed to leave the camp during the siege.
The workforce for Palestinians in Syria said in a statement Saturday that the victims were from Khan al-Sheikh in the outskirts of Damascus and Deraa refugee camps near the borders with Jordan.
Samir Theib Barthua, from Khan al-Sheikh, died of torture in custody, the report added.
Khalid Ahmad Othman from Deraa camp died on Sept. 27 in a hospital in Ramtha in Jordan. He succumbed to critical wounds after he was hit by a gunshot to the head and was evacuated to Ramtha hospital.
The statement added that farms in the outskirts of Deraa camp were bombarded Friday by the Syrian army.
The Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, according to the statement, has been besieged by the Syrian forces for more than 80 days, and nobody have been allowed to leave the camp during the siege.
3 oct 2013
The Syrian conflict has claimed over 100,000 lives so far and have displaced millions
The Working Group for Palestinians in Syria has announced that 74 Palestinian died after suffering severe torture in Syrian prisons.
In a press release, spokesperson of the group Tariq Hamoud also said that the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria is going from bad to worse.
Hamoud said that the number of Palestinian refugees killed since the beginning of the conflict in Syria had reached 1,597, in addition to 651 others lost or imprisoned.
According to Hamoud, what makes the situation even "more tragic" is the absence of regional and international action to help the refugees. He also said that there are no "notable" measures being taken by the Palestinian leadership regarding the Palestinian refugees in Syria.
He added that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has no real presence on the ground to support the Palestinian refugees in Syria.
Hamoud explained that, "More than 150,000 Palestinian refugees have left Syria, heading to different destinations. About 30,000 arrived in Europe and 120,000 are distributed between Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Turkey, and a few in other countries around the world."
Regarding the legal procedures, Hamoud noted that the Palestinian refugees leaving Syria face "the worst treatment" in the Arab countries.
Describing the situation on the ground, Hamoud said: "Al-Yarmouk Refugee Camp has been under strict siege for more than 77 days and residents there are suffering severe shortages of food because the Syrian regime prevents aid organisations from working inside Syria."
He noted that the only food aid that has reached the refugees was that of the European Al-Wafa Convoy. He stressed that the situation for all the Palestinian refugees in Syria is very bad, "but Al-Yarmouk is the worst."
At the end of the press release, Hamoud called upon the Palestinian leadership and UNRWA to take on their responsibilities towards the more than 1.5 millions Palestinian refugees in Syria.
The Working Group for Palestinians in Syria has announced that 74 Palestinian died after suffering severe torture in Syrian prisons.
In a press release, spokesperson of the group Tariq Hamoud also said that the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria is going from bad to worse.
Hamoud said that the number of Palestinian refugees killed since the beginning of the conflict in Syria had reached 1,597, in addition to 651 others lost or imprisoned.
According to Hamoud, what makes the situation even "more tragic" is the absence of regional and international action to help the refugees. He also said that there are no "notable" measures being taken by the Palestinian leadership regarding the Palestinian refugees in Syria.
He added that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has no real presence on the ground to support the Palestinian refugees in Syria.
Hamoud explained that, "More than 150,000 Palestinian refugees have left Syria, heading to different destinations. About 30,000 arrived in Europe and 120,000 are distributed between Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Turkey, and a few in other countries around the world."
Regarding the legal procedures, Hamoud noted that the Palestinian refugees leaving Syria face "the worst treatment" in the Arab countries.
Describing the situation on the ground, Hamoud said: "Al-Yarmouk Refugee Camp has been under strict siege for more than 77 days and residents there are suffering severe shortages of food because the Syrian regime prevents aid organisations from working inside Syria."
He noted that the only food aid that has reached the refugees was that of the European Al-Wafa Convoy. He stressed that the situation for all the Palestinian refugees in Syria is very bad, "but Al-Yarmouk is the worst."
At the end of the press release, Hamoud called upon the Palestinian leadership and UNRWA to take on their responsibilities towards the more than 1.5 millions Palestinian refugees in Syria.
2 oct 2013
Three Palestinian refugees were killed in Syria during clashes on Tuesday, a local group said.
The Workforce for Palestinians in Syria said Ahmad Hussain Thaher, from Khan al-Sheikh camp, died while being imprisoned by Syrian government forces.
The circumstances of his death are unclear.
Ahmad al-Khatib, from Tel Shihab in Daraa village, and Zein Fayez al-Masmali, from Daraa refugee camp, were killed in clashes between the Free Syrian Army and Syrian regime forces.
There were heavy clashes late Tuesday between Free Syrian Army forces and Syrian government troops in Yarmouk camp, the group said.
The Syrian army has imposed a blockade on the camp for 77 days in a row, and there has been no electricity or fuel in the camp for months.
In March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
Last week, a senior Fatah official said that some 250,000 Palestinian refugees have been forced to leave their refugee camps in Syria due to violence in the country.
A staggering 6.2 million Syrians have been torn from their homes -- a number without parallel in any other country and representing nearly a third of Syria's pre-war population of 20.8 million.
The Workforce for Palestinians in Syria said Ahmad Hussain Thaher, from Khan al-Sheikh camp, died while being imprisoned by Syrian government forces.
The circumstances of his death are unclear.
Ahmad al-Khatib, from Tel Shihab in Daraa village, and Zein Fayez al-Masmali, from Daraa refugee camp, were killed in clashes between the Free Syrian Army and Syrian regime forces.
There were heavy clashes late Tuesday between Free Syrian Army forces and Syrian government troops in Yarmouk camp, the group said.
The Syrian army has imposed a blockade on the camp for 77 days in a row, and there has been no electricity or fuel in the camp for months.
In March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said that over 1,377 Palestinians had been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, with that number thought to have increased significantly since then.
Last week, a senior Fatah official said that some 250,000 Palestinian refugees have been forced to leave their refugee camps in Syria due to violence in the country.
A staggering 6.2 million Syrians have been torn from their homes -- a number without parallel in any other country and representing nearly a third of Syria's pre-war population of 20.8 million.
29 sept 2013
News links Syria
Peres: Assad never read Anne Frank's diary
Syria militants have chem. arms: Russia
‘No peace plan should exclude Assad’
Peres: Assad never read Anne Frank's diary
Syria militants have chem. arms: Russia
‘No peace plan should exclude Assad’
28 sept 2013
The Syrian army says it has confiscated a number of Israeli-made missiles, which were in the possession of foreign-backed militants.
A military source told the Syrian news agency SANA that the seizure was made in the countryside of the southwestern city of Dara’a on Thursday.
It says Syrian troops seized a militant vehicle loaded with large weapons and ammunition, including at least four Israeli-made missiles.
This is not the first time that government troops have made such a seizure.
Media sources have in the past showed arms with Hebrew inscriptions, which they said originated from Israel.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
In a recent statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of Syrian refugees, who have fled the country’s 29-month-long conflict, reached two million.
A military source told the Syrian news agency SANA that the seizure was made in the countryside of the southwestern city of Dara’a on Thursday.
It says Syrian troops seized a militant vehicle loaded with large weapons and ammunition, including at least four Israeli-made missiles.
This is not the first time that government troops have made such a seizure.
Media sources have in the past showed arms with Hebrew inscriptions, which they said originated from Israel.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
In a recent statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of Syrian refugees, who have fled the country’s 29-month-long conflict, reached two million.
News links Syria
Ashton praises UN Syria resolution
Syria UN envoy welcomes resolution
UN vote urges destruction of Syria WMD
Syria militants declare war on each other
30 Syria rebel groups reject SNC, FSA
Backing militants fuels Syria war: FM
Ashton praises UN Syria resolution
Syria UN envoy welcomes resolution
UN vote urges destruction of Syria WMD
Syria militants declare war on each other
30 Syria rebel groups reject SNC, FSA
Backing militants fuels Syria war: FM
27 sept 2013
News links Syria
Russia raps double-standards on Syria
‘Syria CW probe must start by Tuesday’
Infighting grows among Syria militants
Syria chemical arsenal ‘unweaponized’
Russia raps double-standards on Syria
‘Syria CW probe must start by Tuesday’
Infighting grows among Syria militants
Syria chemical arsenal ‘unweaponized’
26 sept 2013
Yarmouk refugee camp was subjected to a heavy shelling
Omar Khaled Abu Hamda from Khan Al-Seih refugee camp in Syria killed on Wednesday under torture in a regime security detention, the Working Group for the Palestinians in Syria said. The group said in a press statement on Thursday that Yarmouk refugee camp was subjected to a heavy shelling targeted different areas by about ten rockets.
The group added that the siege imposed by the regime army and the Popular Front - General Command’s militants is still going on while bread, water and medical supplies crises are still continuous. In the same context, the Charity Commission for the Relief of the Palestinian People reclaimed some farm lands in the camp are being cultivated and utilized in order to provide the needed vegetables for civilians in the camp.
Omar Khaled Abu Hamda from Khan Al-Seih refugee camp in Syria killed on Wednesday under torture in a regime security detention, the Working Group for the Palestinians in Syria said. The group said in a press statement on Thursday that Yarmouk refugee camp was subjected to a heavy shelling targeted different areas by about ten rockets.
The group added that the siege imposed by the regime army and the Popular Front - General Command’s militants is still going on while bread, water and medical supplies crises are still continuous. In the same context, the Charity Commission for the Relief of the Palestinian People reclaimed some farm lands in the camp are being cultivated and utilized in order to provide the needed vegetables for civilians in the camp.
25 sept 2013
News links Syria
‘UN Syria resolution likely in 2 days’
UN inspectors back in Syria after 'one-sided' nerve gas finding
‘UN Syria resolution likely in 2 days’
UN inspectors back in Syria after 'one-sided' nerve gas finding
23 sept 2013
22 sept 2013
News links Syria
Turkey stance on Syria, Egypt rapped
Syria talks unrealistic without Iran: Gul
Mortar hits Russian Embassy in Syria
Turkey stance on Syria, Egypt rapped
Syria talks unrealistic without Iran: Gul
Mortar hits Russian Embassy in Syria
21 sept 2013
A picture dated June 13, 2003 shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher (L) attending their father's funeral in Damascus on June 13, 2000.
Maher al-Assad, the Syrian president’s younger brother, has been playing a key role in the war against foreign-backed militants fighting in Syria.
The 46-year-old Maher, the commander of the elite Republican Guard and the army's powerful 4th Armored Division, deployed troops to Deraa Province to fight against the militants after the unrest started in the country in March 2011.
The US subsequently announced sanctions against Maher, putting his fourth division on its blacklist. The EU also imposed same sanctions on him.
Maher, who is rarely photographed or even quoted in Syria's media, commands more than 15,000 elite troops in the 4th Armored Division that protects the Syrian capital Damascus from militants on its outskirts and is widely believed to have helped orchestrate the government's fierce campaign to put down the militancy, now well into its third year.
He has not yet used all of the capacities of his forces in the fight against the militant groups because their essential duty is to protect Syria against foreign attacks. The 4th Armored Division has also been playing a key role in fighting against terrorist groups and liberating the areas held by the militants. The division has gained victories in al-Qusayr and Khalidiya battles.
In the past year, his troops have launched repeated offensives against Takfiri militants firmly entrenched on Damascus' outskirts, bombarding and raiding the impoverished suburbs they hold.
Cleaning operations in Daraa and Homs provinces and the liberation of the city of al-Qusayr were among the successful army operations led by Maher.
Maher, a brigadier general, has shown no thirst for the presidency, and there has been no public sign of friction with his brother.
Maher’s performance has defused terrorist groups’ assassination attempts against President Bashar al-Assad during his public appearance in different areas of Damascus.
He has also gained a reputation for braveness among militant groups.
Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese army general who has studied the Syrian army and is in touch with officers from the 4th Division, said Maher Assad is known as a "brave ... and in some respects aggressive man, who has a lot of military experience."
He also played a role in reshaping the Syrian military as the conflict dragged on.
Before his promotion to general, Maher commanded a Republican Guard brigade. This provided him with valuable military experience and allowed him to establish personal ties with many officers.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
According to the UN, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.
The unrest has been reportedly aimed at destroying “axis of the resistance” that includes Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
Maher al-Assad, the Syrian president’s younger brother, has been playing a key role in the war against foreign-backed militants fighting in Syria.
The 46-year-old Maher, the commander of the elite Republican Guard and the army's powerful 4th Armored Division, deployed troops to Deraa Province to fight against the militants after the unrest started in the country in March 2011.
The US subsequently announced sanctions against Maher, putting his fourth division on its blacklist. The EU also imposed same sanctions on him.
Maher, who is rarely photographed or even quoted in Syria's media, commands more than 15,000 elite troops in the 4th Armored Division that protects the Syrian capital Damascus from militants on its outskirts and is widely believed to have helped orchestrate the government's fierce campaign to put down the militancy, now well into its third year.
He has not yet used all of the capacities of his forces in the fight against the militant groups because their essential duty is to protect Syria against foreign attacks. The 4th Armored Division has also been playing a key role in fighting against terrorist groups and liberating the areas held by the militants. The division has gained victories in al-Qusayr and Khalidiya battles.
In the past year, his troops have launched repeated offensives against Takfiri militants firmly entrenched on Damascus' outskirts, bombarding and raiding the impoverished suburbs they hold.
Cleaning operations in Daraa and Homs provinces and the liberation of the city of al-Qusayr were among the successful army operations led by Maher.
Maher, a brigadier general, has shown no thirst for the presidency, and there has been no public sign of friction with his brother.
Maher’s performance has defused terrorist groups’ assassination attempts against President Bashar al-Assad during his public appearance in different areas of Damascus.
He has also gained a reputation for braveness among militant groups.
Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese army general who has studied the Syrian army and is in touch with officers from the 4th Division, said Maher Assad is known as a "brave ... and in some respects aggressive man, who has a lot of military experience."
He also played a role in reshaping the Syrian military as the conflict dragged on.
Before his promotion to general, Maher commanded a Republican Guard brigade. This provided him with valuable military experience and allowed him to establish personal ties with many officers.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
According to the UN, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.
The unrest has been reportedly aimed at destroying “axis of the resistance” that includes Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
20 sept 2013
News links Syria
Obama to demand Syria's Assad removal at UN speech
Watch: IDF Tamuz missile hits Syrian outpost
Brazil, Argentina urge peace in Syria
Chemical arms org. to meet on Syria
‘Syria may propose truce at Geneva talks’
Syria militant clash shuts Turkey border
Iran ready to broker talks between Syrian government, opposition: Rouhani
Foreign intervention in region doomed to failure: Iran Army
Obama to demand Syria's Assad removal at UN speech
Watch: IDF Tamuz missile hits Syrian outpost
Brazil, Argentina urge peace in Syria
Chemical arms org. to meet on Syria
‘Syria may propose truce at Geneva talks’
Syria militant clash shuts Turkey border
Iran ready to broker talks between Syrian government, opposition: Rouhani
Foreign intervention in region doomed to failure: Iran Army