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Israel continues to develop its military operations in Syria as the United States begins to engage with the new government of the war-torn country.
On December 20, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) entered the town of al-Rafid in the southern al-Quneitra countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Videos posted to social networks showed Israeli troops inspecting houses and collecting weapons from former rebels and the positions of the now dissolved Syrian Arab Army (SAA).
Separately, at least one person was wounded after Israeli troops opened fire on demonstrators in the western Daraa countryside.
According to the local Daraa 24 outlet, residents of towns in the Yarmouk River basin gathered near a former SAA post close to the town of Ma’ariya to protest against the IDF presence in the region. The outlet said IDF troops opened fire in the air to stop the demonstrators from approaching, and one person was hit directly and wounded.
This was the first such incident since the IDF launched its ground operation in southern Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime on December 8.
Turkey, which is close to the new government in Syria, does not appear to be pleased by Israel’s recent moves in the country.
Speaking to a group of journalists on December 20, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the U.S. and Western powers have a “responsibility to stop Israel” from operating in Syrian territory.
“It must be declared loudly that Israel’s occupation of Syrian territories is unacceptable,” he said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. does not appear to be concerned with Israel’s operation in Syria. Washington is in fact working to take advantage of the current situation to boost its influence in the country.
On December 19, the Pentagon revealed that the U.S. has more than doubled the number of its forces in Syria to fight ISIS.
The U.S. had said for years that there were about 900 troops in Syria, but Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, acknowledges there are roughly 2,000 there now.
Speaking at a Pentagon press conference, Ryder said that the additional forces have been in Syria “at a minimum of some months, it’s been going on for awhile.” He added he only just learned the new number and that the increase is not related to the ouster of Assad or any hike in attacks either by or against ISIS.
Ryder blamed the secrecy on “diplomatic considerations” and sensitivities but declined to be more specific. The defense official also noted that he is “not tracking” any additional adjustments to the force numbers in the future.
Separately, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on December 20 its forces conducted a strike that killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif in the eastern Syria governorate of Deir Ezzor. One other ISIS operative was also killed in the strike, according to the command.
“As stated before, the United States — working with allies and partners in the region — will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute. ISIS has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 ISIS operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria. We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria,” says CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla.
Also on December 20, the U.S. made its first engagement with the new Syrian government which is led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a designated terrorist group according to Washington.
U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf held a meeting in Syria with Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of HTS in the Syrian capital, Damascus. A planned press conference by Leaf’s delegation visiting Damascus was reportedly “canceled due to security concerns.”
Al Jazeera reported that during the meeting, the two sides discussed the possibility of removing international sanctions against Syria and dropping HTS from the US designated terror list. It is unclear yet if an agreement was reached, especially that the U.S. presented a set of conditions.
All in all, both Israel and the U.S. appear to be the main beneficiaries of the collapse of the Assad regime. The new government is still working to solidify its control and does not appear to be in a position to resist pressure, especially from Washington. This could hurt the influence of both Turkey and Russia.
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if turkey and iran stay on the same side after what turkey did to iran, it will be the most stupid decision by iran’s leadership. moves which have been done by turkey, like backstabbing and kicking while one is on the ground, must have consequences. so far we can see business as usual concerning iran’s leadership towards turkey.
the axis of resistance is done with…
the middle east needed to be seen as full of conflicts to justify the artificial prices for their oil barrels it’s business basically .with layers of avenues to maximise profits from.human resources imo allegedly
after all the pain & sorrow caused by iranian revolutionary guards, i hope turkey will help syrian people to recover & make a living in their home country. moreover, it may be beneficial for refugees’ homecoming.
lol you make me laugh boy. that was a good joke 👍😁
that’s nice of you to be so hopeful.
are you having a laugh?
hello do the background the cia put the ayatollah in, according to masses of informed voices on google’s wealth of wisdom . .they set the whole middle east situation up to be how it is .they aren’t amateurs at war games they’ve been at it for for thousands of years you know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyavhujk4na
iran just sitting back watching… i hate to say this but the middle east is done with.
not really it’s appearances,image that’s everything to them .prince mbs who is 4 times richer than melon is busily westwrnising his kingdom asap in anticipation of the new world order .
if that fat $atan is in syria patting his belly to the carnage he created, why hasn’t he been whacked by russian intel???… payback for maidan 2014 and beyond!… it only gets worse if the tactics they employ are not reciprocated!!!
you tube has an interesting g documentary up yesterday called something like ,the jesuits 100 year plan to have satan take over the vatican .something like that.
there will be no place for these sirians in the lands taken by the zionist regime. soon they will be like the palestinians, without land, without a homeland and without a place. this is a lesson even for the russians.
its for the world there will be no racial.or religious national identity in the new world wverywhere will be multi cultural and ones ” identity ” will be a legal notion based on location nothing else
in other words buogy will be irrelevant and that’s why it’s curious that they claim to be respecting ancient history for coloured people now since they are white supremacists really .imo .
it’s somewhat like prison identification regardless of ethnicity whatever cell block you’re allowed sanctuary or residence in ,your citizenship , will be who are .
if the reformed, new and improved leader of hts, his majesti ahmed al-sharaa al-julani is smart, he should let russians stay and keep their bases in syria at least for a while, so as to keep israeli invading war criminals from bombing, destroying whatever is left of naval, air&military bases in syrian territory.
yes he is so smart, to let the israhellis bomb everything there is to bomb, so they don’t have anything left to bomb! he is a genius 😂
all jolani’s heachoppers know how do is shoot ak47s from the hip or blow themselves up. they can’t use modern air defenses that’s why israel has blown up so much in syria. israel won’t dare attack the russian naval base or the khmeimim air base while there’s russians there. i bet the new damascus regime will let the russians stay to baby-sit those military bases indefinitely.
reconstruction contracts worth trillions are the outcome .
he’s a pawn .imo
turkey can f itself in the a*s. all the sh*t happing now is because of their backstabbing. they are hand in hand with their beloved allies israhell and usa. so f you turkey. thanks for nothing!
syria was finished. the alawites had fallen out with assad. i suspect the russians and iranians thought the country wasn’t worth the bones of a pomeranian grenadier. syria is really the middle east equivalent of the balkans. the anti assad forces and their allies will soon enough be killing one another. already happening.
if ertogan was really serious about stopping this israeli aggression, wouldn’t he just stop selling them oil?
life wasn’t meant ti be easy .
could sutprise. what will they think of next .?
i have to laugh, israel moves further into syria, what the fuck did those morons who fought against assad think would happen? are they retarded?