International Upheaval in Syria: Cause for joy, cause for concern
One week after the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, Western and Arab politicians are calling for a peaceful transition to a new political leadership in the civil war-torn country.
15.12.2024, 05:11
SDA
At the same time, regional powers such as Israel and Turkey are making it clear that they intend to use the current power vacuum in Syria for their own interests. The new leadership in Damascus, however, says it wants to devote itself to reconstruction. A week ago on Sunday, a rebel alliance led by Islamists took power.
Skepticism towards rebels in Damascus
Observers in the Arab world have mixed feelings about the Syrian rebel alliance. "We hear reasonable and rational statements from them about unity and not imposing a system on all Syrians," said Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Sajid Al Nahjan, at a security conference in Abu Dhabi.
"But on the other hand, the nature of these new forces, their links to the (Islamist) Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda are very worrying indicators," the London-based internet newspaper "thelevantnews.com" quoted him as saying. However, the new Syria should be approached with both optimism and caution.
Gargash criticized Israel for its campaign to destroy Syria's military capabilities. "From Israel's point of view, that may be right, but I think it's a stupid policy." Rather, "mistakes made in the past" should be avoided. The advisor alluded to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. The US military had encouraged the disintegration of the Iraqi army after the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein, after which the country descended into years of civil war chaos.
Israel bombs large weapons depots
Meanwhile, Israel continued its air strikes on military installations in the Damascus area. On Saturday alone, the air force bombed 35 targets, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. These included mountain tunnels in which the Assad government's military had stored rockets and heavy ammunition. The Israeli military justified its attacks by saying that it wanted to prevent the stockpiles of war material from falling into the hands of Islamists.
Following the victory of his rebel alliance, the leader of the Islamist insurgents in Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, expressed his criticism of the Israeli military operations in Syria for the first time. Israel's pretexts were unjustified, said the head of the strongest rebel group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on the opposition channel Syria TV. Until recently, he had gone by his battle name Mohammed al-Julani.
According to the Observatory, Israel has not only carried out 430 airstrikes since the uprising in Syria, but has also deployed troops to areas beyond the ceasefire line on the Golan Heights. Israeli soldiers moved into a so-called buffer zone, which is under UN supervision in accordance with the 1974 ceasefire agreement.
Al-Sharaa said: "The Israelis have clearly crossed the ceasefire line in Syria in a way that could lead to an unnecessary escalation in the region." At the same time, he emphasized that Syria's new leadership wanted to focus on reconstruction and not be drawn into new conflicts.
Report: Israel and Jordan held secret talks on Syria
According to a media report, representatives from Israel and Jordan have met for secret talks on the situation in Syria. The news portal "Axios" reported, citing several Israeli officials, that the talks were about security issues between the two countries. Both countries border Syria, which is particularly fragile in this period of upheaval. The talks were attended by the director of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service and senior army officers on the Israeli side and the director of the intelligence service and high-ranking Jordanian military commanders on the Jordanian side.
Summit in Jordan
At a summit in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba, Arab and international diplomats had previously expressed their support for the new Syria. "We all stand by Syria in the reconstruction phase after years of killing," said Jordanian Foreign Minister Aiman al-Safadi. He spoke of a historic moment.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told journalists: "We agreed that the transition process must be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned and should produce an inclusive and representative government." Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said: "The next few days will not be easy, but Turkey will continue to stand side by side with the Syrian people." Turkey, which supports the victorious rebels, is seen as the most influential foreign player following the change of power.
The foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Qatar were also present at the meeting. The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, also took part in the special summit. Syrian representatives were not present.
Mayor in dual role as Hamas cadre?
In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, Israel continued its attacks against resistance pockets of the Islamist Hamas. Among other things, the air force bombed the community center in the city of Deir al-Balah, reported the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Dozens of displaced people were sheltering there. At least ten people were killed and many more were injured.
The mayor is said to be among those killed. The information could not initially be independently verified. Israel's army announced shortly afterwards that the mayor had also been active as a cadre of Hamas' military wing. He had supported the Islamist militia's combat operations in unspecified ways. According to the military, the attack was aimed at him. This information could not initially be independently verified either.
Angry hostage relatives
Around 2,000 people once again demonstrated in front of the Israeli army headquarters in Tel Aviv for a hostage deal and an end to the Gaza war. Relatives of the hostages abducted by Islamists in the Gaza Strip made angry appeals to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as reported by the Times of Israel.
The speakers accused the head of government of deliberately delaying negotiations on the release of the hostages held by the Islamist Hamas in order to continue the war in the Gaza Strip. They accuse him of acting in this way out of consideration for his far-right and ultra-religious coalition partners. The latter are seeking a permanent occupation and Jewish settlement of the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu, on the other hand, says that the hostages can only be freed through military pressure.
