Syrian leader Sharaa pledges to form inclusive government

Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa delivers a speech at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria. (Reuters)
Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa delivers a speech at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria. (Reuters)
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Updated 30 January 2025
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Syrian leader Sharaa pledges to form inclusive government

Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa delivers a speech at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria. (Reuters)
  • Al-Sharaa said he would form a small legislative body to fill parliamentary void until new elections were held, after the Syrian parliament was dissolved on Wednesday

DAMASCUS: Syria’s newly appointed president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, said on Thursday he will form an inclusive transitional government representing diverse communities that will build institutions and run the country until it can hold free and fair elections.
Sharaa addressed the nation in his first speech since being appointed president for the transitional period on Wednesday by armed factions that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive last year.
The armed group that led the offensive, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, has since set up an interim government that has welcomed a steady stream of senior Western and Arab diplomatic delegations keen to help stabilize the country after 13 years of civil war.
Sharaa in his speech said he would form a small legislative body to fill the parliamentary void until new elections were held, after the Syrian parliament was dissolved on Wednesday.
He said he would also in the coming days announce the formation of a committee that would prepare to hold a national dialogue conference that would be a platform for Syrians to discuss the future political program of the nation.
That would be followed by a “constitutional declaration,” he said, in an apparent reference to the process of drafting a new Syrian constitution.
Sharaa has previously said the process of drafting a new constitution and holding elections may take up to four years. 


Israel sends tanks into West Bank for first time in decades, says fleeing Palestinians can’t return

Israel sends tanks into West Bank for first time in decades, says fleeing Palestinians can’t return
Updated 24 February 2025
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Israel sends tanks into West Bank for first time in decades, says fleeing Palestinians can’t return

Israel sends tanks into West Bank for first time in decades, says fleeing Palestinians can’t return
  • The Palestinian foreign ministry called the Israeli moves “a dangerous escalation of the situation in the West Bank,” and urged the international community to intervene in what it termed Israel's illegal “aggression”
  • Israel regularly sends troops into Palestinian zones but typically withdraws them after missions

JENIN, West Bank: Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a “dangerous escalation,” after the defense minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot return.
Associated Press journalists saw several tanks move along unpaved tracks into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.
Israel is deepening its crackdown on the Palestinian territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks. It launched the offensive in the northern West Bank on Jan. 21 — two days after the current ceasefire in Gaza took hold — and expanded it to nearby areas.
Palestinians view the deadly raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism" in all refugee camps in the West Bank.
“We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he said.
Earlier, Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare for “an extended stay” in some of the West Bank's urban refugee camps from which about 40,000 Palestinians have fled, leaving them “emptied of residents.”

 

The camps are home to descendants of Palestinians who fled during wars with Israel decades ago. It was not clear how long Palestinians would be prevented from returning. Katz said Israeli troops would stay “for the coming year.” Netanyahu said they would stay “as long as needed."
Tanks were last deployed in the West Bank in 2002, when Israel fought a deadly Palestinian uprising.
The Palestinian foreign ministry called the Israeli moves “a dangerous escalation of the situation in the West Bank,” and urged the international community to intervene in what it termed Israel's illegal “aggression.”
“Even if they stay, we will return to the camp at the end,” said Mohamed al-Sadi, one of those displaced from Jenin. “This camp is ours. We have no other place to go.”
Netanyahu under pressure to crack down
With fighting in Gaza and Lebanon on hold, Netanyahu has been under pressure from far-right governing partners to crack down on militancy in the West Bank. The U.N. says the current Israeli military operation is the longest since the Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s.
Under interim peace agreements from the early 1990s, Israel maintains control over large parts of the West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority administers other areas. Israel regularly sends troops into Palestinian zones but typically withdraws them after missions.
More than 800 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the war in Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, with a Hamas attack on southern Israel. Israel says most were militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting Israeli raids as well as bystanders have also been killed. In the most recent operation, a pregnant Palestinian woman was killed.
Jewish settlers also have carried out rampages in Palestinian areas in the territory. And there has been a spike in Palestinian attacks emanating from the West Bank. On Thursday, blasts rocked three empty buses in Israel in what police view as a suspected militant attack.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians want all three territories for their future independent state.
US envoy to pursue extended ceasefire
The truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza remains tenuous.
A week is left in the ceasefire’s first phase, and no negotiations have been reported on the second phase. The truce’s collapse could lead to renewed fighting in Gaza, where Netanyahu says 63 hostages remain, about half of them believed dead, including a soldier captured in 2014.
“We are ready to return to intense fighting at any moment," Netanyahu said Sunday. The military increased its “operational readiness” around Gaza.
The US special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told CNN he expects the second phase to go forward, adding: “We have to get an extension of phase one and so I’ll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that.” He told CBS he will visit Qatar, Egypt, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
But a senior Hamas leader, Mahmoud Mardawi, said Sunday the group will not engage in further discussions with Israel through mediators until Israel releases the 620 Palestinian prisoners meant to be freed on Saturday.
Israel said early Sunday it was delaying the release until it gets assurances that Hamas stops what Israel calls “humiliating” handovers of hostages in staged ceremonies criticized by the U.S. and Red Cross as cruel.
Egypt and Qatar were pressing Israel to release the prisoners, and Egypt refused to discuss any Israeli demands before then, said an Egyptian official involved in the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media.
Palestinian family members were distraught. “What have the prisoners done? We don’t know what happened. They killed our joy,” said one mother, Najah Zaqqot.
The White House is supporting Israel’s decision to delay releasing the Palestinians prisoners, calling it “appropriate.”
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said Sunday that, “given Hamas’ barbaric treatment of the hostages, including the hideous parade of the Bibas children’s coffins through the streets of Gaza, Israel’s decision to delay the release of prisoners is an appropriate response.”
“The President is prepared to support Israel in whatever course of action it chooses regarding Hamas,” Hughes said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu faced new criticism over the war while speaking at a military graduation. As he held up a picture of Shiri Bibas and her young boys, Ariel and Kfir, whose remains were returned from Gaza last week, to demonstrate “what we are fighting against,” audience members called out “Shame!” and “Why didn’t you save them?” The prime minister didn’t react.

 


White House backs Israel’s decision to delay releasing Palestinian prisoners

White House backs Israel’s decision to delay releasing Palestinian prisoners
Updated 24 February 2025
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White House backs Israel’s decision to delay releasing Palestinian prisoners

White House backs Israel’s decision to delay releasing Palestinian prisoners
  • President Donald Trump is prepared to support Israel in “whatever course of action it chooses regarding Hamas,” he added

WASHINGTON: The White House said on Sunday that it supports Israel’s decision to delay releasing 600 Palestinian prisoners, citing the “barbaric treatment” of Israeli hostages by Hamas.
Delaying the prisoner release is an “appropriate response” to the Palestinian militant group’s treatment of the hostages, a statement from National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said.
President Donald Trump is prepared to support Israel in “whatever course of action it chooses regarding Hamas,” he added.

 


Hezbollah chief vows ‘resistance’ as masses mourn Nasrallah

Hezbollah's deputy chief Naim Qassem delivering a speech from an undisclosed location on October 15, 2024. (AFP)
Hezbollah's deputy chief Naim Qassem delivering a speech from an undisclosed location on October 15, 2024. (AFP)
Updated 24 February 2025
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Hezbollah chief vows ‘resistance’ as masses mourn Nasrallah

Hezbollah's deputy chief Naim Qassem delivering a speech from an undisclosed location on October 15, 2024. (AFP)
  • As the funeral began at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut in what Defense Minister Israel Katz said was a “clear message” to anyone who threatens Israel

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Hezbollah’s leader said “resistance” was not over as hundreds of thousands mourned slain chief Hassan Nasrallah Sunday at a Beirut funeral, demonstrating continued support for the group after a devastating war with Israel.
During the funeral, women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Nasrallah and his chosen successor Hashem Safieddine — both killed in Israeli strikes — slowly moved through the crowd, topped with two black turbans and draped in Hezbollah’s yellow flag.
A procession headed toward Nasrallah’s burial site near the airport, where a stampede erupted. A live broadcast by Al-Manar TV showed Hezbollah members in military uniform pushing crowds away from the coffin after it was unloaded from the truck before the burial.
Safieddine will be interred in his southern hometown of Deir Qanun Al-Nahr on Monday.
The September killing of the charismatic leader who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, in a massive Israeli strike, dealt a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group.
But Hezbollah, which dominated Lebanon’s politics for decades, has long had a support base in the country’s Shiite Muslim community.
As the funeral began at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut in what Defense Minister Israel Katz said was a “clear message” to anyone who threatens Israel.
“You will specialize in funerals — and we in victories,” Katz said.
In a televised address at the ceremony, Nasrallah’s successor Naim Qassem said Hezbollah would keep following his “path,” and rejected any control by the “tyrant America” over Lebanon.
“The resistance is not over, the resistance is still present and ready” to face Israel, he said.
Nasrallah speeches were blasted as the mourners raised their fists in the air and chanted: “We are at your service, Nasrallah.”
Two Hezbollah sources told AFP that the estimated number of participants is “around 800,000” people.
Men, women and children walked in the biting cold to reach the site of the ceremony, which was delayed for months over security concerns.
“When I saw the coffin, reality dawned upon me,” said Lara, 26, adding that she had a hard time coming to terms with his killing.
“The pain is great... words cannot describe how I feel,” she added.
AFP correspondents said the stadium, which can accommodate roughly 78,000 people according to organizers, was fully packed.

As crowds gathered, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s south — including one that wounded a Syrian girl — and in the east.
Israel’s military said it had struck “sites containing rocket launchers and weapons” in those areas.
Israel has carried out multiple strikes in Lebanon since a November 27 ceasefire deal with Hezbollah ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war.
The funeral comes days after the deadline for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon’s south, with Israeli troops pulling out from all but five locations. Both sides have accused each other of violating the truce.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam delegated officials to attend the ceremony on their behalf.
Speaking to Iran’s delegation ahead of the funeral, Aoun said: “Lebanon has grown tired of the wars of others on its land.”
Hezbollah’s weakening in the war has contributed to the election of Aoun, seen as a favorite among Western governments, after a two-year power vacuum. He named Salam as his premier last month.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed “resistance” against Israel as Hezbollah held the funeral.
He praised Nasrallah as “a great mujahid (fighter) and prominent leader” and Safieddine as “a close confidant and an inseparable part of the leadership.”
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in attendance at the funeral.
Sam Heller of the Century Foundation think-tank said it was important for Hezbollah “to demonstrate that it remains a major social and political force, despite some of the setbacks it’s been dealt.”

Since Saturday, roads into Beirut have been clogged with carloads of supporters traveling in from Hezbollah’s other power centers in south and east Lebanon.
Khouloud Hamieh, 36, came from the east to mourn the leader who she said was “dearest to our souls.”
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television said the movement deployed 25,000 members for crowd control. A security source said 4,000 troops and security personnel were on duty.
Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport would close exceptionally for four hours.
A founding member of Hezbollah in 1982, Nasrallah won renown around the Arab world in May 2000 when Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon following relentless attacks by the group under his leadership.
In the decades since, Lebanese have been divided over Hezbollah, with many criticizing the group for initiating more recent hostilities with Israel in support of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
 

 


Father of freed Gaza hostage says fellow Arabs should be outraged by Hamas

Father of freed Gaza hostage says fellow Arabs should be outraged by Hamas
Updated 24 February 2025
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Father of freed Gaza hostage says fellow Arabs should be outraged by Hamas

Father of freed Gaza hostage says fellow Arabs should be outraged by Hamas
  • Sayed, 37, was released by the Palestinian militant group on Saturday under a fragile truce in its war with Israel

JERUSALEM: The father of Hisham Al-Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim returned to Israel after nearly a decade in Gaza captivity, on Sunday urged “the Arab world” to speak out against abuses by Hamas.
Sayed, 37, was released by the Palestinian militant group on Saturday under a fragile truce in its war with Israel. The man, who is schizophrenic according to his family, had entered the Gaza Strip in 2015 and was held hostage there since.
“At the start of his captivity, when there were four hostages in Gaza, I thought that Hamas members would keep him safe, because it was in their interest” to exchange him for Palestinians in Israeli jails, said the father, Shaaban Al-Sayed.
Speaking to journalists at a hospital in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, he said that after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, “I began to tremble with fear.”
“I saw that Bedouins and Arabs were killed, working people who weren’t soldiers or fighters,” said Sayed of some of the hundreds killed during the attack.
“The Arab world doesn’t react, doesn’t give any response to that, doesn’t take any stance,” he said.
“We want the Arab world, and particularly Arab society in Israel, to voice their opinion: What do they think about the fact that innocent people were kidnapped and murdered?“
Sayed accused Hamas of violating the teachings of Islam by exploiting his son who “has mental problems.”
“When we got Hisham back, we were relieved to see him walking on his legs,” the father added, “but as I held him in my arms, I realized I was hugging a body... not a human being.”
“He doesn’t talk. He doesn’t have a voice. He can’t remember anything. It’s like he hadn’t been with other human beings” during his years in captivity, he said.
“This makes us angry,” added the father, calling to intensify efforts to free all remaining hostages in Gaza.


Hamas refuses further talks unless Israel releases agreed prisoners

Hamas refuses further talks unless Israel releases agreed prisoners
Updated 24 February 2025
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Hamas refuses further talks unless Israel releases agreed prisoners

Hamas refuses further talks unless Israel releases agreed prisoners
  • After six were freed on Saturday, Israel put off the planned release of more than 600 Palestinians, citing what Netanyahu called “humiliating ceremonies” in Gaza

CAIRO: Hamas will not hold talks with Israel through mediators on any further steps in the fragile, phased ceasefire agreement unless Palestinian prisoners are released as agreed, group official Basem Naim told Reuters on Sunday.
Israel said on Sunday it was delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it had planned to free the day before until militant group Hamas met its conditions.