Archiv: Geostrategie / Geopolitik / geostrategy / geopolitics


15.02.2025 - 15:44 [ Morning Star (UK) ]

The US war against the Palestinians, and the struggle to oppose it

WHAT is your view on Trump’s pronouncements on Gaza? How do these reflect on the US’s relationship with Israel and its role in the Middle East?

These declarations by Trump show a barbaric mentality; bringing to the Gaza issue a “cowboy” attitude from the American experience: removing the native people because the white man has decided it.

We need to be clear that this has not really been a war against Hamas for reasons of security but a strategic war, planned in advance, with the goal of displacing and erasing the Palestinian population.

15.02.2025 - 15:43 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

The US War Against the Palestinians, and the Struggle to Oppose It

A leading member of the Communist Party of Israel, former member of the Knesset and currently president of Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), talks to the Morning Star, British Socialist newspaper. The interview was published Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

13.02.2025 - 21:38 [ Nachdenkseiten ]

Mainstream-Medien haben einen neuen Liebling: Die LINKE

Durch die Überbetonung des Themas Migration werden im Wahlkampf die wichtigen Themen Ukrainekrieg sowie Aufrüstung und der ihr folgende soziale Kahlschlag verdeckt. Davon profitiert die LINKE. Und so manches große Medium unterstützt die pseudolinke Partei als Gegenpart zum BSW momentan nach Kräften – Manipulationen inklusive. Ein Kommentar von Tobias Riegel.

08.02.2025 - 08:44 [ CNN ]

State Department announces $7 billion arms sale to Israel, circumventing review process

The State Department on Friday announced a $7 billion arms sale to Israel, circumventing the congressional review process, according to Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The announcement, which includes thousands of Hellfire missiles and bombs, comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met President Donald Trump and other top administration officials in Washington, DC.

06.02.2025 - 21:14 [ Reuters ]

Trump says Israel would hand over Gaza after fighting, no US troops needed

„The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,“ he said. Palestinians „would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region.“ He added: „No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed!“

05.02.2025 - 23:09 [ Antiwar.com ]

Report: Jared Kushner Behind Trump’s Call for the US To ‘Take Over’ Gaza

Citing Puck, The Times of Israel reported that Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, helped prepare the shock remarks the president made on Tuesday night during his press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kushner, who has a long history of friendship with Netanyahu, served as an advisor to President Trump during his first term in office and was involved in negotiating the Abraham Accords, the deals that sought Israel’s regional integration without settling the issue of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.

05.02.2025 - 22:48 [ Common Dreams ]

Trump’s Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza Is a Brutal Form of Colonial Capitalism

The colonial creation of private property from stolen land is the American way, from the theft of Indigenous people’s lands to the urban renewal clearance projects that built the modern New York City in which Donald Trump was able to thrive and build wealth. There can be no shock that the developer president’s first public words on Gaza would celebrate the old method of generating “demolition sites” (terra nullius, or empty land). In a way, Trump actually is daring those of us who support Palestinian sovereignty to understand the interdependence of capitalism and genocidal colonialism. There must be a people, and there must be a land. One without the other presents a windfall to the developers.

05.02.2025 - 22:34 [ ConsortiumNews ]

Trump Wants US to Take Over & Ethnically Cleanse Gaza

Asked by an Israeli reporter if he supported “Israeli sovereignty” over “Samaria, which many believe is the Biblical homeland of the Jewish,” otherwise known as the West Bank, Trump said, “Well, we are discussing that with many of your representatives … who do like that idea, but we haven’t take a position on it yet. We will be making an announcement on that specific topic over the next four weeks.”

05.02.2025 - 18:54 [ CNN ]

Trump’s Gaza ‘Riviera’ plan is the most outlandish idea in the history of US Middle East peacemaking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t keep the smirk off his face.

And no wonder.

04.02.2025 - 23:40 [ Washington Post ]

Trump proposes permanent displacement of Gazans as he welcomes Netanyahu to White House

President Donald Trump on Tuesday proposed moving Gazans to a “good, fresh, beautiful piece of land” in another country, offering a vision of mass displacement that would likely inflame sentiments in the Arab world as he prepared to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.

04.02.2025 - 16:08 [ Al Jazeera ]

Satellite images show Israel building military bases in Syria buffer zone

(February 3, 2025)

Israel is building military bases in the demilitarised buffer zone with Syria, according to satellite images seen by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification unit.

The images were taken between December 19, 2024, just 11 days after Syria’s deposed President Bashar Al-Assad fled to Moscow, and February 1, 2025. They show six sites constructed in that time inside the buffer zone. Another is being constructed outside the buffer zone and inside Syrian territory.

04.02.2025 - 16:05 [ Washington Post ]

Israel is building outposts in Syria, raising local fears of occupation

(February 2, 2025)

As the Israeli military swept into a string of Syrian villages nearly two months ago, the soldiers assured locals that the presence would be temporary — the aim limited to seizing weapons and securing the area after the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

But the earthmoving vehicles that followed suggest a more permanent presence.

03.02.2025 - 03:02 [ New York Times ]

Netanyahu Arrives in Washington at Critical Juncture for Mideast

Mr. Netanyahu is expected to be the first foreign leader to meet with Mr. Trump since his inauguration last month. The Israeli leader is expected to hold formative discussions with the Trump administration about several crucial regional issues.

01.02.2025 - 00:03 [ Ynet ]

Israel proposes south Lebanon buffer zone as border violence erupts

(January 28, 2025)

Critics argue that such a measure would exacerbate tensions rather than bring stability. Harb dismissed the idea. “This isn’t new. Israel had a buffer zone in Lebanon from 1978 to 2000, and it failed to provide the security it sought. Why would this strategy work now? It’s destruction for the sake of control, but it won’t bring peace or stability to anyone,“ Harb said.

31.01.2025 - 23:38 [ Middle East Eye ]

Exclusive: Palestinian Authority tells US it is ready to ‚clash‘ with Hamas for control of Gaza

Ziad Abu Amr, one of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s longtime advisors, would become the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip, heading the committee. He would be appointed deputy to Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa but endowed with massive new powers.

Abu Amr was born in the Gaza Strip in 1950. He could be palatable to the Trump administration because he is also a US citizen. He obtained his PhD from Georgetown University and served as deputy Palestinian prime minister from 2013 to 2024.

29.01.2025 - 22:53 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

Syrien-Krieg: Ist Russland ein Lakai der N.A.T.O.? Will es noch ein Blutbad in Asien?

(December 13, 2012)

Die neuesten Äußerungen von Sergej Lawrows Stellvertreter, Mikhail Bogdanov, sind ein weiteres, unleugbares Anzeichen dafür, dass die derzeitige Regierung in Moskau, wenn nicht sogar Russlands Präsident Wladimir Putin, bei der laufenden Invasion und Zerschlagung Syriens durch Proxy-Armeen einfallender Militärmächte – namentlich der Türkei, Frankreich, U.S.A., Großbritannien, sowie diverser asiatischer Kirchenstaaten und Monarchien – aktiv oder passiv kollaboriert.

29.01.2025 - 22:40 [ ABC News ]

Russian government delegation makes first official visit to Syria since Assad‘s fall

Following Assad’s downfall, Russia relocated its troops and assets from all over Syria to its main hub at the Hmeimim air base near Latakia. There has been no indication that Moscow was preparing to evacuate the Hmeimim base or the naval facility in Tartus altogether.

29.01.2025 - 22:18 [ Reuters ]

Trump‘s envoy meets Netanyahu, visits Gaza

The U.S. official visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Netanyahu has long eyed ties with Riyadh and is due to meet Trump in Washington on Feb. 4, when talks for the next phase of the three-stage Gaza ceasefire are meant to formally start.

29.01.2025 - 22:13 [ Middle East Eye ]

US envoy Steve Witkoff meets Netanyahu after visiting Gaza

According to Hebrew media reports, Witkoff reportedly visited the Netzarim Corridor inside the Gaza Strip with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

28.01.2025 - 19:43 [ Axios ]

Scoop: White House envoy met senior Palestinian official in Saudi Arabia

Why it matters: This was the first meeting between a Trump administration official and a Palestinian official since November‘s election.

– The meeting between Witkoff and Hussein al-Sheikh took place amid efforts by the Trump administration to end the war in Gaza and push for a Saudi-Israeli peace deal that includes a path toward a Palestinian state.

28.01.2025 - 19:29 [ Middle East Monitot ]

Saudi envoy to UK: No normalisation with Israel without Palestinian state

He added that Palestine has been fought over for 6,000 years, and that “it is not an easy thing to find, whether it’s during the Crusades […] I can’t think of anywhere that’s had that much done to it.”

However, he stressed that “good things are never easy. And anyone who is objecting to what almost the whole world sees as the solution cannot be right. So, you know, again, that’s why I’m not optimistic, because we have a lot of problems along the way.”

Al Saud asserted that “there’s no other solution” other than a two-state solution.

28.01.2025 - 13:00 [ LBCI Lebanon ]

Israeli drone drops bomb near Lebanese army and civilians in Yaroun, south Lebanon

The official National News Agency said Tuesday that an Israeli drone dropped a bomb near a gathering of Lebanese army personnel and citizens in the town of Yaroun.

28.01.2025 - 12:55 [ BreakingtheNews.net ]

Israel tells southern Lebanon civilians to await return clearance

This warning comes after South Lebanon residents, accompanied by the army, attempted to return to their villages on Monday, following Israeli fire that killed over 20 people. The ceasefire, extended until February 18, allows Israel more time to withdraw, as confirmed by the White House and Lebanon‘s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

28.01.2025 - 12:39 [ Jordan Times ]

The solution lies in just peace, not displacement

Jordan‘s posture on the Palestinian question has always been firm and clear: Jordan is not, and will never be, an alternative homeland for Palestinians.

This position is not merely a political statement but a historical commitment rooted in the principle of justice and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Jordan rejects any attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause or deny the rights of Palestinians under whatsoever pretext.

28.01.2025 - 12:36 [ Egypt Today ]

High-profile source negates phone call between Trump, Egyptian president

CAIRO – 28 January 2025: A high-profile Egyptian source negated Tuesday that a phone call had taken place earlier this week between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, noting that phone calls between the chief of state and counterparts are always announced.

28.01.2025 - 12:08 [ Middle East Eye ]

Trump reiterates wish to move Gazans to Egypt, Jordan

„I’ve helped him [el-Sisi] a lot and I hope he’ll help us. I think he’ll do it [take in Palestinians] and the king of Jordan will do it too,“ he added.

27.01.2025 - 19:10 [ LBCI Lebanon ]

Israel maintains occupation in eastern sector of South Lebanon: Civilians and Lebanese Army clash with Israeli forces

In towns like Bani Haiyyan, Markaba, and the region of Borj El Mlouk heading towards Kfarkela, which remains under Israeli occupation, residents defied military checkpoints and moved towards their towns. The Israeli forces responded by opening fire on the civilians and Lebanese Army positions.

27.01.2025 - 19:06 [ New York Times ]

Israeli Forces Again Open Fire as Lebanese Try to Return Home, Lebanese Officials Say

(Jan. 27, 2025Updated 12:07 p.m. ET)

Israeli forces opened fire toward residents of southern Lebanon for a second consecutive day on Monday as people pressed on with attempts to return to their homes along the border, a day after at least two dozen people were killed and scores injured in Israeli attacks, Lebanese officials said.

The Israeli fire on Sunday was the deadliest bout of violence in Lebanon since the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia, ended with a truce in November. In the renewed violence on Monday, at least two people were killed and 17 others injured, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

27.01.2025 - 19:02 [ White House ]

White House Statement on Agreement Extension Between Lebanon and Israel

(January 26, 2025)

The arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025.

The Government of Lebanon, the Government of Israel, and the Government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023.

26.01.2025 - 18:02 [ Caitlin Johnstone ]

Trump Reveals Plan For The Ethnic Cleansing Of Gaza

Well that didn’t take long.

26.01.2025 - 17:48 [ Associated Press ]

Trump wants Jordan and Egypt to accept more Palestinian refugees and floats plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza

Trump has built his political career around being unapologetically pro-Israel. On his larger vision for Gaza, Trump said he had call earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt.

“I’d like Egypt to take people,” Trump said. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’”

26.01.2025 - 15:15 [ LBCI Lebanon ]

Toll from Israeli attacks rises to 15 in South Lebanon: Health Ministry

A citizen was killed in the town of Odaisseh, while a man and a young woman lost their lives in Meiss El Jabal, and another citizen was killed in Markaba.

These latest casualties bring the total number of fatalities to 15 so far, according to the ministry‘s statement.

26.01.2025 - 15:07 [ LBCI Lebanon ]

Israeli gunfire kills Lebanese soldier, injures another in southern Lebanon

The Lebanese Army announced that one of its soldiers was killed and another wounded in separate incidents of gunfire by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, the army reported that the fatal shooting occurred on the Marwahin-Dhayra road in the Tyre District, while the injury took place in the town of Meiss El Jabal, Marjaayoun District.

26.01.2025 - 15:00 [ Middle East Eye ]

Israel blocks over 600,000 Palestinians from reaching northern Gaza

A drone view shows Palestinians waiting to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza on 26 January 2025

26.01.2025 - 06:18 [ Middle East Eye ]

In photos: Palestinians gather at the Netzarim Corridor to return north

Crowds of Palestinians have gathered near the Netzarim Corridor, a crossing point created by the Israeli army that separates north and south Gaza, in hopes of eventually returning to the north.

Although they are expected to be allowed through on Sunday, the Israeli army has accused Hamas of violating the terms of the ceasefire and said it will not open the corridor.

26.01.2025 - 05:49 [ LBCI Lebanon ]

France‘s Macron informs President Joseph Aoun of ongoing efforts to maintain ceasefire agreement

President Macron explained that he is in contact with various parties to maintain the ceasefire and ensure the full implementation of the agreement.

26.01.2025 - 05:39 [ ClickOrlando.com ]

Israeli military sets up roadblocks in southern Lebanon and announces it won’t withdraw by deadline

While Lebanese army soldiers are dispersed across the south’s western sector, Israeli troops remained in control of most of the southeastern sector.

Members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said Israeli tanks and bulldozers have unexpectedly moved and set up several roadblocks, apparently in an attempt to prevent displaced Lebanese people trying to return to their villages.

26.01.2025 - 05:34 [ Al Jazeera ]

Uncertainty in Lebanon after Israel delays troop withdrawal

So, this ceasefire agreement is really a test. A test of whether the state can extend its authority across southern Lebanon.

25.01.2025 - 17:17 [ ForeignPolicy.com ]

Israel to Extend Military Presence in Lebanon With Trump Administration’s Blessing

The Israeli security cabinet authorized the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) late Thursday to remain in some areas of southern Lebanon past the 60-day withdrawal deadline set to expire on Sunday. Under the terms of the Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire agreement approved last November, both sides must fully remove all of their troops from the region by Jan. 26 to reinstate the borders laid out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.

25.01.2025 - 17:13 [ Wall Street Journal ]

White House Calls for Israel to Stay in Lebanon Past Truce Deadline

The White House is calling for Israeli troops to be allowed to remain in Lebanon past the expiration date of a cease-fire next week, giving Israel more time to complete its mission but heightening the risks that the truce will unravel altogether.

25.01.2025 - 05:40 [ Politico.eu ]

Putin says he’s ready to meet Trump to ‘talk calmly’

“It would be better for us to meet, based on the realities of today, to talk calmly on all those areas that are of interest to both the United States and Russia,” Putin said during an interview on domestic TV channel Russia 24.

25.01.2025 - 05:37 [ PBS.org ]

In an interview, Putin echoes Trump’s claim that conflict in Ukraine could have been avoided had he been in office

In an interview with Russian state television, Putin praised Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” who is focused on U.S. interests.

“We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current U.S. president,” Putin said. “I couldn’t disagree with him that if he had been president, if they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.”

23.01.2025 - 23:40 [ Donald J. Trump / Social Truth ]

I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process.

All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a “deal,” and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!

23.01.2025 - 23:35 [ theHill.com ]

Trump urges Putin to ‘make a deal’ to end the war in Ukraine

He also said he hoped China can help end the war, and Trump reiterated later on Thursday that he thinks China has power over Russia.

“It’s a very big trading partner. But, Russia supplies a lot of energy to China and China pays them a lot of money for that, and I think they have a lot of power over Russia. So. I think Russia should want to make a deal. Maybe they want to make a deal. I think, from what I hear, Putin would like to see me meet as soon as we can. I’d meet immediately,” he said in the Oval Office.

23.01.2025 - 23:24 [ Times of Israel ]

Trump administration unwilling to grant extension for IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, wants it done by Sunday — report

The Trump administration expects the IDF to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Sunday, per the terms of the ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah terror group, Army Radio reports.

The position of the new administration under US President Donald Trump, Army Radio says, differs from that of the Biden administration, which was said to be considering granting Israel an additional 30 days beyond the 60-day withdrawal period stipulated in the truce agreement

18.01.2025 - 12:32 [ Middle East Eye ]

HTS raids and forced disappearances fuel fear in Syria’s Alawi heartlands

MEE is not aware of any evidence linking Assad’s departure to a deal with Israel. However, there have been reports suggesting that the former president shared sensitive military information with Israel in exchange for a guarantee of safe passage out of Syria.

Since the government collapsed, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on Syrian military positions nationwide and launched a ground invasion, capturing the entire buffer zone along the occupied Golan Heights and beyond.

The government, Hussem said, had the means to resist but chose not to, opting instead to flee and leave their officers to fend for themselves.

11.01.2025 - 15:30 [ FirstPost.com ]

Sullivan calls Yoon‘s martial law bid ‚shocking,‘ ‚wrong,‘ says alliance still set for success despite turmoil

(January 10,2025)

North Korea has so far been largely silent on the domestic turmoil that took hold of South Korea after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law last year. However, the US is of the view that Pyongyang could exploit this internal chaos

11.01.2025 - 15:17 [ Korea Times ]

South Korea’s political crisis and Uncle Sam’s silence

(January 7, 2025)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken — who was in Seoul this week for meetings as though nothing unusual had happened — released a readout that made no mention of South Korea’s political situation. His response to a direct question about the U.S. position on Yoon’s actions vaguely referenced private intergovernmental discussions before pivoting to boilerplate about democratic resilience. Despite a shocking breach of liberal democracy, Seoul has faced the bare minimum of consequences from its supposed “democratic values-based partner.” Why?

11.01.2025 - 15:08 [ New York Times ]

Impeachment in South Korea Has Cost Washington a Staunch Ally

(December 16, 2024)

President Yoon Suk Yeol has changed the course of South Korea’s diplomacy like no leader before him. He put his country in lock step with the United States by countering North Korea with sanctions and joint military drills. He won Washington’s plaudits when he overcame a century of historical grievances Koreans held against Japan​ and helped lay the ground for trilateral cooperation to deter China.

He sang the praises of Western values such as freedom.

11.01.2025 - 09:05 [ theCradle.co ]

Over 20 warplanes bomb Yemen in three-way attack by Israel, US, UK

Eleven air raids hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa, including the vicinity of Al-Sabeen Square, where around one million people were taking part in a weekly pro-Palestine march.

The Harf Sufyan District was hit by 12 airstrikes in the Amran Governorate of northern Yemen, while six hit the Hodeidah port west of the country. One strike also targeted the Ras Issa port north of Hodeidah.

The main power station in Haziz, south of Sanaa, was struck as well.

10.01.2025 - 10:25 [ Antiwar.com ]

US, Israel Cheer as Lebanon Elects Joseph Aoun as President

Aoun’s election happened only after former Interior Minister Suleiman Frangieh, the main alternative candidate, withdrew and endorsed Aoun.

Electing a president requires a two-thirds majority of parliament, which was met after Frangieh’s endorsement gave Aoun the support of Hezbollah and Amal Movements. Many media reports see Aoun’s election as a sign of Hezbollah’s weakness, despite most Hezbollah MPs supporting him.

10.01.2025 - 10:20 [ Middle East Eye ]

Who is Joseph Aoun, Lebanon‘s army chief turned president?

Securing 99 of the Lebanese parliament’s 128 votes, Aoun garnered widespread support across Lebanon’s political spectrum, despite initial reservations from Hezbollah and its allies.

While political statements from Aoun are rare, he recently emerged as the US and Saudi Arabia’s favoured candidate for the Lebanese presidency.

The local and international push gathered momentum following Israel’s two-month offensive in Lebanon last year, which killed over 4,000 people and displaced over a million.

08.01.2025 - 11:20 [ israel-alma.org ]

Joseph Aoun – Will He be The Next President of Lebanon?

After the explosion at the port of Beirut in 2020, countries friendly to Lebanon diverted their aid to the military, claiming that they only rely on the army to distribute it. Therefore, all the aid, estimated at tens of millions of dollars, was directed directly to the army and was at Aoun’s disposal and under his direct management. It appears that the military establishment has effectively managed the funds and has never experienced a shortage due to corruption.

08.01.2025 - 10:31 [ Middle East Eye ]

US dangles Saudi Arabia‘s cash to push candidate for Lebanon‘s presidency

The US has told Lebanese officials that Saudi Arabia is prepared to deploy hundreds of millions of dollars to reconstruct their war-torn country if Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun is elected president, one senior Arab official and one former senior US official told Middle East Eye.

08.01.2025 - 09:48 [ Middle East Eye ]

Assad‘s former aide says deposed Syrian president was ‚tricked‘ by Putin

“But what happened was that the Iranians told Bashar al-Assad, ‘we did not receive any signals to proceed with moving Iranian aircraft to the Hmeimim base [or to] fly through Iraqi airspace to land at the base,’” Saqr told Mazeej.

“The question was relayed to Moscow, but no answer came.”

When asked whether this was a “trick by Putin”, Saqr said there was “no other explanation”.

Saqr said the Iranians told Assad they sent a plane regardless through Iraq, but were warned by the US that the aircraft would be shot down if it continued.

07.01.2025 - 19:49 [ allisrael.com ]

Nagel Commission warns Israel of possible war with Turkey, even as it calls for confronting Iran

The „Committee for the Evaluation of the Defense Establishment Budget and the Balance of Power“ is led by former National Security Council head Yaakov Nagel, and is often referred to in Hebrew media as the Nagel Commission or Nagel Committee.

The commission was established in 2023 before the outbreak of the war, to create recommendations for the defense ministry regarding the possible areas of conflict facing Israel in the years ahead.

07.01.2025 - 19:47 [ NewArab.com ]

Israel must prepare for war with Turkey, gov committee warns

The Nagel Committee issued a report on Monday detailing the defence budget and security strategy, where they raised concerns over Turkey’s aspirations and possible future tensions with Israel, according to Israeli media.

The committee said these tensions could escalate into conflict and highlighted the risk of Syrian factions aligning with Turkey and creating further threats to Israel‘s „security“.

07.01.2025 - 19:34 [ MintPressNews.com ]

Peace with Israel Tops the Agenda for Syria’s New Leaders

(January 3. 2025)

Although the majority of high-ranking officials in the HTS-led administration refrain from making categorical claims about Israel, they constantly stress that Iran and Hezbollah, not Israel, are Syria’s main enemies.
(…)
Ayman Al-Asimi, a senior member of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) and former spokesperson for the Syrian opposition delegations during the Astana talks, made headlines with his remarks to BBC Arabic. He stated unequivocally that Syria’s only opponent is Iran.

07.01.2025 - 19:23 [ MintPressNews.com ]

From ‘Terrorist’ to ‘Freedom Fighter’: How the West Rebranded Al-Qaeda’s Jolani as Syria’s ‘Woke’ New Leader

(December 12, 2024)

In 2003, he went to Iraq to fight against American forces. After three years of war, he was captured by the U.S. military and spent over five years in prison, including a stint at the notorious Abu Ghraib torture center.

While in Iraq, Jolani fought with ISIS and was even a deputy to its founder. Immediately upon release in 2011, ISIS sent him to Syria with a rumored $1 billion to found the Syrian wing of al-Qaeda and participate in the armed protest movement against Assad that arose out of the Arab Spring.

05.01.2025 - 13:16 [ Antiwar.com ]

Israel Launches Major Airstrikes Against North Syria

Israel may have backed that regime change, but it’s not stopping them from attacking Syria every chance they get. (…)

Israel used the regime change as a pretext to seize substantial land in the demilitarized zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the rest of Syria. Since then they’ve moved deeper into Syria, and Wednesday they reached the al-Mantara Dam in Quneitra Province.

The dam is the largest in southern Syria, and gives them effective control over the six major sources of fresh water in southern Syria. They have also recently taken the al-Wahda Dam along the Yarmouk River Basin.

05.01.2025 - 12:49 [ Ynetnews.com ]

UNIFIL’s collapse: Tragic incidents and strategic failures

(January 4, 2025)

However, despite its $551 million budget and a contingent of over 10,000 personnel, UNIFIL has now become symbolic of the United Nations’ broader peacekeeping failures.

This is because, instead of curbing instability as it was tasked, UNIFIL’s presence has inadvertently facilitated Hezbollah’s military buildup, making southern Lebanon a launching pad for attacks on Israel and a stronghold of Iranian influence. As the war unfolds, it is becoming even clearer that UNIFIL’s mission has failed, and its continued presence serves no constructive purpose.

05.01.2025 - 12:10 [ Middle East Eye ]

Unifil accuses Israel of violating Lebanese sovereignty, tearing down border marker

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as Unifil, accused the Israeli military on Saturday f destroying a blue barrel marking the border between Israel and Lebanon, as well as a Lebanese army observation tower.

“This morning peacekeepers observed an IDF bulldozer destroying a blue barrel marking the line of withdrawal between Lebanon and Israel in Labbouneh, as well as an observation tower belonging to the Lebanese Armed Forces immediately beside a UNIFIL position there,” Unifil said.

04.01.2025 - 16:07 [ NewArab.com ]

Controversy as Syria‘s de-facto ruler declines to shake hands with German FM Annalena Baerbock

Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot visited Syria in a sign of support for the transitional government, where they expressed willingness to help the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad’s regime was toppled last month, making them the first European officials to do so.

04.01.2025 - 16:02 [ MSN.com ]

German, French foreign ministers meet with Syria‘s HTS Islamist group

Syria‘s new de facto ruler and leader of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) received an EU delegation led by German Foreign Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Friday.

01.01.2025 - 18:16 [ Antiwar.com ]

Foreign Jihadists Appointed to Senior Positions in New Syrian Military

Syrian sources told Reuters that the foreign fighters appointed to the military include Uyghurs, a Jordanian, a Turk, and an Albanian. “This is a small token of recognition for the sacrifices Islamist jihadists gave to our struggle for freedom from Assad’s oppression,” an HTS source told the media outlet.
(…)
HTS is still designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization, but the Biden administration has celebrated its takeover of Syria. The US has also made clear it’s willing to work with the new government and its de facto leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who has been going by his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa.

31.12.2024 - 14:32 [ Middle East Eye ]

Israel’s attacks on Syria threaten regional stability and will ultimately backfire

The military operation’s scale and focus raise pressing questions about Israel’s intentions and its long-term impact on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Analysts have drawn comparisons to the chaos seen in Iraq after the US-led invasion and Libya’s fragmented post-Gaddafi reality.

Israel’s occupation of additional Syrian territories near the Golan Heights compounds this uncertainty.

30.12.2024 - 10:12 [ Guardian ]

The world court will rule on Germany’s support for Israel. That shows how geopolitics has changed

(April 9, 2024)

Western governments could once be confident of protecting their friends. Nicaragua’s case shows those days are gone

29.12.2024 - 17:41 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

„Von Vancouver bis Wladiwostok…“

(June 28, 2008)

Durch das aggressiv-expansionistische Ausdehnen der Westblöcke EU und NATO bis an die eigenen Grenzen hat man offenbar gelernt in den Denkfabriken um den neuen Präsidenten Russlands. Man sieht die „globale Situation diktiert von rigiden Regeln“ und rechnet offenbar mit drei strategischen Entwicklungsmodellen:

1. Die Schaffung eines Eurasien Orwell´schen Ausmasses, in der Vision dreier totalitärer Blöcke aus „1984“ (siehe Grafik oben)
2. Einen Deal mit NATO und EU, vielleicht sogar mit dem gesamten Shanghai-Pakt, zur Schaffung eines Superimperiums auf der Nordhälfte des Planeten. Dies käme praktisch einer Weltregierung gleich.
3. Eine Konfrontation zwischen Shanghai-Pakt einerseits und USA, NATO und EU andererseits.

Die Völker, die Demokratien, die Republiken, die Öffentlichkeit, die Verfassungen, sie spielen auf diesem planetaren Schachbrett nicht die geringste Rolle, für keine der imperialen Plutokratien und Apparate, weder in Russland, noch in der EU und schon gar nicht in der NATO.

29.12.2024 - 17:10 [ Atlantic Council ]

Vladimir Putin does not want a peace deal. He wants to destroy Ukraine.

(December 3, 2024)

For many years, Putin has publicly questioned the Ukrainian nation’s right to exist. He has repeatedly stated that he sees today’s independent Ukraine as an artificial state, and regards all those who disagree with this verdict as anti-Russian forces or outright Nazis. For more than a decade, he has sought to turn this toxic vision into reality via an escalating campaign of military aggression.