Israel's Red Lines in Syria Are Drawing It Deeper Into Conflict
Since then, it has increased its demands on the new regime, insisting on a demilitarized zone south of Damascus and promising to intervene militarily if needed to protect the Druze minority who live on both sides of the border.
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Hamilton Spectator
20 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
What the violence in Syria means for domestic and regional politics
BEIRUT (AP) — An eruption of violence in Syria this week entangled government forces, Bedouin tribes, the Druze religious minority and neighboring Israel, and highlighted just how combustible the country remains seven months after its longtime authoritarian leader was toppled. The Druze and other minorities increasingly mistrust Syria's central government. It is run by a man once affiliated with al-Qaida, though he has pledged to protect Syria's diverse ethnic and religious groups since helping to oust Bashar Assad after a nearly 14-year civil war. The sectarian turbulence within Syria threatens to shake-up postwar alliances and exacerbate regional tensions, experts say. It could also potentially draw the country closer to Turkey and away from Israel, with whom it has been quietly engaging since Assad's fall, with encouragement from the Trump administration . The spark for this week's violence Deadly clashes broke out last Sunday in the southern province of Sweida between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes. Government forces intervened, ostensibly to restore order, but ended up trying to wrest control of Sweida from the Druze factions that control it. Hundreds were killed in the fighting, and some government fighters allegedly executed Druze civilians and burned and looted their houses. Driven by concerns about security and domestic politics, Israel intervened on behalf of the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military. Israeli warplanes bombarded the Syrian Defense Ministry's headquarters in central Damascus and struck near the presidential palace. It was an apparent warning to the country's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led Islamist rebels that overthrew Assad but has since preached coexistence and sought ties with the West. The Israeli army also struck government forces in Sweida. By Wednesday, a truce had been mediated that allowed Druze factions and clerics to maintain security in Sweida as government forces pulled out — although fighting persisted between Druze and Bedouin forces. Early Saturday, U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack announced a separate ceasefire had been brokered between Israel and Syria. Worsening ties with minorities This past week's clashes aren't the first instance of sectarian violence in Syria since the fall of Assad. A few months after Assad fled and after a transition that initially was mostly peaceful, government forces and pro-Assad armed groups clashed on Syria's coast. That spurred sectarian attacks that killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority to which Assad belongs. Those killings left other minority groups, including the Druze in the south, and the Kurds in the northeast, wary that the country's new leaders would protect them. Violence is only part of the problem. Syria's minority groups only have been given what many see as token representation in the interim government, according to Bassam Alahmad, executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice, a civil society organization. 'It's a transitional period. We should have a dialogue, and they (the minorities) should feel that they're a real part of the state,' Alahmad said. Instead, with the incursion into Sweida, the new authorities have sent a message that they would use military force to 'control every part of Syria,' he said. 'Bashar Assad tried this way,' and it failed, he added. On the other hand, supporters of the new government fear that its decision to back down in Sweida could signal to other minorities that it's OK to demand their own autonomous regions, which would fragment and weaken the country. If Damascus cedes security control of Sweida to the Druze, 'of course everyone else is going to demand the same thing,' said Abdel Hakim al-Masri, a former official in the Turkish-backed regional government in Syria's northwest before Assad's fall. 'This is what we are afraid of,' he said. A rapprochement with Israel may be derailed Before this week's flare-up between Israel and Syria, and despite a long history of suspicion between the two countries, the Trump administration had been pushing their leaders toward normalizing relations – meaning that Syria would formally recognize Israel and establish diplomatic relations, or at least enter into some limited agreement on security matters. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel, but defusing decades of tension was never going to be easy. After Assad's fall, Israeli forces seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria and carried out airstrikes on military sites in what Israeli officials said was a move to create a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. Dareen Khalifa, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, said she believes Israel could have gotten the same result through negotiations. But now it's unlikely Syria will be willing to continue down the path of reconciliation with Israel, at least in the short term, she said. 'I don't know how the Israelis could expect to drop bombs on Damascus and still have some kind of normal dialogue with the Syrians,' said Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, a New York-based organization that focuses on global security challenges. 'Just like Netanyahu, al-Sharaa's got a domestic constituency that he's got to answer to.' Yet even after the events of this past week, the Trump administration still seems to have hope of keeping the talks alive. U.S. officials are 'engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between two sovereign states,' says Dorothy Shea, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Shea said during a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on Thursday that 'the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes.' Syria could be drawn closer to Turkey During Syria's civil war, the U.S. was allied with Kurdish forces in the country's northeast in their fight against the Islamic State militant group. But since Assad's fall, the U.S. has begun gradually pulling its forces out of Syria and has encouraged the Kurds to integrate their forces with those of the new authorities in Damascus. To that end, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed in March to a landmark deal that would merge them with the national army. But implementation has stalled. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army or be dissolved completely. Khalifa said the conflict in Sweida is 'definitely going to complicate' those talks. Not only are the Kurds mistrustful of government forces after their attacks on Alawite and Druze minorities, but now they also view them as looking weak. 'Let's be frank, the government came out of this looking defeated,' Khalifa said. It's possible that the Kurds, like the Druze, might look to Israel for support, but Turkey is unlikely to stand by idly if they do, Khalifa said. The Turkish government considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. For that reason, it has long wanted to curtail the group's influence just across its border. Israel's latest military foray in Syria could give leaders in Damascus an incentive to draw closer to Ankara, according to Clarke. That could include pursuing a defense pact with Turkey that has been discussed but not implemented. Turkish defense ministry officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity according to procedures, said that if requested, Ankara is ready to assist Syria in strengthening its defense capabilities. ___ Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? 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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
NYC Garden of Hate: Officials negotiating with community garden over ‘Poppies for Palestine'
The city has backed off a bid to oust an anti-Israel community garden in Queens, and is negotiating a compromise instead — a deal critics suspect was likley made to appease a future Zohran Mamdani mayoral administration. City attorneys on Thursday told Judge Hasa Kingo any agreement with the management at Sunset Community Garden in Ridgewood would require vast changes to the unconstitutional wording of the group's 10 'community agreements' — which forced incoming members to pledge 'solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized people' of Palestine. A special section of the green space was labeled 'Poppies for Palestine.' Advertisement 8 Controversy has swirled around the Ridgewood green space since The Post's first report last fall. Helayne Seidman 8 The garden is home to a pair of 'altars' honoring Latina trans advocate Cecilia Gentili. Helayne Seidman 8 A sign just inside the garden's entrance reads, 'Hands Off Sunset.' Helayne Seidman Advertisement Critics were aghast at the city compromising with haters. 'If you break the law and discriminate against minorities and the marginalized, as long as you only discriminate against Jews and people who defend Jews, it's OK,' said Ridgewood resident Sara Schraeter-Mowersglad, who called the ongoing negotiations between the city and the garden 'a very dangerous precedent.' Christina Wilkinson, who opposes the garden's woke agenda, said city workers told her 'they think Mamdani will win in November and they don't want to deal with this with him in charge and are in fear for their jobs.' Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman and socialist Democratic mayoral frontrunner, has been staunchly pro-Palestine. Advertisement 8 A special section of the garden for Palestine. Instagram @sunsetgardenridgewood 8 A social media post from a garden member claims 'cis' people have no understanding of community. Helayne Seidman The Parks Department had been pushing for new management at the garden, located at Onderdonk and Willoughby avenues, and revoked their license in May. Parks officials wanted the group to vacate the green space by June 6 for 'violat[ing] the terms of their license' with their 'ideological litmus test and the installation of an altar without prior Parks Department approval,' according to court documents. Advertisement But the matter wound up in court last month. City attorney Blake Ahlberg told Kingo the Corporation Counsel's office needed more time to deliberate and discuss the compromise, due to the 'high-profile' nature of the case. Kingo opined that the language in the community agreements violated both the New York and U.S. constitutions. 'Compelled speech isn't free speech,' he said. 8 Attorney Jonathan Wallace, right, leaves court Thursday with one of the garden's members, Aphroditus. Michael Nagle 8 Wallace spoke with Corporation Counsel Leslie Spitalnick (in white) and attorney Blake Ahlberg (pictured behind her.) Michael Nagle Kingo said he would drop the case if both sides failed to reach a compromise by the next court hearing on Aug. 1. The garden's critics, like Wilkinson, also told The Post any deal with the pro-Palestinian group would undermine the Park Department's authority. Advertisement 8 The message is clear. Helayne Seidman 'If [the garden's leaders] are left in charge, it's only a matter of time before they violate their license again, and now [the Parks Department] has no teeth, because the city attorneys have indicated that they have no intention of backing them up,' Wilkinson said. In June, garden organizer Laura Merrick renamed Sunset Community Garden to Jardin de Santa Cecilia in honor of Latina trans advocate Cecilia Gentili. The space is now home to a pair of 'altars' honoring Gentili. Both Merrick and the Parks Department refused to respond to requests for comment.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Syria Declares Cease-Fire After a Week of Upheaval
The Syrian government announced a cease-fire deal on Saturday and said it would redeploy its forces to the restive southern province of Sweida in a new effort to quell a deadly wave of sectarian violence that drew in neighboring Israel. 'The Syrian state has managed to calm the situation despite difficult circumstances,' President Ahmed al-Shara said in a televised address on Saturday, describing the recent bloodshed as a 'dangerous turning point' for his nation. 'The Israeli intervention has pushed the country into a dangerous phase that poses a threat to its stability,' he added. Hours earlier, the U.S. special envoy to Syria, Thomas J. Barrack Jr., said that Israel and Syria had agreed to a truce that he described as a 'breakthrough.' Mr. Barrack called on Syrian armed groups — including Bedouin fighters and minority Druse at the center of the recent clashes — to lay down their weapons. It was not immediately clear how the new truce differed from a cease-fire in Sweida that the Syrian authorities announced Wednesday. That day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington had worked with all parties involved and had 'agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.' Soon after those comments, the Syrian state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces had begun withdrawing from Sweida. That appeared to end the worst of the violence, though clashes have since continued sporadically in some areas. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
