Syria’s Jolani is a US-Israeli ‘intelligence tool’ working to advance their interests: Activist
By Sally Ahmed | Press TV | July 1, 2025
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the head of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led regime in Damascus, is a US-Israeli “intelligence tool” working to advance their interests, according to a Syrian political activist.
In an interview with the Press TV website, activist Mohammed al-Jajeh described the situation in Syria roughly six months after the collapse of the Assad government as “catastrophic by all measures” and said “no one” in the country, including ethnic and religious minorities, is safe.
The country, he said, has descended into “a dangerous slide into chaos,” marked by “ethnic and sectarian purges,” particularly targeting minorities such as Alawites, Christians, Ismailis, Shias, and even moderate Sunni Muslims.
Al-Jajeh noted that members of the former Syrian president’s Alawite sect have been subjected to a “fierce campaign of revenge,” citing reports of “horrific” massacres in Syria’s western coastal region.
Among the incidents he referenced was the killing of more than 70 civilians in the village of Ain al-Tinah, adding that thousands of Alawites have been forcibly displaced, with their homes and properties seized in the provinces of Tartus and Latakia.
‘Minorities as easy targets’
In reference to pledges made by the HTS regime to uphold the rights of religious and ethnic minorities, the Sweden-based Syrian political activist dismissed those promises as “empty.”
“Christians have become easy targets for militias and extremist Salafi groups,” he said, referring to the latest attack on Mar Elias church in Damascus.
On June 22, a man with a rifle entered the church and shot at worshippers, killing 25 people and wounding dozens of others, before blowing himself up.
The activist said Christians’ homes have been ransacked and monasteries have been looted, adding that cases of abductions among Christians and mass exodus from towns like Maaloula and Sednaya have been reported, due to the inaction of the Jolani regime.
Al-Jajeh noted that people from the Ismaili sect have also been a target for kidnappings and attacks since Assad’s fall, adding that a civil activist named Hilal Samaan was assassinated “just for calling for coexistence”.
Speaking about the violence targeting Shia Muslims, al-Jajeh said that sectarian killings have become routine. Individuals are often questioned about their religious affiliation at checkpoints, and in some cases, he noted, they are killed solely because of their names or how they pronounce certain words.
He added that even moderate Sunni Muslims, who make up the majority of Syria’s population, are not spared from violence and intimidation.
According to al-Jajeh, religious scholars and preachers who oppose extremism or foreign intervention have been either assassinated or forcibly removed from their mosques.
Stressing that the state “has collapsed”, al-Jajeh said “the institutions are absent, the law is not enforced, and power is divided among warring factions, some of which are loyal to Turkey and some others to the [Persian] Gulf [Arab] states and foreign militant groups of various nationalities.”
Since Assad’s fall, the activist said, rights groups have recorded “more than 1,200 sectarian violations”, “over 30,000 people” have been trapped in prisons with an unknown fate and “more than 5,000” abducted girls have been taken as captives.
“Syria after Assad: No one is safe,” he emphasized.
‘Jolani is a trained agent’
Amid Israel’s expansion of its occupation into Syrian territories beyond the already-occupied Golan Heights following the fall of the Assad government, al-Jajeh said this further proves Jolani is merely an American-Israeli intelligence asset, positioned in Syria to advance a broader agenda.
Referring to Jolani’s public statements expressing a willingness to normalize relations with Israel and declaring that his top priority is fighting the former Syrian government.
“This is the language of a trained agent who knows what the West wants to hear, and sends reassuring messages to Tel Aviv,” he stated.
Al-Jajeh emphasized that Jolani, who was previously affiliated with al-Qaeda and Daesh, is ultimately “just a tool” and “a minor detail” in what he described as the U.S.-led project for a “new Middle East.”
“Abu Mohamad al-Jolani is neither a revolutionary, a rebel, nor a warlord. He is a carefully trained American-Israeli intelligence tool, speaking in measured language and acting within defined boundaries,” he remarked.
Despite Jolani’s offer to normalize ties with Israel, the activist noted that the regime continues to attack Syria because it “knows its real size and continues to strike Syria because it simply despises the agents even if they serve it.”
‘It’s a gang, not an army’
Commenting on the Jolani regime’s plan to incorporate thousands of foreign Takfiri militants into the country’s new military, al-Jajeh said this move is aimed at tightening Jolani’s grip on power, slamming it as “the most dangerous, unannounced demographic change process”.
The activist said the decision comes as the new ruler “doesn’t trust the Syrian people” and seeks to recruit foreigners “who don’t speak Arabic, don’t know the geography [of the country] and have not any belonging to the territory” to just carry weapons and “obey his orders without question”.
He described those militants as “tools ready for killing, in exchange for salaries, housing and insurance”.
“This army is not built to protect Syria, but to protect the ruler from the Syrians themselves.”
To stay in power, the activist said Jolani aims to create “a personal army that owes him complete loyalty” and “does not hesitate to open fire at Syrians simply because they are not ‘one of them’.”
“Whoever brings in strangers to rule over their people does not run a state; rather, they run a gang, that’s waiting for the moment of explosion,” he added.
‘Syria as part of new regional deal’
Commenting on recent remarks by Turkey’s defense minister where he announced that Ankara has no immediate plans to withdraw from Syria, al-Jajeh said this is “a declaration of actual occupation and a direct message stating: ‘This land is no longer yours, but it has become part of the new regional deal’.”
The activist referred to the role played by Turkey in the foreign-backed militancy that erupted in Syria in 2011, saying Ankara “was not a ‘supporter of the revolution’ as it claimed, but rather one of its architects”. This was “tailored to its national interests”, he added.
Al-Jajeh noted that Turkey facilitated the passage of thousands of foreign militants into Syria in the very early days of the militancy, allowed the entry of weapons to the al-Nusra Front, trained the Takfiri militants in camps on its territory, and provided them with medical and logistical support.
“What is happening today is a clear implementation of a soft partition plan,” he stated.
Al-Jajeh also referred to “the imposition of Turkish education” in the schools of Idlib, Afrin and al-Bab, the raising of Turkish flags in institutions, the changing of streets names to Turkish names, the issuance of temporary identity cards to residents, the use of Turkish language in administrative dealings, and the establishment of large military bases in Aleppo.
“These are not emergency measures to protect ‘the borders’, but rather complete practices of political and administrative occupation,” he said.
The security situation in Syria remains tenuous after militant factions, led by HTS, toppled President Assad’s government and took control of Damascus on December 8, 2024.
Israeli army expands Syria occupation with new base in Quneitra
The Cradle | July 1, 2025
Local sources in southern Syria say Israeli forces have established a new base on Eastern al-Ahmar hill in Quneitra governorate, according to a report by Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar published on 1 July.
The hill lies adjacent to a nearby Israeli base established months earlier on the western side of the same ridge.
Local tribal sources told Al-Akhbar that Israeli forces are “rapidly working to turn it into a key operational hub,” prompting fears among residents of a repeat of the destruction in al-Hamidiyah, where on 17 June, troops demolished 16 homes.
A UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrol arrived ten days later only to assess the damage.
Israeli troops have also begun building a new outpost near Beer Ajam and stepped up patrols inside Syrian villages, including Abu Madrah farm near Saida al-Golan.
Roads connecting villages within the Quneitra buffer zone have been destroyed, raising concerns that Israel intends to impose de facto borders. Residents now face the choice of fleeing or living under occupation.
The occupation has spread to other parts of southern Syria, including Hader and Mount Barbar, while UN forces remain confined to passive observation. The fate of 22 detained Syrians remains unknown, with UNDOF reportedly telling local officials that their release “depends on broader peace negotiations.”
The expansion comes as Israeli officials openly link normalization with Syria to retaining control of occupied territory, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar declaring on 30 June that Tel Aviv “will not withdraw from the Syrian [Mount] Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh).”
This followed National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi’s admission of ongoing daily talks with the Damascus government.
A day earlier, US President Donald Trump lifted most sanctions on Syria, citing the “positive actions” of the new government under Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly the leader of Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch. Conditions reportedly included normalization with Israel and the expulsion of Palestinian factions.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, an imminent Israeli-Syrian security agreement is expected to include several key components: an update to the 1974 disengagement agreement signed following the 1973 October War, intelligence coordination between Syria and Israel aimed at countering Iranian and Hezbollah activity in southern Syria, an Israeli acknowledgment of the Syrian identity of the Shebaa Farms, and a potential trilateral arrangement involving Jordan regarding the waters of the Yarmouk Basin.
Israeli confidence in missile defenses shaken amid Iran strikes
Al Mayadeen | June 16, 2025
After three consecutive nights of Iranian missile strikes, growing numbers of Israeli settlers are beginning to grasp a truth long acknowledged by military officials: the much-touted missile defense system is, in their own words, “not hermetic”, according to The Telegraph.
The ongoing Iranian strikes have revealed new vulnerabilities that are rattling public confidence, even among those who had previously felt secure in designated protective areas.
In one of the most alarming incidents yet, at least five more Israeli settlers were killed overnight, including two settlers in the illegal settlement of Petah Tikvah, located east of Tel Aviv.
According to the Army Radio, the two Israeli settlers were killed despite taking refuge in a reinforced shelter, a place believed to offer protection from such attacks.
The report confirmed that a ballistic missile from Iran struck directly between two fortified bunkers, rendering the so-called “protected space” ineffective under the concentrated impact of the warhead. The blast penetrated the structure with lethal force.
For years, public faith in “Israel’s” Iron Dome and layered defense systems has served as a psychological buffer against escalating regional threats. That confidence is now visibly eroding. Iranian ballistic missiles have continued to breach multiple layers of “Israel’s” missile shield in recent days, even as officials attempt to reassure the public.
As cited by The Telegraph, military spokespeople had long warned that the defense system was not infallible. But the extent of the damage and civilian deaths, even in areas with fortified infrastructure, is beginning to register more deeply with a population used to relying on technological superiority for survival.
Confidence wanes amid fear of more missile barrages
Though public support for the war on Iran remains strong on the surface, the increasing effectiveness of Iran’s missile salvos is prompting fear across the occupied territories.
Tehran has thousands of additional ballistic missiles, raising concerns about whether “Israel’s” air defenses can keep up.
For many residents, the traditional belief in the safety of reinforced rooms, often located within residential high-rises, has been a key factor in their willingness to stay put during times of conflict. That belief is now being challenged, especially as growing numbers of settlers assess Israeli officials hiding themselves and military infrastructure among civilians.
Army Radio’s detailed account of the Petah Tikvah strike has added to the public unease. The fact that casualties occurred inside designated Israeli safe rooms contradicts previous patterns in which fatalities were largely attributed to individuals who had not followed shelter protocols.
The psychological impact of this shift is significant. As The Telegraph notes, the death toll and visible damage are beginning to fray the edges of what was once unshakable national morale.
‘Leave to save your lives’: Iran’s armed forces warn Israeli settlers in occupied territories
Press TV – June 15, 2025
The Iranian armed forces have issued a stern warning to Israeli settlers in the occupied territories, urging them to evacuate immediately as Iran prepares to launch widespread strikes across the entire occupied land.
In a televised message on Sunday, Colonel Reza Sayyad, spokesperson for Iran’s Armed Forces Communications Center, warned settlers that remaining in the area would place their lives in grave danger, as Iran prepares for a “crushing” retaliation to recent Israeli military aggression.
“Leave the occupied territories. Leaving this occupied land is the only way to preserve your lives,” Colonel Sayyad said in the video statement, slamming the “Zionist regime” for criminal aggression against the Islamic Republic.
Sayyad condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime as “desperate, corrupt, and criminal,” saying that its latest military aggression was “doomed”.
He warned that Iran’s response would extend across all parts of the occupied territories.
The Iranian military, Sayyad said, possesses a “comprehensive bank of intelligence” on sensitive targets within Israeli-controlled areas, warning settlers to avoid these locations and noting that even underground shelters would not guarantee their safety.
He said the Israeli regime was using settlers as human shields, adding that the regime’s actions—motivated by political and personal interests—are driving the region into a deeper crisis.
“The criminal Zionist regime, especially its criminal prime minister, has begun a crime for his and his family’s personal gain—a crime that will end in nothing but defeat and regret.”
He added that ignoring Iran’s warnings would lead to “even more difficult days” for those who remain in the occupied territories.
Sayyad’s comments followed a new wave of missile and drone strikes launched by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Sunday afternoon as part of Operation True Promise III.
The strikes caused large explosions in the Upper and Lower Galilee, Haifa, Afula, and Nazareth.
The operation is a direct response to the Israeli aggression against Iran on Friday morning, which resulted in the assassination of senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians, including women and children.
Israeli Incursion in Rural Damascus Leaves One Martyred, Seven Detained
Al-Manar June 12, 2025
In a pre-dawn military incursion near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israeli occupation forces shot and killed a young Syrian man on Thursday in the town of Beit Jinn, west of Damascus, amid a wider sweep through border villages near Mount Hermon.
According to Syria TV, the Zionist troops also detained seven young men during a series of raids in the town. The martyr, identified as Mohammad Ahmad Hamadeh, was reportedly shot at close range. His uncle, Ali Qassem Hamadeh, was among those arrested. No further details about the detainees were provided.
Heavily Armed Incursion
The incursion began before dawn, with Israeli forces advancing from positions near Qurs Al-Nafl in northern Quneitra and Tloul Al-Hamr—areas under Zionist military control—toward Beit Jinn, a town situated less than 20 kilometers from Quneitra and roughly 50 kilometers from Damascus.
Witnesses reported the sounds of Israeli tanks, armored vehicles, and aircraft accompanying the operation. Syria TV described the raid as a large-scale military deployment involving approximately 100 personnel and at least 10 tanks and armored vehicles.
The invading forces reportedly surrounded Beit Jinn, using loudspeakers to call out the names of individuals targeted for arrest. Tensions escalated between residents and soldiers before Mohammad Hamadeh was fatally shot.
Part of Ongoing Cross-Border Violations
The latest operation is part of a broader pattern of Israeli violations along the border with the occupied Golan Heights. These include surveillance and drone activity, as well as direct ground incursions into Syrian territory—often resulting in the detention of civilians, including farmers and shepherds working near the separation lines.
Most people across 24 surveyed countries have negative views of Israel and Netanyahu
By Laura Silver | Pew Research Center | June 3, 2025
International views of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are much more negative than positive, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 24 countries conducted this spring.
Israelis, for their part, tend to say their country is not respected internationally: 58% say Israel is not too or not at all respected around the world, while 39% think it is.
In 20 of the 24 countries surveyed, around half of adults or more have an unfavorable view of Israel. Around three-quarters or more hold this view in Australia, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.
Views of Israel are fairly divided in India (34% favorable, 29% unfavorable).
In Kenya and Nigeria, around half of adults or more have a favorable view of Israel.
How views have changed in recent years
The recent survey is not the first time Pew Research Center has asked about international views of Israel. We have asked about views of Israel before in some countries – including in the United States, where the share of adults with a negative view of Israel rose 11 percentage points between March 2022 and March 2025.
In 10 other countries, we last asked this question in 2013. In seven of these countries, the share of adults with a negative view of Israel has increased significantly. In the United Kingdom, for example, 44% had an unfavorable view of Israel in 2013, compared with 61% now. (In Nigeria, both the share of adults with a negative view of Israel and the share with a positive view have increased since 2013, due to a decline in the share saying they don’t know.)
Views by age
In some countries, younger people are more likely than older people to have an unfavorable view of Israel. This is particularly the case in the high-income countries surveyed: Australia, Canada, France, Poland and South Korea and the U.S. In fact, the U.S. has one of the largest age gaps in views of Israel. … Full article
Israel Detains Activists Bringing Aid to Gaza
By Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter | The Libertarian Institute | June 9, 2025
Hours after the Israeli defense minister threatened military action against a tiny aid ship carrying activists attempting to break the blockade on Gaza, the IDF intercepted the boat and detained all on board. The dangerous vessel was armed with rice and baby formula.
Late on Sunday night, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said the ship, named the ‘Madleen,’ was “under assault in international waters,” with quadcopter drones surrounding the vessel and “spraying it with a white irritant substance.”
The group later published a statement, saying the Madleen was “attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military at 3:02am [Central European Time] in international waters at 31.95236° N, 32.38880° E. The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo – including baby formula, food and medical supplies – confiscated.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the ship had been intercepted, but added that the activists were “safe and unharmed.” In a follow-up post, it said the vessel was on its way to Israel and that the passengers were “expected to return to their home countries.”
At the time of writing, the Madleen was sailing through international waters off the coast of Egypt, north of Sinai, according to tracking data provided by the FFC.
Earlier on Sunday, Tel Aviv’s Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a warning to the ship, suggesting the IDF would use force to prevent it from bringing aid to Gazans:
“I have instructed the IDF to act to prevent the ‘Madleen’ hate flotilla from reaching the shores of Gaza – and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end.
To the anti-Semitic Greta [Thunberg] and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.
Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organizations – at sea, in the air, and on land.”
Katz’s statement contained one important admission: Israel does, in fact, maintain a blockade on aid entering Gaza.
For over a year, the propaganda emanating from Tel Aviv has claimed that Hamas was simply stealing international aid and preventing it from reaching starving Palestinians. And yet, Israel’s Minister of Genocide just acknowleged a full-blown blockade on humanitarian assistance.
As the Madleen approached Gaza over the weekend, the activists faced increasing harassment from Israel, including GPS jamming, as well as close calls with military speed boats and drones.
Israel has used violence to prevent activist aid ships from reaching Gaza on more than one occasion in the past – most recently last month, when a small FFC vessel headed for the enclave was struck by a drone in international waters.
In 2010, Israeli troops killed 10 activists after raiding another boat attempting to bring supplies to Gaza, with the UN concluding some were shot “in a manner consistent with an extra-legal, arbitrary and summary execution.”
The presence of Greta Thunberg, a climate activist widely known across the West, is likely the only thing that prevented a similarly bloody fate for the Madleen.
Fortunately, US Senator Lindsey Graham did not have his way. The lawmaker joked in a post last week: “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!” – riffing on the hilarious and relatable premise of murdering unarmed civilians to stop them from feeding people desperately in need of aid.
This article originally appeared in the June 9 edition of the Libertarian Institute Debrief, our daily email newsletter.
UNIFIL denies talks on ending its mission in south Lebanon: Exclusive
Al Mayadeen | June 9, 2025
Any discussion about the future of UNIFIL falls solely under the authority of the UN Security Council, the spokesperson for UNIFIL clarified to Al Mayadeen, noting that the force remains committed to coordinating with the Lebanese Army and insists on the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Al Mayadeen, “There are currently no talks about UNIFIL’s future,” adding that “any such discussion would take place within the UN Security Council.”
Meanwhile, a US State Department spokesperson told Al Mayadeen in a short briefing that the recent reports claiming the United States intends to end the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon are inaccurate.
Tenenti stated that UNIFIL continues its operations in southern Lebanon in full cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces. He emphasized that Israeli forces should withdraw from their occupied positions in the area, noting that the UN Security Council alone holds the authority to assess whether UNIFIL’s ongoing presence remains necessary and effective.
“Restoring stability to southern Lebanon depends on Israel’s withdrawal from recently occupied positions,” he added.
Lebanese Army is adhering to resolution 1701
Tenenti also affirmed that the Lebanese Army remains committed to implementing UN Resolution 1701, deploying to required areas in close coordination with UNIFIL forces.
When asked about French troops, he responded: “I don’t distinguish between the role of French forces and UNIFIL, all are fulfilling their duties under Resolution 1701.”
The statement follows reports in Israeli media claiming the US and “Israel” agreed to terminate UNIFIL’s operations in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom cited sources claiming that “the United States and Israel have agreed to end UNIFIL’s operations in southern Lebanon.” According to the report, the US administration is “not interested in renewing UNIFIL’s mandate,” and “Israel, frankly, isn’t pushing hard to convince them otherwise.”
Do You Condemn October 7? China Says “No”
By Mike Whitney • Unz Review • May 25, 2025
China has never explicitly condemned the attacks of October 7. In China’s view, October 7 can’t be separated from the more than seven decades of Israeli brutality, apartheid and occupation. Naturally, this has drawn harsh criticism from Israel which expressed its “deep disappointment” over China’s refusal to repudiate Hamas. Even so, China has not caved in to Israeli pressure or softened its rhetoric. Quite the contrary, on February 22, 2024, Ma Xinmin—a legal advisor to China’s Foreign Ministry and a member of the International Law Commission—summarized China’s views of Hamas’ activities during a presentation to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Here’s part of what he said:
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict stems from Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestinian territory and Israel’s longstanding oppression of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people fight against Israeli oppression and their struggle for completing the establishment of an independent state on the occupied territory are essentially just actions for restoring their legitimate rights. The right to self-determination served as the precise legal foundation for this struggle. MEMRI
The fact that China chose a legal scholar—who is a member of the International Law Commission—to argue their case, underscores the importance China places on the broader legal issue of whether the Hamas attack was justifiable under international law. Ma concludes that the attack was not only justifiable, but that the militants involved in the attack had an “inalienable right” to conduct operations that were aimed at ending the Israeli occupation. Here’s Ma:
“The Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment of an independent state is an inalienable right …. The struggle waged by peoples for their liberation, right to self-determination, including armed struggle against colonialism, occupation, aggression, domination against foreign forces should not be considered terrorism.” MEMRI
Ma’s statement should not be construed as support for the injuring or killing of innocent civilians. It is, however, a powerful defense of the right of persecuted people to participate in armed struggle against their oppressors.
Most readers don’t know that China resisted Israel’s coercion and defended international law as it relates to the October 7 attacks. They don’t know that China took a stand on a matter of principle and never flinched. Of course, most people don’t realize that of the 195 countries in the world, only 13 officially designate Hamas as a “terrorist organization”. Many believe that the terrorist moniker is applied universally and that the rest of humanity see the world through the same distorted lens as people in America. But they don’t. They see Hamas as a national liberation movement that was duly elected to govern Gaza in 2006 following “free and fair” elections that were forced on the Palestinians by the Bush administration. Now Hamas is being used as the pretext for the slaughter women and children in Gaza on an industrial scale. Most Western leaders have expressed their support for Israel’s 18-month bloodbath, while China has not only opposed it but also defended the Palestinians right to armed struggle. Here’s Professor Richard Falk, a leading scholar in international law and former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine:
“The right of resistance was affirmed during the decolonization process in the 1980s and 1990s, and this included the right to armed resistance. However, this resistance is subject to compliance with international laws of war.”
Even the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”.
Israel does not comply with international laws of war—for example, the entire situation in Gaza is one of the most flagrant violations of Israel’s complete disregard, not only for the laws of war, but for the entire apparatus of international and humanitarian laws.
Palestinians, on the other hand, who are in a permanent state of self-defense, are driven by a different set of values than Israel. One is that they are fully aware of the need to maintain moral legitimacy in their methods of resistance….
“To the extent that there is real evidence of atrocities accompanying the October 7 attack, those would constitute violations, but the attack itself is something that, in context, appears entirely justifiable and long overdue,” Falk said. Palestine Chronicle
This is why Israel has fabricated so many stories about beheaded babies, mass rape and the killing of innocent civilians. The intention is to persuade the public that October 7 was not a legitimate expression of political resistance but a wanton act of terror aimed at ordinary people. Western analysts typically focus on fake atrocities that are used to drown out any reasonable discussion about historic oppression or political realities. Here’s Falk again:
One of the tactics used by the West and Israel has been to almost succeed in decontextualizing October 7 so that it appears to have come out of the blue... The UN Secretary-General was even defamed as an antisemite for merely pointing out the most obvious fact—that there had been a long history of abuse of the Palestinian people leading up to it,” he added, referring to Antonio Guterres’ simply stating that October 7 “did not happen in a vacuum”. (Palestine Chronicle)
“Decontextualizing October 7”?
Precisely. The case for genocide is made on the basis that October 7 can be removed from its broader historical “context” and seen as a “stand alone” event that requires a particularly violent response. But October 7 is not a stand-alone event; it is the unavoidable explosion of collective resistance to decades of ethnic hatred and brutality aimed at a particular people who have been stripped of their civil rights and left to languish in an apartheid state. Here’s Ma again:
“Our state is obliged to promote the realization of the right to self-determination and to refrain from any forceful action, which deprives people of that right. In pursuit of their right to self-determination, these people have the right to engage in struggles, seek and receive support on the basis of that right….
“Numerous UN General Assembly resolutions recognize the legitimacy of struggle by all available means, including armed struggle, by peoples under colonial domination or foreign occupation, to realize the right to self-determination.
MEMRI
Naturally, Ma’s speech has largely been blacked out in the western media where anything that doesn’t jibe with the Israeli narrative (that October 7 was an act of terrorism) winds up “on the cutting room floor”. We are confident that if Ma’s powerful moral statement was more widely circulated, Israel’s support in the US would crumble.
China Offers To Rebuild Gaza
China has supported every UN Resolution aimed at providing humanitarian relief to the people in Gaza. They have been staunch supporters of Palestinian statehood and the two-state solution from the beginning. They have repeatedly called for an end to the fighting and an immediate ceasefire. They have even met with leaders of Hamas and Fatah (in April and July 2024) to see if reconciliation between the two groups was possible in order to promote Palestinian unity. Finally, China has repeatedly offered to “rebuild Gaza” following the end of hostilities which underscores Beijing’s commitment to an independent Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel.
At every opportunity, China has supported policies aimed at de-escalation, reconciliation and peace. They have exhibited the type of ‘moral clarity’ and moral leadership we would like to see from the United States but never do. It is China’s moral clarity that “guides its decisions, even in complex or ambiguous situations, without being swayed by competing interests or relativism. It’s about aligning actions with a consistent moral framework, often rooted in universal values like honesty, fairness, or compassion.”
Israel’s savagery in Gaza suggests that the West is in a state of irreversible moral collapse. We should be grateful that China is stepping in to fill the void and lead the world into the next century.
On one of the most consequential issues of our time, China has come down on the side of decency and humanity.
US roadmap for Syria sanctions removal includes Israel normalization, expulsion of Palestinian factions
The Cradle | May 23, 2025
A State Department proposal circulated among officials lays out “sweeping conditions for future phases of relief or permanent lifting of sanctions” on Syria, including normalizing relations with Israel by signing the Abraham Accords, AP reported on 23 May, citing an anonymous US official familiar with the matter.
US-imposed sanctions have devastated the Syrian economy, plunged millions into poverty, and blocked post-war reconstruction. They were imposed as part of the US and Israeli effort to topple the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Assad was ousted in December by militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former Al-Qaeda affiliate, with US, Israeli, and Turkish assistance. HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa is now the de facto Syrian president.
However, the US is not yet ready to remove sanctions.
A document issued last week by the State Department’s policy and planning staff has proposed a three-phase road map for sanctions relief, starting with short-term waivers. Permanent lifting of sanctions would only be given after several conditions are met.
According to the document, “Palestinian terror groups” must be removed from Syria to get to the second stage.
The Syrian government must also take control of detention facilities housing ISIS fighters in northeast Syria and carry out a recent deal to incorporate the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian army. The SDF currently controls the prisons housing ISIS members and their families, as well as much of Syria’s oil fields.
Phase three would require Damascus to normalize relations with Tel Aviv by joining the Abraham Accords, as well as prove that it had destroyed all of the previous government’s chemical weapons.
If normalization happens, Syria would de facto acknowledge Israel’s annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously pushed for US President Donald Trump’s administration not to lift sanctions on Syria.
President Trump raised expectations that all Syria sanctions would quickly be removed when he announced in Saudi Arabia last week that he would “be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.”
“We’re taking them all off,” Trump said a day before meeting the Syrian president, a former deputy of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“Good luck, Syria. Show us something special,” he went on to say.
However, when asked what sanctions relief should look like overall, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said relief would be “Incremental.”
Washington has levied sanctions against Syria since 1979 for its foreign policy opposing Israel.
To block Syria’s post-war reconstruction, the harshest sanctions were imposed in 2019 by Congress through the passage of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.
As a result, a new law in Congress must be passed to remove the Caesar sanctions. Trump is only able to issue six-month waivers, which is not enough to encourage investors to return to doing business in the country.
On Friday, two Palestinian sources told AFP that the leaders of Palestinian resistance factions have left Syria under pressure from the new authorities in Damascus.
The leaders include Khaled Jibril, son of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) founder Ahmad Jibril, as well as Palestinian Popular Struggle Front Secretary-General Khaled Abdel Majid and Fatah al-Intifada Secretary-General Ziad al-Saghir.
Bureaucracy is saving both Israel and the EU
By Ramona Wadi | MEMO | May 22, 2025
Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement has long been touted as one avenue for the EU to rethink its allegiances with Israel. The article states, “Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.”
In recent years, however, there has been more discourse on shared values with Israel than there has been on upholding human rights and international law. Since Israel started its genocide in Gaza in October 2023, the EU has largely upheld Israel’s purported right to defend itself. Only recently has the EU shifted its stance, belatedly and bureaucratically.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, stated, “Countries see that the situation in Gaza is untenable, and what we want is to really help the people, and… to unblock the humanitarian aid so that it will reach the people.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry retorted with its usual dependence on the colonial security narrative: “We completely reject the direction taken in the statement, which reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing.”
Between both statements, there lies a murkier truth than the EU and Israel are trying to project.
If the EU really wanted to help Palestinians, it would have halted its trade agreements long ago. A debate on Article 2, which Israel has completely violated, does not “really help the people”. On the contrary, it helps the EU to form any policy that makes it look benevolent, while extending the time for Israel to continue its genocide in Gaza. Does the EU really need to debate whether Israel has broken Article 2 of the agreement? Furthermore, doesn’t the EU need to take a look at itself for violating Article 2 by supporting genocide in Gaza?
Israel, on the other hand, maintains the illusion that no one else can understand ‘the complex reality’ which is not complex at all. Europe understands colonialism well from the coloniser’s point of view. Palestinians understand the colonial reality from the experience of the colonised population. Israel is also blatantly explaining all steps of how it intends to continue ethnically cleansing Palestinians to the point of forced displacement and annihilation. With such a broad picture for everyone to observe and analyse, how can Israel claim ignorance on anyone’s behalf, sparing itself, of course?
Bureaucracy enables the illusion that the EU is shifting its stance. Article 2 shines the spotlight on both ends of colonial violence – both active and complicit. Can the EU really assess Israel’s violations, being complicit in the violations itself? True accountability starts with holding the EU accountable for upholding not only the EU-Israeli Association Agreement, but also supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. There is a need to see Israel as a colonial power committing genocide, and the EU as an enabling participant. Unless the latter’s actions are examined and rescinded, the debate on the EU-Israel Association Agreement will be yet another diplomatic spectacle beneath which more Palestinians will be killed by Israel.
The Israeli Syria Dilemma
By Robert Inlakesh | Al Mayadeen | May 15, 2025
Although it could appear that the Israelis are having their way with Syria, their aggression is short sighted and could at any moment backfire. The only reason they still enjoy the freedom to continue carrying on in the manner they are, is because of the leadership in Damascus.
Syria’s new President Ahmad al-Sharaa and his administration, staffed primarily by members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have so far failed to take advantage of opportunity after opportunity that have fallen in their laps. Instead of uniting the country behind a common cause, working on building a strong functional nation, and finding some leverage to use in future negotiations, they chose the path of least resistance.
We have now reached a phase in Syria where President al-Sharaa, according to several sources who spoke to both Reuters and The Times, is considering a normalisation deal with the Zionist entity. To begin with, even the fact that this is being spoken of and he hasn’t denied it is an admission of guilt and represents a betrayal of the Palestinian people.
Yet, putting aside the fact that normalisation with the Zionist entity would make al-Sharaa and his administration directly complicit in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and a collaborator with the Israeli regime, it is a ridiculous move, politically speaking.
What we have to understand here is that the Israelis are not the ones begging Syria for a normalisation agreement, it is the other way around. However, the Syrian government has no leverage whatsoever. As al-Sharaa remains trapped between multiple regional and Western interests, he evidently has little wiggle room with which he can work in order to make his regime work.
For example, one of his primary backers is Turkiye, which has at least publicly expressed its interest in strengthening the Syrian State and also uniting it, whereas the Israelis put their foot down and are openly seeking balkanisation of the country. This all came to a head when the Syrian security forces were ordered to seize Druze majority areas south of Damascus and to head towards Sweida.
Unfortunately, al-Sharaa decided to completely dismantle the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and pull apart the security forces, meaning that the de facto military and security forces of the country are a collection of largely ill-trained and undisciplined militiamen. So, when they are sent into any area, we see sectarian bloodshed and lawlessness. This is then exploited by the Israelis, who back their own militia forces, falsely claiming to be on the side of Syria’s Druze community.
To give some context to this situation, the Israelis were giving military, financial, and medical aid to Jabhat al-Nusra – now rebranded as HTS – at a time when it was committing massacres against Druze civilians, yet are now pretending to be the saviours of those same communities.
Because of the fact that al-Sharaa doesn’t have a real army or security forces yet, militarily, he is weak. Then, when he attempts to disarm Syrian villages, this only ends up dividing the country further. Meanwhile, the US, EU, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and other players all have their own opinions on what Damascus should be doing.
What al-Sharaa has chosen to do is suck up to the United States and the rest of the collective West, yet he lacks the intellectual prowess necessary to negotiate with them properly. Instead, he is floating ridiculous proposals like the construction of a Trump Tower in Damascus and a Ukraine-style resource deal with the US. He also believes that making friends with the West is as easy as joining a normalisation deal with the Zionist regime.
Yet, when the Israelis look at Syria, they see a leadership that is willing to crack down on the Palestinian Resistance, allow the occupation of their lands and abandons its own people who are coming under attack. Therefore, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu looks at the predicament of Syria and laughs at the prospect of normalisation for now, not because he doesn’t eventually seek this outcome, but because there is no need to entertain it yet.
Instead, the Israelis are looking to exploit the weakness of the Syrian leadership and push for finishing their agenda in at least the south of the country. The Zionists have long sought to annex a large portion of strategic territory in southern Syria, which they are doing without so much as a single bullet fired at them from the forces belonging to Damascus, while working alongside Syrian minority militias to extend their de facto control all the way to the Euphrates River.
The major challenge now, for the Zionist entity, has nothing to do with the government in Damascus, but rather how far it can get away with pushing. We have already seen signs from local forces in Daraa, that there are groups willing to defend their villages and cities. This local resistance, rather than the government, is the primary factor holding the Zionist advance back.
If you trace back to the reaction to the ambushes carried out against the convoys of Israeli soldiers in southern Syria, the immediate response was to withdraw and use airpower to inflict deaths and injuries in Daraa. It has now been over a month since the clashes occurred, and the Israelis have not admitted to their casualties, nor have they bothered returning on the ground.
The Israeli agenda does not actually encompass any areas that extend beyond Damascus, they have been very open with their intentions being contained to everywhere south of the Syrian Capital. Yet, they have painted themselves into a corner that could result in a brief incursion into Damascus at some point or another.
The Israeli Premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, has pledged to come to the aid of the Druze communities in Syria, which has ended up causing tensions within the Israeli Druze population in occupied Palestine. The Israeli Druze serve crucial roles in the Israeli military and contribute greatly to the Zionist regime’s economy, therefore, when Netanyahu pledges to help the Druze of Syria, this is not a pledge he can simply go back on.
When Ahmed al-Sharaa sent his security forces towards Sweida, this caused protests amongst Israeli Druze and calls for a ground incursion to fight against the Syrian government forces. That night, Israeli airstrikes were launched within 500 meters of the Presidential palace as a warning to the Syrian president. This was followed by one of the largest bombing campaigns in past decades against the country.
In response, al-Sharaa capitulated and decided to arrest the Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC), Talal Naji, likely in a good will gesture to help the Zionist regime locate the body of an Israeli soldier considered missing since 1982.
It is clear that the Israeli project in Syria is not over and that Tel Aviv seeks to use what it sees as a historic opportunity to divide the country and achieve “Greater Israel”. But this will come at a potentially huge cost, due to the fact that more action inside southern Syria will eventually lead to an organic resistance movement emerging. On the other hand, if the Zionists decide to engage with Syrian security forces on the ground, there is no telling how things could spiral out of control.
The Israelis simply do not have the ground capability to open up another broad front inside of Syria, because if they do so, they are going to leave themselves vulnerable on other fronts. If the current Syrian administration was politically intelligent, it would weaponise the situation to its benefit. Instead, it appears to be appealing for normalization without any need for Israeli concessions, meanwhile, Netanyahu doesn’t appear to be entertaining a deal at this time and wants to steal more from Syria first.
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From the Archives
Mossad ‘in contact from very beginning’ with killers of Italian PM, reporter reveals
By Kit Klarenberg and Wyatt Reed | The Grayzone | October 5, 2025
A roving reporter who covered Italy’s top politicians explains to The Grayzone how his country was reduced to a joint US-Israeli “aircraft carrier,” and raises troubling questions about an Israeli role in the killing of Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
For years, Israel’s Mossad monitored and secretly influenced a violent communist faction that carried out the March 16, 1978 kidnapping and murder of Italian statesman Aldo Moro, veteran investigative journalist Eric Salerno has documented.
Having worked closely alongside multiple Italian heads of state during his 30-year career as a correspondent, Salerno published an expose of their secret relationship with Israeli intelligence in 2010 called Mossad Base Italy. … continue
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