Tag Archive for Bashar Assad

| May 18, 2013
No comments

Ex-MI Chief: If Assad Starts War with Israel, he’ll be “finished”

Former Military Intelligence head Amos Yadlin said that if Syrian President starts a war with Israel, he will be “finished”.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

If Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad will start a war with Israel, he will be “finished”, former Military Intelligence head, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, said on Friday.

“There is pressure on Assad to respond [to recent Israeli airstrikes in Syria], but he will be finished if he starts a war,” Yadlin, who now heads the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told Channel 10 News.

“We must not think that what worked several times will always work,” he added, referring to alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus targeting weapons meant for Hizbullah. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 17, 2013
No comments

Turkey’s PM Erdoğan confirms his June visit to the West Bank & Gaza

At the joint White House press conference with Turkey’s PM Erdoğan, President Obama cites need for further evidence before making decision on Syria.

PM Erdoğan: Turkey is in ‘full consensus’ with the U.S. on a need to end Syria bloodshed.

By and Reuters

 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Thursday that he plans to travel to the Gaza Strip in June, for a trip that will also include a visit to the West Bank.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Barack Obama during a joint news conf

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Barack Obama during a joint news conference in the White House, May 16, 2013.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| May 15, 2013
No comments

Israel warns Assad: If you or your proxies attack us, we’ll end your reign

 

Israeli Official reports to the New York Times that if Hezbollah or Assad’s forces attack Israel,  “he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate.”

By

 

“If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel…he will risk forfeiting his regime,” a senior Israeli official told the New York Times on Wednesday.

A photo released by Syria's state news agency allegedly showing the damage caused by Israel's airstr

A photo released by Syria’s state news agency allegedly showing the damage caused by an Israeli strike. – Photo: AFP

The Times’ White House correspondent Mark Landler wrote that the official contacted the newspaper on his own initiative.

Landler added that the official had been briefed in the last two days by other senior Israeli officials, who have intimate knowledge of the recent developments in Syria. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| May 12, 2013
No comments

Assad’s Facebook page smears Israeli that aids Syrian refugees

Syrian President’s personal Facebook page posts photo of Israeli Moti Kahana, who told Ynet of his Syrian relief plan in aiding refugees.

Kahana: Assad’s attention is encouraging

By Yitzhak Benhorin

WASHINGTON – Though Assad and his men are fighting a bloody civil war, it appears they still find the time to read Ynet reports and comment on them on President Bashar Assad‘s personal Facebook page.

התמונה שפורסמה בעמוד הפייסבוק של אסד (צילום: יצחק בן-חורין)

The photo – Photo: Yitzhak Benhorin

Following a report on Friday on Moti Kahana, an Israeli businessman who aids Syrian refugees, Assad’s page quickly posted the Israeli’s photo from the story, showing him hoisting the Free Syria flag. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 11, 2013
No comments

Golan Druze divided over Syrian strife

The Druze residents of Majdal Shams differ in opinion over Assad’s regime, with some angrily calling alleged Israeli air-strike ‘terrorism,’ while others are calling for Syrian president’s elimination.

By Hassan Shaalan

 

 

Most residents of northern Druze village of Majdal Shams believe that a war will break out soon. The explosion shockwaves are very well felt in the border-adjacent Druze village, in which most residents profess they are part of the Syrian people.

מג'דל שמס. על הגבול (צילום: Google Maps)

Majdal Shams – Photo: Google Maps

The latest alleged Israeli attack in Syria caused much controversy in the village. Some residents support the Assad regime, and see the attack as “a terrorist act”. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| May 9, 2013
No comments

Lebanese Report: Assad Will ‘Give Hizbullah Everything’

A Lebanese newspaper reports Assad as saying Syria will “give Hezbollah everything” in recognition of its support & will follow its model of “resistance” against Israel for the sake of Syria & future generations.

By Arutz Sheva staff

 

Syria will “give Hizbullah everything” in recognition of its support and will follow the terrorist group’s model of “resistance” against Israel, a Lebanese newspaper on Thursday quoted President Bashar al-Assad as saying.

Hezbollah terrorists - Photo by EPA

Hezbollah terrorists – Photo by EPA

His comments, published by Al-Akhbar, reportedly came during meetings with Lebanese visitors in Damascus and appeared intended to refute any suggestion that Israeli raids on Syrian targets would halt assistance to the Shiite group Hizbullah in Lebanon. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 7, 2013
One comment

Assad gave green light for Palestinian militants to attack Israel

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine official in Damascus says they received green light from regime to strike Israel from the Syrian-controlled part of Golan Heights.

By

 

 

 

A spokesman for a Palestinian militant group in Syria said Tuesday that it had received a nod from President Bashar Assad‘s regime to attack Israel following alleged back-to-back Israeli airstrikes over the weekend.

Golan Heights - AP

Smoke rises after shells fired by the Syrian army explode in the Syrian village of Bariqa, close to the cease-fire line between Israel and Syria, – Photo:AP

Anwar Raja of the Damascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command said the regime has given “a green light” for the group “to attack Israeli targets” from the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan Heights. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| May 6, 2013
No comments

Netanyahu goes to China as Israel goes on high alert

Iron Dome deployed in the north as airspace closed to all civilian traffic.

Security cabinet sends reassuring messages to Damascus: Israel’s sole interest is to prevent weapons from reaching Hezbollah

By , Gili Cohen , , and  
 

 

Though Jerusalem was careful not to claim responsibility for yesterday’s strike or for a similar one on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces deployed Iron Dome batteries near Haifa and Safed, authorities closed the northern skies to civilian air traffic, and pressure on gas mask distribution stations quadrupled compared to normal days.

Iron Dome

Iron Dome intercepting rocket launches.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| April 30, 2013
No comments

US official: Plans for possible military action in Syria are being evaluated

Senior White House official tells reporters that the Pentagon is looking into plans to strike Syrian military installations, though a ground offensive looks unlikely.

By

 

The U.S. in stepping up planning for military intervention in Syria, CNN reported on Monday. The report quoted a senior administration official as saying that “there is intensified planning in the works as more precise information comes in on the Syrian regime’s potential use of chemical weapons and the body of evidence grows.”

U.S. troops in Gulf


A UH-1N Huey with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit flies past the USS Rushmore, in the South Arabian Gulf, March 29, 2013.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| April 23, 2013
No comments

Rebel groups warn Hezbollah to leave Syria

Syrian National Coalition urges the Lebanese gov’t to ‘adopt the necessary measures to stop the aggression’ of their Shi’ite terrorist group in Syria.

By

The Syrian opposition called on Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters from the country immediately, as activists said regime troops supported by pro-government gunmen linked to the Lebanese Shiite militant group battled rebels Sunday for control of a string of villages near the Lebanon-Syria border.

Members of the Free Syrian Army hiding behind scrap metal during an attack against Syrian government

Members of the Free Syrian Army hiding behind scrap metal during an attack against Syrian government forces in Aleppo, Syria April 21, 2013. – Photo: AP

 

The Syrian National Coalition – the main Western-backed opposition group – warned that Hezbollah involvement in Syria’s civil war could lead to greater risks in the area, and urged the Lebanese government to “adopt the necessary measures to stop the aggression of Hezbollah” and to control the border to “prevent further risks and to protect civilians in the area.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| April 14, 2013
No comments

Western gov’ts should support the malign dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad

When Assad & Tehran fight the rebels & Ankara to mutual exhaustion, Western support then can then go to helping Syria offer a moderate alternative to today’s wretched choices and lead to a better future.

By  Daniel Pipes

Analysts agree that “the erosion of the Syrian regime’s capabilities is accelerating,” that it step-by-step continues to retreat, making a rebel breakthrough and an Islamist victory increasingly likely. In response, I am changing my policy recommendation from neutrality to something that causes me, as a humanitarian and decades-long foe of the Assad dynasty, to pause before writing:

Western governments should support the malign dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| April 7, 2013
No comments

Turkey: Assad’s claims of deal with Israel against Syria are ‘groundless’

Foreign Minister Davutoglu responds to Assad’s ridiculous claims that Ankara is working with Israel ‘to destroy’ Syria, saying, ‘This shouldn’t be taken seriously’. 

By AFP

Turkey‘s foreign minister on Saturday hit back at Syrian President Bashar Assad‘s claims in an interview that Ankara made a pact with Israel against Damascus.

FM Ahmet Davutoglu - Photo Reuters

FM Ahmet Davutoglu – Photo: Reuters

“Such arguments like Turkey is in cooperation with Israel against Syria have no grounds,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

“Turkey never speaks to Israel or any other third party about its neighbors,” he said. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 27, 2013
No comments

Assad Appeals to Int’l Economic Forum to Help ‘dry sources of terrorism’ in Syria

Assad’s appeal to non-Islamic countries, India, China, Brazil, Russia, & South Africa comes a day after the Arab League endorsed Syria’s Western-backed opposition coalition, delivering another blow to the regime in Damascus.

 

Syria’s increasingly isolated President Bashar Assad on Wednesday appealed to the leaders of a five-nation economic forum meeting in South Africa to help end his country’s two-year conflict.

Syrian President Bashar Assad - Photo by AP

Syrian President Bashar Assad – Photo: AP

Assad’s appeal came a day after the Arab League endorsed Syria‘s Western-backed opposition coalition, delivering another blow to the regime in Damascus.

Assad sent a letter urging the leaders of the five nation BRICS forum – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – to “work for an immediate cessation of violence that would guarantee the success of the political solution” in Syria. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 25, 2013
No comments

Fellow Alawites call for rebellion in Syrian army

For the 1st time, fellow Alawites who support the rebellion call for unity among Syrians.

By Reuters

Opposition activists from Syrian’s President Bashar Assad‘s Alawite sect called for his overthrow on Sunday and urged their co-religionists in the army to rebel.

A woman and a child walk by graffiti praising Allah and the Syrian revolution in Aleppo. – Photo by AFP

In the first meeting of its kind by Alawites who support the revolt, delegates distanced themselves from Assad’s crackdown against an uprising in which 70,000 people have been killed.

“We call on our brothers in the Syrian army, specifically members of our sect, not to take up arms against their people and to refuse to join the army,” the delegates said in a statement after two days of meeting in the Egyptian capital. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 15, 2013
No comments

Syrian Regime Threatens to Strike at Rebels Inside Lebanon

Syria’s FM tells Lebanon’s FM that a ‘large number’ of rebels have left Lebanon & entered the Syrian town of Tel Kalakh over the past 2 days.
Friday is the 2nd anniversary of uprising against Bashar Assad.

By Reuters and DPA

 

Syria has warned it may strike at rebels hiding in neighboring Lebanon if the Lebanese army does not act, as its patience “is not unlimited,” the state news agency SANA said on Friday, as the country marked two years since the start of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Syrian rebels make victory signs near the border with Turkey last year.

Syrian rebels make victory signs as they patrol a street in the town of Tal Abyad near the border with Turkey, last year.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »