Tag Archive for Bashar Assad

| March 2, 2013
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WATCH: Rebels show oldest synagogue in Syria destroyed by Assad’s forces

The Jobar synagogue, one of the very oldest in Damascus, is said to have been built in honor of Elijah the Prophet as he was escaping persecution.

 

President Bashar Assad’s forces bombed one of Syria’s oldest synagogues on Friday, Syrian opposition activists report. The synagogue, located in the suburban Jobar district of Damascus, is said to have been built in honor of Elijah the Prophet while he was escaping persecution.

Damascus synagogue destroyed

A sign at the entrance of the Damascus synagogue, taken from the Youtube video below..

According to tradition, the synagogue stands at the site where Elijah the prophet anointed Elisha as a prophet as well. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| February 28, 2013
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U.S. to train rebels to bring about post-Assad Syria

White House spokesman says humanitarian assistance will be provided to the Syrian people & combat training will be offered to the Syrian opposition.

By Reuters

 

The United States is planning to offer Syrian rebels combat training, the New York times reported on Wednesday.

Free Syrian Army fighters, take their positions as they observe the Syrian army forces base

Free Syrian Army fighters, take their positions as they observe the Syrian army forces base of Wadi al-Deif in Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday Feb. 26, 2013. – Photo: AP

According to the report, an offer of training assistance is expected to come from Secretary of State John Kerry when he meets with Syrian opposition leaders in Rome on Thursday. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| February 25, 2013
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Merkel: Russia & China realize Assad’s time is up

Both Security Council Super Powers have always blocked attempts by the West to mount pressure on the Syrian president to end the violence in the nearly 2 year civil war that has killed some 70,000 people.

By Reuters

 

China and Russia are increasingly realizing that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s time is up, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday, as she visited German troops stationed with NATO Patriot missiles close to the Turkish-Syrian frontier.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan address the media after talks in Berlin October 31, 2012. – Photo: Reuters

Merkel, beginning a two-day trip to Turkey, said the missiles, provided at NATO member Turkey’s request, were a signal that the alliance would not tolerate Damascus dragging its neighbors into its conflict. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| February 21, 2013
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Every night Syrian refugees slip into Jordan

Records suggest 275,000 Syrians are either registered refugees in Jordan or awaiting registration, but the Jordanian gov’t estimates that the real refugee figure at about 380,000.

By Reuters

 

Jordan – Under cover of darkness, the young mother steps through the muddy olive groves on the Syrian-Jordanian border, telling her children to hold tight to avoid getting lost in the stream of people fleeing south to safety.

Jordanian soldier helps Syrian refugees cross into Jordan

Jordanian soldier helps Syrian refugees cross into Jordan – Photo by AFP

Her lower face covered with a white scarf, she carries a dark carrier bag while a young daughter struggles with a small suitcase containing the few possessions they were able to take from their home a few miles to the north. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| February 8, 2013
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Syria denies Israel targeted missile convoy on way to Lebanon

In a letter sent to UN Security Council, Syria rejected statements made by U.S. officials, claiming Israel had struck a research center and not a convoy carrying anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah.

 

Syria‘s UN ambassador says there is “no truth” to reports that an Israeli airstrike last week, which seriously damaged a scientific research center, had targeted a convoy heading to neighboring Lebanon.

Israeli F-15 jets

Israeli F-15 jet – Photo by AP

International media reported on July 31 that Israel launched an overnight air strike on Syria-Lebanon border.

Syrian state television said the attack targeted a research center near the capital Damascus, and later aired video footage purporting to show the site of the alleged Israeli strike. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| January 6, 2013
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Netanyahu promises construction of fortified fence along Syria-Israel border

Prime Minister Netanyahu expresses concerns that Syrian violence may spill over, or worse, that the Assad regime will fall and be replaced by Islamic extremists armed with chemical weapons.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Sunday to build a fortified fence along the frontier with Syria, warning that radical Islamist forces have taken over the area.

The Israel-Syria border.

The Israel-Syria border. – Photo by Yaron Kaminsky

Israel has largely stayed out of the civil war that has engulfed Syria and killed more than 60,000 people, but it is concerned that violence could spill over into Israel.

Israel worries that Syrian President Bashar Assad might try to draw Israel into the fighting as a distraction if his situation becomes desperate. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| December 24, 2012
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Russia: Assad consolidated chemical weapons into 1 or 2 sites

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: “The Syrian gov’t has concentrated the stockpiles in 1 or 2 centers, unlike in the past when they were scattered across the country”

Report says Russia & the U.S. have given 2 options to Assad: Step down & receive asylum, or a transfer of power will be arranged without you.

By News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

The U.S. and Russia have come to an agreement on the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to a report in the London-based international Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

The message given to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Either step down from power, or be sidestepped out of power.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| December 23, 2012
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Prime Minister Netanyahu: Israel is adapting to the dramatic changes in Syria

Netanyahu told his ministers at their weekly cabinet meeting that Israel is cooperating with the U.S. and int’l community ahead of the Assad regime’s upcoming downfall.

By and DPA

 

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel is getting ready for the downfall of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, and the implications this will have for the regime’s chemical weapons cache.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. – Photo by Olivier Fitoussi

Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, the prime minister said that Israel “is following dramatic developments in Syria, cooperating with the U.S. and the international community, and taking the necessary steps to prepare for the possibility of radical changes to the regime with all the consequences these may hold for networks of sensitive weapons.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| December 17, 2012
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Contrary to Nasrallah’s claims, Syrian VP admits: Assad can’t win this war

After prolonged silence, Syrian VP Farouk Shara speaks to press: Only a historic resolution that includes the establishment of a broad gov’t comprised of all the country’s factions can solve the 21-month long civil war.

 

Syrian Vice President Farouk Shara has admitted that neither the Syrian Army nor the armed militia rebels are capable of achieving the high ground in the country’s civil war.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara. – Photo by AP

Shara said the only way to solve the 21-month long crisis is to reach a historic solution, in which neighbording countries and the United Nations Security Council take part. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| December 14, 2012
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Pentagon to send Patriot batteries, US soldiers to defend Turkey against Syria

Panetta signs deployment order to Turkey from Afghanistan, calling for 400 U.S. soldiers to operate two Patriot batteries at undisclosed locations in Turkey.

 

Germany & the Netherlands have already agreed to provide 2 batteries of the U.S.-built defense systems & send up to 400 German & 360 Dutch troops

By Reuters

 

The U.S. will send two batteries of  and 400 troops to Turkey as part of a NATO force meant to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attack, the Pentagon said Friday.

Turkey asks for NATO missiles

Patriot anti-missile batteries installed at the Diyarbakir military airport in southeastern Turkey. March 11, 2003 – Photo by AFP

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed a deployment order en route to Turkey from Afghanistan. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| December 9, 2012
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Sunday Times reports that Israel has waged ‘secret war’ in tracking Syria WMD

Israeli sources quoted as saying Syria’s WMD munitions cache has been moved to new locations over the past week; The U.S. and its allies are weighing military options to secure Syria’s   biological & chemical weapons, White House officials said last week.

 

 

Israel has embarked on a “secret war” to track down Syria’s chemical and biological weapons, the Sunday Times has reported.

As part of the operation, said the Times, Israel has deployed spotters across the border to monitor the movement of Syria’s non-conventional arms cache.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria's main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria’s main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| December 2, 2012
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Intelligence Report: Signs of activity at Syria’s chemical weapons caché

U.S. int’l official tells the NYT that Assad’s forces are ‘doing some things that suggest they intend to use the weapons.’

By

 

Western intelligence officials said that they have been seeing new signs of activity at Syrian sites used to hold chemical weapons, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria's main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria’s main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo. Photo by GlobalSecurity.org

The officials said they were not sure whether the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad were preparing to employ the chemical weapons, or rather use them to deter the West from aiding the rebels. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 13, 2012
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Arab Newspaper: ‘Israel wants to save Assad’

Ranking rebel leader suggests that Israel is aiding the Syrian regime because it allowed Syrian forces to enter UN-controlled areas of the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.

By Roi Kais

 

 

Bashar Assad – Photo: Reuters

Mustafa al-Sheikh, the head of the Free Syrian Army‘s military council commented on recent tensions on the Golan Heights and said that “Israelis aiding the Syrian regime and its allies in accordance with their partnership.”

In an interview with the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat, al-Sheikh said that “this agreement was clearly evident when Israel allowed Syrian forces to enter UN-controlled zones in the Golan without any objection. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| October 2, 2012
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Syrian media blasts Hamas leadership for abandoning Syria’s Assad

As fighting intensifies in Damascus, new video of missing U.S. journalist surfaces and Syrian State TV describes Hamas’ leader Khaled Meshal as ‘ungrateful & traitorous’

Syria’s state-run media have criticized the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas – once a staunch ally of the Damascus regime – for turning his back on President Bashar Assad.

Heavy shelling in Aleppo, Syria

Empty streets are seen as smoke rises from Aleppo’s Bustan al-Qasr district, due to heavy shelling on the area, October 1, 2012. – Photo by Reuters

Syrian TV in a late Monday broadcast described Hamas leader Khaled Meshal as “ungrateful and traitorous.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| October 1, 2012
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Syria blasts France & U.S. for supporting ‘terrorists,’ says Israel must submit to NPT

Syrian FM Walid al-Moualem accuses France & U.S. of “blatant interference in the domestic affairs of Syria,” & says Israel must join NPT & be forced to submit nuclear sites to IAEA supervision.

By Reuters and Jack Khoury

 

Syria accused the United States, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Monday of hijacking the country’s 18-month conflict between government forces and pro-democracy rebel groups by supporting ‘terrorism’  with arms, money and foreign fighters, and said Israel should be forced to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

AP

al-Moualem, Foreign Minister of Syria, addresses the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, October.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
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