Biden Weighs Approach to Rebels in Syria Amid Secret Message Exchange President Biden faces the challenge of deciding how to engage the main armed group that toppled President Bashar al-Assad, even though it remains designated a terrorist organization by the United States. By Peter Baker and Adam Entous Reporting from Washington Dec. 8, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/us/politics/biden-syria-assad-isis.html For President Biden, the fall of Syria’s tyrant on Sunday was a moment to cheer what he called a “fundamental act of justice” and to claim a measure of credit for his own policy. But it also presented Mr. Biden with a fundamental challenge late in his presidency: How does the United States make friends with the newly emerging forces taking control in Syria when it has deemed them terrorists? And should it? The main rebel faction that toppled President Bashar al-Assad is a group called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which was once an affiliate of Al Qaeda and, even though it broke with the older organization years ago, remains designated a terrorist group itself by the U.S. government. The United States has been passing messages through the Turkish government in recent days to the rebel groups involved in the lightning blitz that suddenly took down Mr. al-Assad, mainly warning them against teaming up with militants from the Islamic State. The groups responded through the Turks with assurances that they had no intention of allowing the Islamic State to be part of their movement, according to U.S. and Turkish officials briefed on the messages. But now Mr. Biden and his top advisers are debating the extent to which they should engage directly with the rebel groups going forward, according to the officials, who described internal deliberations on the condition of anonymity. U.S. intelligence analysts and administration policymakers were trying to determine whether the groups had substantially changed, or were prepared to change, their ways to address the concerns of the United States and its allies in the region about terrorist affiliations. In a televised statement from the White House hailing the fall of the Assad family’s half century of repressive rule in Syria, Mr. Biden gave voice to the mix of cautious optimism and wary uncertainty about the new forces taking power in Syria. “Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses,” he said on Sunday. “We’ve taken note of statements by the leaders of these rebel groups in recent days and they’re saying the right things now. But as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words but their actions.”
Netanyahu terms upcoming corruption trial a ‘witch hunt’ By dpa The Tribune Content Agency December 09, 2024 https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article296842859.html Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Defense Minister Israel Katz (L) visit an observation point on Mt. Bental on the Golan Heights bordering Syria. Koby Gideon GPO/dpa/TNS TEL AVIV, Israel - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed his trial for corruption as a “brutal witch hunt” on Monday, a day before he is to take the witness stand. Addressing a press conference, he accused the media of disseminating lies about him and said he would defend himself against the charges. “I will speak. I have waited eight years for the day to be able to present the truth,” Netanyahu said. The hearing before three judges is to be held in an underground hall in the Tel Aviv district court after being moved from Jerusalem for reasons of security. Twelve ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet had earlier called for a postponement, but this was rejected by the court. It will be the first time that a sitting Israeli prime minister appears before a court. Netanyahu stands accused of fraud and corruption. He is charged with receiving favours while communications minister from the Bezeq telecoms concern. He is also accused of receiving luxury gifts from billionaires he was friendly with. The trial could drag on for years. “There was no crime, and so they have thought one up,” Netanyahu said.
Looks like the negotiations are proceeding. Hamas is waking up to the reality that Israel will not leave Gaza as long as Hamas exists as a militant or governing entity. Hamas said to accept Israeli presence in Gaza for hostage deal, reportedly sends list of hostages to be released https://www.christianpost.com/news/...sraeli-presence-in-gaza-for-hostage-deal.html
Top Biden adviser: Hamas has refused to provide names of hostages it’s holding By Jacob Magid and Emanuel Fabian Today US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on December 12, 2024. (Abir Sultan/Pool/AFP) US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that “for many months, Hamas has not been prepared to even do the basic things of coming to the table with the names of hostages,” amid the latest diplomatic push to broker a hostage release deal that ends the war in Gaza. The comments in an interview with Channel 13 news that was broadcast Friday followed reports this week that Hamas gave mediators a list of hostages it is prepared to release in the first stage of a proposed agreement, though an Arab diplomat denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming as much. Sullivan spoke in the present tense, saying “has” and not “had,” but it was not entirely clear whether he was revealing that Hamas has still yet to provide names of the hostages to date or whether he was referring to previous months before talks were again revived last week. The White House did not respond to a request for clarification. Pressed on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been an obstacle in the talks, as Arab mediators from Qatar and Egypt have charged to The Times of Israel, Sullivan gave a diplomatic answer. “Israel negotiated hard to defend and justify its position in this negotiation,” he said. He was less generous regarding Hamas, saying the Palestinian terror group “has been deeply intransigent.” “We have seen Hamas repeatedly, time and again, when the opportunity was there to do something, not be prepared to step up and do it,” Sullivan said. “But we have also seen Israel and the Israeli government choose to drive a negotiation where it had its perspective on what was required in order to get the hostages home and ensure Israel’s security,” he added, without elaborating. Israelis protest for the release of the hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza outside the US Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, December 12, 2024. (Erik Marmor/Flash90) The families of hostages held in Gaza speak to the media at the White House in Washington, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Ahhhhhhh, meanwhile US continues to ply Israel with weapons non stop. And Israeli settlers continue to rape and pillage Palestinian land. And Israel continues to starve Palestinians. And meanwhile...... Gaza death toll nears 45,000 as Israel kills more Palestinians 2 hours ago Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on Friday. Reuters The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Friday that at least 44,875 people have been killed in more than 14 months of war between Israel and Palestinian fighters. The toll includes 40 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 106,454 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Ha Dozens of relatives wept and recited verses from the Koran, Islam's holy book, at a Gaza Strip hospital on Friday before burying some of the 33 Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on a post office where they had been sheltering. Medics said families displaced by the 14-month-old conflict had sought refuge in the postal facility in Nuseirat camp. The attack late on Thursday damaged several houses nearby. Israel said it was targeting a senior Islamic Jihad member when it hit the structure. Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike in Gaza on Friday. Reuters Some of the bodies gathered al Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat were wrapped in white shrouds and others in blankets from home. The families accompanied them on a walk to their graves. "They have killed the hope and optimism," said Suheil Mattar, whose grandchildren and daughter-in-law were killed. "Every time things happen and we say there will be a truce and we will rest... After that, they change their minds, they change their minds, we don't know why," Mattar said. A Palestinian man mourns relatives kill in Gaza on Friday. AFP Months of ceasefire efforts by Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, have failed to conclude a deal between the two warring sides. Israel said it had targeted an Islamic Jihad leader of attacks on Israeli civilians and troops. It accused the group of exploiting civilian infrastructure and the population as a human shield for its activities. It did not identify the Islamic Jihad member by name. Nuseirat is one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic camps originally for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war around the establishment of Israel. Agencies