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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the administration of US President Donald Trump to recognize Syria’s Golan Heights as part of the Israeli territory. Israel occupied the Golan Heights and then annexed it in 1981 in a move that has never been recognized by the international community. Neither has the US recognized the annexation of the mountainous area. Netanyahu made the request during his Wednesday meeting with Trump in Washington but the new US president's "reaction was not earth shattering," according to the Israeli premier who talked to reporters.  The Israeli regime has built scores of settlements in the occupied Golan Heights and has used the region to carry out a number of military operations against the Syrian government and aid militants in the Arab country. US President Donald Trump (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after a joint press conference at the White House on February 15, 2017 (Photo by AFP). Last...

PressTv  Turkey is getting more deeply involved in the Syria war. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is on a tour of Persian Gulf states, said in Bahrain on Monday that the ultimate goal of Turkey’s incursion into Syria is to create a safe zone and cleanse the border region from terrorist groups. The Syrian government, though, has on several occasions opposed Turkey’s intervention, which it views as a violation of its sovereignty. Press TV has conducted an interview with Richard Becker, with ANSWER Coalition, and Michael Lane, the founder of American Institute for Foreign Policy, to discuss the reasons why Ankara insists on creating a military safe zone inside Syria. Michael Lane expressed support for the idea of establishing safe zones in countries that are grappling with “civil war,” saying the only setback would be the need for a massive military support for the civilian population that would be left indefensible as a result. “Very curious move that President Erdogan wo...

A newly declassified CIA memo from the 1980s discusses how "US interests [in Syria] would be best served by a Sunni regime controlled by business-oriented 'moderates'" Matthew Allen     It was part of the plan It's public knowledge that Washington has been plotting against Syria  since the days of Eisenhower. But thanks to  a newly declassified CIA memo , we can now read Washington's heavily-redacted strategy for creating "favorable conditions" in Syria. Even back in the 1980s, it was clear that provoking a Sunni insurgency fueled by ethnic and religious hatred was the easiest way to topple the government. As the memo  notes : Sunnis make up 60 percent of the Syrian officer corps but are concentrated in junior officer ranks; enlisted men are predominantly Sunni conscripts.  We believe that a renewal of communal violence between Alawis and Sunnis could inspire Sunnis in the military to turn against the regime. The ultimate goal? Creating a ...

A journalist stands at the remains of the Temple of Bel in the historic city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria. Source: Reuters The Syrian army continues its offensive on Palmyra with the support of the Russian air task force, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Feb. 13. "The Syrian government troops are continuing their offensive towards Palmyra with the support of Russia’s aviation. A distance of less than 20 km remains to be covered. Over the past week, Russian warplanes have conducted over 90 sorties in the Palmyra direction," the Defense Ministry said in a statement obtained by  TASS . In the course of their offensive, the Syrian government troops have destroyed over 180 militants’ objectives, including more than 60 strongholds, 15 depots with armaments, munitions and military hardware, 43 armored fighting vehicles, and also jeeps armed with large-caliber machine guns, the statement said. "The terrorists’ losses in manpower have amounted to ...

Russian special forces arrived in the western countryside of Palmyra on Saturday evening and are expected to help Syrian forces retake the ancient city in the coming days The (second) fall of Palmyra to ISIS came as a shock to almost everyone. (We are not trained in military matters, but apparently the major takeaway from this catastrophe is: controlling the high ground around Palmyra is the key to controlling the actual city.) There's no dispute that Palmyra has been a major embarrassment for Russia. The liberation of the city was supposed to symbolize the effectiveness of Russian/Syrian/Iranian military cooperation and signal a turning point in the war. Assad needed to take Palmyra to convince his people that the fight for Syria wasn't futile. Putin needed it to show the Russian people that the military operations in Syria were producing results. A convoy of Russian special forces arrived in the western countryside of Palmyra on Saturday evening after traveling from the ...

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks to a group of Belgian reporters in this handout picture provided by SANA on February 7, 2017, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks to a group of Belgian reporters in this handout picture provided by SANA on February 7, 2017, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said U.S. President Donald Trump prioritizing the fight against jihadists by Islamic State was promising although it was too early to expect any practical steps, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Trump has indicated he might cut U.S. support for Syrian rebels and might help Syria in the fight against Islamic State. He has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency and signed an executive order asking the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan on how to proceed within 30 days. Assad was quoted by SANA as telling a group of Belgi...