The situation at a glance: Upheaval in Syria in the focus of the EU foreign ministers

The situation at a glance: Upheaval in Syria in the focus of the EU foreign ministers

The situation at a glance
Upheaval in Syria in the focus of the EU foreign ministers






Brussels diplomacy is discussing aid for the country torn apart by civil war. Rebel leader al-Sharaa promises to disarm all militias. Israel has its sights set on the occupied Golan Heights.

Eight days after the fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad, the situation in Syria is preoccupying the foreign ministers of the EU states. At their meeting in Brussels today, the chief diplomats want to discuss how the European Union can contribute to stabilizing the country. It is also about making it possible for the many refugees living in Europe to return from Syria.

According to its own statements, the EU had no contact with the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) until recently. This was at the head of the rebel alliance that overthrew Assad. The group and people associated with it remain on the United Nations terror list and are subject to EU sanctions.

New EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas recently said there were legitimate concerns about the risks of sectarian violence, the resurgence of extremism and a government vacuum. The former Estonian head of government will chair the deliberations for the first time.

Rebel leader promises to disarm all militias

The leader of the HTS, Ahmed al-Sharaa, promised a measure that could help stabilize the country torn by civil war. All armed groups and militias would be disarmed, he said, according to the opposition television station Syria TV. Priority would now be given to reconstruction and providing people living in refugee camps with housing.

Al-Sharaa, who until recently appeared under his nom de guerre Mohammed al-Julani, also addressed his compatriots who had fled abroad. “I invite them all to come home so that we can rebuild Syria properly and benefit from the experiences they gained abroad,” Syria TV quoted him as saying.

Is Israel establishing itself in the Golan?

Israel took advantage of the power vacuum following the fall of Assad to advance its troops across the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights. The leadership in Jerusalem justifies this by saying that the aim is to prevent armed groups that are hostile to Israel from attacking the Jewish state from the high plateau.

The area on this side of the armistice line, which extends to the Sea of ​​Galilee, was conquered by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1981. Under international law – at least that is the view of most states, including Germany – it belongs to Syria. On Sunday, the Israeli government approved a plan to invest the equivalent of more than ten million euros in the occupied Golan Heights.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan aims to double the population there, his office said. Currently, more than 50,000 people live on the rocky plateau, just over half Jewish Israelis and the rest Druze and Alawites. The background to the decision was the war and the “new front” with Syria, the statement said.

Arab countries condemn Israeli move

Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s decision to expand settlement in the Golan Heights. The Arab kingdom spoke of a violation of international law and called on the international community not to tolerate Israel’s actions. The statement from the foreign ministries in the capital Riyadh also said that the Golan Heights were occupied Arab and Syrian land. The Gulf emirate of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also condemned the Israeli decision in statements from their foreign ministries.

Netanyahu talks to Trump: no interest in conflict

Meanwhile, in a telephone conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump about the situation in Syria, the Israeli prime minister reiterated his peaceful intentions. “We have no interest in a conflict with Syria,” said Netanyahu, according to a statement. Israel’s approach will be based on the conditions on the ground. Syria was an “active enemy state” for decades and repeatedly attacked Israel.

The civil war country has also allowed others to attack Israel from its territory. Syria also allowed Iran to arm the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon through its territory. “To ensure that this does not happen again, we have taken a number of intensive measures in the last few days,” said Netanyahu, also referring to the bombing of strategic military facilities in the neighboring country.

Kyiv wants to help with food

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine is now ready to provide humanitarian aid to Syria. In consultation with his government, food aid from the “Grain from Ukraine” program was discussed to help the population of Syria, Zelensky said in his evening video address. Specifically, the logistics must now be discussed with Syrian representatives. “We will definitely support this region so that calm there can become a pillar of our movement towards real peace.”

The humanitarian program, launched in 2022, calls for donor states and other organizations to buy agricultural products directly from Ukrainian producers and send them to countries on the brink of famine – especially in Africa and Asia.

Many dead after Israeli attack in Gaza

At least 40 people were killed in an Israeli attack on a former school in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Civil Defense, which is controlled by the Islamist Hamas. The building in the city of Beit Hanun served as accommodation for people displaced by the war, a spokesman said. Many of the victims were burned. The information could not be independently verified.

The Israeli military said on its Telegram channel that it had targeted a concentration of Hamas fighters in Beit Hanun. Dozens of terrorists were killed from the air and in ground operations. This information could not be independently verified either.

The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre by Palestinian terrorists from the coastal area in Israel on October 7th last year, with 1,200 dead and around 250 abducted. Since then, Israel has been fighting against the Islamist Hamas in Gaza, where, according to Palestinian figures on Sunday, 44,976 people have been killed so far. However, the numbers do not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

Israel wants to bring back all hostages

Netanyahu’s conversation with Trump also discussed efforts to secure the release of the Israeli hostages who are still in the hands of the Islamist Hamas. “We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that all of our hostages, both living and deceased, return home,” the Israeli prime minister reiterated. According to Israeli information, around 100 hostages – including corpses – are still being held by Hamas.

dpa

Source: Stern

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