Syria's al-Assad Praises Russia, Iran for Help; Rocket Kills 5 at Fair

The fact that there is a fair happening in Damascus tells us things are improving at least somewhat in the beleaguered country. 

That Iran, Russia and Hezbollah are supporting Syria means there is no change in the status of Syria in the middle east. In other words, the proxy war has failed in spite of attempts with chemical weapons to turn the west against Assad. Israel is still Assad's enemy, that will not change and probably wouldn't have changed even if regime-change had occurred.

By Allen Cone  

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaks Sunday at the opening of the Foreign and Expatriates Minister Conference in Damascus. Photo by Syrian Arab News Agency/EPA

UPI -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday praised his allies, including Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, for helping fight terrorists and Western nations' attempts to topple him.

"Our army is making territorial gains every day, week after week, crushing terrorists and clearing lands occupied by them," the president said during a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the capital Damascus.

"We, in cooperation with friends, will continue to squash terrorists wherever they are."

But shortly later Sunday, a rocket struck close to the entrance of Damascus International Fair, the first time for the event since the conflict broke out in 2011. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said five people had died and about a dozen people were injured in the 10-day fair, which started Thursday. The state-run news agency said there were casualties but gave no further details.

Al-Assad had said allied forces' "direct support -- politically, economically and militarily -- has made possible advances on the battlefield and reduced the losses and burdens of war" and fought back against foreign-backed militancy.

"We have managed to foil the Western project," he said. "West is like a chameleon due to its behavior to fit different situations. The psychological war against the Damascus government has failed to discourage us from fighting terrorism or even frighten us. ... We have fought terror since day one, and we will continue to fight it until there is no terrorist in Syria."

He said Syria is rebuilding its economy despite some Western states' support for terrorism in Syria.

"There will be no security cooperation or opening of embassies or role for some states that say they are looking for a solution until they cut off their ties with terrorism in a clear and unambiguous way," al-Assad said.

The president praised Russia's and China's U.N. Security Council vetoes to block resolutions condemning Syrian forces or imposing sanctions on the country. Since 2015, Russia has also been involved in a military campaign.

He also said Syria welcomes Russian-brokered, regional ceasefire deals, and hopes they are extended in other places in Syria.

"We have an interest in the success of this initiative," al-Assad noted.

The president condemned U.S.-backed so-called "safe zones," which he said would only "give cover to terrorists."

Mt Hermon, Golan Heights

Al-Assad described Turkish Recep President Recep Erdogan as a "political beggar after his support for terrorists was exposed. We don't consider the Turkish side to be a partner nor a guarantor nor do we trust it."

And he said any Turkish soldier on Syrian soil will continue to be considered an attacker.

"The Syrian government and moreover many Syrian civilians will not be quick to forgive Turkey for a role in the Syrian conflict viewed as destructive," al-Assad said. "Because it is now a certainty that the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party will remain in power in Damascus, Turkey will likely eventually have to engage in a thaw with the Syrian government simply because Syria is a neighbor to Turkey, but this road may be long."

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Sunday his country is cooperating in establishing peace in Syria.

"We work together to ensure the ceasefire in Syria. We have a goal to make a lasting truce out of the temporary ceasefire," he said in Ankara before departing for Singapore.

Al-Assad said Syria remains committed to fighting Israeli occupation of Syrian territory and continues to be a perennial supporter of Palestinians.

Syrian territory would mean the western 2/3rds of the Golan Heights, an area which Israel took from Syria when Syria and other Islamic countries attacked Israel in 1967.

Israel’s Next Gaza War will be the Last, Defense Minister Vows

There is no credit given, except for the photo, but I suspect this piece was written by Reuters as it is much too balanced for anything written by RT which I have accused of being antisemitic right on their own website.

The arguments on who's land Palestine is needs some scientific input, I believe, and I think I know how it can be achieved. Hebrew University should join a Palestinian university in a genetic research project. Thousands of random Palestinians and Jews should be asked for DNA samples and have those sample tested for historical heritage.

Palestinians would need to be researched back to 50, 100 and 150 years to determine where previous generations lived; Jews would need to be researched back to 2 and 3 thousand years. 

There would be no need to use names, simply assign each candidate a number based on whether they are Jew or Palestinian. It would be a good idea to separate out Gazans from other Palestinians as I suspect many quite recently moved to Gaza. It was less than 20 years ago, I think, that Gaza was predominantly Christian, but now there are few Christians left on the strip. There may be many explanations for this but migration may be one of them.

There is a school of thought that 'Palestine' was largely devoid of Palestinians just 100 years ago. After WWI Muslims began immigrating to Palestine to fight the British who had overtaken the territory from the Ottomans. Even then the numbers were pitifully small. As a previous post suggests, had there been one million Palestinians in Palestine in 1920, or at the turn of the century, there would be 40 million Palestinians today, not 4 million. Consequently, the numbers must have been much, much less than one million.

It is believed by some that Gazans have their roots in Egypt, and West Bankers in Saudi Arabia, and virtually all have migrated in the past 100 years. Jewish roots go back thousands of years to when Abraham was given the land by God Himself. And, except for 400 years in Egypt, was Jewish settled until the diaspora in the century following the Crucifixion of Christ.

   © Mohammed Salem / Reuters

Stressing that Tel Aviv has “no intention of starting a new war,” Israel's defense minister has vowed to seek the total destruction of Hamas if the militant group – which refuses to recognize the Jewish state – attempts to “impose” a conflict on Israel.

“As minister of defense, I would like to clarify that we have no intention of starting a new war against our neighbors in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, Lebanon, or Syria,” Avigdor Lieberman told Al-Quds daily.

However, he warned the Palestinian Sunni fundamentalist organization Hamas that if a conflict does erupt, Israel will be forced to protect itself.

“But in Gaza, like the Iranians, they intend to eliminate the state of Israel...if they impose the next war on Israel, it will be their last. I would like to emphasize again: It will be their last confrontation because we will completely destroy them.”

The last time Israel fought Hamas was in the seven-week Operation Protective Edge, in which 2,101 people died in the Gaza Strip. According to UN figures, at least 1,460 of those killed in Israeli air raids and ground operations were civilians. Israel lost 64 soldiers in the operation, in addition to seven civilians killed in Israel by rocket attacks.

Remember, Hamas fired rockets into Israel from school grounds, hospitals, and other civilian occupied facilities for the express purpose of drawing Israeli fire which they knew would result in civilian casualties. Hamas sacrificed over a thousand civilians, including children, for the sake of propaganda. They started the offence and then made themselves look like victims. That is typical Islamic terrorist propaganda.

“If Hamas stops digging tunnels, rearming and firing rockets, we will lift the blockade and build the port and airport by ourselves,”

Avigdor Lieberman, Minister of Defense, Israel

Lieberman promised to lift the blockade on Gaza and help rebuild destroyed infrastructure if Hamas ceases its military activities against Israel.

“If Hamas stops digging tunnels, rearming and firing rockets, we will lift the blockade and build the port and airport by ourselves,” he said.

That sounds like an amazing deal! Why doesn't Hamas take them up on it? Why don't they test them on it, even for just a couple years while Israel is rebuilding Gaza's airport and seaport? The answer is obvious - Hamas does not want peace and prosperity for Gazans; they want death for Jews at whatever the cost. Two years of peace with Israel would be terrifying to Hamas - their under-the-table paychecks from Iran would stop, and the people might actually like peace and prosperity rather than the constant stream of hatred shoved down their throats by Hamas.

In response to the defense minister's statements, Hamas leader Fathi Hammad said the movement is “in no way afraid and this is a powerful message from Gaza to Lieberman,” AP reported.

Despite the relative calm between Hamas and Israel, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades – Hamas' military wing which has alleged ties to Iran – continues to carry out regular rocket attacks against southern Israel. While most of the projectiles fall in deserted areas, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continues to retaliate against the attacks, striking Hamas targets in Gaza air raids.

Gaza and the West Bank, which are divided by the Israeli state, comprise of territories claimed by the Palestinians as the State of Palestine. While both territories fall under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, Gaza, unlike the West Bank, has been ruled by Hamas since June 2007, after the group came to power in free elections a year earlier.

'Free elections', right!

While Hamas hinders negotiations of a two-state solution by refusing to recognize Israel, the Palestinian Authority and its Fatah party are pushing for international recognition of the state of Palestine along the 1967 lines.

That is the 'pre-1967 6 day war' lines, 6 days before Israel was attacked on three sides by Muslims trying to annihilate the Jews for the second time in 20 years. Remember, Israel returned the entire Sinai Peninsula, an area twice the size of Israel, to Egypt. They proved that Egypt couldn't attack them from the Sinai, so they had no need of it. But Syria can attack Israel from the Golan Heights, and Jordan from the West Bank, so why would they surrender control over land they won in a war when it makes them much more vulnerable to attack? Have you ever heard of that before?

In his Monday interview, Lieberman said that a two-state solution to the conflict is possible based on land swaps – included in proposals earlier voiced as part of the solution to resolve the decades-old conflict. The defense minister also said he is critical of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

But when asked whether he is ready to negotiate with Hamas, Lieberman responded that there is nothing to discuss.

“I cannot speak with someone who declares every day that he hates me and threatens to destroy the state of Israel and drive us into the sea,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian foreign ministry accused Lieberman of spreading lies in order to continue Israeli occupation and settlements.

What lies is he referring to?

“Lieberman declares himself to be in favor of a two-state solution while taking pride in being a settler and legitimizing the continued building of settlements and the Judaization of the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” the ministry said in a statement, as quoted by Haaretz.

'Taking pride in'? Need I repeat, 'The defense minister also said he is critical of Israeli settlements in the West Bank'!

The ministry also accused Lieberman of “trying to explain away his carrot-and-stick policy with a web of lies that won’t be believed by the Palestinian people.”

Test him on it! Your biggest fear is that they will believe. 

Peace is a nightmare scenario for Jew haters