May 17, 2013

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on May 17, 2013

Ditto

By Steve Greenberg
Published on May 15, 2013

Editorial cartoon

Russia’s Putin warns against aggravating Syria crisis

Published on May 14, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday it was important to avoid actions that might aggravate Syria's civil war, a veiled warning against foreign military intervention or arming anti-government forces.

Syria warns Israel it could enter Golan

Published on May 13, 2013

A Syrian government official warned that his country can enter the Israeli-held Golan Heights at any time.

May 10, 2013

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on May 10, 2013

Assad: Syrian army can handle Israel

Published on May 8, 2013

Syria's army is ready to deal with Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad told an Iranian official on Syrian state television.

Few options for Syria’s Assad to strike back after Israeli raids

Published on May 6, 2013

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has few good options for military retaliation after Israel's air strikes over the weekend but the attacks could redouble support from his regional allies Iran and Hezbollah.

Russia, China express alarm after Israel hits Syria

Published on May 6, 2013

Russia and China expressed alarm on Monday over the regional repercussions of two Israeli air raids on Syria, while Israel played down strikes which its officials said targeted Iranian missiles bound for Lebanese Hezbollah militants.

Israel to Assad: Air strikes did not aim to help Syria rebels

Published on May 6, 2013

Israel sought to persuade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday that its recent air strikes around Damascus did not aim to weaken him in the face of a more than two-year-old rebellion.

Israel strikes Syria, says its targeting Hezbollah arms

Published on May 5, 2013

Israeli jets devastated Syrian targets near Damascus on Sunday in a heavy overnight air raid that Western and Israeli officials called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah.

White House: Evidence Syria used chemical arms not ‘airtight’

Published on April 26, 2013

The White House said on Friday it was continuing to study evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons and would not set a timetable for corroborating reports.

White House: U.S. intelligence community believes Syria used chemical weapons

Published on April 26, 2013

The U.S. intelligence community believes Syria used chemical weapons on anti-government rebels.

Is Obama in Trouble Because of Israel (Again)?

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on April 23, 2013

Israeli intelligence: Syria used chemical weapons

Published on April 23, 2013

Syrian forces have used chemical weapons against rebel forces and civilians, the head of Israel's military research said.

Historic Damascus synagogue looted and burned

Published on March 31, 2013

The 2,000-year-old Jobar Synagogue in the Syrian capital of Damascus was looted and burned to the ground.

Israeli general: Israel could withstand Syrian chemical weapons

Published on March 29, 2013

Israel could withstand any attack involving Syrian chemical weapons, an Israeli general said on Friday, adding it was improbable that Damascus would order such a strike.

Syrian rebels take towns near ceasefire line with Israel

Published on March 21, 2013

Syrian rebels have overrun several towns near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the past 24 hours, rebels and a monitoring group said on Thursday, fuelling tensions in the sensitive military zone.

With Islamic groups replacing traditional foes, Israel faces long-term instability on its borders

Published on March 19, 2013

Three weeks ago, militants in Gaza landed a rocket near the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

U.N. curbs Golan patrols after peacekeepers seized, diplomats say

Published on March 14, 2013

U.N. peacekeepers monitoring the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights have scaled back patrols after rebels detained 21 Filipino observers for three days last week, diplomats said on Thursday.

Syrian video shows Filipino peacekeepers in “safe place”

Published on March 7, 2013

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights released a video on Thursday purporting to show six Filipino peacekeepers from a United Nations convoy detained in the south of the country on Wednesday.

Syrian rebels say they’ve seized U.N. convoy near Golan Heights [VIDEO]

Published on March 6, 2013

Syrian rebels say they have seized a convoy of United Nations observers near the Golan Heights, according to videos posted on the Internet site YouTube on Wednesday by a violence monitoring group.A young man saying he was from the "Martyrs of Yarmouk" brigade said the convoy would not be released until forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad withdrew from the village of Jamla, a mile east of the ceasefire line with the Israeli-occupied Golan.

Assad threatens to retaliate against Israel as shells land on Golan

Published on March 3, 2013

Syrian President Bashar Assad said that his country would retaliate against Israel for a January air strike on a weapons facility near Damascus, a day after mortar shells fired from Syria landed in northern Israel.

Croatia to quit UN Golan force after reports of arms shipments

Published on February 28, 2013

Croatia will pull its soldiers out of the U.N. peace force in the Golan Heights as a precautionary step, the government said on Thursday, after media reports that Croatian arms were being sent to Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey-Israel: The Status Quo is the Better Alternative

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on February 11, 2013

Iran says Israel will regret Syria air strike

Published on February 4, 2013

Iran told Israel on Monday it would regret its air strike against Syria last week, without spelling out whether Iran or its ally planned any military response.

Syria warns of ‘surprise’ response to Israel attack

Published on January 31, 2013

Syria warned on Thursday of a possible "surprise" response to Israel's attack on its territory and Russia condemned the air strike as an unprovoked violation of international law.

Report: Israel attacks target in Syria

Published on January 30, 2013

Israel reportedly attacked a target inside Syria.

Syria may hold uranium stash, Western and Israeli experts say

Published on January 11, 2013

Western and Israeli security experts suspect Syria may have tonnes of unenriched uranium in storage and that any such stockpile could potentially be of interest to its ally Iran for use in Tehran's own disputed nuclear program.

Israel hits Syrian artillery that fired on Golan

Published on November 12, 2012

Israel's army fired tank shells into Syria on Monday and scored "direct hits" in response to a Syrian mortar shell that struck the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said in a statement.

Catch-2012

Published on September 5, 2012

The Syrian army loyal to Bashar Assad recently retook Daraya, a suburb of Damascus. Daraya had been in the hands of the rebels. The Syrian armed forces came in with tanks and armored personnel carriers. As troops advanced on foot, the fighters of the rebel Free Syrian Army withdrew. The retaking of Daraya by Assad’s army was the culmination of three days of helicopter gunship attacks that took a huge toll on the rebel army.

Russia tells Syria Chemical Arms Threat Unacceptable

Published on July 25, 2012

Russia has told the Syrian government clearly that it is unacceptable to threaten to use chemical weapons, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday in its strongest condemnation of a recent warning by a Syrian official.

Assad chemical weapons plans blocked by Moscow

Published on July 24, 2012

Increasingly under pressure by rebels intent on unseating him, Bashar al-Assad has considered using chemical weapons against his enemies but Washington and Moscow have formed an unlikely alliance to force him to abandon such plans.

Israel: Syria Government Still in Control of Chemical Weapons

Published on July 24, 2012

The Syrian government is still in full control of its chemical weapons stockpiles, a senior Israeli defense official said on Tuesday.

Spate of attacks kills 107 across Iraq

Published on July 23, 2012

At least 107 people were killed in bomb and gun attacks in Iraq on Monday, a day after 20 died in explosions, in a coordinated surge of violence against mostly Shi'ite Muslim targets.

Death, grief in Syrian village, U.S. cries “murder”

Published on July 13, 2012

Graphic scenes of grief and death in a Syrian village bore witness on Friday to a massacre President Bashar al-Assad's opponents say was the work of his troops and militia allies, drawing words of outrage from the outside world.

Putin, under fire backing Assad, to visit Israel

Published on June 13, 2012

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to visit Israel, Israel's Foreign Ministry announced.

Israel accuses Syria of genocide, urges intervention

Published on June 10, 2012

A senior Israeli minister on Sunday made the Jewish state's most explicit call yet for military intervention to topple President Bashar al-Assad and accused him of committing genocide to suppress the 15-month-old uprising against his rule.

Timeline: Violence in Syria

Published on June 1, 2012

Following is a timeline of events in Syria since protests began.

United Nations: Syrian forces face prosecution for Houla

Published on June 1, 2012

Syrian forces and pro-government militia accused of committing a massacre in Houla could face prosecution for crimes against humanity, the United Nations said on Friday and rights experts said Syrian authorities had directly ordered torture.

Report: Roadside bomb kills 10 Syrian security personnel near Golan

Published on April 20, 2012

The United Nations hopes to get permission from the Syrian government in coming days to send more aid workers to the country to help at least one million people in need of urgent assistance, a top U.N. humanitarian official said on Friday.

Homs shelled as Syria demands ‘neutral’ U.N. mission

Published on April 18, 2012

Syria challenged the United Nations chief over the size and scope of a U.N. truce monitoring mission on Wednesday, resisting a larger presence as its army shelled targets in the city of Homs in violation of the ceasefire.

West pushes U.N. Syria vote despite Russian criticism

Published on April 13, 2012

Western powers brushed aside Russian criticism of a U.S.-drafted Security Council resolution authorizing an advance team of U.N. observers to monitor Syria's fragile ceasefire and said on Friday they hoped to put it to a vote this weekend.

Call for Friday protests is first test of Syria truce

Published on April 12, 2012

Syrian opposition activists called mass protests for Friday to test a fragile, day-old ceasefire by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, and international pressure mounted for Damascus to fully comply with a U.N.-backed peace plan.

U.N. chief ‘deplores’ Syria border clashes

Published on April 9, 2012

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday he deplores the cross-border shootings from Syria into Turkey and Lebanon ahead of a ceasefire deadline in the yearlong conflict that has pushed Syria to the brink of civil war.

Iran backs Annan’s Syria peace plan

Published on March 28, 2012

Iran backs a U.N.-sponsored peace plan for Syria that calls for the withdrawal of troops that are crushing an uprising but does not demand the removal of Tehran ally President Bashar al-Assad, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.

EU slaps sanctions on Assad’s family; mortars hit Homs

Published on March 23, 2012

The European Union slapped sanctions on the mother, sister and influential wife of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, increasing pressure on Syria to halt its bloody crackdown against a year-long uprising.

Syria storms out of U.N. rights meeting

Published on February 28, 2012

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva stormed out of the U.N. Human Rights Council Tuesday after demanding angrily that countries stop "inciting sectarianism and providing arms" to opposition forces in his country.

Syria approves new constitution amid bloodshed

Published on February 27, 2012

Syrian artillery pounded rebel-held areas of Homs as President Bashar al-Assad's government announced that voters had overwhelmingly approved a new constitution in a referendum derided as a sham by his critics at home and abroad.

Bombings, bombardments kill across Syria

Published on February 10, 2012

At least 28 people were killed in two bomb attacks in Syria's second city Aleppo on Friday while in besieged Homs, opposition neighbourhoods endured another day of bombardment by President Bashar al-Assad's troops.

Is Hamas trying to change its stripes?

Published on February 7, 2012

Is Hamas trying to change its stripes? Terrorist attacks against Israelis appear to be on pause, and rocket fire from Gaza is down significantly.

Must Read, January 12, 2012

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on January 12, 2012

Israel prepares for fall of Assad, Syria refugees

Published on January 10, 2012

Israel is making preparations for the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a flood of refugees from his minority Alawite sect into the Golan Heights, Israel's military chief told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.

Editorial cartoon: Adding insult to injury

By Steve Greenberg
Published on November 30, 2011

Editorial cartoon

Is Syria next?

By Steve Greenberg
Published on November 2, 2011

Editorial cartoon

Syria: Deal reached with Arab League on unrest

Published on November 1, 2011

Syria said on Tuesday it had reached a deal with an Arab League committee tasked with finding a way to end seven months of unrest and starting a dialogue between President Bashar al-Assad and his opponents.

The Arab Spring and Iraq

Published on October 26, 2011

The Arab Spring, as a moniker for the revolution that seemed about to sweep the Middle East earlier this year, has given way to far less cheerful seasonal metaphors — from long, hot summer to dark, dismal winter. In Egypt, where “people power” toppled Hosni Mubarak’s corrupt dictatorship, the dream of freedom has morphed into a nightmare of mob violence and military crackdown. In other countries whose dictators have been more willing to use extreme savagery to hold on to power, the opposition is getting slaughtered — except for Libya, where Western intervention has made the difference.

Opinion: Is Assad next?

By Douglas M. Bloomfield
Published on October 25, 2011

Bashar Assad must have felt a chill when he saw the pictures of Muamar Gadhafi’s final moments and knowing that Syrian crowds were chanting, “Assad is next.”

Opinion: Don’t confuse Assad and Gadhafi

Published on August 31, 2011

Think kiwis and kumquats. While it is true that they are both fruits, the similarities between them end right about there. So, too, the similarities between Libya and Syria.

Syrian protesters chant “Bye Gadhafi, Bashar next”

Published on August 25, 2011

Syrian protesters chanted "Bye, bye Gadhafi, Bashar your turn is coming" overnight, but President Bashar al-Assad showed few signs of cracking after months of demonstrations and his forces raided an eastern tribal region again on Thursday.

Heroes of the Arab Spring

By Rob Eshman
Published on August 24, 2011

A journalist with family in Syria told me there’s a joke going around that country these days.