ANKARA: The foreign ministers of Syria, Turkiye and Jordan, meeting Monday in Ankara, called on Israel to cease attacks on Syria and to withdraw troops from the country.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria since longtime ruler Bashar Assad was ousted in December, often targeting military sites and killing dozens of people.
Israeli officials have also described Syria’s new authorities as jihadists and claimed to defend the country’s Druze minority with a recent spate of attacks.
Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a press conference with his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts that “Israel’s expansionism poses a significant threat to the security, stability and future of Syria.”
“This must come to an end. And we are on the same page about this. Syria needs to be supported to prevent terrorist organizations from settling in this region,” Fidan added, noting that Syria shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Turkiye.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani told the joint press conference that “our borders are constantly violated by Israeli attacks.”
The Israeli strikes are “calculated escalations aimed at destabilising Syria and dragging the region into a new cycle of conflict,” Shaibani said, decrying “systematic violations of international law and explicit provocations.”
He called on the international community to put Israel under “increased pressure” to halt the bombings.
Jordan’s top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, said attacks on Syrian soil “will not bring security to Israel and will bring nothing to Syria except ruin and destruction.”
Syria and neighbors urge Israel to stop bombings
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Syria and neighbors urge Israel to stop bombings
- Syrian FM Asaad Al-Shaibani told the joint press conference that “our borders are constantly violated by Israeli attacks”
UN chief condemns Israeli law blocking electricity, water for UNRWA facilities
- The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, a UN spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the move would “further impede” the agency’s ability to operate and carry out activities.
“The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), its property and assets, and to its officials and other personnel. Property used by UNRWA is inviolable,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said while adding that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the world body.
UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini also condemned the move, saying that it was part of an ongoing “ systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” the role it plays in providing assistance to Palestinian refugees.
In 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.
As a result, UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers territory occupied by Israel. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be part of the country.
The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded, with its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.
The prohibition of basic utilities to the UN agency came as Israel also suspended of dozens of international non-governmental organizations working in Gaza due to a failure to meet new rules to vet those groups.
In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said on Tuesday such a move would have a severe impact on the access of essential services, including health care. They said one in three health care facilities in Gaza would close if international NGO operations stopped.
