DAMASCUS: A Syrian-Israeli ministerial meeting is set to take place on Thursday in Baku to discuss security matters in southern Syria, a diplomat told AFP.
The meeting between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer follows a similar meeting between the two ministers in Paris last week.
It will take place after an unprecedented visit by Shaibani to Moscow on Thursday, added the diplomat, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Russia was a key backer of former President Bashar Assad, overthrown in December.
Israel and Syria have technically been at war since 1948.
The meeting in Baku will focus on “the security situation, particularly in southern Syria.”
The Paris meeting focused mainly on “recent security developments and attempts to contain the escalation in southern Syria,” according to Syrian state television.
It came after deadly clashes in southern Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province which killed hundreds of people.
The clashes initially pitted local Druze fighters against Bedouin tribes but soon saw the involvement of Syrian government forces and Israel, with the latter saying it wanted to protect the Druze.
Israel struck the Syrian presidential palace and the army headquarters in Damascus.
The United States, an ally of Israel that has also expressed support for Syria’s authorities, announced a ceasefire between the two sides overnight on July 18.
Before the violence in Sweida, Syrian and Israeli officials had met in Baku on July 12.
Russian bases in Syria
Israel has occupied Syria’s Golan Heights since 1967, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognized by the international community.
The two signed a disengagement agreement a year after the 1973 war, establishing a UN-patrolled buffer zone between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights.
Since the fall of Assad, Israel deployed its troops to the buffer zone and has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria.
Damascus admitted to holding indirect talks with Israel to reduce escalations.
The diplomat said Shaibani will head on Thursday to the Russian capital, where Assad sought refuge, and will meet with Russian officials to discuss several issues, including Russian military bases in Syria, to negotiate “the terms of the bases’ continued existence and operating rights.”
Moscow wishes to keep its naval base in Tartus and its air base in Hmeimim.
It faced heavy criticism for its intervention into Syria’s civil war on Assad’s side in 2015, supporting the government militarily and conducting countless airstrikes on rebel-held areas.
The new authorities in Damascus did not break ties with Russia after taking over, and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus in January.
According to the diplomat, Shaibani’s trip to Moscow will also include talks on “supporting bilateral cooperation and revitalising diplomatic and security relations” between the two countries, as well as discussing “steps regarding internal security and foreign fighters.”
Syrian, Israeli ministers to hold meeting in Baku on Thursday: diplomat
https://arab.news/283e5
Syrian, Israeli ministers to hold meeting in Baku on Thursday: diplomat
- The meeting between Syrian and Israeli ministers follows a similar one between them in Paris last week
- Baku’s meeting will focus on “the security situation, particularly in southern Syria”
Israeli military kills Palestinian teenager in occupied West Bank
- Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty
AL-MUGHAYYIR: Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, while the military said soldiers had responded to stone throwing.
The Ramallah-based Health Ministry announced the death of 14-year-old Mohammed Al-Nassan by Israeli fire in Al-Mughayyir in a statement on Friday.
Shortly after, Israel’s military said its forces had come to the village after Palestinians “hurled stones toward Israelis, set tires on fire and blocked access routes to the area.”
The military said dozens of Palestinians were throwing stones upon their arrival, including one who posed “an imminent threat.”
“The soldiers responded by firing warning shots into the air, followed by fire to eliminate the terrorist,” the military said, adding it had set up roadblocks in the area to search for another suspect.
Amin Abu Aliya, mayor of Al-Mughayyir, said that the army raided the village when people began to exit mosques after Friday prayers.
“This young man (Nassan) was exiting the mosque where he was praying with the people, the military vehicle stopped in front of the mosque, they opened the back door and started shooting at him directly,” Abu Aliya said.
Abu Aliya added that following the incident, the army introduced a curfew for the village, closing all shops and setting up a new checkpoint at the village’s entrance.
He pointed to the heavy military presence in his village in recent months, which he said often protected Israeli settlers who recently set up nearby outposts and took land from Al-Mughayyir farmers.
In September, a settler who the military said was an off-duty soldier shot and killed a 20-year-old who the army said had thrown stones in Al-Mughayyir.
Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Violence there has soared since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war and has not subsided despite the truce that came into effect in October.
Since October 2023, Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Health Ministry figures.
