US says new Syria government ‘positive step’ but too early for sanctions relief
US says new Syria government ‘positive step’ but too early for sanctions relief/node/2595493/middle-east
US says new Syria government ‘positive step’ but too early for sanctions relief
President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and First Lady Latifa Al-Daroubi greeting Syrian children, who lost their parents during the war, at the People's Palace in Damascus on March 31, 2025, on the first day of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. (AFP)
Short Url
https://arab.news/nvzkn
Updated 31 March 2025
AFP
US says new Syria government ‘positive step’ but too early for sanctions relief
Updated 31 March 2025
AFP
WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday called the formation of a new Syrian government a positive step, but said it would not ease sanctions until it has verified progress on priorities including acting against “terrorism.”
Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Saturday named a new government that is mostly Sunni Muslim, a sharp change following the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, a member of the Alawite minority.
“We recognize the struggles of the Syrian people who have suffered decades under despotic rule and oppression of the Assad regime, and we hope this announcement represents a positive step for an inclusive and representative Syria,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
“However, Syria’s interim authorities should fully renounce and suppress terrorism, exclude foreign terrorist fighters from any official roles (and) prevent Iran and its proxies from exploiting Syrian territory,” Bruce said.
She also called on the interim authorities to “take meaningful steps to verifiably destroy Assad’s chemical weapons, assist in the recovery of US and other citizens who have been disappeared in Syria, and ensure the security and freedoms of Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities.”
On sanctions, “any adjustment to US policy toward Syria’s interim authorities will be contingent on all of those steps being taken,” she said.
The European Union has spoken of moving toward easing some Syria sanctions, while Britain and Canada have already lifted some measures.
Israel kills 34 people in Gaza ahead of UN meeting, where countries will recognize Palestinian state
Palestinians streamed out of Gaza City, though many are unwilling to be uprooted again, too weak to leave or unable to afford the cost of moving
Aid groups warn that forced evacuations in Gaza will worsen the humanitarian crisis
Updated 13 sec ago
AP
CAIRO: Israeli strikes killed at least 34 people in Gaza City overnight, including children, said health officials on Sunday, as Israel presses ahead with its offensive in the famine-stricken city and several countries prepare to recognize a Palestinian state. Health officials at Shifa Hospital, where most of the bodies were brought, said the dead included 14 people killed in a late-night strike Saturday, which hit a residential block in the southern side of the city. Health staff said a nurse who worked at the hospital was among the dead, along with his wife and three children. The latest Israeli operation, which began this week, further escalates a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushes any ceasefire further out of reach. The Israeli military, which says it wants to “destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure” and has urged Palestinians to leave, hasn’t given a timeline for the offensive, but there were indications it could take months. Several countries to recognize a Palestinian State Saturday night’s strikes come as some prominent Western countries prepare to recognize Palestinian statehood at the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. They include the UK, France, Canada, Australia, Malta, Belgium and Luxembourg. Portugal’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it will recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday. Ahead of the UN assembly, peace activists in Israel have hailed the planned recognition of a Palestinian state. On Sunday, a group of more than 60 Jewish and Arab peace and reconciliation organizations, known as It’s Time Coalition, called for an end to the war, the release of the hostages and the recognition of a Palestinian state. “We refuse to live forever by the sword. The UN decision offers a historic opportunity to move from a death trap to life, from an endless messianic war to a future of security and freedom for both peoples,” said the coalition in a video statement. Yet a ceasefire remains elusive. Israeli bombardment over the past 23 months has killed more than 65,000 people in Gaza, destroyed vast areas of the strip, displaced around 90 percent of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine. Israel claims killing a Hamas sniper Israel didn’t respond to the strikes overnight Saturday. In a statement Sunday, the military said it killed Majed Abu Selmiya, who it said was a sniper for Hamas’ military wing and was preparing to carry out more attacks in the Gaza City area, without providing evidence. The alleged militant is the brother of the director of Shifa hospital, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, who called the allegations a lie and said Israel was trying to justify the killing of civilians. Dr. Selmiya told The Associated Press that his brother, 57, suffered from hypertension, diabetes and had vision problems. As the attacks continue, Israel has ordered hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in Gaza City to move south to what it calls a humanitarian zone and opened another corridor south of the city for two days this week to allow more people to evacuate. Palestinians were streaming out of Gaza City by car and on foot, though many are unwilling to be uprooted again, too weak to leave or unable to afford the cost of moving. Along the coastal Wadi Gaza route, those too exhausted to continue stopped to catch their breath and give their children a much-needed break from the difficult journey. Aid groups have warned that forcing thousands of people to evacuate will exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis. They are appealing for a ceasefire so aid can reach those who need it. Families of hostages still held by Hamas are also calling for a ceasefire, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of condemning their loved ones to death by continuing to fight rather than negotiating an end to the war.
Embattled Turkiye opposition holds congress to re-elect leader/node/2616146/middle-east
Embattled Turkiye opposition holds congress to re-elect leader
Turkiye’s main opposition CHP was holding an extraordinary congress to re-elect its leader Sunday as the party fights off a barrage of what critics say are politically-motivated legal challenges
Updated 14 min 37 sec ago
AFP
ANKARA: Turkiye’s main opposition CHP was holding an extraordinary congress to re-elect its leader Sunday as the party fights off a barrage of what critics say are politically-motivated legal challenges.
The move comes as the Republican People’s Party (CHP), seeks to shore up its leadership in the face of a potentially damaging lawsuit seeking to oust Ozgur Ozel as leader.
The lawsuit, which had its second hearing on Monday, aims to overturn the result of CHP’s November 2023 congress which elected Ozel, on grounds of alleged vote rigging.
Taking place in Ankara, the capital, the CHP congress is looking to forge a strategy going forward in a move Ozel has described as “an entirely technical and legal maneuver” to protect the party’s leadership.
At Sunday’s gathering, 911 party members will vote sto re-elect Ozel, who is the only one running, party officials said.
Under his leadership, CHP’s fortunes have improved significantly, with the party winning a huge victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP in the March 2024 local elections.
Since then, the party has been targeted by a wave of arrests and legal cases that peaked in March with the jailing of Istanbul’s popular and powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption allegations that he denies.
The dramatic arrest and jailing of Imamoglu — CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election — sparked an outpouring of protest with Ozel leading huge protests that spread from Istanbul in the worst unrest Turkiye has seen since 2013.
On September 2, a court ousted the leader of CHP’s Istanbul branch, Ozgur Celik, after annulling the outcome of the October 2023, provincial congress that elected him and 195 others.
At the time, political analyst Berk Esen said the move was a “rehearsal” for the bigger case against the overall leadership that was effectively seeking to hobble it as an opposition force.
The next hearing in the CHP case is scheduled for October 24.
CHP’s Istanbul branch will hold its own extraordinary congress on Wednesday to re-elect its leadership.
Jordan partially reopens West Bank crossing after deadly attack
Jordan said it partially reopened its border crossing with the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday, three days after closing it following an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers
Updated 21 September 2025
AFP
AMMAN: Jordan said it partially reopened its border crossing with the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday, three days after closing it following an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers.
“The crossing reopened Sunday for travelers only, while the movement of cargo trucks remains suspended until further notice,” an official statement said.
State broadcaster Al-Mamlaka reported heavy traffic in both directions from early in the morning.
The Allenby crossing is the only gateway Palestinians in the West Bank can use to travel abroad without passing through Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967.
On Thursday, a Jordanian truck driver carrying aid for Gaza opened fire at the crossing, killing an Israeli soldier and a reserve officer with the civil administration before being “neutralized,” according to Israel.
Following the attack, the Israeli military asked Jordan to suspend the transfer of aid through the terminal.
Jordan said it had launched an investigation and identified the assailant as Abdel Mutaleb Al-Qaissi, 57.
It described him as “a civilian who had been working for three months as a driver delivering aid to Gaza,” which the UN says is suffering from a humanitarian crisis after nearly two years of devastating war.
Amman condemned the attack, calling it “a threat to the kingdom’s interests and to its ability to deliver humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.”
Israel army says two projectiles fired from Gaza, intercepts one
It added that the air force brought down one, while the second fell in an open area. No casualties were reported
Updated 21 September 2025
AFP
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said two projectiles were launched from northern Gaza on Sunday, one of which was intercepted while the other landed in southern Israel.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the areas of Lakhish and Ashdod, two projectiles were launched from the northern Gaza Strip,” the military said.
It added that the air force brought down one, while the second fell in an open area. No casualties were reported.
Erdogan says Palestine, US ties and Syria talks on agenda in US trip
Erdogan said he would discuss cooperation on trade and the defense industry with US President Donald Trump
Updated 21 September 2025
Reuters
ANKARA:Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he will raise the subject of Israel’s “massacres” in Gaza at the UN General Assembly and voiced hope that wider recognition of Palestine would speed efforts for a two-state solution.
Speaking to reporters before departing for New York, Erdogan said he would discuss cooperation on trade and the defense industry with US President Donald Trump, and that he would also meet Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa during his trip.
