Syria's al Sharaa/ Jolani and Kurds Make Peace in Cease Fire

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                

By The Associated Press

Syria's government recently announced a major ceasefire and integration deal with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) following intense fighting, effectively ending Kurdish autonomy in northeastern Syria and bringing those areas, including oil fields, under government control, with SDF forces slated for integration into the Syrian army, though some clashes persist as the deal's details are finalized. There had been so much fighting coming out of Syria with SDF, Kurds, Israel, Syrian army, Iranian terrorists,  that it must

 have been a mess to follow.

In early 2026, Israel's "fight" in Syria involves significant military actions, including frequent airstrikes targeting Iranian-linked forces and expanded occupation in the south following the Assad regime's fall in late 2024, alongside efforts to support Druze communities and counter threats from post-regime instability, conflicting with new Syrian government and Kurdish (SDF) forces in a complex, evolving regional dynamic, as seen in intense Aleppo clashes and border tensions. 

How Israel was involved was: Intensified Air Campaign: Israel has dramatically increased airstrikes, primarily targeting Iranian military infrastructure and operatives, nearly tripling the rate from previous years.

Other ways they were involved was:  

• Expanded Southern Presence: Israeli forces have occupied territory deeper into southern Syria (Daraa/Sweida) and are fostering ties with local Druze communities, positioning them as a buffer against jihadist threats.
• Response to Power Vacuum: Israel aims to prevent anti-Israeli militias from establishing themselves in southern Syria after the Assad regime's collapse, notes J Street and Israel Policy Forum.
• Support for Druze: Israel is actively supporting Syrian Druze populations, leveraging familial ties and protecting them from attacks by the new Syrian government, according to J Street and Israel Policy Forum.
• Security Negotiations: Secret talks are reportedly underway between Israel and Syria to update the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, notes Wikipedia and Al Jazeera. 

The 1974 Syrian-Israeli Disengagement Agreement, signed in Geneva on May 31, 1974, ended hostilities from the 1973 Yom Kippur War, establishing a UN-monitored buffer zone (Area of Separation) on the Golan Heights, limiting military forces, and creating a demilitarized zone, all based on UN Resolution 338, though it wasn't a peace treaty but a step towards one, leading to decades of relative calm until recent escalations after the Syrian government's fall. 

Resource:

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/18/nx-s1-5681406/syrian-government

-ceasefire-kurdish-syrian-democratic-forces

Hezbollah Terrorists In The Mix Ignoring To Disarm

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                                                                                                

Israel carried out major strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon yesterday, sending a clear message that if Lebanon doesn't fulfill its agreement to disarm Hezbollah, Israel will find a way to do it. The U.S. appears to be fully supportive of Israel's strikes. If Hezbollah can't be disarmed, can Hamas? 

Somehow in all of this happening, Lebanon does have a government of sorts: New this year is: Joseph Khalil Aoun born 10 January 1964)age 61,  is a Lebanese politician and army general who has served as the 14th president of Lebanon since 9 January 2025. He has previously served as the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and is the fifth commander elected president.  He is from a family of  Maronite Christians.                                                    

• Prime Minister: Nawaf Salam was appointed as Prime Minister by President Aoun on January 14, 2025, and his government was officially formed on February 8, 2025.
•  During the Lebanese Civil War, outgoing president Amine Gemayel dismissed incumbent prime minister Selim Hoss and appointed Army general-in-chief Michel Aoun as prime minister 15 minutes before the expiry of his term. Hoss refused his dismissal, and this led to the creation of a dual government: a mainly civilian and Muslim government in West Beirut and a mainly military and Christian one in East Beirut..
The current leader of Hezbollah is Naim Qassem, who succeeded the late Hassan Nasrallah after Nasrallah was killed in a September 2024and was their new leader in late October 2024. 



Naim's whereabouts are unclear, however some reports suggest he has fled to Iran, which is Hezbollah’s main supporter.  He was born in Beirut in 1953 to a family from Lebanon's south, so he's 72.  

 Qassem, a founding member of the group, was previously the deputy secretary-general for over 30 years and is seen as a figure of continuity for the organization. 

                 Hezbollah threatening Trump and Jerusalem

Hezbollah insists it will only consider disarming if several conditions are met, primarily the: 

1. complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from all Lebanese territory, 

• Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territories: This includes the five strategic border points that Israel still holds.

2. a halt to all Israeli attacks  

• A complete cessation of Israeli military operations: Hezbollah demands that Israel fully comply with the November 2024 ceasefire agreement and stop its ongoing airstrikes and other "aggressions" in Lebanon.

3. the release of Hezbollah-linked prisoners by Israel.

• Release of Lebanese prisoners: The group has called for the establishment of a mechanism to secure the release of all its linked detainees held by Israel.
• Hezbollah's weak and shallow reply to the demands they promised to follow and are now reneiging on it is:
• Hezbollah views its weapons as a critical element of national defense against future Israeli aggression and argues that any call for disarmament while Israel remains on Lebanese soil serves Israel's interests. The group's leaders have stated they will not discuss their arsenal until their conditions are met and have warned of potential civil strife if the Lebanese government attempts to force disarmament unilaterally. In other words, they refuse to give up their arms.
• Hezbollah is a different ball of wax, in a different class than  
• Hamas.                        Trump has:
• Pressed the Lebanese state to disarm Hezbollah and assert sovereignty, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
• Provided U.S. assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces to help them take control of internal security and eventually manage all arms in the country.
• Imposed sanctions to cut off funding to the group.
• Reportedly softened the language in his new Gaza plan from "disarming" to "decommissioning" of militant groups, a move that ssome Israeli officials fear could allow groups like Hezbollah to regroup. 

President Trump seems to think so, but it's not clear how that will happen.So, here it is:

Donald Trump's recent stance on handling Hezbollah emphasizes the goal of disarming the group and views them as a significant threat to Israel. 

Key points regarding his position:

• Disarmament and Resolution 1701: Recent reports indicate that Trump's plan includes a call for the full disarmament of Hezbollah. This aligns with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the cessation of hostilities and for Hezbollah to withdraw from south of the Litani River. A recent ceasefire agreement reportedly established a timeline for Lebanon to achieve this disarmament.(Instead, it included provisions for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to be the sole armed force in the area south of the Litani River and for Israel to withdraw from the five occupied points in Lebanon within 60 days. However, the Lebanese government, under U.S. pressure and in a separate decision in August and September 2025, approved an internal plan for the LAF to work toward a state monopoly on all weapons in the country with the target of achieving this by the end  2025. )  Unbelievable, it can never happen!  Nice, but pie in the sky!  Who's falling for this?  
• Support for Lebanese Military: The Trump administration has previously approved significant funding (around $230 million) for Lebanon's security forces with the stated goal of helping them disarm the powerful armed group. The United States is providing $230 million in security assistance to Lebanon's security forces to support the effort to disarm the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. The funding, which was approved by the U.S. administration in early October 2025, includes: $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)  $40 million for the Internal Security Forces (ISF) 
• "Very Smart" Comment and Criticism: In October 2023, Trump drew criticism, including from the White House and other Republican figures, for calling the Iran-backed militant group "very smart" in a campaign speech while discussing a potential second front in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Critics labeled the comment "dangerous and unhinged" and "absurd," emphasizing that Hezbollah are "terrorists".
• Sanctions: During his presidency, the Trump administration actively pursued a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran and its proxies, including imposing numerous sanctions on individuals and entities linked to Hezbollah's financial networks in Lebanon and across Africa.
• Zero Tolerance for Threats: The current proposed approach suggests a zero-tolerance policy for threats to Israel's security, with the expectation that Hezbollah will not be allowed to regain strength.

Southern Israel Hit With Rocket Attacks Six Times in 2015

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                     

Rockets from Gaza into Southern Israel

Israel's Operation Protective Edge started July 8,  2014,  came to an end on August 26, 2014. It had lasted for 1 month 2 weeks 4 days.   Hamas fired some rockets from Lebanon.
  
4,594 rockets and mortars had been launched towards Israel.  Gaza and Israel had an unoffical cease-fire.

A cease-fire  lasted for  6 months.  Then in February 2015 , the Palestinians fired one rocket into Israel.  

On April 23, Israel's 67th Independence Day (May 14, 1948 birth), a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel.  It hit an open field in the Sha'ar HaNegev region near Sderot causing no injuries or damage.  Evidently the Arabs knew Israel was using their Hebrew calendar for this event.  

In May, Palestinians fired one rocket into Israel.  It was on May 27th when an M-75 or Grad missile impacted in Gan Yavne, a city east of Ashdod.  No report of injuries or damage were noted.  

This month, the 4th of June-Wednesday Israel time at about 11:00pm, Ashkelon and Netivot's sirens sounded because 3 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel and exploded near those cities.  2 landed in Sdot Negev Regional Council area and 1 near Ashkelon.  No casualties or damage were reported.  

This time, after 6 rockets had been shot into their land this year,  the IDF retaliated the next morning with airstrikes against empty Hamas training camps in Gaza.  Then the Palestinians complained to Egypt that Israel was hitting them!  

The Times of Israel reported: that "a Hamas source told Israel Radio that the rockets may have been fired by a cell of Salafist extremists allied with the Islamic State in retaliation for one of its members being killed by Hamas on Tuesday. The source said that Hamas was deploying its troops across the Gaza Strip to keep the peace."

So here we have fighting in Gaza over supremacy; Hamas and Salafist IS terrorists.  At this time, Obama is claiming that Israel really doesn't want peace, and it's Israel who is the victim of terrorism and their associated bombing!   I think that all Obama is concerned with is filling in his list of Things to Do during his 2nd term in office, regardless of what's going on.  
                                                                            

Ashkelon is constantly in danger from bombing.  In the early 1950s, many South African Jews settled in Ashkelon, establishing the Afridar neighbourhood. They were followed by an influx of immigrants from the United Kingdom.  In 2011 the city had a population of 117,400.  it holds an important hospital for the area that serves both Arabs and Jews.  

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2015
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/rockets-fired-gaza-southern-israel-150603230355923.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/world/middleeast/gaza-militants-fire-rockets-into-israel.html?_r=0
http://rt.com/news/264769-gaza-explosions-israel-missiles/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/rocket-sirens-sound-in-southern-israel-2/
http://www.jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/item/more_gaza_rockets_more_gaza_fears-Excellent opinion article
http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/30418/report-hamas-military-wing-fired-rockets-israel-lebanon-summer-war-middle-east/
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/rockets2011.html
http://htl.li/NUIUV?fb_ref=Default&fb_source=message

Hamas Blames Israel for Defending Itself From Rockets-tells Egypt to stop Israel.  

15 Rockets Fired After Cease Fire

Nadene Goldfoot

The Popular Resistance Committee of Gazan terrorists were resisting the cease fire order from Hamas on Monday because several of their senior members were killed in the last retaliating volley from Israel.  They know the outcome of their attacks:  when they fire into Israel, Israel will retaliate from the air.  This airstrike got the rocket launching devise.  Israel does not aim for people, but sites where the firing comes from in trying to stop it.  They have hit tunnels and such as well.

Israel's new Iron Dome protection capability was able to stop 4 out of 5 rockets fired, but that last one that got into Israel hit a young Israeli man, Yossi Shushan,  and killed him.  Another rocket was heading for Ashkelon but the Iron Dome stopped it. 4 of the 15 rockets landed in the Sderot vicinity and in the outskirts of Ashkelon.   A building was hit in this new volley.  The terrorists have resorted to firing a volley of many rockets like 7 in order to get some through the Iron Dome.  This is stopping quite a few of them.  Israel plans on procuring a few more Iron Domes by next year.  They have the capability to stop rockets fired into heavier populations so as not to waste them. 

Egypt did not recall their ambassador to Israel as they had threatened when several of their soldiers were killed in the shootout between the IDF and the terrorists in the first volley.  It took a lot of counseling to calm things down. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/gaza-rocket-fire-persists-despite-truce-israeli-aircraft-retaliate/2011/08/22/gIQA578gVJ_story.html

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=234914

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-defense-sources-gaza-terror-groups-changing-tactics-to-avoid-iron-dome-system-1.379914

UPDATE:  Cease Fire Brokered - 3 Days of Violence

Nadene Goldfoot

Diplomats in Jerusalem and Cairo from the USA, France and Germany worked on a cease fire between the Gazan Hamas terrorists and Israel after 3 days of an escalated  total of 100 rockets  fired into southern Israel.  The PA were using violence to bolster their case for statehood, they said.  They want to control the borders.  I suppose they want a clear shot without bothering to be chased  by the Israeli border patrol.  Egypt brokered the agreement.  They had been ready to cease all agreements with Israel as well after 3 of their soldiers were killed when they were in the line of fire.  It has been soundly emphasized that Israel will only stop its airstrikes if the terrorists stop firing these missles, etc.  What can happen now is that this interim time will only give the terrorists a chance to reload.  That's what has happened in the past. 

Early Sunday morning Israel time, which is about 12 hours ahead of Portland, OR found a missile had hit an Israeli school that was empty and that thousands of people had to spend their time in bomb shelters.  The distance missiles and mortars can travel today is much farther than 5 years ago.  More towns and cities are in jeopardy. 

Interestingly, Iran was reported to oppose statehood for Palestine.  Their comments are always that of demolishing Israel completely.  I suppose they plan on doing something devastating and then the Arabs can have the whole area for themselves.  This is the Middle East.  It is hard to figure on the rational used by both Hamas and Fatah as well as Iran in this case.  It reminds me of the old joke:  An alligator met a scorpion who wanted to get on the other side of the river so asked for a piggy-back ride and the alligator agreed.  In the middle of the river the scorpion bit the alligator and both went down.  "Why did you do that for?  Now we'll both die!" lamented the alligator.  "I don't know why, hissed the scorpion.  I'm just a Middle East scorpion.  Go figure!"

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/08/21/gaza-militants-keep-up-rocket-fire-on-israel/

Cease Fire Ends:What's Next?

The so called Cease Fire ended Thursday or Friday of last week. Actually, the Palestinian terrorists, Hamas, never stopped firing rockets at Israel. Now that the Egyptian aided agreement is over, Israel is informing the nations that "they will not hesitate to react militarily if necessary" to protects its citizens.

I say that it is about time that Israel takes this stand. Sderot has been fired upon thousands of times, and Ashkelon has also been hit. Israel is trying to inform the world that the situation in southern Israel is intolerable. Hundreds of thousands of citizens are under rocket fire. The do- nothing approach is now over. If the international community does not intervene, Israel will have to act. Israel is ready for a major offensive against Gaza which has been ruled by the Hamas terrorists since June of last year.

In February Israel will have elections for Prime Minister. Both Tzipi Livni and Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to oust the Islamist terrorists, sworn to destroy the Jewish state of Israel. Livni, a Kadima Party member, has been on the present government's cabinet. Netanyahu is from the Likud party, which is the opposition.

Since Friday, violence has escalated. Hamas announced that it would not renew the six-month truce with Israel which was brought about by months of Egyptian mediation. It never became a truce. Hamas continued to fire upon Israel during the whole time. Israel's cabinet sat back and did little to protect Southern Israel. The only thing they did was to tighten its blockade of Gaza and was able to halt deliveries of supplies.

The problems had worsened in 2006 when Gilat was kidnapped by Hamas after winning in the elections. They committed a deadly cross-border raid when they captured him. Gilat is either now dead or remains a hostage.

This time before elections has been said to be a bad time to launch a major offensive. Politically, there is fear that they might fail in a victory against Hamas. They might also be accused of trying to just get votes. However, the time now is necessary as Hamas is threatening more provocations, like human walking bombs.

Resource: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081222/wl_afp/mideastconflictgaza_081222094233/print

The Ceasefire That Never Was

Sderot After an Attack

Nadene Goldfoot
On June 25, 2006, Gilad Shalit was kidnapped, and Israel has been hoping to get him back ever since. He was a soldier near the Gaza border that was stationed there, and was probably kidnapped from the terrorists who had been building tunnels nearby.

Six months ago the Palestinians and Israelis signed a ceasefire agreement that has not been upheld by the Palestinians at all. Sderot and the surrounding areas have been constantly shelled, including Ashkelon, Portland, Oregon's sister city which lies north of Sderot and contains the only hospital that serves both Israelis and Palestinians in the area.

This constant shelling has caused Israel to at least close the Gaza crossings in order to punish the Palestinians for their constant shelling bombardment. They in turn blame the closings for their reason to constantly shell Israel. The ceasefire has only tied Israel's hands in trying to get to the actual terrorists who are shelling them because they are trying to uphold the agreement. Israel said they would open the crossings if the attackers could go for 24 hours without shelling Israel with rockets. On Thursday of this week 11 rockets and 5 mortar shells were fired at Israel. Three Israelis were wounded. The IDF were able to destroy their rocket factory, though.

The ceasefire was finished on Friday, though shellings were going on against Israel all this week. The new attack included sniper fire which came an hour after the usual Kassam rockets. Farmers in Israel were attacked at Kibbutz Ner Oz for the first time and had to be rescued by the IDF. Their vehicle was hit but the people were unharmed.

Hamas is in control in the Gaza territory and make little sense to me other than their main goal is to attack and destroy Israel, and they do not care what happens to the citizens there under their control. Hamas knows that Israel closes the coastal strip because of the shelling, but they cry that Israel is creating a life-threatening siege on its people.

Hamas also declared in the Oregonian that Israel is striking Palestinian militants in the West Bank (Judea/Samaria), and they also use that as an excuse for shelling Israel. How can they wonder about striking militants who are trying to kill civilians in Israel?   People who attack Israel must be stopped. This situation puts Israel in the middle between two Palestinian terrorist groups; one on the east and one on the west. Israel must be alert all the time.

Reference: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128931

Oregonian Newspaper page A17: Israelis fear renewal of rockets while blockade shackles Gazans