Just to register the fact that there are Christians in the Israel Occupied Territories.
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Yes, also the territories are divided into area’s A, B, and C. A is run by the PLA, B is split, civil run by the PLA and security run by Israel, and C which is completely Israel.
God yes, someone whap me on the nose with a rolled up newspaper if I start posting on that stuff here again.
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I had a screenshot of the google news summary of articles on the region that must not be named deleted.
And rightly so.
Eh. Probably also because of a little editorialising on my part. Maybe more than a little.
And also it was 3am.
And also I was very drunk.
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I’ll leave it at this, no more said.
Summary
TLDR; They need another buffer zone for their new buffer zone (which is a buffer zone for their first buffer zone.)
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Up to an hour ago I had never heard of the Druze. I am now an expert in the Druze and ready to engage in assinging blame and guilt. Who wants to help me resolve centuries of conflict and war by arguing about it on the internet? I think we can make a difference.
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Here’s a decent run down on what has happened:
#Syria’s SW province of #Suwayda has seen 5 days of chaotic, complex conflict now – but as with previous bouts of hostilities in recent months, the information space has been plagued by disinformation, conflicting information & fast-changing developments.
What’s happened, a 
:
Late on July 11, Bedouin gunmen ambushed a vegetable truck on the #Damascus-#Suwayda highway, beating the driver & stealing the truck & its contents.
The next day, #Druze gunmen kidnapped 8 Bedouins as retaliation, triggering Bedouin gunmen to kidnap 5 #Druze in response.
July 12 saw a flurry of tit-for-tat kidnappings, amid attempts by local notables to negotiate a calm-down.
Tensions & conflict between Bedouin clans & #Druze militia in #Suwayda dates back years – tied to the drugs & weapons trade, control of smuggling routes & land ownership.
On July 13, negotiations broke down & armed conflict erupted in #Suwayda between Bedouin clans & #Druze militias – in western rural #Suwayda & in the provincial capital itself.
#Druze villages were being shelled & #Bedouin areas besieged – ~30 killed & ~100 injured in 24hrs.
On July 14, after attempting to mediate talks, #Syria’s transitional gov’t intervened, deploying military & interior ministry forces into #Suwayda to “enforce order” and put an end to internal fighting
Until this point, the gov’t had no forces in #Suwadya, per prior agreements.
As #Syria gov’t forces entered #Suwayda, they were ambushed by #Druze militiamen – 10 soldiers were rounded up, executed & used for celebratory photos and 8 other soldiers were taken hostage, stripped & marched to a nearby village in their underwear.
They’re believed dead now.
Intense fighting then ensued, as gov’t forces sought to advance into #Suwayda. #Druze militia shelled the Bedouin district of al-Maqous, killing a child (a photo of which became subject to anti-Sunni mockery online) & shelled into eastern #Daraa, targeting Sunni Arab villages.
As fighting raged on July 14, #Israel began drone strikes in #Suwayda – 1st targeting #Syria military armored vehicles, then pick-up trucks of interior ministry forces.
While while negotiations continued, fighting persisted into July 15, as #Israel airstrikes expanded.
~Midday on July 15, a ceasefire was announced by #Suwayda’s #Druze, #Christian & civil council leaders, who invited gov’t forces in to secure order – see here.
~30mins later, one #Druze cleric, Hikmat al-Hijri rejected the ceasefire & ordered fighting. #Israel strikes resumed. 
Following Hikmat al-Hijri’s abrogation of the ceasefire, #Israel’s strikes expanded into #Suwayda city, where #Syria gov’t forces were ambushed in 9 separate locations, near-simultaneously.
By end of July 15, there were 118 confirmed casualties (since July 12): 
The breakdown of the July 15 ceasefire saw violence surge in #Suwayda – with multiple reports of extrajudicial killings & other violations by gov’t forces.
US mediation with #Israel & #Damascus also began & despite a request to cease strikes, #Israel continued unchanged.
While other #Druze gunmen have been involved, the core resistance to gov’t authority is Hikmat al-Hijri’s “#Suwayda Military Council”, which was established 24hrs after #Assad’s fall & whose leadership contains 3 former #Assad regime generals.
The SMC is #Israel’s partner force.
The #Suwayda Military Council is also assessed – by regional intelligence – to retain core control of #Syria’s #Assad-era drugs trade (in #captagon, heroin, crystal meth & hashish).
As it happens, #Jordan’s military fought x2 drug smuggling raids from #Suwayda late on July 15.
I met Hikmat al-Hijri in February & he made his hostility to #Syria’s transition clear, calling them “takfiri terrorists” & implying an openness to “external protection” (i.e. #Israel).
I asked some aligned fighters about #captagon trade & they disregarded the Q altogether.
Fighting continued into today (July 16), with intensifying #Israel strikes but #Syria gov’t forces continuing to advance – holding #Suwayda city & taking #Qanawat, home to Hijri’s HQ compound.
At this point, #Israel hit #Syria’s Defense Ministry in #Damascus, twice, killing 3. 
After hitting central #Damascus (including outside the Presidential Palace), #Israel also launched strikes on multiple #Syria military bases, while continuing intensive strikes in #Suwayda.
Then came ceasefire No. 2, announced by #Druze leaders & #Damascus. A summary, here: 
However, for a 2nd time in 24hrs, Hikmat al-Hijri announced his rejection of the ceasefire deal agreed by all other #Suwayda #Druze leaders & called on his fighters to continue fighting.
Minutes later, #Israel strikes resumed – hitting gov’t forces all across #Suwayda.
Hijri’s rejection of the ceasefire triggered an outcry among other #Druze leaders, with Sheikh Yousef al-Jarbou accusing Hijri of illegitimately seeking to monopolize #Druze leadership.
Another, Laith al-Balous, accused “subversive elements” (Hijri) of endangering #Suwayda. 
As of now, US mediation appears to have achieved the 3rd ceasefire deal in 36hrs – seemingly framed by the same parameters as the first 2 rejected by Hikmat al-Hijri.
At the core: #Syria gov’t military forces withdraw & interior ministry/local internal security take control.
The unsaid implication of this US-mediated deal is that #Suwayda will integrate into #Syria’s transitional state – with the interior ministry in partial command of local internal #Druze security forces.
This would imply a significant loss of influence for Hikmat al-Hijri.
All of this – including 100s of casualties & a surge in sectarian hatred – should have been unnecessary.
A comprehensive deal was agreed 48hrs ago, but Hikmat al-Hijri’s rejection & #Israel’s intervention poured gallons of fuel onto a tinderbox.
Finally, a warning on disinformation.
In the past 3hrs alone, there’s been reports of (1) a massacre in a hospital; (2) claims of “thousands” executed, including by carving out hearts; & (3) the burning alive of dozens of women/children.
All seemingly fictitious. Be careful.
According to data from #Syria’s 2 most long-standing monitors, 6-8% of confirmed casualties in #Suwayda since July 12 have been women & children & combatants constitute 76-84%.
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My personal take is that this is complex and violence has been happening for a very long time. Israel didn’t do anything to prevent the Assad regime from killing hundreds of thousands. Now that a fragile government has a small chance of stabilising Syria, Israel has started to blow up government buildings. This has the potential to collapse the emerging Syrian government, creating more problems and violence in the region. These actions are counterproductive to Israel’s long term interests and have the potential to create more enemies in the region.
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I get your point, I too believe Andor should have helped the Druze more in their liberation efforts but he got tied up on Arrakis. My views are hardly relevant though and it’s hard to keep track of sects let alone emotions in check.
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Fits.
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Thank Yəhōwā, that someone one here actually is an expert. Now we can in comradeship solve the problems of the World.
Do you know anything about Footy ?
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I don’t know, but continuing to invade and bomb Syria has to be a good start.
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The civilian Alawites aren’t safe. A few of them were massacred not so long ago.
Collective punishment.
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Not really.
I knew that McGrath was ■■■■ before most people.
And we should have drafted Fejo instead of Nick Martin and his weak knee.
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Guarantees have been given to the UN that crossings into Syria will remain open for 6 months. However, bushfires in the north and conflicts elsewhere have restricted the delivery of UN organised humanitarian aid. The humanitarian crisis in Syria has been described as one of the worst, in terms of the length and numbers affected.
By whom and which crossings? Syria is bordered by Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel.
The Syrian regime will keep the Syrian side of the crossings open.
For those who want to be informed on the humanitarian situation in Syria ( and elsewhere) there are M-F briefings in the Noon briefings by the Spox for the UNSG. WFP and other specialised agencies also provide information on their social media accounts.
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White House Spox said that Trump did not react positively to the Israeli strike on a Catholic Church in Gaza which injured the Priest ( who had previously been phoned daily by Pope Francis.). Bibi later issued a statement that a stray munition had struck the Church and that he regretted the incident.
The UNSG called for for transparency in the Syrian Government investigations in the violence in Syria.
He condemned Israel’s escalation with its air strikes, which he described as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, referring to a 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement and a 2015 UNSC Resolution on orderly transition of governing…
Rubbio called the incident a misunderstanding.
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Coldplay concert was spicy
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