Jordan’s King Rejects Any Israeli Plan to Occupy Parts of Gaza

 A tank maneuvers, as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 13, 2023. (Reuters)
A tank maneuvers, as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 13, 2023. (Reuters)
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Jordan’s King Rejects Any Israeli Plan to Occupy Parts of Gaza

 A tank maneuvers, as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 13, 2023. (Reuters)
A tank maneuvers, as seen from Southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 13, 2023. (Reuters)

Jordan's King Abdullah rejected any plans by Israel to occupy parts of Gaza or to create security zones within the enclave, saying the root cause of the crisis was Israel's denial of Palestinians' "legitimate rights", state media said on Monday.

In comments he made at the royal palace, the king was quoted as telling senior politicians that there could be "no military or security solution" to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

He said the war-ravaged enclave of Gaza should not be severed by Israel from the other Palestinian Territories.

The monarch told the politicians that the "root of the crisis was Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and its denial of Palestinians legitimate rights".

"The solution starts from there and any other path is doomed to failure and more of a cycle of violence and destruction," he said.

King Abdullah said he had long warned about Israeli violations in the West Bank, with which Jordan shares a border, and Jewish settler attacks on Palestinian civilians could "expand the conflict and push the region "to the abyss".

Jordan is home to a large population of Palestinian refugees and their descendants who fear that Israel could expel Palestinians en masse from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian inhabitants have surged since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

King Abdullah said this month the only path to permanent peace was revived negotiations on an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

US-brokered negotiations towards a "two-state solution" of Palestinian independence in Israeli-occupied territories have been frozen for almost a decade.



Iran Strengthens its Militias in Syria

 A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iran Strengthens its Militias in Syria

 A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)

Iran has increased its diplomatic and military efforts in Syria in response to Israeli escalation and threats to cut off the Tehran-Damascus corridor.

This includes strengthening Iranian-backed militias, which have stepped up attacks on US-led coalition bases and the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

These groups are also fighting ISIS in the Syrian desert.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday that Iran-backed groups launched 89 attacks on US bases in Syria in 2024, using drones and rockets from both Syria and Iraq.

In turn, US forces have upgraded their base defenses, including air defense systems, to intercept drones before they reach their targets.

At the same time, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is expanding its training camps for militias, especially the Iraqi Harakat al-Nujaba, in Syria’s southeastern Homs desert.

Reinforcements from the Zainabiyoun and Fatemiyoun brigades, totaling about 225 fighters, recently arrived in the eastern Deir Ezzor province through the al-Hari border crossing. The fighters are stationed in Al-Boukamal and Mayadeen under IRGC command.

Local sources said Iran is working to strengthen its military presence in the region.

On Monday evening, ISIS launched an attack on Iranian-backed militias in the desert near Tadmur, east of Homs.

Syria's Al-Watan newspaper reported that on Monday, government forces and allied troops fought fierce battles with ISIS cells in the eastern Homs desert.

A military source said the clashes killed several ISIS fighters and destroyed their vehicles, which were armed with heavy machine guns.

The militants had attempted to cross from areas controlled by US forces in the 55-kilometer zone to target military positions near the town of al-Taybah in eastern Homs.