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Syria’s Sharaa Congratulates Trump, Looks Forward to Improving Relations 

A handout picture released by Syria's transitional government shows the country's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa waiting for the arrival of Spain's foreign minister at the presidential palace in Damascus on January 16, 2025. (Syria's Transitional Government / AFP)
A handout picture released by Syria's transitional government shows the country's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa waiting for the arrival of Spain's foreign minister at the presidential palace in Damascus on January 16, 2025. (Syria's Transitional Government / AFP)
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Syria’s Sharaa Congratulates Trump, Looks Forward to Improving Relations 

A handout picture released by Syria's transitional government shows the country's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa waiting for the arrival of Spain's foreign minister at the presidential palace in Damascus on January 16, 2025. (Syria's Transitional Government / AFP)
A handout picture released by Syria's transitional government shows the country's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa waiting for the arrival of Spain's foreign minister at the presidential palace in Damascus on January 16, 2025. (Syria's Transitional Government / AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa congratulated US President Donald Trump on his inauguration in a statement on Monday, saying he is looking forward to improving relations between the two countries.

"The past decade has brought immense suffering to Syria, with the conflict devastating our nation and destabilizing the region. We are confident that he is the leader to bring peace to the Middle East and restore stability to the region".

The US, Britain, the European Union and others imposed tough sanctions on Syria after a crackdown by ousted President Bashar al-Assad on pro-democracy protests in 2011 that spiraled into civil war.

In early January, Washington issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months in an effort to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance.

Syria welcomed the move, but has urged a complete lifting of sanctions to support its recovery.

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Israeli Military Raids Jenin in West Bank, Four Palestinians Reported Killed 

A child walks past a burnt vehicle in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
A child walks past a burnt vehicle in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Military Raids Jenin in West Bank, Four Palestinians Reported Killed 

A child walks past a burnt vehicle in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
A child walks past a burnt vehicle in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin on January 17, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli security forces launched an operation in the volatile West Bank city of Jenin, killing at least four Palestinians, officials said on Tuesday.
Four Palestinians have been killed and around 35 injured in Israel's military offensive on Jenin, said the health ministry.

The military said soldiers, police and intelligence services had begun a counter-terrorism action in the city, giving no further details.

Prior to the Israeli action, Palestinian security forces had been conducting a weeks-long operation to reassert control in the city and the adjacent refugee camp, a major center of armed groups in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian health services said at least four Palestinians were killed and 35 wounded as the Israeli raid began in Jenin, where an Israeli air strike last week in the refugee camp killed at least three Palestinians and wounded scores more.

The move into Jenin, where the Israeli army has carried out multiple raids and large-scale incursions over recent years, comes only days after the start of a ceasefire in Gaza and underscores the threat of more violence in the West Bank.

Late on Monday, bands of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, smashing cars and burning property, just as newly installed US President Donald Trump announced he was lifting sanctions on violent settlers.

The attack near the village of al-Funduq, in an area where three Israelis were killed in a shooting earlier this month, was the latest in a long sequence of incidents that have accelerated strongly since the start of the war in Gaza.

The military said it had opened an investigation into the incident, which it said involved dozens of Israeli civilians, some in masks.