Turkey Continues Afrin Operation amid US Call for Restraint

Smoke rises from the Syria's Afrin region, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Hassa. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the Syria's Afrin region, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Hassa. (Reuters)
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Turkey Continues Afrin Operation amid US Call for Restraint

Smoke rises from the Syria's Afrin region, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Hassa. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the Syria's Afrin region, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Hassa. (Reuters)

Turkey continued on Tuesday its military operation against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin in northern Syria, while Washington called on Ankara to exercise restraint.

The Kurdish-led authorities in the area meanwhile called for mass mobilization in defense of Afrin against Turkey’s offensive.

“The will of the people cannot be vanquished,” the civilian administration said in a statement. “We call on all our noble people to defend Afrin and its pride, and to contribute in all related activities.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that fierce battles had taken place in Afrin on the fourth day of the offensive.

Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch has been criticized by the United States and European Union that interpreted it as Ankara opening a new front in the Syrian conflict.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged Turkey to exercise restraint in its military operations.

“We seriously take Turkey’s security valid concerns… but in the Afrin area, we had actually gotten to the point where humanitarian aid was flowing, refugees were coming back in ... The Turkish incursion disrupts that effort,” he said.

Qatar meanwhile voiced its support for the Turkish offensive, saying that it is aimed at defending its national security.

"The state of Qatar reaffirmed its support for the efforts of the republic of Turkey to maintain its national security in the wake of the breaches and terrorist attacks carried out inside Turkish territories," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Lolwa Al-Khater said on Monday.

It also stems from its concern to protect Syrian territories from the threat of separatism.

Turkey views the YPG as a terror group and an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has long fought for autonomy.

The Observatory said that since the beginning of the offensive some 60 YPG and Ankara-backed Syrian opposition faction members have been killed.



Netanyahu Asks US to Broker Israel-Syria Negotiations

US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
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Netanyahu Asks US to Broker Israel-Syria Negotiations

US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US envoy Tom Barrack he is interested in negotiating with the new Syrian government, with the US serving as mediator, two Israeli officials told Axios on Wednesday.

“Netanyahu is interested in negotiating an updated security deal and working up towards a full peace agreement,” according to a senior Israeli official.

“When Barrack met Netanyahu last week, the Israeli prime minister told him he wants to use the momentum from the Trump-al-Sharaa meeting to start US-mediated negotiations with Syria,” an Israeli official said.

A senior Israel official also told Axios that Netanyahu's goal is to try and reach a set of agreements, starting with an updated security deal based on the 1974 disengagement of forces agreement, with modifications, and ending with a peace deal between the countries.

The prime minister believes Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's aspiration to build close ties with the Trump administration create a diplomatic opportunity. “We want to try and move towards normalization with Syria as soon as possible,” the official said.

According to the official, Barrack told the Israelis that al-Sharaa is open to discussing new agreements with Israel.

After his visit to Israel, Barrack traveled to Washington and briefed Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A US official said the Israelis presented to Barrack their “red lines” on Syria: No Turkish military bases in the country, no renewed Iranian and Hezbollah presence and the demilitarization of southern Syria.

The Israelis told Barrack they will keep their forces in Syria until a new agreement is signed that includes the demilitarization of southern Syria, an Israeli official said.

The official added that in a new future border deal with Syria, Israel wants to add US forces to the UN force that was previously stationed on the border.

In a related development, the Israeli forces on Wednesday seized one vehicle and arrested three workers employed by Al-Quneitra city council. The forces had advanced into Al-Qahtaniyah village in Syria’s southern countryside of the governorate, deploying within residential neighborhoods and firing guns into the air.

The Syrian TV reported that the deployment coincided with loudspeaker announcements calling on residents to stay in their homes.

Last Sunday, the Israeli forces destroyed an agricultural land near the border in the southern countryside of Quneitra and confiscated a flock of sheep.

Earlier, the Israeli forces had carried out airstrikes in southern Syria, saying it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel.

Israeli shelling also targeted agricultural areas in the Wadi Yarmouk region.

Residents described increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli incursions into villages, where they have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops.