Russia Continues Media Campaign against US in Syria

A Russian armored vehicle on the Aleppo-Lattakia road on May 12, 2020 (AFP)
A Russian armored vehicle on the Aleppo-Lattakia road on May 12, 2020 (AFP)
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Russia Continues Media Campaign against US in Syria

A Russian armored vehicle on the Aleppo-Lattakia road on May 12, 2020 (AFP)
A Russian armored vehicle on the Aleppo-Lattakia road on May 12, 2020 (AFP)

Moscow is pushing forward with its political and media campaign against US actions in Syria. This push coincided with escalating tensions between Russia and the West in Ukraine.

Lieutenant-General Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, Deputy Head of the Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff, denounced the US unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on Syria, adding that these sanctions deteriorated standards of living in the country.

He told TASS that the US sanctions imposed on Syria through the Caesar Act had intimidated many companies, including Russian companies.

The Russian General indicated that the companies refuse even to enter profitable projects in Syria for fear of US sanctions.

Moreover, Russia revealed information about the intention of US intelligence to exploit sleeper terrorist cells in Syria to carry out attacks against the Syrian Army, Russia, and Iran.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in a statement that the Russian forces in Syria has information about US intelligence plans to mobilize sleeping extremists in Syria to carry out attacks against the Syrian Army and the Russian and Iranian military personnel.

He added that the Russian forces in Syria are taking appropriate measures to deal with any possible incidents of this kind.

The Russian Defense Ministry had warned in a statement that “leaders of armed groups in Syria are planning to launch attacks in four provinces, namely, Homs, Damascus, Daraa and As-Suwayda.”

Oleg Zhuravlev, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said that available intelligence shows that leaders of covert gangs are planning vandalism operations against civilian and public institutions in the four provinces.

In a relevant context, Zhuravlev stressed that the activities of the US occupation forces in Syria continue to negatively affect the situation in the country, as security conditions remain critical in areas where armed militias which they support are deployed.

“The last three days have witnessed ten terrorist attacks and subversive operations in those areas, killing 18 people and wounding 25 others,” Zhuravlev said.



Israel Plans Major Settlement Push Across Occupied West Bank

A photograph taken from a land corridor that Israel plans to use for its controversial E1 settlement project, near the Arab town of al-Tur in Israel-annexed east Jerusalem, shows camels belonging to Bedouins gathered on a hill overlooking the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim (background) on May 31, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
A photograph taken from a land corridor that Israel plans to use for its controversial E1 settlement project, near the Arab town of al-Tur in Israel-annexed east Jerusalem, shows camels belonging to Bedouins gathered on a hill overlooking the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim (background) on May 31, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
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Israel Plans Major Settlement Push Across Occupied West Bank

A photograph taken from a land corridor that Israel plans to use for its controversial E1 settlement project, near the Arab town of al-Tur in Israel-annexed east Jerusalem, shows camels belonging to Bedouins gathered on a hill overlooking the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim (background) on May 31, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
A photograph taken from a land corridor that Israel plans to use for its controversial E1 settlement project, near the Arab town of al-Tur in Israel-annexed east Jerusalem, shows camels belonging to Bedouins gathered on a hill overlooking the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim (background) on May 31, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Israel's hardline finance minister announced on Wednesday a major expansion by more than 2,000 homes of three Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank that Palestinians hope will be part of a future independent state.

Most nations consider Israeli settlements there to be illegal under international law and a major obstacle to a two-state solution for long-term peace.

Bezalel Smotrich, who holds authority over parts of Israel's civilian administration in the West Bank, said a planning committee approved the construction of 2,162 new Jewish homes.

They include 1,006 units in a new settlement near Jerusalem, 922 near the Palestinian city of Nablus and 234 near ⁠Hebron.

"We are continuing ⁠to build the Land of Israel in practice," said Smotrich, an ultranationalist sanctioned by Britain, France and others who accuse him of inciting violence against Palestinians.

Smotrich has denounced the sanctions against him, saying the measures would not change Israeli policy.

The new homes would "strengthen our hold on the land, reinforce Israel's security, and establish clear facts on the ground that prevent the creation of an Arab terror state ⁠in the heart of the country," Smotrich said in a statement, without specifying when construction would begin.

Since becoming a minister three years ago, Smotrich has sought to tighten Israel's control and presence in the West Bank while advocating against the idea of a Palestinian state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government has overseen the significant expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the establishment of new settlements.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state that includes East Jerusalem and Gaza. Around half a million Israelis live in the West Bank among about 3 million Palestinians.

US President Donald Trump's administration has been ⁠far less critical of ⁠the fast-expanding Israeli settlements.

However, Trump did say last September that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, angering some right-wing Israeli lawmakers.

Condemning Wednesday's announcement, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office warned that Israel's "provocative" policies were pushing the region towards more rounds of violence and called on the US to stop the Israeli "madness.”

Smotrich on May 19 said he would wage "war" on the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited civic rule in the West Bank, after he said he was told the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor had sought a confidential arrest warrant against him. The ICC has not confirmed that.


UNIFIL Peacekeeper Killed in South Lebanon

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy maneuvers within southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border in the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 02 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy maneuvers within southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border in the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 02 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
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UNIFIL Peacekeeper Killed in South Lebanon

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy maneuvers within southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border in the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 02 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy maneuvers within southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border in the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 02 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Thursday that a peacekeeper was killed and two others wounded when shelling hit their base in the country's south the previous night.

"A UNIFIL peacekeeper died early this morning from critical injuries sustained when mortar shells struck his position," a statement from the force said, adding that an investigation had been launched.

The peacekeeper was Serbian, the country's defense ministry confirmed on Thursday, specifying that he died from injuries caused by a missile strike on the UN base.

"Senior Sergeant Milovan Jovanovic was given emergency medical care at a hospital inside the base after being wounded and then transported by helicopter to the University Medical Center in Beirut, where he died," the statement said.
 

 


Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Deal: Complete Cessation of Hezbollah Attacks, Creation of Pilot Zones

(L/R) Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
(L/R) Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
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Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Deal: Complete Cessation of Hezbollah Attacks, Creation of Pilot Zones

(L/R) Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
(L/R) Israel's Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)

Israel and Lebanon on Wednesday agreed to a new ceasefire following talks mediated by the United States. Under the agreement, Hezbollah is to stop all attacks on Israel and withdraw its fighters from the area south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

In a joint statement, the US, Israel and Lebanon said “the ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector.”

Israel and Lebanon agreed with US guidance “to swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones” in which the Lebanese army “will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.”

“These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement,” the statement said, adding that both sides “rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.”

Hezbollah has yet to comment on the ceasefire. Before it was announced, the group said it had conducted two drone and rocket attacks on Israeli troops inside Lebanon that it said took place just after midnight local time on Wednesday.

In their statement, “Israel and Lebanon reaffirmed that they have no hostile intent toward one another and committed to continuing direct negotiations to build confidence, resolve all outstanding issues, and work toward a comprehensive agreement between the two countries.”

The US reaffirmed that any agreement to cease hostilities must be reached directly between the two governments, brokered by Washington, and not through any separate track.

As for Israel, it said that its security and respect for its territorial integrity can only be achieved through Hezbollah’s disarmament and the dismantlement of its infrastructure across Lebanon.

In the statement, “Lebanon reaffirmed the necessity for mutual respect of internationally recognized borders, the urgent need for full implementation of the cessation of hostilities, underscoring the principles of territorial integrity and full state sovereignty.”

It stressed commitment to enhancing the capacity of the Lebanese army, with US support, to assert effective control across the country.