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US Ambassador to Israel Calls for Changing Situation in West Bank

US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides at a conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya. (Reichmann Institute)
US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides at a conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya. (Reichmann Institute)
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US Ambassador to Israel Calls for Changing Situation in West Bank

US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides at a conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya. (Reichmann Institute)
US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides at a conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya. (Reichmann Institute)

US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides warned that the current situation in the West Bank should not continue further, and called on the Israeli government to take action in this regard.

Speaking at a conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya, Nides urged Israeli leaders to support the two-state solution.

“I fundamentally believe that to keep Israel a democratic state, we need a two-state solution. I want to change the situation on the ground to make that possible, to keep that vision alive.”

According to Nides, the escalating tensions in the West Bank are as big of a threat to Israel as Iran and its terror proxies.

“Obviously Iran and its proxies are a fundamental threat, and US President Joe Biden has said we will not stand by and allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.”

“It is important for us not to lose sight of what could happen if the Palestinian situation gets worse, especially in the West Bank,” Nides added.

In remarks during the same event, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warned about the increasing number of shootouts in the West Bank, as well as a wider loss of control by the Palestinian Authority.

“We have entered a sort of closed circle,” Bar said at a counter-terrorism conference at Reichman University in Herzliya.

“Our people are making arrests every night, and are coming under fire,” he added, noting that “the price is also Palestinian casualties.”

Bar said there were over 130 shooting incidents in the West Bank this year so far, compared to 98 in 2021, up 30%.

“We made more than 2,000 arrests and significantly increased the number of arrests of illegal drug dealers,” he said.

Bar, who claimed that the Israeli army’s increased activity in West Bank city centers is a result of the PA’s “weakening grip,” is not the first Israeli official to sound the alarm and call to strengthen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Authority.

According to Bar, the vacuum created by the absence of the Authority's governance is being played out on social media.

Bar stressed that dealing with incitement online is a “new battlefield” for the security organizations.

“The state and the public, especially the youth, remain very, very exposed.”

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After US Exemption, UN Says More Significant Syria Sanctions Work Needed

A general view shows Damascus from Mount Qasioun, after one month since the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view shows Damascus from Mount Qasioun, after one month since the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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After US Exemption, UN Says More Significant Syria Sanctions Work Needed

A general view shows Damascus from Mount Qasioun, after one month since the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view shows Damascus from Mount Qasioun, after one month since the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)

A US sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria is welcome, but "much more significant work ... will inevitably be necessary," the UN special envoy on Syria, Geir Pedersen, told the Security Council on Wednesday.

After 13 years of civil war, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a lightening offensive by opposition forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group a month ago.

The US, Britain, the European Union and others imposed tough sanctions on Syria after a crackdown by Assad on pro-democracy protests in 2011 that spiraled into war. But the new reality in Syria has been further complicated by sanctions on HTS - and some leaders - for its days as an al-Qaeda affiliate.

"I welcome the recent issuance of a new temporary General License by the United States government. But much more significant work in fully addressing sanctions and designations will inevitably be necessary," Pedersen told the council.

The US on Monday issued a sanctions exemption, known as a general license, for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months in an effort to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance and allow some energy transactions.

"The United States welcomes positive messages from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but will ultimately look for progress in actions, not words," deputy US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Camille Shea told the Security Council.

The foreign ministry in Damascus on Wednesday welcomed the US move and called for a full lifting of restrictions to support Syria's recovery.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said earlier on Wednesday that European Union sanctions on Syria that obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid and hinder the country's recovery could be lifted swiftly.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia criticized the sanctions imposed on Syria by Washington and others, adding: "As a result, the Syrian economy is under extreme pressure and is not able to cope with the challenges facing the country." Russia was an Assad ally throughout the war.

'END THE SUFFERING'

Formerly known as Nusra Front, HTS was al-Qaeda's official wing in Syria until breaking ties in 2016. Along with unilateral measures, the group has also been on the UN Security Council al-Qaeda and ISIS sanctions list for more than a decade, subjected to a global assets freeze and arms embargo.

There are no UN sanctions on Syria over the civil war.

Syria's UN Ambassador Koussay Aldahhak was appointed a year ago by Assad's government but told the council on Wednesday that he was speaking for the caretaker authorities.

"It is high time to end the suffering, to enable Syrians to live in security and prosperity, to live a dignified life in their country, to build a better future for their country," Aldahhak said.

"For this reason, we call upon the United Nations and its member states to immediately and fully lift the unilateral coercive measures to provide the necessary financing to meet humanitarian needs and recover basic services," he said.

Pedersen said he is seeking to work with the caretaker authorities in Syria "on how the nascent and important ideas and steps so far articulated and initiated could be developed towards a credible and inclusive political transition."

Pedersen said attacks on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop, specifically calling out Israel.

As Assad's government crumbled towards the end of last year, Israel launched a series of strikes against Syrian military infrastructure and weapons manufacturing sites to prevent them falling into the hands of enemies.

"Reports of the IDF using live ammunition against civilians, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure are also very worrying," Pedersen said. "Such violations, along with Israeli airstrikes in other parts of Syria – reported even last week in Aleppo – could further jeopardize the prospects for an orderly political transition."