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Gantz, Abbas Discuss Security Coordination in Phone Call

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raises a picture taken from the “New York Times” during a speech at the UN General Assembly (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raises a picture taken from the “New York Times” during a speech at the UN General Assembly (Reuters)
    Tel Aviv -Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Gantz, Abbas Discuss Security Coordination in Phone Call

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raises a picture taken from the “New York Times” during a speech at the UN General Assembly (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raises a picture taken from the “New York Times” during a speech at the UN General Assembly (Reuters)

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz asked Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to work on restoring security coordination to abort attempts to spread chaos, a Tel Aviv political source revealed on Tuesday.

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Defense Minister Benny Gantz to congratulate him on the Jewish New Year,” the PA news agency WAFA reported.

An Israeli official confirmed the conversation, albeit a short one, and said the two also discussed the security situation in the West Bank and reinforcing security coordination.

Gantz also asked Abbas to work toward stopping the escalation.

According to informed Israeli sources, Gantz seized the opportunity in Abbas’s call to urge the PA head to “restore security coordination between the PA and Tel Aviv to the way it was before,” stressing that it was in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Gantz’s office said that the defense minister discussed with Abbas “the security situation in Judea and Samaria (the Israeli naming of the occupied West Bank territories), and the need to strengthen security coordination to ensure that law and order are upheld.”

It added that Gantz also discussed strengthening of the PA’s control over the West Bank’s Area A, as stipulated by the Oslo Agreement.

For his part, Abbas said that the cause of tension in the occupied Palestinian territories is due to the strict measures that Israel exercises against citizens, ranging from daily mass arrests to encouraging settler militias to carry out attack.

However, Gantz warned that “there is a significant increase in Palestinian terrorist operations against the Israeli army and settlers, and this forces the army to be present in a large way and to pursue organizations to thwart such operations.”

The Israeli source affirmed that although the conversation between Gantz and Abbas was cordial it resembled a “voiceless dialogue.”

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Erdogan Says Türkiye Can ‘Crush’ All Terrorists in Syria

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
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Erdogan Says Türkiye Can ‘Crush’ All Terrorists in Syria

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday that Türkiye had the power and ability to "crush" all terrorists in Syria, including ISIS and Kurdish militants, while urging all countries to "take their hands off" Syria.

Since last month's fall of Bashar al-Assad, Türkiye has said repeatedly it was time for the Kurdish YPG militia to disband. Ankara considers the group, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a terrorist organization.

Ankara has said the new Syrian administration must be given an opportunity to address the YPG presence, but also threatened to mount a new cross-border operation against the militia based in northeast Syria if its demands are not met.

Speaking in parliament, Erdogan said the YPG was the biggest problem in Syria now, and added that the group would not be able to escape its inevitable end unless it lays down its arms.

"Regarding fabricated excuses like ISIS, these have no convincing side anymore," Erdogan said, referring to the US position that the YPG was a key partner against ISIS in Syria and that it plays a vital role guarding prison camps where the extremist militants are kept.

"If there is really a fear of the ISIS threat in Syria and the region, the biggest power that has the will and power to resolve this issue is Türkiye," he said.

"Everyone should take their hands off Syria and we, along with our Syrian siblings, will crush the heads of ISIS, the YPG and other terrorist organizations in a short time."

Türkiye has repeatedly asked its NATO ally the United States to halt support for the SDF, and has said the new administration in Syria had offered to take over the management of the prisons. 

Later on Wednesday , Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara is ready to provide support to the new Syrian administration for the management of ISIS camps in the country.

"As we have always said, we are also ready to provide the necessary assistance to the new administration in the management of ISIS camps and prisons," Fidan said.

Speaking in Ankara following his meeting with his Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Fidan also said diplomatic efforts will continue to ensure the removal of sanctions against Syria.