Commander of Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Visits Al-Tanf Base After Drones’ Attack

Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, meets with leaders from a Syrian opposition faction in the Al-Tanf base. (Free Syrian Army)
Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, meets with leaders from a Syrian opposition faction in the Al-Tanf base. (Free Syrian Army)
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Commander of Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Visits Al-Tanf Base After Drones’ Attack

Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, meets with leaders from a Syrian opposition faction in the Al-Tanf base. (Free Syrian Army)
Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, meets with leaders from a Syrian opposition faction in the Al-Tanf base. (Free Syrian Army)

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) revealed that an official from the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS held talks with leaders from the FSA on military coordination between both sides.

This comes days after a drones-attack that targeted the Al-Tanf base.

The talks held by Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commander of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, reflects “joint efforts to secure a lasting defeat of ISIS and to work towards a better future for the region,” according to a statement issued by the Free Syrian Army.

“The meeting discussed joint cooperation and coordination in military affairs, particularly in training and arming,” added the statement.

Three one-way attack drones targeted the Al-Tanf military base in southeastern Syria, according to a statement issued on January 20 by the US Central Command (CENTCOM).

CENTCOM noted that two of the drones were shot down by Coalition Forces while one struck the compound, injuring two members of an opposition Syrian faction.

The US forces did not accuse any party of the attack, AFP reported.

“Attacks of this kind are unacceptable – they place our troops and our partners at risk,” said Joe Buccino, CENTCOM spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) suggested that the drones belonged to pro-Iranian groups, explaining that the two injured belonged to the Free Syrian Army which is a US-backed opposition faction active in the Al-Tanf area.

The international coalition forces brought a new convoy to the northeast of Syria, coming from Kurdistan-Iraq region through “Al-Waled” border crossing in Al-Hasakah countryside.

The convoy comprises 40 trucks carrying closed wooden boxes, logistic equipment, and fuel tanks, and headed towards the coalition bases in Al-Hasakah, according to SOHR.

The Observatory added that on January 15, the international coalition forces brought in new military reinforcements, including armored vehicles and fuel tankers, via the Al-Walid border crossing towards its military base in Al-Shaddadi town.



Israel to Use Withheld Palestinian Tax Income to Pay Electric Co Debt

Smoke rises from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, during clashes between militants and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Smoke rises from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, during clashes between militants and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israel to Use Withheld Palestinian Tax Income to Pay Electric Co Debt

Smoke rises from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, during clashes between militants and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Smoke rises from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, during clashes between militants and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israel plans to use tax revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to pay the PA's nearly 2 billion shekel ($544 million) debt to state-run Israel Electric Co (IEC), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday.

Israel collects tax on goods that pass through Israel into the occupied West Bank on behalf of the PA and transfers the revenue to Ramallah under a longstanding arrangement between the two sides.

Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered the war in Gaza, Smotrich has withheld sums totaling 800 million shekels earmarked for administration expenses in Gaza.

Those frozen funds are held in Norway and, he said at Sunday's cabinet meeting, would instead be used to pay debt owed to the IEC of 1.9 billion shekels, Reuters reported.

"The procedure was implemented after several anti-Israeli actions and included Norway's unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state," Smotrich told cabinet ministers.

"The PA's debt to IEC resulted in high loans and interest rates, as well as damage to IEC's credit, which were ultimately rolled over to the citizens of Israel."

The Palestinian Finance Ministry said it had agreed for Norway to release a portion of funds from an account held since last January with 1.5 billion shekels, calling money in the account "a punitive measure linked to the government’s financial support for Gaza.”

The ministry said as part of the deal, 767 million shekels of the Norwegian-held funds will pay Israeli fuel companies for weekly fuel purchases over the coming months. A similar amount will be used to settle electricity-related debts owed by Palestinian distribution companies to IEC.

Smotrich has been opposed to sending funds to the PA, which uses the money to pay public sector wages. He accuses the PA of supporting the Oct. 7 attack in Israel led by Hamas, which controlled Gaza. The PA is currently paying 50-60% of salaries.

Israel also deducts funds equal to the total amount of so-called martyr payments, which the PA pays to families of militants and civilians killed or imprisoned by Israeli authorities.

The Palestinian finance ministry said 2.1 billion shekels remain withheld by Israel, bringing the total withheld funds to over 3.6 billion shekels as of 2024.

Israel, it said, began deducting an average of 275 million shekels monthly from its tax revenues in October 2023, equivalent to the government’s monthly allocations for Gaza.

"This has exacerbated the financial crisis, as the government continues to transfer these allocations directly to the accounts of public servants in Gaza," the ministry said.

It added it was working with international partners to secure the release of these funds as soon as possible.