US Lawmakers Accuse Syrian Regime of Undermining Regional Security

The US Department of State. Reuters
The US Department of State. Reuters
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US Lawmakers Accuse Syrian Regime of Undermining Regional Security

The US Department of State. Reuters
The US Department of State. Reuters

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers have introduced the “Assad Anti-Normalization Act” bill that seeks to hold the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his supporters accountable for their crimes against the Syrian people and deter normalization with the regime.

“Assad, and his Russian and Iranian backers, continue to commit horrific acts against the Syrian people and undermine regional security,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul, who submitted the bill, said in a statement on Thursday.

“They must be held accountable for these crimes, not welcomed back unconditionally by the international community.”

The bill bars the US government from recognizing any Syrian government under Assad or normalizing ties with him.

If passed, the legislation would require a five-year annual strategy to counter normalization with the Assad regime. It would also prohibit any federal government agencies from recognizing Assad or normalizing with him.

The legislation will require an immediate review of Caesar Act sanctions for any grants of $50k or more to Syria and a report into the United Nations assistance that has gone to Syria which has gone to the benefit of the Assad regime.

The bill moves to expand the Caesar Act to include sanctions against the members of Syria’s People’s Assembly and their immediate family members, as well as those who provide them with support, along with senior officials of the Arab Socialist Baath Party in Syria.

It further determined Asma al-Assad’s charity the “Syria Trust for Development.”

The legislation would also pave the way for sanctions to be imposed on airports that allow landings by Syrian Arab Airlines.

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel declined to comment on pending legislation. But he said Washington has been very clear it does not seek to normalize relations with Assad's government and would not support its allies and other partners doing so either.

The introduction of the bill came after Syria’s readmission to the Arab League, which had suspended Syria’s membership in 2011. It also coincides with Turkish-Syrian talks to normalize ties between Damascus and Ankara.

In this context, the foreign ministers of Türkiye and Syria agreed on Wednesday in a meeting in Moscow - which is the first since 2011 – on putting a roadmap that aims to normalize ties between both countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the Syrian minister, Faisal Al-Mikdad, the Turkish minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, their Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and Iran’s Hossein Amirabdollahian, had asked their deputies to “devise a roadmap to strengthen relations between Türkiye and Syria, in coordination between the ministries of defense and intelligence in the four countries.”

The statement added that this decision was taken during a meeting in Moscow that was held in a “positive and constructive atmosphere.”

According to the Russian Foreign Minister, this map will allow Damascus and Ankara to “clearly define their positions on issues of priority to them” with the aim of “recovering the Syrian government’s control over the entire territory of the country and to firmly guarantee the security of the border with Türkiye,” which is 900 kilometers long.

“It is also important to note the restoration of logistical ties that were severed between the two neighboring countries and the resumption of economic cooperation without any obstacles,” Lavrov added.



Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive as Negotiators Try to Hammer out Deal

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive as Negotiators Try to Hammer out Deal

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Negotiators were trying to hammer out the final details of a complex, phased ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar aiming to end a conflict that has inflicted widespread death and destruction and upended the Middle East.

More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fueled optimism. Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever.

But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.

During months of on-off talks to achieve a truce in the devastating 15-month-old war, both sides have previously said they were close to a ceasefire only to hit last-minute obstacles. The broad outlines of the current deal have been in place since mid-2024.

If successful, the planned phased ceasefire could halt fighting that has decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced most of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million and is still killing dozens of people a day.

That in turn could ease tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has fueled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between Israel and Iran.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 46,700 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave.

Palestinians were once again hoping the latest talks would deliver some relief from Israeli airstrikes, and ease a humanitarian crisis.

"We are waiting for the ceasefire and the truce. May God complete it for us in goodness, bless us with peace, and allow us to return to our homes," said Amal Saleh, 54, a Gazan displaced by the war.

"Even if the schools are bombed, destroyed, and ruined, we just want to know that we are finally living in peace."

Under the plan, Israel would recover around 100 remaining hostages and bodies from among those captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that precipitated the war. In return it would free Palestinian detainees.

The latest draft is complicated and sensitive. Under its terms, the first steps would feature a six-week initial ceasefire.

The plan also includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza.

The deal would also require Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages along with other steps.

The draft stipulates negotiations over a second phase of the agreement to begin by the 16th day of phase one. Phase two includes the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers.

Even if the warring sides agree to the deal on the table, that agreement still needs further negotiation before there is a final ceasefire and the release of all the hostages

If it all goes smoothly, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still need to agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, a massive task involving security guarantees for Israel and billions of dollars in investment for rebuilding.

ISRAELI ATTACKS

Despite the efforts to reach a ceasefire, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency and the air force attacked about 50 targets throughout Gaza over the last 24 hours, Shin Bet and the military said in a statement on Wednesday.

Israeli strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians across the enclave. Those included seven people who were in a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, and six others killed in separate airstrikes on houses in Deir Al-Balah, Bureij camp and Rafah, medics said.

Families of hostages in Israel were caught between hope and despair.

"We can't miss this moment. This is the last moment; we can save them," said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted.

Israel says 98 hostages are being held in Gaza, about half of whom are believed to be alive. They include Israelis and non-Israelis. Of the total, 94 were seized in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and four have been held in Gaza since 2014.