(NEWS) 'Assad Said Will Press Hamas To Recognize Israel'

"Swedish FM Bildt tells Beilin Syrian president sincere in desire to jumpstart peace negotiations with Israel.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told former minister Yossi Beilin on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Assad recognizes Israel and is willing to try and influence Hamas in this regard.

During their meeting in Stockholm, Bildt quoted Assad as saying that Syria 'officially recognizes Israel, and this acknowledgment is part of the negotiations between the two countries.'"

(NEWS) US Warns Assad Of Israeli Counter-Strike For Terror Campaign

"The Obama administration has sent Syrian president Bashar Assad a stern warning that he will be held personally accountable and face consequences if Israel and the Palestinian Authority are subjected to a terror campaign - whether by Hizballah or the Palestinian extremist groups based in Damascus, DEBKAfile reports from Washington.



The warning went out Thursday, Sept. 2, as Israelis and Palestinians sat down to talk in Washington in the shadow of threats from extremists sheltering under Syria's wing and after two attacks on the West Bank.

The caution was put in Assad's hands in Damascus by Fredric Hof, adviser to US envoy George Mitchell as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met for the first time under the aegis of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and support of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah.

DEBKAfile's sources do not know exactly what was said at the interview but Saturday, Sept. 4, they confirmed the severity of the US message to the Syrian ruler.

Our military sources report that last week, Syria and Hizballah took joint steps against a possible Israeli strike against the sophisticated rockets which Hizballah is storing for safekeeping at Syrian bases close to the border and holding ready for immediate use. Hizballah militiamen have been visiting those bases to learn how to use the advanced hardware.

Assad is deepening his military partnership with Hizballah and advancing joint preparations for war under Iranian sponsorship. Last Sunday, Aug. 29, he urged Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to stand solidly behind Hizballah when they met in Damascus. The Syrian ruler stressed to Hariri '…the importance of supporting the resistance [a euphemism for terrorism used by radical Arab elements] as the only way to preserve Lebanon's strength and security against regional threats.'

Our sources report that the hands of Assad and the Iran-backed Hizballah are detected in fomenting terror in another part of the Middle East - Iraq, especially in Baghdad." (source)

(NEWS) Syrian President Urges Lebanon To Support Hezbollah

"Assad calls for 'calm and dialogue' in Lebanon; 'Ash-Sharq al-Awsat': Lebanese army to continue receiving military assistance from France despite US-Israeli opposition.

Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus early on Monday, to discuss Syrian-Lebanese ties and to consolidate 'coordination between the two countries in all fields,' Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported Monday.

Hariri has visited Damascus repeatedly this year in a sign of Syria's renewed influence over Lebanon in the years since Damascus withdrew its military in 2005, ending a nearly three-decade hold on Lebanon."

(NEWS) Prominent Critic Of Syria's Assad Turns 80 In Jail

"Human Rights Watch says Syrian president cannot justify keeping Haitham al-Maleh locked up 'for speaking his mind'.

Human Rights Watch has called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to release one of his most outspoken critics, prominent lawyer Haitham al-Maleh who turned 80 in jail on Sunday.

A military court sentenced Maleh to three years in July on charges of 'weakening national morale'."

(NEWS) Israel's Borders Undefended As Turkey Backs New-Old Threats

"Turkey's foreign minister Ahmed Dagutoglu met secretly in Damascus with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal Monday, July 19, as well as getting together with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al Hariri to synchronize their operations against Israel, focusing for now on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

In Israel, meanwhile, the home-made Iron Dome defense system against short- and medium-range missiles was given a showy press after just-completed successful tests - notwithstanding the admission that it would take months before the new system was able to protect the Israeli communities and towns abutting Gaza."

(NEWS) Human Rights Activists Slam Assad

"Human Rights Watch report reviews Syrian president's first decade in power, says he 'has not delivered on promises to increase public freedoms, improve human rights record'

During a decade in power, Syrian President Bashar Assad has not delivered on promises of greater freedoms or rights for his people, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.

Assad 'has not delivered on his promises to increase public freedoms and improve his government's human rights record during a decade in power,' HRW said in a report on the eve of the anniversary of his accession."

(NEWS) Jewish Senator May Mediate Israel-Syria Talks

"President Assad asks Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter to mediate new peace negotiations, Jerusalem officials believe move was spurred by severe US sanctions on Iran. Ayalon: Talks must begin without preconditions.

A covert message was conveyed this weekend from Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon to Syrian President Bashar Assad through US Senator Arlen Specter, Ynet learned Saturday.

The senator landed in Israel and made his way to Damascus. He was invited by Assad in order to attempt to launch negotiations between Damascus and Jerusalem."

(BLOG) Iran Is Keeping A Tight Rein On Nasrallah And Hezbollah

"With aid from Iran, Syria has a factory producing M-600 missiles for Hezbollah. So is Assad really looking for peace?

At an undisclosed site, the Syrians have erected a factory that produces M-600 missiles, capable of hitting almost any target in Israel. According to the French newsletter Intelligence Online, the factory is a joint Iranian-Syrian venture. Iran funded construction of the site, and supplied the assembly line, the technology and the war doctrine. In return, Syria is committed to provide half of the factory's production - that is, half the missiles - to Hezbollah.

A few weeks ago, reports in worldwide media outlets indicated that Syria was smuggling missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon, in clear violation of the UN Security Council resolution that brought about the end of the Second Lebanon War. The reports, apparently leaked by a source inside Israel intelligence, were later confirmed by the Israeli government. In truth, the term "smuggling" is incorrect. Syria transfers the missiles according to its factory agreement with Iran, but tries to hide the weapons supply from Israeli intelligence and the Israel Air Force, which have been closely following these transfers."

(NEWS) Syria Warns Of Mideast instability Amid Israel-Turkey Crisis

"In joint press conference with Spanish PM, President Assad says 'Israeli attacks' real cause of setbacks for regional stability. Zapatero: foreign ministers of Spain, France and Italy to visit Gaza this month to check on Israel's plan to ease blockade.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned Monday that the Israel-Turkey crisis could affect stability in the Middle East and undermine Ankara's role in the region's peace negotiations.

'If the relationship between Turkey and Israel is not renewed it will be very difficult for Turkey to play a role in negotiations' to revive the Middle East peace process, Assad said on an official visit to Spain."

(NEWS) Argentinian President Meets With Assad

"Fernandez calls on Israel to return Golan Heights to Syria.

During the first official visit of a Syrian president to Argentina, the South American nation's leader Friday expressed support for Palestinian statehood and Israeli border security and called on Israel to return the Golan Heights to Syria.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez also swiped at Israel's reliable UN ally, the United States, at a luncheon for Syria's Bashar Assad on Friday."

(NEWS) Chavez To Assad: Israel Will Be ‘Put In Its Place’

"Israel is 'the assassin arm of the United States' and will one day be 'put in its place,' Hugo Chavez told Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Venezuelan president made his remarks Saturday during Assad's visit to the South American country, his first ever, Reuters reported.

Chavez called for the peaceful return of the Golan Heights to Syria; it was captured by Israel in 1967.

'The territory will one day return to Syrian hands,' Chavez said, according to Reuters. 'Of course we want it to be peaceful because we don't want more war.'"

(NEWS) Syria: Israel Raid On Gaza Flotilla Raises Risk Of Mideast War

"In interview with BBC, Assad says Israel being run by a 'pyromaniac government' that makes peace impossible."

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(NEWS) Turkey's Diplomatic Offensive Against Israel Gains Muslim Steam

"Assad: Syria prepared to act against Israel's siege of Gaza; Erdogan: Turkey can give Gaza everything it needs if Israel lifts siege."