US remains committed to Syria, will not withdraw its forces to prevent Daesh resurgence, Ethan Goldrich tells Asharq Al-Awsat

US remains committed to Syria, will not withdraw its forces to prevent Daesh resurgence, Ethan Goldrich tells Asharq Al-Awsat
Ethan Goldrich, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. (Reuters file photo)
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Updated 05 September 2024
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US remains committed to Syria, will not withdraw its forces to prevent Daesh resurgence, Ethan Goldrich tells Asharq Al-Awsat

US remains committed to Syria, will not withdraw its forces to prevent Daesh resurgence, Ethan Goldrich tells Asharq Al-Awsat

DUBAI: The US remains committed to its partnership with local forces in Syria to prevent Daesh’s resurgence and does not plan to withdraw from the country’s northeast region anytime soon, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs has said.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ethan Goldrich said: “I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.”

“So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging,” Goldrich said.

The official said that while there have been a lot of accomplishments since taking on the post three years ago, there was still a “lot that we have left to do.”

“At the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries,” he said.

“At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn’t be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under Resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we’ve seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we’ve helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in Al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.”

Goldrich also said that the US remains committed in its humanitarian role for Syria, noting the $593 million Washington has pledged during a fundraising conference in Brussels recently.

“Since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there’s been suffering there.”

“We’re doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there’s a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance,” he added.

Goldrich also reiterated the US’s position regarding President Bashar Assad – with some countries signaling a possible reopening of ties with the Syrian regime – that “we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there’s been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of Resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve.”

“We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don’t support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they’re doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.”

“The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it’s possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that’s where it has to start,” he added.

If there is one thing that Goldrich wants to happen in Syria, he said that it was “to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened... and we’re trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people.”

“I’d like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I’d like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn’t been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that’s because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation.”

“The Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life,” Goldrich said.


Jordanian authorities arrest three individuals attempting to enter country

Jordanian authorities arrest three individuals attempting to enter country
Updated 26 sec ago
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Jordanian authorities arrest three individuals attempting to enter country

Jordanian authorities arrest three individuals attempting to enter country
  • Jordan has consistently faced challenges related to illegal infiltration and smuggling, particularly of narcotics
  • Jordan shares a border of 482 km with Israel and a border of 375 km with Syria

LONDON: Jordanian authorities announced that they thwarted an infiltration attempt on Thursday along the country’s extensive borders.

The Northern Military Zone, which is responsible for monitoring the borders with Syria and Israel, announced on Thursday that three individuals were detected attempting to cross the border illegally before being arrested. They have been handed over to the relevant authorities for further investigation.

The Jordanian Armed Forces announced its commitment to preventing all forms of infiltration and smuggling, ensuring the security and stability of the Kingdom, according to the Petra news agency.

Jordan shares a border of 482 km with Israel and a border of 375 km with Syria. The country has consistently faced challenges related to illegal infiltration and smuggling, particularly of narcotics, using both traditional methods and new techniques, such as drones.

Last week, the Northern Military Zone thwarted an infiltration attempt by four individuals who were attempting to illegally cross the border into Jordan from the north.


Egypt’s foreign minister discusses Iran nuclear negotiations, Gaza with US envoy

Egypt’s foreign minister discusses Iran nuclear negotiations, Gaza with US envoy
Updated 12 June 2025
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Egypt’s foreign minister discusses Iran nuclear negotiations, Gaza with US envoy

Egypt’s foreign minister discusses Iran nuclear negotiations, Gaza with US envoy
  • Badr Abdelatty says US-Iran negotiations are an important opportunity to achieve calm in the region
  • Oman to host sixth round of negotiations between Iran and the US on Sunday

LONDON: Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s minister of foreign affairs, emphasized the need to persist in negotiations between the US and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program during a phone call with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Abdelatty said the negotiations are an important opportunity to achieve calm, avoid escalation, and prevent the region from sliding into greater instability, WAM, the Emirates News Agency, reported.

Oman will host the sixth round of negotiations between Iran and the US on Sunday, Oman’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

Abdelatty and Witkoff, the US president’s special envoy for the Middle East, on Thursday addressed Egyptian and US efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. They discussed the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, as well as the flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian coastal enclave, according to WAM.

The Egyptian foreign minister highlighted the need for a lasting resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that meets the region’s aspirations for peace and stability.


France’s Macron praises Palestinian president’s ‘genuine willingness’ for peace

France’s Macron praises Palestinian president’s ‘genuine willingness’ for peace
Updated 12 June 2025
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France’s Macron praises Palestinian president’s ‘genuine willingness’ for peace

France’s Macron praises Palestinian president’s ‘genuine willingness’ for peace
  • Mahmoud Abbas’ commitment to elections and reforms welcomed
  • Comments come ahead of 2-state conference in New York next week

LONDON: France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday praised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ “concrete and unprecedented commitments” after receiving a letter from the latter ahead of the UN-backed Saudi-French conference on a two-state solution in Palestine.

In his letter on Monday, which was addressed to Macron and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abbas outlined the main steps to be taken to end the war on Gaza.

He called for the demilitarization of Hamas, the release of hostages, a ceasefire in Gaza and deployment of international forces to protect “the Palestinian people,” while reaffirming his commitment to reforms and elections.

Abbas also demanded an end to “the occupation and conflict once and for all” and halting settler activities.

In a post on X, Macron described the letter as “a decisive moment, praising the Palestinian leader for charting “a course toward a horizon of peace.”

 

 

“Concrete and unprecedented commitments that demonstrate a genuine willingness to move forward,” said Macron.

France and Saudi Arabia will co-chair the high-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Question and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in New York next week.

The conference at the UN’s headquarters aims to achieve concrete steps toward the two-state solution.

In his letter, Abbas stressed the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to presidential and general elections within a year across the Occupied Territories — including East Jerusalem — under international supervision.

“The Palestinian people are entitled to live in freedom and dignity in their homeland. Palestine and Israel are entitled to exist as states, in peace and security, in conformity with international law,” Abbas wrote in his letter.

Reaffirming his commitment to the two-state solution, he said: “We are ready to conclude within a clear and binding timeline, and with international support, supervision and guarantees, a peace agreement that ends the Israeli occupation and resolves all outstanding and final status issues.”


Iraq reports 19 Congo fever deaths already this year

Iraq reports 19 Congo fever deaths already this year
Updated 12 June 2025
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Iraq reports 19 Congo fever deaths already this year

Iraq reports 19 Congo fever deaths already this year
  • Congo fever is a viral disease which is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during or immediately after slaughter

Baghdad: Iraq said Thursday it has recorded 19 deaths from Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever already this year and urged farmers and abattoir workers to step up precautions when handling livestock.

A total of 123 cases have been recorded nationwide, health ministry spokesman Saif Al-Badr said in a statement, adding that 36 of them were reported in the poor southern province of Dhi Qar, which is heavily dependent on livestock farming.

Congo fever is a viral disease which is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during or immediately after slaughter, according to the World Health Organization.

It has a fatality rate of between 10 and 40 percent, and most cases have been reported in the livestock industry.

A previous surge in infections in Iraq in 2022 saw at least 27 deaths, compared with just six cases for the two decades from 1989 to 2009.

The WHO attributed that flare-up to a rise in the tick population resulting from the failure to carry out pesticide spraying campaigns in 2020 and 2021.


Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers

Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers
Updated 38 min 20 sec ago
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Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers

Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters. Israeli-supported group says they were aid workers
  • Last week, Israel acknowledged it is supporting armed groups of Palestinians in what it says is a move to counter Hamas
  • UN and major aid groups have rejected Israeli and US-backed GHF initiative

CAIRO: A unit of Gaza’s Hamas-run police force said it killed 12 members of an Israeli-backed militia after detaining them early Thursday. Hours earlier, an Israel-supported aid group said Hamas attacked a bus carrying its Palestinian workers, killing at least five of them.

The militia, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, said its fighters had attacked Hamas and killed five militants but made no mention of its own casualties. It also accused Hamas of detaining and killing aid workers. It was not immediately possible to verify the competing claims or confirm the identities of those killed.

The Israeli military circulated the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation‘s statement on its social media accounts but declined to provide its own account of what happened.

Aid initiative already marred by controversy and violence

The aid group’s operations in Gaza have already been marred by controversy and violence since they began last month, with scores of people killed in near-daily shootings as crowds headed toward the food distribution sites inside Israeli military zones. Witnesses have blamed the Israeli military, which has acknowledged firing only warning shots near people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner.

Earlier this week, witnesses also said Abu Shabab militiamen had opened fire on people en route to a GHF aid hub, killing and wounding many.

The United Nations and major aid groups have rejected the Israeli and US-backed initiative, accusing them of militarizing humanitarian aid at a time when experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and renewed military campaign.

Last week, Israel acknowledged it is supporting armed groups of Palestinians in what it says is a move to counter Hamas. Abu Shabab’s militia, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the food distribution points set up by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting UN trucks.

GHF has denied working with the Abu Shabab group.

‘They were aid workers’

In a statement released early Thursday, the foundation said Hamas had attacked a bus carrying more than two dozen “local Palestinians working side-by-side with the US GHF team to deliver critical aid” near the southern city of Khan Younis.

“We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,” it said. “These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons, and friends, who were risking their lives everyday to help others.”

It did not identify the men or say whether they were armed at the time.

Rev. Johnnie Moore, a Christian evangelical adviser to US President Donald Trump who was recently appointed head of GHF, called the killings “absolute evil” and lashed out at the UN and Western countries over what he said was their failure to condemn them.

“The principle of impartiality does not mean neutrality. There is good and evil in this world. What we are doing is good and what Hamas did to these Gazans is absolute evil,” he wrote on X.

Israel and the United States say the new system is needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid from the long-standing UN-run system, which is capable of delivering food, fuel and other humanitarian aid to all parts of Gaza. UN officials deny there has been any systematic diversion of aid by Hamas, but say they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in Gaza.

UN officials say the new system is unable to meet mounting needs, and that it allows Israel to use aid as a weapon by controlling who has access to it and by essentially forcing people to relocate to the aid sites, most of which are in the southernmost city of Rafah, now a mostly uninhabited military zone. Some fear this could be part of an Israeli plan to coerce Palestinians into leaving Gaza.

Hamas says it killed traitors

Hamas has also rejected the new system and threatened to kill any Palestinians who cooperate with the Israeli military. The killings early Wednesday were carried out by the Hamas-run police’s Sahm unit, which Hamas says it established to combat looting.

The unit released video footage showing several dead men lying in the street, saying they were Abu Shabab fighters who had been detained and killed for collaborating with Israel. It was not possible to verify the images or the claims around them.

Mohammed Abu Amin, a Khan Younis resident, said he was at the scene of the killings and that crowds were celebrating them, shouting “God is greatest” and condemning those killed as traitors to the Palestinian cause and agents of Israel.

Ghassan Duhine, who identifies himself as a major in the Palestinian Authority’s security forces and deputy commander of the Abu Shabab group, posted a statement online saying they clashed with Sahm and killed five. He denied that the images shared by Sahm were of Abu Shabab fighters.

The Palestinian Authority, led by rivals of Hamas and based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has denied any connection to the Abu Shabab group, but many of the militiamen identify themselves as PA officers.

Mounting lawlessness as Israel steps up military campaign

Israel renewed its offensive in March after ending a ceasefire with Hamas and imposed a complete ban on imports of food, fuel, medicine and other aid before easing the blockade in mid-May.

The ongoing war and mounting desperation have plunged Gaza into chaos, with armed gangs looting aid convoys and selling the stolen food. The Hamas-run police force, which maintained a high degree of public security before the war, has largely gone underground as Israel has repeatedly targeted its forces with airstrikes. The military now controls more than half of the territory.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. They are still holding 53 captives, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s military campaign has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants.

Israel’s offensive has flattened large areas of Gaza and driven around 90 percent of the population of roughly 2 million Palestinians from their homes. The territory is almost completely reliant on humanitarian aid because nearly all of its food production capabilities have been destroyed.

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