RAMZY BAROUD looks at how entire West Bank communities have been shattered, their social and physical fabric deliberately dismantled by Israel to enable its formal annexation
ON SUNDAY, December 8, after over a week of intense fighting between the Syrian government and the terrorist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allied factions, who gained control over key cities in the country, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled Syria.
The news was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which also reported that with his resignation, Assad instructed his prime minister to stay in charge of the state to oversee a peaceful transition of power to opposition forces.
The development happens 14 months into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and weeks after signing a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. Below are reflections from Vijay Prashad regarding the takeover and key elements to understand it.
VIJAY PRASHAD looks at the web of militias and drug-trafficking gangs that emerged in the Sweida region through the Syrian civil war, and how they relate to recent clashes and Israel’s intervention



