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‘Iran will not respond’: Middle East experts, dissidents comment on Damascus strike
An alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus Monday night resulted in the killing of a number of Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Quds Force generals, and it is considered one of the biggest strikes against these two Iranian organizations after the killing of Qassem Soleimani—the commander of the Iranian Quds Force—in a US airstrike in Baghdad in January 2020.
Also, according to what was reported by Lebanese media close to Hezbollah, among the dead were also Muhammad Adnan Sanbour and Mustafa Suleiman, who were leaders in the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, said in a statement published by Iranian news agencies, “The malicious Zionist entity will receive its punishment at the hands of our brave men. We will make the Zionists regret the crime of attacking the Iranian consulate in Damascus and others like it.”
On Monday evening, the Iranian Supreme Security Council held a meeting in the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi after the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus. The Secretariat of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council said, “The Council took the appropriate decisions regarding the war crime related to the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus,” noting that the Council’s decisions were taken in a session attended by Raisi, which took place on Monday evening.
The success of the strike
Sufyan al-Samarrai, head of the Baghdad Post website, told The Media Line, “This is one of the largest strikes directed against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, and Hezbollah.” He continued, “This Israeli military strike was successful, and in its goal, they were involved in major war crimes in Syria and Lebanon, and they were also running an operations room to conspire against Jordan and Saudi Arabia.”
He also said, “We can only applaud this successful strike. All of Iran’s followers and militias must be eliminated so that the region can enjoy security and stability.”
Echoing the sentiment of accountability yet spotlighting the human cost, Syrian journalist Majd Kanaan told The Media Line, “These leaders were involved in the blood of the Syrian and Lebanese people, and they were planning to destroy several countries in the region.”
“The Khomeini regime in Iran is experiencing its worst period. It is in unnatural humiliation and cannot respond, even though Israel is only a few hundred kilometers away from Damascus, and they have large forces stationed in the Syrian capital.”
He added, “The most we will see is bombing some empty American bases in Iraq. This is all they can do.”
Bridging perspectives on the aftermath, Saudi political analyst Enad Al-Shamrani told The Media Line, “Striking the heads of sedition and terrorism is a popular demand. These are not leaders for liberating Jerusalem, but leaders for occupying Arab capitals.”
“General Zahedi was the responsible person in Syria, and we can say that he is the de facto ruler of Syria, but now he has been killed, and we do not know who will come after him.” He added: “The second row of Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Quds Force generals are not as efficient as the leaders of the first row, of whom there are only a few remaining.”
According to Al-Shamrani, “The Gulf countries were not far from targeting the leaders of the Revolutionary Guard, and they are truly criminals.”
Amid discussions of the strike’s strategic ramifications, Ahmed Al-Shibl, a member of Hezbollah in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, told The Media Line, “So far, there are no orders to respond to Israeli attacks.”
“These martyred leaders were killed because they were defending the truth with our brothers in Gaza. They were fighting the Zionist enemy, and that is why Israel targeted them.”
“The blood of the martyrs will not be shed,” he continued. “We will respond decisively against America, Israel, the evil triangle, and all the traitors and Zionists who help them, and our response will be decisive.”
He added, “We all go in sacrifice for the leaders. These are spiritual leaders before they are field commanders. The resistance does not abandon the blood of its martyrs.”
Intensifying the call for retribution, Hussain Khozam, an Iranian political activist, told The Media Line, “The Islamic resistance will not remain silent regarding these attacks. The response will be decisive against all Israeli interests, just as the response will be decisive from the resistance in Gaza.”
He continued, “These martyrs gave their lives in service of religion and to defend the oppressed in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen. The resistance’s response will be decisive.”
In contrast, Mohammad Shazar, a Syrian dissident, told The Media Line, “Iran will not respond. All it will do is a few missiles that its militias will launch toward American bases in Iraq, and perhaps Saudi Arabia or even Jordan.”
Omar Banbih, an Iranian affairs specialist, told The Media Line, “The strike was painful for the Iranians. It is a fact that stopped many of its plans in Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and even the Gulf states.”
He continued, “Israel may have wanted to divert attention from its recent bombing of medical complexes in Gaza, and that is why it killed Iranian leaders who did not participate directly in the war in Gaza but rather committed other crimes in the Arab world.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday put him at odds with the IDF regarding how many haredi the military can absorb in a short amount of time.
Netanyahu said that while he was in favor of increasing haredi integration into the IDF, in practicality, the military needed more time to establish haredi-tailored programs and environments for this to be successful.
The prime minister’s remark comes days after top IDF officials presented a series of highly specific, customized programs for the ultra-Orthodox that are either already open or are “ready to go” as soon as the haredi respond to their military summons. This directly contradicts the prime minister’s words during the briefing.
Netanyahu spoke to the committee in a closed and classified hearing, but portions of what he said were, nevertheless, publicized, including his comments regarding haredi integration into the IDF.
When asked about the issue, Netanyahu said, “We would prefer that anyone who is not studying [in a yeshiva] share the burden [of military service.] But right now, there is a gap between what the army says it can absorb and what it can absorb, so the absorption capacity of the IDF needs to be increased.”
He added that there were intentions to create new frameworks that would allow the haredi to maintain their way of life as well as to respond to operational needs, such as establishing an ultra-Orthodox base along the border with Jordan that would be responsible for defense there.
How to fulfill the IDF’s need for more soldiers
Besides that example, Netanyahu said that the army’s need for more soldiers could be filled by extending the service of mandatory service soldiers as well as calling up a variety of reservists from among the population living in border communities who never responded to their call-ups or were given exemptions.
In contrast to Netanyahu’s statements, seeming to indicate that the IDF cannot absorb a significant increase of haredi men, the military has said repeatedly, dating back to August, that it has been ready to receive an additional 3,000 haredi per year, on top of the approximately 1,800 per year it has already been absorbing.
The announcement in August and the sending of summons to 3,000 members of the ultra-Orthodox community came after months of extensive work and the investment of significant resources to prepare both personnel and bases for a new, major influx.
One new option for service that the IDF has already added for the haredi to make their service more attractive is serving in technical and logistical capacities at hardened aircraft shelters at an air force base section where only men will serve.
Another new option is called the Yoav Track in logistics command centers, which includes fulfilling a wide variety of technical and logistic roles throughout the military, and not just in the Israel Air Force.
Also, though Netanyahu said that the IDF should look into forming a new haredi brigade, the military had already announced last week that on December 26, it would open one, distinct from Netzach Yehuda.
Netzach Yehuda had been the brigade that most of the haredi wanted to join to date. However, it has turned off many of the ultra-orthodox because it has a reputation for being more religious Zionist in nature than haredi.
Additionally, there is a recently established unit of haredi serving at the Ofer detention center, and that program is expected to grow.
Further, a Lt.-Col. with a hassidic Chabad background, who has joined the army. He will be focused on haredi affairs and making sure new inductees are comfortable and are having their needs addressed.
Despite a detailed presentation last week about all of these new service mediums as being already established for haredim, a spokesperson for Netanyahu doubled down on the claim that the IDF was still lacking in its capacity to absorb a major influx of haredi soldiers.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
British rocker Paul Weller, Scottish band Primal Scream, and Irish rappers Kneecap will headline a ‘Gig For Gaza’ charity show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on Dec. 13.
Weller, the former frontman for 1970s punk pioneers The Jam, is curating the show, with all proceeds going to organizations Medical Aid For Palestinians and Gaza Forever, which purportedly provide essential aid – including food, medical supplies, and emergency shelter – for Gazans who have been forced to flee their homes due to the Israel-Hamas War.
“This is an opportunity to enjoy a night of powerful music and make a tangible difference in the lives of people facing unimaginable hardship,” a press release for the show said. The concert will also feature guest speakers and short films.
Weller of Primal Scream performed with Palestinian flag
During a recent tour of the US, Weller, a longtime advocate for leftwing causes, performed with a Palestinian flag draped over his guitar amplifier. Speaking onstage from Glasgow, Scotland, last month, Weller said, “I would like to dedicate that last song to all the tens of thousands of women, children, babies, men, civilians in Palestine and Gaza. I would ask you one question. It’s really simple. There is no grey area. Are you for genocide, or are you against it? It’s a f–-king yes or no question…”
Over the summer, Primal Scream, which formed in the 1980s, gave their support for a jersey design for a Palestinian refugee football team based on their classic record ‘Screamadelica.’
In March, Kneecap withdrew from performing at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, after it was revealed that the US Army was a “super sponsor” of the event as well as defense contractor RTX Corporation.
“It is done in solidarity with the people of Palestine and to highlight the unacceptable deep links the festival has to weapons companies,” the group explained of their decision via Instagram. “This will have a significant financial impact on Kneecap… but it isn’t an iota of hardship when compared with the suffering being inflicted on the people of Gaza.
None of the artists appearing nor promo material for the concert mentioned the 101 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, nor the October 7 massacre that killed over 1,200 Israelis and sparked the current war aimed at toppling Hamas.
David Brinn contributed to this report.
Support for a two-state solution in the Middle East among Arab Americans and Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza is on the rise, according to two recent surveys.
The more recent survey from YouGov and Arab News was published on Tuesday. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) published the other in September.
A survey of Arab Americans leading up to the US presidential elections found that half of those polled (50%) believed in seeking a two-state solution.
The poll touched upon the future of the conflict and possible resolutions to see its conclusion. Half of Arab-Americans polled believed in seeking a two-state solution with shared governance over Jerusalem. 34% believe that there should be one state where Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights, and 9% stated that they were unsure.A separate poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in September found that support for the concept of the two-state solution among Palestinians continues to rise and has the support of 39% of those polled.
According to PSR, three months prior, support for two states stood at around 32%. Figures were taken from Gaza and the West Bank, at 39% and 38%, respectively.
However, when asked about a separate Palestinian state not linked to the “two-state solution” and when state borders are identified as those of 1967, support rises to 59%, PSR found.
Half of the respondents prefer the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, while 19% prefer a confederation between the two states of Palestine and Israel. Only 10% prefer establishing a single state with equality between Israelis and Palestinians.
When asked about solving the conflict and reaching statehood, nearly half of Palestinian respondents (48%) said they would choose “armed struggle” as a way to achieve it (50% in the West Bank, 36% in Gaza).
However, a third said they preferred negotiations to end the conflict, and 15% said they would like to see popular peaceful resistance.
International calls for two-states
Recent US administrations and other global actors have called for the end to the ongoing war and to reach a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Biden administration has attempted to broker a hostage and ceasefire deal as a first step. In remarks made ahead of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in September, US President Joe Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution.
“As we look ahead, we must also address the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank and set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution, where the world — where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalized relations with all its neighbors, where Palestinians live in security, dignity, and self-determination in a state of their own,” Biden said.
The survey conducted by Arab News and YouGov was conducted using a sample of 500 Arab Americans across the United States from September 26 to October 1, 2024. The survey data have a margin of error of +/- 5.93%.
The poll conducted by PSR comprised a sample size of 1,200 people, of whom 790 were interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank and 410 in Gaza. The margin of error stood at +/-3.5%.
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