I haven’t seen such relentless interrogation of Palestinian leadership before, esp. in Arabic.
On Saudi Arabia’s main TV channel, Hamas leader is clearly startled by the intensity of the questions & responses to his answers.
Crucial points in next tweets
One of the most significant ones to Hamas leader by the Saudi TV interviewer is why Hamas expects Arab countries to back them up when Hamas hadn’t consulted them before carrying out an operation akin to declaration of war.
‘You didn’t consult even fellow Palestinians.’
Hamas leader gets visibly angry when she asks him if he would condemn Israeli civilian killings.
The interview is clearly very strategic, & can further reveal where Saudi Arabia stands on the issue.
A repeated question throughout is about Hamas expecting others to join in despite it making a unilateral decision it knew would have Israel respond with unprecedented brutality
Another key question is why your backers in Iran and Hizbollah didn’t intervene or back you back as you expect other countries to do so.
“Did Iran do what you expected it to do?”
The final point is one you just wouldn’t expect to hear on an Arabic television channel, accusing Hamas of being ISIS, of making the world sympathize with the Israelis and that Israel reacted to Hamas targeting of civilians.
A gaffe by Hamas leader is to dismiss civilian casualties as a natural consequence of wars. Something we’ve heard from the Israelis to justify the killing of civilians in Gaza (Hamas has previously blamed civilians in Gaza for the killings of Israeli civilians on Oct 7.)
Here is where Hamas threw the innocent people of Gaza under the bus in its attempt to excuse the targeting of civilians
We had a few important stories to make sense of this conflict, some on the way next week. Follow @newlinesmag, and sign up to receive our *free* essays (one essay a day, or all once a week) newlinesmag.com/become-a-membe…
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Fascinating details about Assad’s last days in this interview with Assad’s media “tsar”, his media chief and close aide.
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Assad in Moscow had to wait two days to meet Putin. On the day of the meeting, his appointment was moved three times. The Russians asked for only Assad and his escort, Brigadier General Muhsin Mohammed. The meeting lasted for one hour.
News of the meeting was leaked on Russia-linked Telegram channels, but Putin sent an aide to Assad at his residence at the Four Seasons to tell him personally (after a day’s delay, and despite protocols) that Putin preferred not to issue official statements about the meeting.
“Top secret and urgent” classified documents found after Assad’s fall provide interesting insights about the “mechanism” overseen by Russia to manage Israeli-Syrian-Iranian dynamics, and Israeli military actions against Iranian & Hezbollah buildup.
Details in this thread
For years, Russia mediated a process designed to allow Assad’s military to function while limiting Iran & Hezbollah's ability to expand militarily in Syria. This mechanism required Israel to avoid certain strikes if these limitations were enforced.
The mechanism's goal: Prevent Iranian or Hezbollah weapon transfers & military build-ups while allowing Syrian army to address its "needs".
This changed after Assad’s regime collapse, when Israel launched a campaign to wipe out all Syrian army sites & weapons in the past 48hrs.
A lot of confusion & misreporting about the Kurds and opposition forces in northern Syria. Rebels faced no resistance from the regime but hit a brick wall with Kurdish-dominated areas.
Details in this thread 1/x
They’ve been avoiding direct conflict, trying to broker a peaceful deal for Kurdish fighters to leave Aleppo.
This deal now seems to have taken place, and the rebels say Kurdish fighters started evacuating the city toward Manbij and eastern Syria.
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Tal Rifaat was the hardest battle for rebels in northern Aleppo countryside. The same goes for neighborhoods controlled by the YPG. Rebels now claim they’re nearing a deal for only armed Kurdish fighters to leave toward SDF-controlled Eastern Syria.
Folks, there is misreporting on Qatar’s decision to expel Hamas.
Reuters’ reporting is the most accurate — and logical — so far.
Context in following tweets:
Reuters reports it as an ultimatum, Doha warning it’ll pull out of Gaza ceasefire mediations until Hamas & Israel “demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table”.
Not just expulsion, because the US asked it to expel Hamas.
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This is still in the unofficial leaking territory. Reuters also cites officials as saying the office "no longer serves its purpose", which requires more detail but seems to be a separate issue beyond mediation.
As always, Syria is the most important "non-important" story in the Middle East -- the story that doesn't seem to matter, but ends up being a key piece of the puzzle.
A short #thread
Two stories that begin to demonstrate how Syria is central:
For months, actually, the chatter in Syria & elsewhere is that the Israeli attacks against Iran were enabled by collaborators from within the Syrian regime.
Even the “car crash” of a top Assad aide in July was interpreted in this context.
When Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in 2020, there was intense debate over whether his killing would set back Iran’s proxy warfare in the Middle East. It took years for us to see the effects of it, and few today dispute that the vacuum he left remains unfilled. 👇
Some believed his killing won’t matter significantly, because he’d already built a well-oiled machine.
But even for sympathizers his absence has been felt on multiple key occasions. In Iraq and Syria, there are numerous examples where the machine has been degraded both tactically and strategically. Something acknowledged by insiders or people close to their circles.