Syria

Saudi Arabia’s changing strategy and the quiet strain with the UAE - analysis

Growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE reflect shifting Gulf alliances, with implications for Israel and the US role in the region.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives The President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 16, 2022.
IDF troops carry out the Magen Oz drill on November 26, 2025.

IDF tests readiness for Houthi infiltration via Jordan under manpower limits

The exercise examined the preparedness of the Central Command headquarters to contend with high-intensity situations across multiple fronts simultaneously, while coping with limited personnel.

|ByAMIR BOHBOT
A member of the Syrian army walks with a weapon in the street as civilians flee following renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Aleppo, Syria, January 7, 2026

‘There will be hell in Syria’: Kurdish campaigner urges international intervention

Rebwar Hazhar, the chairman of Conservative Friends of Kurdistan, told The Jerusalem Post that Washington’s relationship with Damascus would only be temporary.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive at the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane on January 23, 2026

Israel’s safety tied to Kurdish security, Kurdish-Jewish Alliance board tells 'Post'

Four Swiss Kurdish groups wrote to Israeli amb. Tibor Schlosser and President Isaac Herzog, hoping Jerusalem will provide aid to minorities attacked by the Sharaa regime.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD

US envoy Tom Barrack hails new Israel, Syria agreement as 'breakthrough' - interview

“The new Syrian government harbors no hostile intentions toward Israel, and seeks a relationship based on respect and coexistence," The American envoy told The Post.

JANUARY 6, 2026ByAMICHAI STEIN
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack in Istanbul, Turkey, May 24, 2025.

Israel and Syria agree to US-supervised communication cell for military de-escalation

Furthermore, it was agreed to begin talks between Jerusalem and Damascus in civilian areas, including medicine, energy, and agriculture, The 'Post' has learned.

JANUARY 6, 2026ByAMICHAI STEIN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with a map of the Middle East (Illustrative).

Syrian Gov't calls resumption of talks with Israel in Paris a 'positive indication' - KAN

Syrian officials expressed optimism about the resumption of talks, but warned that this was "assuming the Israelis come to them seriously," KAN News reported.

JANUARY 6, 2026ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks as he attends the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, December 6, 2025.

Israel running out of ‘no’s' on Turkish involvement in Syria, Gaza, source tells 'Post'

“There is a limit to how many times Israel can say ‘no’ to Trump regarding President Erdoğan," a source with knowledge of the matter told the Post.

JANUARY 5, 2026ByAMICHAI STEIN
Netanyahu addresses Knesset at 40-signature debate on ‘extremist government’, Jerusalem, January 6

Iran plotting to assassinate Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa, IDF sources warn

The warning was issued recently against the backdrop of the opening of contacts between Israel and Syria.

JANUARY 5, 2026ByAMIR BOHBOT
Illustrative image of Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mar-a-Lago through Arab eyes: Power, Turkey, Iran, and the cost of Trump’s diplomacy - analysis

Arab outlets offered sharply divided readings of the Trump-Netanyahu meeting, reflecting regional fault lines over Gaza, Iran, Turkey’s role, and US-led power politics.

JANUARY 5, 2026ByGIORGIA VALENTE/THE MEDIA LINE
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival for meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, December 29, 2025.

Israeli-Syrian meeting to be held over next two days, source tells 'Post'

Senior Israeli and Syrian officials will meet Monday and Tuesday in US-mediated talks led by envoy Tom Barrack, the first such meetings since President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington.

JANUARY 4, 2026ByAMICHAI STEIN
(L-R) Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the backdrop of Syrian and Israeli flags (illustrative)

'God does not do a half job,' Safed's Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu says following Maduro's detention

“The shared denominator is clear,” Eliyahu wrote, describing systems built on oppression, corruption, and fear, and arguing that such a rule “will not survive over time,” according to the statement. 

JANUARY 4, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu and Jewish children take part in a special prayer for rain at the Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee, in northern Israel, October 29, 2025.

UK, France strike ISIS arms storage facility near Palmyra, Syria

Britain and France carried out a joint airstrike on an ISIS-linked underground weapons facility north of Palmyra, with the UK Defense Ministry saying no civilians were at risk.

JANUARY 4, 2026ByJAMES GENN
Illustration of ISIS terrorists.

IDF's haredi Hashmonaim Brigade completes first operational activity in southern Syria

Also on Thursday, soldiers of the IDF's Brigade 636 killed a terrorist who threw stones at them near the village of Luban al-Sharqiyya in the West Bank during an overnight ambush.

JANUARY 1, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
Soldiers of the Hashmonaim Brigade complete first operational activity in southern Syria, January 1, 2026.