RSS
The Western World Refuses to See the Truth About Syria, the Palestinians, and the Middle East
Rebel fighters holds weapons at the Citadel of Aleppo, after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Aleppo, Syria, Dec. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Anyone who believed that Syria’s new leader — trading his military uniform for a tailored suit — represented a fresh hope for the Middle East has recently come to a sobering realization: the sea remains the same, the mountains remain unchanged, and the Middle East does not transform overnight.
The harrowing images emerging from Syria lay bare a grim reality. The forces of Abu Mohammad al-Julani, ideological heirs of ISIS, are humiliating, beating, and slaughtering members of the Alawite minority, which until recently ruled the country. As expected, the world — including the United Nations — maintains its usual silence, as long as Israel is not directly involved.
The harsh reality is that Syria has never truly been a sovereign nation. It has always been an open battlefield where global powers, terrorist organizations, and sectarian factions compete to establish facts on the ground. Russia, Iran, and Turkey all vie for influence, while the Alawites find themselves mercilessly hunted, after inflicting mass violence for the decades that they ruled the country.
Like Iraq, Lebanon, and many other Middle Eastern states, Syria was never a unified nation but rather a patchwork of sects, religions, and ethnic groups forcibly bound together by oppressive regimes. The notion of a “Palestinian people” was similarly born out of political circumstances rather than historical continuity or a cohesive identity. As history has demonstrated, those identified as “Palestinians” in the modern era originated from various other regions — Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and beyond. The struggle over Palestinian identity arose from an anti-Zionist political necessity rather than a deep-rooted historical reality.
Today, if someone were to quote former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s 1970s assertion that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian people”, they would be labeled as delusional, ultra-right-wing, or even messianic — or all of the above. Yet this famous statement, attributed to a leader of Israel’s leftist establishment, aligns directly with the contemporary reality in Syria. There are tribes, sects, economic and religious interests — but no “nation” in the Western sense of the term.
The shifting realities in Syria and the broader political developments in the region compel us to reconsider the terms we use — “nations”, “states”, “peoples” — which do not always apply to the Middle East in the same way they do in Europe or the United States. The events in Syria are yet another testament to the deep ethnic and religious rifts that prevent the emergence of a united nation — just as we have seen before in Lebanon, Iraq, and other artificially constructed states.
This illusion continues to shatter in fire, blood, and destruction – -yet many still refuse to see the truth. Those who ignore it will inevitably find themselves staring at new ruins, as history continues to dictate the rules of the Middle Eastern game.
Itamar Tzur is the author of The Invention of the Palestinian Narrative and an Israeli scholar specializing in Middle Eastern history. He holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors in Jewish History and a Master’s degree with honors in Middle Eastern studies. As a senior member of the “Forum Kedem for Middle Eastern Studies and Public Diplomacy,” he leverages his academic expertise to deepen understanding of regional dynamics and historical contexts.
The post The Western World Refuses to See the Truth About Syria, the Palestinians, and the Middle East first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.