It was callously ironic that Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir met in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Al-Bashir, after all, is a wanted man. The International Criminal Court has issued two arrest warrants for him, in 2009 and 2010, for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. Russia, which provided the transportation for Al-Bashir, and Syria, which warmly greeted him, should have arrested and delivered him to the Hague, where the ICC has been waiting to put him on trial.

Instead, on December 16, Al-Bashir became the first Arab head of state to break the Arab League mandate to ostracize Assad. The Sudanese and Syrian tyrants share some similarities in the brutal mistreatment of their own citizens. Al-Bashir’s record is longer. He has ruled Sudan since 1989 and is responsible for the murder of at least 300,000 in Darfur.

When the Arab League voted in November 2011 to suspend Syria’s membership, the death toll was 3,500. The 18 Arab countries that supported the action were trying to press Assad to stop the brutal crackdown he had initiated eight months earlier. Only Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen demurred. Exactly how many Syrians have died since March 2011 is uncertain. The UN stopped counting at 100,000 in January 2014, but the records kept by human rights organizations inside Syria have set it at well over half a million.

The chance of Assad being held accountable is very slim. Russia has been his chief defender and protector at the UN Security Council, blocking, from the beginning of the conflict, nearly all crucial resolutions, as well as recommendations that those responsible be taken to the ICC.

Currently, most Syrians live as refugees, most of them in their own country but away from their homes.

“No nation in recent decades has had such a large percentage of its population displaced,” the Pew Research Center noted. The nearly 13 million Syrians displaced after seven years of conflict “amounts to about 60% of Syria’s pre-conflict population.”

The destruction from within of a sovereign nation is reflected in the status of its children. More than 51% of Syrians are under the age of 24, more than 31% under 14. One-third of the schools are not usable, with many destroyed or damaged and others sheltering displaced families. Housing, hospitals and transportation are also in ruins across the country, especially in the areas where Assad’s forces used all kinds of weaponry to pummel Syrians.

The conditions of Syrians who fled to neighboring countries is not much better. In Jordan, for example, according to UNICEF, more than half of the 660,000 Syrian refugees are under age 17. They face – as do Syrian children inside Syria and at refugee camps in other countries – lack of access to schools, health services and food.

They are celebrating, prematurely, the defeat of ISIS, and have gained US President Donald Trump’s concurrence. He announced the withdrawal of the 2,000 American troops stationed in northeast Syria, originally sent to battle ISIS and not the Assad regime. Both Turkey and Iraq are poised to enter Syria once the Americans are gone. Peace in Syria is not at hand.

The battle for Syria’s soul continues as it has since that fateful day in March 2011, when Assad’s forces opened fire on schoolchildren who had scrawled graffiti against the regime. The very future of Syria as a functioning, independent country is gravely in doubt.

Still, the Al-Bashir visit could be a first step toward ending the Arab League boycott of Assad. The UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus last week, and a Bahrain government announcement indicated that it may be the next Arab country to forgive and forget. In 2019, the Arab League might even vote to welcome Syria back as a full member, The Guardian reported.

If so, that would be a painfully forceful regional “we don’t care” message to the Syrian people. Efforts to legitimize Assad and dismiss his transgressions show a shameful disregard for the Syrian people.

If this conflict ever ends, will they be able to know normalcy again? Will the foreign forces that have entered and settled in at the behest of Assad, their leader and tormenter, ever leave? What kind of a country will Syria be? And, significantly, what will the long-term repercussions be for neighboring countries, for the region?

For most Syrians, the die has already been cast. Being ignored is a most painful tragedy.

The writer is the American Jewish Committee’s director of media relations.

5. 

Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay shocked the MKs of the Zionist Union faction on Tuesday when he announced he was breaking up the partnership with the Hatnua Party of Tzipi Livni.

Gabbay spoke with Livni who was sitting next to him showing a stern face. It was clear that neither she nor any of the MKs were told of the decision in advance. Gabbay said he accepted the request of former Labor leader Isaac Herzog in July to keep the partnership going and faced massive criticism inside Labor when accepted Livni’s demand to be opposition leader, but now decided to go in a different direction.

“I hoped and believed this partnership would bring about our blossoming, a real connection, and we would complement each other. But the public is smart, saw this is the situation and distanced itself from us,” Gabbay said. “I still believe in partnering and connecting into one big camp to bring about change, but successful partnerships require friendship, keeping agreements and loyalty to our path. This is not happening in this partnership.”

Gabbay then wished Livni well, as the MKs in the faction let out calls of “Whoa.”

After the media left, Gabbay said to Labor MKs, “I was constantly eating s*** because of Livni. She didn’t have a good word to say about me. She made an ultimatum here in front of the cameras that she’d quit if she’s not made opposition leader, so don’t talk to me about manners.”

After the meeting, Livni wrote on Twitter, “It is good that the doubts have been dispelled and one can focus on the important national challenge that we are facing, all those who truly believe in the way – a revolution in the coming elections.”

Livni called a press conference after Gabbay’s announcement at which she accused him of chauvinism and said she had received countless calls and texts from women who were offended by the way Gabbay had treated her.

“Time is up,” Livni told Channel 2 News in English. “The time that you prove you’re a man by humiliating a woman is over.”

Livni revealed at the press conference that she had prevented a split in Labor before Sunday’s deadline.

“Gabbay never wanted a partnership, and the way he killed it today proved it,” Livni complained. “After I said we should put the state first, the party second and ourselves last, I heard him speak today and all he said was ‘me, me, me.’”

Asked about Gabbay’s complaints that she had made him “eat s***,” she said, “I didn’t look at his plate and I don’t know what he ate.”

A source close to Livni said Gabbay’s press conference preempted what would have been a fight about the Zionist Union’s campaign strategy. The source said Gabbay demanded that the campaign be all about praising him and not at all about separating from the Palestinians.

The source said without Labor it would now be easier to bring about a bloc led by former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz. Livni vowed to bring about a bloc that could defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“This is the time to look forward and bring about the political upheaval we need in order to separate from the Palestinians and keep Israel Jewish and democratic,” she said.

Netanyahu responded that he “would not intervene in how the Left divides up its mandates” and “what matters is that the Right will form the next government and continue leading the country.”

In the Labor Party meeting after the announcement, MK Eitan Cabel complained about Gabbay’s behavior and said he should have consulted with Labor MKs before making a decision that could harm their political future.

But Labor MK Shelly Yacimovich endorsed Gabbay’s decision, saying the partnership did not work and that it was clear Livni had never accepted his leadership.

Her Labor colleague, MK Leah Fadida, said the partnership was causing electoral damage. She said ending the partnership would help Labor return to its values and ideology.

Livni’s ally in Hatnua, MK Yoel Hasson, slammed Gabbay, saying he never accepted the partnership that led to 24 mandates, and polls that now say the party will win only eight or nine seats were “the direct result of his failed, unilateral leadership.”

“Running a country is serious business that must be limited to statesmen,” Hasson said.

Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg attacked Gabbay, saying the way he treated Livni proved he cannot lead the center-left camp.

“Apparently, even Livni is too left-wing for Gabbay,” said Zandberg, who called on the Left to join Meretz.

Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) said Gabbay’s decision proved that “every dirty, opportunistic political deal is doomed to last only one term.” He said he cannot wait to see which party Livni will join next, breaking a record for shifting among five parties in 10 years.

The IDF’s first-ever female general, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Orna Barbivai, has joined Yesh Atid’s list for the Knesset.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said at a press conference on Tuesday that he intends to have Barbivai serve as a senior minister, if he is in the next coalition.

Barbivai has “a life full of contributions to our security and our society. A life full of values, of giving and of leadership,” Lapid said.

“Orna is joining the leadership of the best team in Israeli politics,” Lapid added. “The day after the elections, we can start to run this country, not for the benefit of politicians, but for the benefit of our children.”

Barbivai was the head of the IDF’s Manpower Directorate and the first woman to serve in the General Staff. After her military service, she was the CEO of Sheatufim-Strategies for Social Impact and chairwoman of the board of the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College.

“My decision to join Yesh Atid stems from my identification with the values of the party and my respect for its experienced team,” she said. “I believe in Yair Lapid’s ability to provide an alternative to the current government and to lead us as prime minister of Israel.”

Barbivai said that as a member of the General Staff of the IDF, which she called “the people’s army,” she saw a range of security and societal challenges Israel faces and the ability to provide system-wide solutions.

“This is a country in which alongside impressive achievements of advanced technology and groundbreaking innovation there are also, right under noses, unbearable social gaps,” she stated. “As someone who came from the periphery, from a family blessed with many children, I believe in the right of people to fulfill their potential, irrespective of where they start their lives, and in the responsibility of a nation to create opportunities to make the best use of its human capital.”The IDF’s first-ever female general, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Orna Barbivai, has joined Yesh Atid’s list for the Knesset.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said at a press conference on Tuesday that he intends to have Barbivai serve as a senior minister, if he is in the next coalition.

Barbivai has “a life full of contributions to our security and our society. A life full of values, of giving and of leadership,” Lapid said.

“Orna is joining the leadership of the best team in Israeli politics,” Lapid added. “The day after the elections, we can start to run this country, not for the benefit of politicians, but for the benefit of our children.”

Barbivai was the head of the IDF’s Manpower Directorate and the first woman to serve in the General Staff. After her military service, she was the CEO of Sheatufim-Strategies for Social Impact and chairwoman of the board of the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College.

“My decision to join Yesh Atid stems from my identification with the values of the party and my respect for its experienced team,” she said. “I believe in Yair Lapid’s ability to provide an alternative to the current government and to lead us as prime minister of Israel.”

Barbivai said that as a member of the General Staff of the IDF, which she called “the people’s army,” she saw a range of security and societal challenges Israel faces and the ability to provide system-wide solutions.

“This is a country in which alongside impressive achievements of advanced technology and groundbreaking innovation there are also, right under noses, unbearable social gaps,” she stated. “As someone who came from the periphery, from a family blessed with many children, I believe in the right of people to fulfill their potential, irrespective of where they start their lives, and in the responsibility of a nation to create opportunities to make the best use of its human capital.”

Operation Northern Shield may not uncover all of Hezbollah’s tunnels, but should end its aspirations to invade Israel, said IDF intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Tamir Heyman at the Calcalist conference in Tel Aviv on Monday.

The statement was the first public acknowledgment in weeks that the operation may not end the Hezbollah attack tunnel threat, although the comments emphasized Israel’s ability to deter a Hezbollah invasion.

Hezbollah operatives discover concrete spilling from attack tunnel to Israel, January 1, 2019 (IDF)

“I want to emphasize that we are not talking about an operation whose goal is to destroy the attack tunnel capability of Hezbollah, but rather…to thwart Hezbollah’s primary attack plan,” he said.

Heyman said that Hezbollah’s plan had been to “conquer villages on the Northern border and to penetrate the area near the border,” that would prevent Israel from unleashing a stronger military force or to focus its attacks solely on the Lebanese side of the border.

While the IDF has already uncovered five Hezbollah tunnels – Hamas had 31 in 2014 – Heyman implied that even if the IDF did not uncover all of the tunnels, it could blunt the threat.

He added that while the IDF’s highly classified plan in the North was primarily to eliminate attack tunnels, there were broader goals to the operation.

The IDF intelligence chief explained that even though Hezbollah was deterred from a war, it may have unrealistic expectations that it could still invade Israel and slaughter Israeli citizens in border villages without leading to a war.

Heyman’s message was that by severely blunting Hezbollah’s attack tunnel abilities, even if some abilities remained, it would be heavily discouraged from trying to mount even a limited invasion.

In other words, Hezbollah might fear the IDF’s abilities to deter such an attack, this goes beyond the tunnels which have already been destroyed.

All of this would fulfill the IDF’s goal of making a war with Hezbollah less likely.

Finally, he said that the IDF’s experience in uncovering the attack tunnels opened up new tactical advantages it could use against Hezbollah tunnels also on the Lebanese side of the border. Heyman did not specify whether he was referring to a hypothetical war scenario or covert operations.

Incoming IDF Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi advocated toppling the regime Syrian President Bashar Assad, but was rejected by Israel’s government, which preferred to deal with a known adversary, Saudi Arabia’s Elaph newspaper reported.

Quoting an unnamed senior Israeli official, the Saudi daily said that Kochavi, then director of Military Intelligence, was in favor of removing Assad from power – even by assassination – over the regime’s support of Hezbollah.

According to the report, Kochavi recommended removing the Assad regime because “it would bring calamities to Israel from Iran, Hezbollah, the militias and Russian influence in the region.” But the head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, “wanted an address in Syria” – someone it could communicate with by back channels if need be.

The “prolonged conflict in Syria saw Israel often hold negotiations with the regime in Damascus in order to reach an agreement in Syria,” the report quoted the official as saying, adding that the diplomatic-security cabinet “held extensive discussions on the situation about Syria and decided that Israel would not allow an Iranian military presence there.”

The report stated that while Israel had several opportunities to target Assad and his top leaders during the eight-year long civil war, Jerusalem instead decided to focus on preventing Iranian entrenchment in the country by targeting Iranian and Hezbollah assets instead, “while making sure [Israel] inflicts minimal damage to the Damascus regime.”

The Israeli source told Elaph that recent discussions by the security cabinet on the Syrian situation have stressed that Israel will not accept any sort of Iranian military presence in Syria and “would do everything necessary to expel Iran from Syria, at any cost.”

Israeli officials have repeatedly voiced concerns over the growing Iranian presence on its borders and the smuggling of sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah in Lebanon, from Tehran via Syria, stressing that both are redlines for the Jewish state.

Working to prevent the entrenchment of Iranian forces and the transfer of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah, the Israel Air Force has admitted to carrying out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria.

In a rare interview, outgoing IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot told Elaph in October that the expansion of Iranian influence across the Middle East is a major concern to both Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“The Iranian plan is to control the Middle East by means of two Shi’ite crescents,” Eisenkot said, “the first being from Iran through Iraq to Syria and Lebanon, and the second across the Gulf from Bahrain to Yemen to the Red Sea. We must stop that from happening.”

Last year, former housing minister Yoav Galant called for Assad’s assassination following reports of the regime using a crematorium to hide its atrocities outside Damascus.

“The reality [is that] people are executed in Syria, being hit deliberately by chemical weapons, their bodies being burned – something we haven’t seen in 70 years. We are crossing a redline and it is time to eliminate Assad, literally,” Galant – a former major-general in the IDF and a current member of the National Security Council – told an audience at the Second International Ground Warfare and Logistics Conference at Latrun outside of Jerusalem.

According to Galant, the major threat to Israel is Iran which wishes to open up a Shi’ite land bridge from Tehran through Iraq to Damascus in order to get to Israel.

“What is behind Syria is Hezbollah who is backed by Iran. Iran is a danger to the security of the entire world. Iran is the problem, not the solution,” he said. “The world needs to expel the Shi’ite monster and send it back to where it came from. When we get the tail of the snake, we can get the head in Tehran too.”