It looks like #Israel is deliberately escalating the whole situation. I mean, striking Iranian targets (with a lot of Syrian 'collateral' damage) in #Damascus and #Aleppo is asking for escalation. It wouldn't surprise me if they do this as a distraction for their crimes in #Gaza, now that multiple Western allies hesitantly start asking questions.
Al Jazeera: Israel’s war on Gaza live: Troops denied leave as Iran threatens revenge
"The Israeli military halts leave for all combat units, calls up reservists, and blocks GPS coordinates in the country as Iran threatens retaliation for deadly strikes on its consulate in Damascus, Syria."
While in #Lebanon, Dimitri Lascaris caught up with Laith Marouf, a #Canadian of #Palestinian#Syrian origin. Marouf has long been an outspoken #defender of the Palestinian cause & a prime target of #Canada's #ZionistLobby#CIJA. During their visit to the Beqaa Valley, Lascaris & Marouf talked about #Zionists' extraordinary efforts to silence Marouf.
"[T]he typical #Iraqi#Hanukkah sweet zalabia — a delicious fried, yeasted funnel cake soaked in a sticky and intensely sweet syrup — is essentially the same as #Syrian zalabiah (although theirs is a different shape) and #Indian jalebi, both also eaten on Hanukkah."
With the exception of some #Turkish Airlines flights that appear to possibly be performing aerial surveillance over northern #Syria, the international carrier flight paths seem to be avoiding #Syrian airspace.
Active Conflict Zone Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011. The ongoing conflict, as well as Turkey & Russia bombing Kurds make the airspace over Syria highly dangerous and volatile.
Risk to Civil Aircraft: There is a high risk to civil aircraft. Syrian AD systems may misidentify aircraft, which may be targeted in error or caught in crossfire during ongoing air attacks involving Russia, Iran. Missiles may erroneously lock on to civil aircraft.
There have been incidents where civil aircraft were caught in dangerous situations. In Feb 2020, an A320 enroute OSDI/Damascus was caught in crossfire during an attack by 4 Israeli F-16’s, forcing it to divert to a Russian controlled air base.
Russia props up Syrian dictator. Putin, Erdogan kill Kurds.
Russia and Turkey have been involved in military actions in areas populated by Kurds. Dictators hate the Kurds because Kurds are free. Turkey-russia can not tolerate the freedom of Kurds.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.
Turkey opposes any form of Kurdish self-rule near its border, fearing it could inspire the Kurdish population in Turkey to seek greater autonomy.
Turkey can not tolerate a secular and decentralized multi-ethnic society with direct democracy and equality between men and women on its border. Tayyip Erdoğan is an Islamist, Sharia law & therefore opposed to a secular society in which religion does not play an important role and where women have significant and prominent roles to play.
Russia has significant geopolitical interests in Syria, including maintaining its influence in the Middle East and protecting its military bases in Syria.