For today, links to five reports: from Middle East Eye, the Cradle, and the Anadolu Agency, and to commentary via Consortium News and ScheerPost; a map from Alamy follows. Other published material is accessible by clicking on their names below. (LEBANON, WEST BANK, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down. SYRIA 2-28-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM
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Israeli army ordered to prepare to ‘defend’ Druze city in southern Syria, by Alex MacDonald | Middle East Eye The order concerns the city of Jaramana, on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus, after violence broke out between locals and security services. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Saturday that . . . READ MORE . . .
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Syrian government forces deploy south of Damascus to ‘end chaos’ in Druze villages. From the Cradle. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-led Syrian security forces deployed to the city of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus late on Sunday to “end the state of chaos” in the area, according to state media. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 2 Lebanese Druze leader warns of ‘Israeli plot’ to ‘sabotage, divide Syria’ on sectarian lines. From the Cradle. A prominent Druze leader in Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt, warned on Sunday of an Israeli plot to divide Syria along sectarian lines and create chaos amid clashes between . . . READ MORE . . .
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1st National Syria Gathering Conference: New era for reconstruction, development, by Omer Asur Cuhadar | Anadolu Agency ISTANBUL — After seven years of operating discreetly in exile, the National Syria Gathering held its first conference in Damascus under government auspices and in the presence of over 100 Syrian businessmen from inside and outside the country. Opened by Finance Minister Mohamed Abazid, it . . . READ MORE . . .
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Sharaa forms committee to ‘regulate transitional phase’ in Syria. From the Cradle. Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa has appointed a committee to draft a constitutional declaration aimed at organizing the transitional phase in the country, coming more than two months after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s government. READ MORE . . .
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FROM FEB. 19 The geopolitics of peace, by Jeffrey Sachs | Columbia University / ScheerPost / Consortium News On the Middle East the U.S. completely handed over foreign policy to Netanyahu 30 years ago. The Israel lobby dominates American politics. Please, have no doubt about it. I could explain for hours how it works. Click HERE for video and a transcript.
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