Flight operations resumed at the Damascus International Airport in Syria's capital on Wednesday, following the recent fall of former President Bashar al-Assad's administration earlier this month.
A Syrian Airlines plane carrying passengers from Damascus landed in Aleppo of northern Syria, marking the first flight between the two cities days after the airport ceased flights.
"Today we are starting with an internal flight. Preparations at the Damascus airport are in full swing, including departments like immigration and civil aviation, to welcome Syrians living abroad who have fled the country, stayed displaced and want to return," said Saad Kheri Beik, operation manager of the Damascus International Airport, told reporters at the airport Wednesday.
Among the changes at the airport is the display of the Syrian flag, which has been switched from the previous two-star flag to a new one featuring three stars.
Currently there are still no international flights scheduled at the airport, given the uncertain security conditions across Syria.
Syria's border crossings remain closed as the newly-formed transitional government is trying to roll out new measures for the entry of both Syrians and foreigners.
A militant alliance led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group waged a major offensive from northern Syria on Nov 27 and had since swept southwards through areas held by al-Assad's government. Following territorial gains, including the capture of the capital Damascus, the alliance declared the end of al-Assad's rule on Dec 8.
Damascus International Airport reopens for domestic flights after Assad's fall
Damascus International Airport reopens for domestic flights after Assad's fall
Israel has vowed to maintain a permanent military presence in Gaza and expand settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that has sparked criticism from a U.S. official and the Palestinian authorities.
Speaking at a public ceremony on Tuesday in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would never fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip and vowed to establish new settlements in the enclave.
Katz said Israel would establish in northern Gaza Nahal settlement groups, military-backed settlement nuclei from which larger civilian settlements are developed.
He said the move would take place "in the right way, at the right time," without specifying a date.
Katz said the new settlements would be built "in place of" settlements evacuated as part of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the coastal enclave, known as the disengagement plan.
"We are deep inside Gaza and will never leave all of Gaza. There will be no such thing," Katz said.
Katz's remarks have drawn criticism from a U.S. official who said on the same day that Katz's statements undermine the efforts to advance peace in Gaza and will diminish Arab countries' will to cooperate with Israel.
"The more Israel provokes, the less the Arab countries want to work with them," said a statement sent to querying reporters and attributed to the U.S. official.
Just hours after Katz made the remarks, his office released a statement to deny any intention to resettle Gaza.
The statement said Katz made these remarks in the context of discussing security affairs and did not involve the government's settlement policy.
Israel's security cabinet has approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, bringing the number of settlements legalized or approved over the past three years to 69, an official said on Sunday.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a pro-settler politician, said in a statement that Israel's security cabinet approved the proposal that he "advanced together with Defense Minister Israel Katz to declare and authorize 19 new settlements," without specifying when the approval was granted.
In its response, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, in a statement released on Tuesday on social media platform X, condemned Israel's decision to approve the establishment of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, saying the dangerous move intends to strengthen the country's colonial control over the whole Palestinian territory.
The ministry also called for urgent and effective actions by the international community to curb the invasive policies and any move that would threaten the safety and stability of the whole region.
According to reports from the Palestinian official news agency, the Israeli forces on Tuesday conducted raids and arrests across multiple areas of the West Bank, including northern Jerusalem, Jenin, Tulkarm, and Hebron.
The operations led to clashes with local Palestinian residents, resulting in one Palestinian being shot and wounded by the Israeli forces, and at least 40 Palestinian residents being detained.
Additionally, three Palestinians were fired upon by the Israeli forces while driving near an Israeli military checkpoint south of Nablus, a city in the northern West Bank, resulting in one Palestinian being shot and injured, while the other two sustained injuries due to a vehicle rollover.
Israel seeks permanent presence in Gaza, sparking criticism from US official, Palestinian authorities
