Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will double the Israeli population of the Golan Heights following the fall of Syria's Bashar Al-Assad. The Israeli government approved the plan Sunday.

Israel's "demographic development" plan to increase settler numbers only applies to the area of the Golan Heights that Israel seized during the Six Day War in 1967 and later annexed in 1981 and not to territory taken since al-Assad's ouster.

Debra Tice wrote to the Israeli prime minister that her family had “credible information” that Austin Tice may be held in a prison outside Damascus, in an area where Israel had been conducting military operations.

Asked Sunday if Timmerman's misidentification was a moment of false hope, Debra Tice instead characterized it as a moment of joy to be shared. Timmerman has said he had traveled into Syria for a spiritual mission earlier this year and was arrested for entering the country illegally.

Austin Tice disappeared 12 years ago while on a reporting trip in Syria. It was later discovered that Tice was kidnapped. He is believed to be the only American journalist held captive abroad. Does the ousting of Assad in Syria bode well for Tice’s release?

Israel has once again attacked military targets in Syria. Explosions were heard in the provinces of Latakia and Tartus, among others, where the Russians have their military bases. One of the explosions near Tartus was so powerful that it registered as a magnitude 3 earthquake on seismic sensors in the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel does not want conflict with Syria. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

The head of Syria’s most powerful rebel faction has signalled that his forces do not want new conflicts despite a wave of Israeli attacks on the country since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The threats to Israel from Syria remain despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday, amid military moves by his country to counter such threats.