World roundup: August 22-23 2026

Moving on to the news, we start in the Middle East with Syria, where the Israeli military or IDF bombed a civilian car south of Damascus on Sunday, Saturday rather, wounding at least one person.

It later claimed to have been attacking a terrorist, that's a quote, of unknown description who was somehow threatening Israeli soldiers.

That incident notwithstanding, Axios reported on Sunday that Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaybani said, and Mossad Director Roman Gofman, quote, met Sunday in an effort to lower the temperature between the countries, end quote, in the wake of the IDF's attack on Abu Duhur Air Base on Tuesday.

It is unclear whether they made any headway.

You can probably put this in the Who Cares file, but U.S.

Ambassador to Turkey-slash-Syria Envoy Tom Barak put himself in a bit of hot water on Friday when he said in a podcast interview that, that the Israelis, quote, still occupy the Golan against the UN resolutions, against all of the international order, which has said the Golan is serious, end quote.

As far as the Israeli government is concerned, it has annexed the Golan, and Donald Trump adopted that position as official U.S. policy during his first term.

So while Barack was technically right, he was also out of step with his boss, or bosses, depending on your perspective.

He reversed himself on Sunday in comments to the AP, but there is some chance that he may face additional consequences.

In Israel-Palestine, the IDF killed at least two people in Gaza from Friday to Saturday and three more on Sunday, one of them a four-year-old child.

In the West Bank, soldiers and settler militants wounded at least 19 people in multiple attacks across the territory on Saturday.

For those who are interested, Jasper Nathaniel has published an interview at his newsletter with Louis Ridi, one of the Palestinian homeowners currently being besieged by militants and IDF soldiers in the West Bank village of Kusra.

Notices Akbar Shahid Ahmed reports that there is little reason to expect the Trump administration to oppose the Israeli government's E1 settlement and its broader effort to cleave off East Jerusalem from the West Bank.

Let me read you a bit of this piece.

A new Israeli government effort to build settlements near Jerusalem could lead to another uptick in Israeli-Palestinian tensions, and there's little indication the Trump administration will use its influence to limit rising instability.

Israel's housing ministry opened bidding this week for companies to build more than 1,200 housing units in the West Bank's E1 zone, part of occupied Palestinian territory where Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

Constructing Israeli homes in the region would block a key route between the north and south sections of the territory and separate it from East Jerusalem, where more than 300,000 Palestinians live and where diplomats have long envisioned a capital for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

U.S. allies quickly condemned the move and suggested action to stop the land grab.

Insiders expect a far more muted American response.

When Notice asked a U.S. official who works on Middle East policy about the chances of the Trump administration blocking the E1 move, The official responded, quote, zero, end quote.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is, quote, in lockstep, end quote, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, said the official, who was not authorized to speak on the record.

You can read the rest of that piece.

At notice, the indifference, as Akbar goes on to say, likely extends to any Israeli attempt to change the status quo in Jerusalem, for example, by seizing control of the Haram al-Sharif, or Temple Mount if you prefer, complex from the Jordanian Ron Wakf that administers it now.

This is something we've talked about in previous editions of this newsletter.

In Iran, Pakistani military boss Asim Munir is reportedly heading to that country on Monday to try to revive negotiations toward ending the ongoing Iran-U.S. standoff.