US military says it has killed IS fighters as EU warns Iran and Russia should have ‘no place’ in Syria’s future.

Several countries have condemned Israel’s plan to expand settlements in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights after opposition fighters ousted former President Bashar al-Assad.

Several Middle Eastern countries and Germany, Israel’s ally, denounced on Monday Israel’s decision to double the population of Israeli settlers in illegally occupied Syrian territory.

The criticism comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in Syria after al-Assad’s ouster and the new interim government took power.

Israel approved the settlement expansion days after the Israeli army seized more Syrian territory following the fall of Al-Assad.

Syria has also been subjected to intense Israeli bombardment, with hundreds of attacks targeting military sites and research centers across the country.

Several countries have denounced Israeli attacks against Syria. This week, more and more countries have criticized Israel’s plans for the Golan:

• Qatar criticized the plan, calling it “a new episode in a series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories.”
• Jordan called this a “blatant violation of international law.”
• Turkey denounced the decision as an attempt by Israel to “expand its borders”.
• Saudi Arabia denounced “the continued sabotage of Syria’s chances of restoring its security and stability.”
• Egypt condemned the plans as “a blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
• Germany said it was “perfectly clear under international law that this area controlled by Israel belongs to Syria.”

Israel occupied the Golan in 1967 and then annexed it in 1981, a move considered illegitimate by most of the international community.

The recent Israeli plan will devote more than 40 million shekels ($11 million) to increasing the settler population.

“Strengthening the Golan means strengthening the State of Israel, and that is particularly important at this time. We will continue to preserve it, make it flourish and settle in it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

The new Syrian authorities have indicated that they are not seeking to confront Israel.

Meanwhile, the United States said Monday its forces carried out airstrikes in Syria that killed 12 ISIL (ISIS) “terrorists.”

“The strikes against ISIS leaders, members and camps were carried out as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade and defeat ISIS, preventing the terrorist group from carrying out external operations and ensuring that ISIS does not seek opportunities to reconstitute itself in the center. Syria,” the US military said in a statement.

The US attacks come as the European Union’s top foreign policy official said the bloc’s envoy to Syria had started high-level talks with the country’s new leaders and that the EU would hold a conference fundraising to help with the transition in Syria.

Kaja Kallas also told reporters after a meeting with European foreign ministers that Iran and Russia should have “no place” in Syria’s future.

“Many foreign ministers have emphasized that eliminating Russian influence (in Syria) should be a condition for the new leaders,” Kallas said.

Russia, which supported al-Assad with weapons and airstrikes during the war, has military bases in Syria, the future of which remains uncertain.

Earlier on Monday, al-Assad issued his first statement since his ouster, saying the country was “in the hands of terrorism.”

Opposition forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a blistering offensive in November that toppled the former Syrian president on December 8.

The Syrian war began as a peaceful and largely unarmed uprising against al-Assad in March 2011, but grew into a full-fledged war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and turned millions into refugees .