of troop incursions into southern Syria well beyond the supposed "zone" that the IDF and Netanyahu said was their extent of troop deployment. Villagers reported a line of tanks and bulldozers came and ripped up agricultural land and destroyed buildings. The general media is so dishonest regarding what the Western motives in Syria have been and still are about. Oil and strategic deployment. The story-line spoon fed to the media is always about the "plight of the average Syrian" and their "freedom".

Syria has over 2 trillion barrels of proven reserves as of 2016 figures. There are the various powers in the world with their troops and air-power in Syria for years now and they don't look to be leaving anytime soon despite calls from the Syrian people to do so. It is not to say that Syrian oil production is on the level of the big players but 2 trillion barrels is still a huge amount of money and carving off a percentage here and there makes billions of dollars for lots of entities. It's a pretty safe bet that the "average Syrian", who is supposed to be what the Western military actions has all been about, will see little to nothing much like several other countries.

Suffice it to say that if there was no oil or strategic geographic position regarding Syria then the West and others would barely register a blip about the plight of the "average Syrian" and any repression. Examples of the US and others ignoring situations in resource poor countries are sadly well known. Examples of the US and others exploiting countries with resources and propping up repressive regimes are also out there. The jockeying going on behind the scenes in Syria is now enormous and you can be sure that promises and percentages are flying hot and heavy. Israel may just be jockeying for strategic deployment reasons but the West would never make this huge investment of military involvement and money if there wasn't a financial component.

https://www.newarab.com/news/what-will-syrias-oil-and-gas-industry-look-post-assad

from either Lebanon or Israel, by either IDF, Hezbollah or LAF in the article you cited.

Also, isn't it equally dishonest of the Western media to not mention that Turkey, Iran, ISIS, Russia, the Kurds, and just about every other faction that influences events in Syria is fighting for the same resources?

the meantime the reference I made was not restricted to the Western media. I said media in general. Also I was not restrictive about other powers. I said "various powers". Also I think reports of troops, not airstrikes, within 16 miles of Damascus counts as a report of IDF incursion beyond the Golan Heights buffer zone. I have included another report from the Syrian Observer which is reporting, but not verifying, IDF tanks and bulldozers ripping up agricultural land. Because this report of a report wasn't verified I didn't source it but simply mentioned the existence of it. Since that time the The Times of Israel has verified some of the actions in the Syrian Observer article. There is discrepancy between the IDF claims about giving the journalists/activists back their cameras etc. and the claims in the Syrian Observer article that quotes the Al-Jumhuriya.net site as saying that the recorded material was erased. So it is not the same as "giving back" in the same condition as when taken. The Times of Israel article quotes the lawyer/journalist/activist as saying his sim card was taken and the memory cards for his equipment as well as $200 from his assistant. So we have some corroboration about that event although still with differences. The Syrian Observer article seems to be a "compilation" of events in the area from several sources and it remains to be seen if some of what was on the cameras of the journalists was the kind of activity described in the Syrian Observer report. It wouldn't be the first time that troops in a contentious area have not wanted their actions documented.


https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-buffer-zone-israeli-forces-syria-near-damascus-1998335
https://syrianobserver.com/foreign-actors/israeli-occupation-arrests-syrian-lawyer-and-french-activist-in-quneitra.html
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-detains-then-releases-french-journalist-in-southern-syria-buffer-zone/

2.5 billion barrels, proven reserves. Maybe somebody misread "2,500,000,000"?

Now, they also include 8.5 trillion cft of methane.

that Hizbollah shouldn't have started a war with Israel.
In the infamous words of Will Smith: Don't start shit, won't be shit.

They owe reparations to the people of Lebanon for continuously violating the UN Resolution 1701 for decades.

Time for them to pay for their crimes.