ALBAWABA - According to news sources, the Trump administration turned down Israel's request to keep some of the US sanctions on Syria. Instead, the US said it would give Israel other promises in return.
Israel's public broadcaster said that advisors to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Washington to keep certain sanctions in place so that Israel would have power in any future negotiations with Damascus. But American leaders turned the idea down.
The mentioned penalties come from the Caesar Act, which was passed by Congress in 2019 to punish the Syrian government for violating human rights during the country's long war. In the past few months, there has been more support in Washington for getting rid of the measures. Critics say they slow down the rebuilding of Syria and make foreign investors less interested in helping the economy.
Donald Trump, when he was president, had earlier put the sanctions on hold. Now, Congress's approval of their full repeal as part of the yearly defense budget has led to Trump signing off on it.
The decision was hailed by Syria, which said that the lifting of sanctions would help relieve the suffering of civilians as well as make a recovery in the economy and greater stability possible.
Even though top U.S. officials working on the Syria issue said they were under pressure from Israel, the U.S. government stuck to its decision. According to the Israeli broadcaster, Washington offered Israel some kind of "compensation" to make up for its worries.
Trump has also said that he hopes that easing sanctions could help Israel and Syria get along, which could lower the tensions that have been rising since the last government in Syria fell.
