Secretary of State Antony Blinken says U.S. officials have made direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. HTS’s leader condemned Israel’s incursion into Syria.

Israel agreed on Sunday to double its population on the occupied Golan Heights while saying threats from Syria remained despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar Assad a week ago.

Netanyahu’s office said that the government approved a plan to double the population on the Israeli-held Golan Heights