Why Pro-Palestine Must Also Mean Pro-Syria
Photo: t.me/artistsagainstzionism
To support Palestinian liberation while opposing the Syrian government under President Bashar al-Assad is an irreconcilable contradiction. Syria plays a vital role as the logistical, political, and military backbone of the Axis of Resistance—a coalition of state and non-state actors fighting Zionist and U.S.-led imperialism across West Asia. The war against Syria, orchestrated by the United States, Israel, Turkey, and Qatar, is not an isolated conflict but a calculated attack on the Palestinian liberation movement and the broader regional resistance. To fully understand and support Palestine's struggle for liberation, one must recognize Syria's indispensable role and reject the imperialist propaganda that seeks to divide these interconnected struggles.
Syria’s Role in the Axis of Resistance
Syria is geographically and strategically vital to the Axis of Resistance, which includes Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ansar Allah in Yemen, various Iraqi resistance groups, and Palestinian factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Syria serves as the land bridge connecting Iran to Lebanon and Palestine, enabling the transfer of weapons, logistical support, and expertise to resistance forces. Without Syria, this critical supply chain would collapse, leaving Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements isolated and vulnerable to Zionist aggression.
Syria has also been a hub for weapons manufacturing, providing arms and technological expertise to Palestinian factions and Hezbollah for decades. Even amid the ongoing war, Syria has continued to uphold its role as a key supporter of Palestinian resistance, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to the fight against Zionism.
President Assad’s refusal to abandon the Axis of Resistance is one of the primary reasons for the war against Syria. Western powers have consistently demanded that Syria sever its ties with Iran, Hezbollah, and Palestinian groups, but Assad has steadfastly refused. This principled stance has made Syria a target for regime change and relentless aggression by imperialist and Zionist forces.
Syria’s Unwavering Support for Palestine
During Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, President Assad praised the operation as a “heroic act of resistance,” reaffirming Syria’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause. Despite enduring over a decade of war and sanctions, Syria has remained steadfast in its support for Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other factions resisting Zionist occupation.
Syria has also been a safe haven for Palestinian refugees and resistance movements. Nearly half a million Palestinian refugees have found safety in Syria, even as the country itself struggles under the weight of foreign intervention and economic sanctions. Furthermore, Syria has hosted resistance factions for decades, providing them with the resources and space to organize and strategize against Israeli occupation. As Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya noted during the 2022 reconciliation between Hamas and Syria, “Syria has provided for the Palestinians what no other country has provided.”
The Reconciliation Between Hamas and Syria
The reconciliation between Hamas and Syria in 2022 was a significant moment in restoring unity within the Axis of Resistance and reaffirming the interconnected struggle against Zionism and imperialism. After a decade-long rift caused by the early years of the Syrian war, Hamas officially reestablished ties with Damascus, recognizing Syria’s indispensable role in supporting Palestinian resistance. The late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, in his speech on April 14, 2023, during International Quds Day, explicitly acknowledged Syria’s crucial contribution to the resistance, stating, “The credit for building the resistance goes to the resistance itself, to the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the support of Syria (President Bashar) Al-Assad, and developing our relationship with Hezbollah.” Sinwar’s words reflected the deep solidarity between Syria and the Palestinian struggle, emphasizing the need for unity across the Axis of Resistance.
Osama Hamdan, Hamas’s representative in Lebanon and a senior member of its political bureau, echoed Sinwar’s sentiments in a televised interview, describing Syria’s support for Palestine as “unequivocal.” Hamdan emphasized that this support “extends across political and media domains,” illustrating Syria’s multifaceted commitment to the Palestinian cause over decades. He acknowledged that the foreign-backed war on Syria and Western sanctions had impacted Syria’s ability to assist the resistance fully but stressed, “We cannot forget the Syrian position and the Syrian effort over decades that have passed and how it stood by the side of resistance.”
The reconciliation marked a turning point, with Hamas recognizing that Syria’s struggle for sovereignty is inseparable from Palestine’s liberation. Khalil al-Hayya, another senior Hamas official, described the renewed ties as “a return to the natural relationship” between Hamas and Syria, acknowledging that “Syria has provided for the Palestinians what no other country has provided.” This restoration of relations also highlighted Syria’s steadfast support, even during its own prolonged war, and rejected normalization efforts by Arab states with Israel, which aim to isolate Palestinian resistance from its regional allies.
During a formal meeting in Damascus, Hamas leadership expressed gratitude to President Assad for his enduring support for the Palestinian cause. Assad warmly welcomed Hamas’s return, reiterating that “the Palestinian cause will always remain Syria’s priority.” Hamdan also revealed that direct channels of communication between Hamas and Syria, including its leadership, have strengthened since the historic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023. This reconciliation sent a strong message of unity to Zionist and imperialist forces, demonstrating that the Axis of Resistance remains interconnected and determined. By restoring ties with Syria, Hamas underscored the inseparability of Syria’s struggle for sovereignty and Palestine’s fight for liberation, reinforcing the need for collective solidarity against Zionism and imperialism.
The Role of Propaganda and Psychological Operations
The war on Syria is not just a physical military conflict—it is also a war of narratives. Propaganda and psychological operations (psyops) have been systematically weaponized against Syria to delegitimize its government, fracture public support, and obscure the interconnectedness of its struggle with the Palestinian cause. Understanding and combating these tactics is essential to supporting Syria and the broader resistance.
1. Framing the War on Syria as a “Civil War”
The imperialist narrative frames the conflict in Syria as a “civil war” or a “fight for democracy,” concealing the reality that it is a U.S.-led regime change operation. By portraying the Syrian government as authoritarian and the war as a domestic uprising, Western media justifies intervention and sanctions under the guise of “humanitarianism.” This narrative ignores the extensive foreign funding, arming, and training of terrorist groups by the U.S., Israel, Qatar, and Turkey. It also erases Syria’s central role in the Axis of Resistance.
2. Demonizing the Syrian Government
Western media has systematically demonized President Assad and the Syrian government, framing them as perpetrators of atrocities while whitewashing Western-backed terrorist groups like Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) as “rebels” or “freedom fighters.” Allegations of chemical weapons use by the Syrian government, for example, have been widely amplified without credible evidence, often serving as pretexts for Western airstrikes. Meanwhile, the atrocities committed by U.S.-backed terrorist groups are downplayed or ignored.
3. Psychological Operations to Spread Fear
Psyops have been deployed to destabilize Syria and demoralize its population. Media outlets such as Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye have spread fear among Syrian civilians by amplifying extremist propaganda, portraying terrorist advances as unstoppable, and fabricating imminent threats. This has led to mass panic and displacement, weakening Syrian resistance. These operations are designed not only to break the will of the Syrian people but also to manipulate international public opinion and justify intervention.
4. Whitewashing Foreign Intervention
Propaganda consistently erases the role of Western powers in Syria’s destabilization. The U.S. has armed and trained extremist groups through programs like Operation Timber Sycamore, while Israel has directly supported terrorist factions, providing artillery cover, medical aid, and intelligence. Turkey and Qatar have funneled billions of dollars to Al-Qaeda affiliates and facilitated the movement of foreign fighters. However, corporate media rarely highlights these facts, presenting the war as an organic internal conflict.
5. Suppressing the Pro-Syrian Perspective
Syrian voices, particularly those that oppose foreign intervention, are systematically suppressed in mainstream discourse. Independent journalists and analysts who expose the imperialist nature of the war are discredited or ignored. This one-sided narrative prevents the public from understanding Syria’s role as a bulwark against Zionist and imperialist domination.
How to Combat Propaganda and Psyops
To support Syria and the Axis of Resistance, it is crucial to counteract the imperialist propaganda that distorts the narrative around the war. Here’s how:
Expose the Truth: Emphasize that the war on Syria is not a civil war but a U.S.-Zionist-led regime change operation. Highlight the role of foreign intervention, including the funding of extremist groups and the illegal U.S. occupation of Syrian territory.
Connect the Dots: Show how the war on Syria is inseparable from the struggle for Palestinian liberation. By destabilizing Syria, imperialist powers aim to sever the logistical and political support that sustains Palestinian resistance. These conflicts are part of the same imperialist agenda to dominate West Asia.
Amplify Independent Media: Support and share information from independent journalists and Syrian voices that challenge the mainstream narrative. These perspectives are critical to exposing the lies propagated by corporate media.
Build a Unified Resistance Narrative: Reject sectarianism and propaganda that aim to divide the pro-Palestine movement. Strengthen solidarity by framing Syria’s and Palestine’s struggles as interconnected battles against the same imperialist and Zionist forces.
The War on Syria: A U.S.-Zionist Imperialist Project
The war on Syria, often mischaracterized as a domestic uprising, is a U.S.-led regime change operation aimed at dismantling the Axis of Resistance. Since 2011, the United States, Israel, Turkey, and Qatar have armed and funded extremist terrorist groups to destabilize Syria, weaken its allies, and secure Zionist hegemony in West Asia.
Operation Timber Sycamore, a CIA program, funneled over $1 billion to extremist groups between 2013 and 2017. Israel has bombed Syria over 530 times since 2013, targeting military and logistical infrastructure critical to the resistance. Meanwhile, the U.S. illegally occupies Syrian territory, stealing its oil and wheat while blocking supply lines to Palestinian and Lebanese factions.
Qatar and Turkey have played key roles in this campaign, funding and arming extremist groups while spreading propaganda to delegitimize the Syrian government. These actions directly serve Zionist and U.S. interests by weakening Syria’s ability to support the Palestinian resistance.
Conclusion: Defending Syria is Defending Palestine
Syria’s pivotal role in the Axis of Resistance and its unwavering support for Palestinian liberation make it indispensable to the fight against Zionism and imperialism. The media and imperialist forces will continue to treat these struggles as separate, but they are deeply interconnected. To oppose Syria is to weaken the Palestinian cause, strengthen Israel, and align with U.S.-Zionist agendas. True solidarity with Palestine requires standing with Syria and rejecting the imperialist propaganda designed to divide and undermine the resistance.
End the war on Syria! Expose the lies! Long live the Axis of Resistance!
