Israel’s strikes push Syria towards Mecca defence pact membership

Israel’s escalating campaign to stop Syria rebuilding its military with Turkish help looks set to backfire, after Damascus signalled it was considering joining the new mutual-defence pact formed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Securing a Washington-mediated security deal with Israel was still Damascus’ top priority, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani reportedly told Roman Gofman, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, at a meeting in Amman on Sunday. Such a deal would…