U.S. President Donald Trump has offered a rather stark take on the situation in war-wracked Syria, summing it up in two words -- "sand and death" -- while remaining vague about the timing of the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

"So Syria was lost long ago. It was lost long ago. And besides that, I don't want -- we're talking about sand and death. That's what we're talking about," Trump said during a cabinet meeting.

Israeli far-right activists clashed with police Thursday as authorities moved in to clear away two mobile homes illegally set up in the occupied West Bank.

Syria's Kurds have established an autonomous region during seven years of civil war, but the abrupt decision by their U.S. ally to withdraw has thrown their political future into doubt.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said Ankara and Baghdad would deepen cooperation against terrorism after tensions last month over Turkish air strikes against Kurdish militants in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia's attorney general sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday.

With little resistance from a friendly White House, Israel has launched a new settlement push in the West Bank since President Donald Trump took office, laying the groundwork for what could be the largest construction binge in years, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.

The figures, gathered from official government sources by the anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now, show an increase in building in 2018 and a sharp spike in planning for future construction.

President Donald Trump's decision to pull American troops out of Syria "in no way changes anything" in terms of U.S. support and protection of Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said.

Pompeo gave the assurance as he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks in Brasilia on the sidelines of the inauguration of Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Clashes between jihadists and rebels in northern Syria have killed at least 19 people, a war monitor said.

Honduras on Tuesday discussed with Israel and the United States moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a controversial initiative that follows similar gestures by Washington, officials said.

Almost eight years into Syria's devastating war, opponents of the regime are watching in dismay as President Bashar al-Assad's government looks set to secure its comeback at home and abroad.