2. You might really want to think twice about hitching your star to your new buddy Assad. Mind you, the Palestinians are used to seeing their cause used by leaders in the Arab world, and I get that you try to make the most of your opportunities. But even if the world is giving Assad a free pass, it can't be helpful to Palestinians among their supporters in the Arab world at large.
As an aside, I note that the reactions of other border governments (Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan) pretty much fall in line with my basic thesis that none of the surrounding governments actually wants to go to war on behalf of the Palestinians. Cheer them on, yes. Support them, open borders, stick to Israel, the U.S., and the West generally -- sure. But only Syria wanted to foment any kind of incident. Even Lebanon went out to its way to tamp things down and prevent a replay of 2006.
Everyone talks about a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Feh. I prefer aiming for "__ days without people shooting each other and everyone able to live reasonable lives without interfering with each other" as the goal.