Donald Trump: Israel's victory over Hezbollah toppled Bashar al-Assad 

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday referred to the historic fall of the Assad regime after more than five decades in which the family ruled the country with a high hand.

Trump wrote this morning that the fall of the Assad regime, which is supported by Iran, occurred thanks to Israel and its victory over Hezbollah. "Russia and Iran are in a weakened situation at the moment, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, and the other because of Israel and the success of its fighting," the president-elect said.

In a somewhat disparaging tone toward Putin, Trump referred to the incident in his own words: "Assad is gone. He fled his country. His defender, Russia, headed by Vladimir Putin, was no longer interested in protecting him. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place," Trump said.

In his remarks, Trump criticized Russia's conduct, stating that "they have lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where nearly 600,000 Russian soldiers have been wounded or killed, in a war that should never have begun, and can continue forever."

* Kikar HaShabbat contributed to this article.