Syria interim president accuses Israel of fighting ‘ghosts’ and exporting crises | Syria
Syria’s interim president accused Israel of fighting “ghosts” and exporting its crises to other countries after the war in Gaza.
President Ahmed al-Shara’s comments come amid persistent airstrikes and attacks by the Israeli army on southern Syria.
Sharaa told an international conference in Doha on Saturday that Syria insists on respecting the disengagement agreement with Israel signed in 1974, “a successful agreement in one way or another that has been valid for more than 50 years.” Breaking the agreement and seeking other agreements, such as a demilitarized zone, could lead us into a dangerous place with unknown consequences.
Following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad a year ago, Israeli forces entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights and launched regular attacks deep into Syria. The level of distrust towards Syrians is increasing in the region south of Damascus.
Since coming to power a year ago, Sharaa insisted he had sent “positive messages to Israel about regional peace and stability.”
He also said he “predicted” Israel’s conflict with Hamas militants and justified the attack in the name of security. “Israel has become a country struggling with ghosts,” he said.
“They legitimize everything with security concerns, and they take October 7 and give meaning to everything that’s happening around them.” He added that Israel has become a country that exports crises.
Sharaa said: “Israel responded to Syria with extreme violence, launching more than 1,000 airstrikes and carrying out 400 attacks on its territory. The last of these attacks was the massacre in the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside, which killed dozens of people.”
He said Syria was working with “influential” countries to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied territories. “There are negotiations with Israel and the United States is also involved in these negotiations with us, and all countries support our demand for Israel to withdraw to its borders before December 8.”
Donald Trump last week issued a warning to Israel to cooperate with the Syrian president, stating that he does not welcome Israel’s attacks on Syria.
Sharaa said that the demand for a demilitarized zone raises many questions for Syria: “Who will protect this region if there is no presence of the Syrian army?”
Israel says it fears terrorist groups linked to Hamas or Sharaa invading Israel unless there is a tight buffer zone. Israel has seized a 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized buffer zone in southern Syria.
Sharaa, who spent some time in US prisons in Iraq, was welcomed like a rock star at the conference. He emphasized that “since Syria is the country exposed to Israeli attacks, any agreement must secure Syria’s interests.”
“Syria is a developed country,” Sharaa insisted, pointing to the recent People’s Assembly elections. The polls have been criticized as biased in favor of the country’s interim leaders.
Sharaa stated that the polls were held “in accordance with the transition phase” and said, “It is a basic principle that the people choose who will govern them.”
“We attribute the construction of Syria to institutions, not individuals, and this is the biggest challenge in the transition phase we are going through.”
He promised full elections within four years and said women had nothing to fear in Syria. She said it was the men who should worry.
