Syria’s al-Sharaa promises peace and unity in face of Israeli aggression

Doha, Qatar – Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of heightening regional tensions and fabricating external threats to divert attention from the “horrifying massacres” it has committed in Gaza.

Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Saturday during the Newsmaker Interview at the Doha Forum, al-Sharaa said Israeli leaders “often exports crises to other countries” as they increasingly invoke security pretexts to expand military action.

“They justify everything, using their security concerns, and they take October 7 and extrapolate it to everything that is happening around them,” he said.

“Israel has become a country that is in a fight against ghosts.”

Since the the Bashar al-Assad regime fell in December 2024, Israel has carried out frequent air strikes across Syria, killing hundreds of people, while also conducting ground operations in the south.

Last month, Israeli forces killed at least 13 people in the Damascus countryside town of Beit Jinn.

In addition, it has advanced deeper into Syrian territory and established numerous checkpoints, while illegally detaining Syrian citizens and holding them inside Israel.

Al-Sharaa said his administration had worked to de-escalate tensions with Israel since he assumed office, emphasising that “we sent positive messages regarding regional peace and stability”.

“We’ve said very frankly that Syria will be a country of stability, and we are not concerned with being a country that exports conflict, including to Israel,” he said.

“However, in return, Israel has met us with extreme violence, and Syria has suffered massive violations of our airspace.”

‘Syria attacked by Israel, not the opposite’

Al-Sharaa said Israel must withdraw to where they were before the fall of al-Assad, and preserve the 1974 Disengagement Accord.

The accord established a ceasefire following the October 1973 Yom Kippur war, creating a United Nations-monitored buffer zone on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

“This agreement has held on for over 50 years,” al-Sharaa said, cautioning that efforts to replace it with new arrangements, such as a buffer or demilitarised zone, could push the region “into a serious and dangerous place”.

“Who will protect that zone? Israel often says that they are afraid of coming under attack from southern Syria, so who will be protecting this buffer zone or this demilitarised zone, if the Syrian army or the Syrian forces are going to be there?” he asked.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a deal with Syria was within reach, but that he expected Syrian government forces to create a demilitarised buffer zone extending from the capital, Damascus, to Jabal al-Sheikh in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

“It is Syria that is being attacked by Israel and not the opposite,” he said. “Therefore, who has more right to claim a buffer zone and a pullout?”

Unity in Syria

On the question of unity, al-Sharaa said there was progress and ongoing challenges.

“I believe Syria is living through its best days. We are talking about a country that’s aware, that’s conscious,” he said, while stressing that no country can achieve total “unanimity”.

“This doesn’t occur even in advanced countries that are living through relative stability.”
According to al-Sharaa, people in Syria “simply did not know each other well” due to issues inherited from the al-Assad regime.

“We actually resorted to pardoning a large number of people and a large number of factions so that we can build a sustainable, safe and secure future for the Syrian people,” he added.

Moreover, he rejected the notion the uprising against al-Assad was a “Sunni revolution”.

“All the components of Syrian society were part of the revolution,” he said.

“Even the Alawites had to pay the price of them being used by the former regime. So I do not agree with the definition or with saying that all the Alawites were supporting the regime. Some of them were living in fear.”

Syria witnessed an outbreak of sectarian violence earlier this year, including in the coastal areas in March, where hundreds of people from the Alawite religious minority were killed, with members of the new government’s security forces among the perpetrators.

Fighting also broke out between government forces and their allies with Bedouin tribes in Suwayda in July, in which more than 1,400 people, mainly civilians, were killed.

“We know that there are some crimes that were perpetrated … this is a negative thing,” he said. “I insist … that we do not accept what happened. But I say that Syria is a state of law, and the law rules in Syria, and the law is the only way to preserve everybody’s rights.”

Many rights groups are concerned that women will be particularly at risk under the new government led by the former al-Qaeda operative, as al-Sharaa’s Hayat al-Tahrir group severely restricted women’s freedoms, including public participation and dress code, during their rule over Idlib in northwest Syria.

On what the role of women looks like in Syria today, al-Sharaa said they were “empowered” under his rule.

“Their rights are protected and guaranteed, and we constantly strive to ensure that women are fully participating in our government and our parliament as well,” he added.

“I believe you should not fear for Syrian women, fear for Syrian men,” Sharaa joked.

Elections to be held within five years

Al-Sharaa stressed that Syria’s path forward lies in strengthening institutions rather than consolidating individual power, and that he was committed to conducting elections after the ongoing transition period ends.

“Syria is not a tribe. Syria is a country, a country with rich ideas … I do not believe we are ready right now to undertake parliamentary elections,” he said.

Nevertheless, al-Sharaa said parliamentary elections will take place within five years of when the temporary Constitutional Declaration was signed back in March, giving him the mandate to lead Syria through a five-year transition period.

“The principle of people choosing their leaders is a basic principle … it is even part of our religion in Islam,” he stressed.

“Rulers have to gain the satisfaction of the majority of people in order to rule properly, so this is what we believe in, and I think that this is the suitable path for Syria.”

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