According to the Mailonline, Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has sharply criticised Israel’s military actions in the region, accusing it of pursuing imagined threats and prolonging conflict after the devastating war in Gaza.
Speaking at the Doha Forum in Qatar, al-Sharaa said that since taking office a year ago, his government has focused on rebuilding Syria’s regional relationships and easing decades of hostility. “We are not concerned in being a country that exports conflict, including to Israel,” he told delegates, signalling a shift in tone from years of open confrontation.
However, he said those efforts have been met with continued military pressure. Al-Sharaa accused Israel of “extrapolating” its war with Hamas and using security concerns as justification for what he described as aggressive actions inside Syrian territory. He urged Israel to pull its troops back and recommit to the 1974 disengagement agreement that once kept calm along the border.
“There are currently negotiations, and the United States is participating and engaged in those negotiations,” al-Sharaa said, adding that he hoped a middle ground could be found to satisfy “reasonable” security demands on both sides.
Since the fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has taken control of a 400-square-kilometre buffer zone in southern Syria. Israeli officials say the move was necessary to stop militants from exploiting the power vacuum. Since then, Israeli troops have carried out repeated raids and airstrikes in and around the area, including an operation last month that killed at least 13 people.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly praised al-Sharaa’s performance in office and warned Israel not to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs. “It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria,” Trump wrote.
Despite the violence and lingering distrust, al-Sharaa insisted diplomacy remains his priority, suggesting a fragile opening for dialogue in one of the Middle East’s most unstable arenas.
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