New Syria leader warns on Israel attacks on UN charm mission

Syria's new leader warned yesterday (24 September) that Israel's persistent attacks put his country and the region at risk, on a landmark UN visit where the former jihadist sought to charm with his moderation.

Ahmed al-Sharaa is the first Syrian president in decades to address the UN's annual week of high-level diplomacy, marking a rapid reinvention for an erstwhile Al-Qaeda affiliate who until last year had a US bounty on his head.

Sharaa, sporting a neat-fitted Western suit and tie, said Syria had turned a page after a half-century of iron-fisted rule by the Assad family.

"Syria has transformed from an exporter of crisis to an opportunity for peace," Sharaa said in an address.

But he warned that Israel, which has repeatedly attacked its historic rival since the fall of Assad, was damaging the new Syria's prospects.

"I guarantee to bring to justice and hold everyone accountable who was responsible for the bloodshed," Sharaa said.

"In this context, Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue, contradicting the international support for Syria and threatening new crises," he said.

He said Syria was committed to a ceasefire agreement reached after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which Israel has declared at least temporarily void after Sharaa's forces toppled Assad in December.

"In the face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue, and we're committed to the Disengagement of Forces Agreement of 1974," Sharaa said.

"We call on the international community to stand beside us in the face of these attacks."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement after the speech that any deal was "contingent on ensuring the interests of Israel."

The interests include demilitarising southwestern Syria and safeguarding the rights of the Druze, a community with a strong presence in Israel, it said.

Israel has taken aggressive military action across the region after the shock of the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas, the deadliest ever day for Israel.

Trump charmed

The United States has stood beside Israel, whose devastating military campaign in Gaza has brought wide global condemnation, but President Donald Trump has broken with Israel by embracing Sharaa.

Trump agreed to lift Assad-era sanctions on Syria during a May trip to Riyadh, where, at the urging of the Saudi and Turkish leaders, he met Sharaa and called the 42-year-old an "attractive, tough guy."

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who has advocated working with Sharaa, said Trump "decided within five minutes" on meeting him and even likened the former jihadist to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

"Can you trust someone who is a jihadist who is in guerrilla fatigues who's now standing in front of you in a Tom Ford suit?" Barrack said at the Concordia summit on the UN sidelines.

"The president said, 'Well, what happened to Nelson Mandela?' Wasn't he a foreign terrorist for 27 years?"

Importance of peace

Sharaa stayed on message in myriad meetings around New York -- stressing that he wanted a diplomatic solution with Israel, while saying it was too early to discuss Trump and Netanyahu's key goal of persuading Syria to recognise Israel.

Despite his new look, there were occasional reminders of the past.

At the Concordia summit at a hotel in Times Square, Sharaa -- detained for years in Iraq -- was interviewed by David Petraeus, the former US general commanding a surge in Iraq.

Petraeus told Sharaa that he had faced criticism for disagreeing with other US policymakers on the threat posed by Sharaa's group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which Washington in July delisted as a terrorist group.

"I actually believed that we could work with these individuals, that they were nationalists -- yes, with a degree of political Islam," Petraeus said.

"Frankly, what you have done since toppling the Bashar al-Assad regime has validated the stance, Petraeus said.

Sharaa acknowledged that the two were on opposite sides in Iraq and said, "Sir, someone who has gone through war knows the importance of peace."