Sa’ar calls new Syrian government an unelected ‘bunch of jihadists’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar calls Syria’s new government led by interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa “a bunch of jihadists” who were “not elected… by the Syrian people.”

Israel has repeatedly declared its mistrust of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist faction that led the campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad and that emerged from a group that was affiliated to al-Qaeda until it cut ties in 2016.

At a press conference in Jerusalem, Sa’ar affirms Israel’s determination to protect the Druze community in southern Syria, saying that Syria’s new leadership has “no right to initiate hostilities toward minorities, whether it is the Druze, Kurds, or others.”

His remarks come after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced yesterday that Israel may take action to protect the Druze near Damascus after an outbreak of deadly violence involving regime forces and Druze fighters.

Sa’ar stresses that “it is important that the new rulers of Damascus respect the rights of minorities,” noting that “we also have a Druze community here in Israel.”