Sharaa says Israeli attacks on Syria at odds with 'joy' of global community towards his country
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa used his speech at the United Nations General Assembly to declare his country’s return to the international community and slam Israel's attacks as "at odds" with the international consensus on Damascus.
“The world is joyed by our return but Israel is launching attacks against Syria,” he said, saying Israel had launched 500 air strikes, conducted more than 1,200 incursions and 300 detentions in the country.
“This is at odds with the orientation we are seeing at a global level,” he said. “We reject their [Israeli] aggressions”.
In a blistering UN speech on Tuesday, Jordan's King Abdullah II said that Israel's attacks on Syria prove it has territorial ambitions that extend beyond the occupied Palestinian territories.
“Any attempts that violate our sovereignty, that violate international law, will be stopped. Golan will remain Syrian territories,” Sharaa said, condemning Israel’s illegal occupation of the territory and calling for a return to the 1974 agreement that created a UN buffer zone between the two states.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
In 1967, Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria and illegally annexed the territory in 1981. Under the rule of Hafez al-Assad, the two countries signed a disengagement agreement that established a security framework and UN buffer zone on their border.
US President Donald Trump - who has made no secret of admiring Sharaa - decided during his first term in office in 2019 to unilaterally recognise the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel. The move had long been on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wishlist.
Sharaa addressed the UN General Assembly for the first time last year after leading a militant group that ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power in late 2024.
Israel invaded southern Syria and occupied the buffer zone after Sharaa came to power.
The US has been brokering talks between Syria and Israel. Sharaa told an audience at a think-tank event on Tuesday that he could not entertain the notion of diplomatic relations while Israel carries out air strikes on his country and occupies his birthplace in the Golan Heights.
Last month, Israel bombed an air base in northern Syria where it claimed Turkey intended to deploy troops. Syria is a close ally of Turkey and has emerged as a new arena of competition between Turkey and Israel.
Sharaa highlighted his government’s efforts to bring Syria back into the international fold.
“Security and stability has been established. We are no longer isolated,” Sharaa said, adding that Syria has cracked down on transnational crime and the trade of captagon, which flourished under the Assad government. He also said Syria is cooperating to destroy chemical weapons of the Assad era.
Although sanctions have been lifted on Syria, Sharaa’s government faces a number of challenges, including a weak economy and sluggish reconstruction.
“Syria is rising,” Sharaa said on Wednesday. “We proved to the world that the security of the region has to start in Damascus.”
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
