‘We admire Saudi vision, aspire for similar progress in Syria,’ says Al-Sharaa

Asharq Al-Awsat journalist Bissane El-Chiekh interviewing Al-Sharaa. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Asharq Al-Awsat journalist Bissane El-Chiekh interviewing Al-Sharaa. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Updated 20 December 2024
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‘We admire Saudi vision, aspire for similar progress in Syria,’ says Al-Sharaa

‘We admire Saudi vision, aspire for similar progress in Syria,’ says Al-Sharaa
  • Head of HTS says he seeks no dominance over Lebanon

DAMASCUS: Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the head of the new Syrian administration, praised progress made by Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf countries in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat published on Friday.

Speaking to the newspaper’s Bissane El-Cheikh at the Presidential Palace in Damascus on Thursday, he lauded the Gulf’s development, saying: “We admire the development in Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia’s bold plans and vision, and we aspire to achieve similar progress for Syria.”

He added: “There are many opportunities for cooperation, especially in economic and developmental areas, where we can align our goals.”

During the interview, he also said that “the Syrian revolution ended with the regime's fall, and we will not allow it to spread elsewhere.”

Al-Sharaa stressed that Syria “will not be used to attack or destabilize any Arab or Gulf country.”

He said the Syrian opposition’s actions had “set the Iranian project in the region back by 40 years.”

Asked why Syria has yet to send a direct message to the Gulf and major Arab nations, Al-Sharaa responded by saying that his country has much to say to its Arab neighbors.

“Syria had become a platform for Iran to control key Arab capitals, spread wars, and destabilize the Gulf with drugs like Captagon,” he said.

He added: “By removing Iranian militias and closing Syria to Iranian influence, we’ve served the region’s interests—achieving what diplomacy and external pressure could not, with minimal losses.”

Al-Sharaa also criticized efforts to restore ties with the former Syrian regime, including its return to the Arab League in exchange for concessions.

“We were confident this would fail because we knew the regime would not make any genuine concessions or approach these overtures in good faith,” he said.

He claimed that during a meeting with Jordanian officials, the former regime was asked why it insisted on exporting Captagon to Jordan.

“The response was that it would not stop unless sanctions were lifted," Al-Sharaa said, adding “this is not how the regime operates.”

He emphasized that Gulf strategic security has since improved. “Today, the Iranian project in the region has been pushed back 40 years, making the Gulf more secure and stable.”

When asked if he would give reassurances on Syria not becoming a refuge for certain figures, Al-Sharaa dismissed concerns about hosting figures who cause concern for some Arab nations, saying Syria will not become a haven for controversial individuals.

“We are now focused on state-building. The revolution ended with the regime's fall, and we will not allow it to spread elsewhere. Syria will not be a platform to threaten or unsettle any Arab or Gulf country,” he said.

Al-Sharaa stressed that Syria seeks to rebuild and strengthen ties with Arab nations. “Syria is tired of wars and being used for others’ agendas. We want to restore trust and rebuild our country as part of the Arab world.”

On Syria’s relationship with its neighbor Lebanon, Al-Sharaa acknowledged concerns raised by Lebanese counterparts about him reaching Damascus, fearing it could strengthen one faction over another in Lebanon.

“We are not seeking any form of dominance over Lebanon,” he said. “We want a relationship based on mutual respect and exchange, without interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs. We have enough work to do in our own country.”

Al-Sharaa emphasized Syria’s intention to maintain balanced relations, saying he aims “to stand equally with all Lebanese groups, and what pleases them, pleases us.”

Al-Sharaa was asked about a national dialogue conference and a new constitution to guide Syria’s future, and the mechanism that he plans to ensure inclusivity for all Syrians in the process, especially among the base of supporters and fighters who do not necessarily agree with his current moderate speech.

Al-Sharaa acknowledged differing opinions but emphasized he does not want to impose his personal views on Syrians.

“I believe in letting legal experts shape the relationship between citizens, with the law as the guide,” he said.

“Syria is diverse, and it's natural for there to be different opinions. This difference is healthy.”

Al-Sharaa stressed that the recent victory is for all Syrians, not one group over another.

“Even those we thought were loyal to the old regime expressed joy, as they had not been able to openly express their feelings before,” he noted.

He expressed confidence that Syrians, regardless of their background, are aware enough to protect their country.

“My aim is to reach a broad agreement and build a country where the rule of law helps resolve our differences,” Al-Sharaa concluded.

On the complex issue of forced disappearances and individuals missing in prisons and mass graves, Al-Sharaa said the previous regime was a criminal gang, not a political system.

“We fought a brutal group that committed crimes like arrests, forced disappearances, killings, displacement, starvation, chemical attacks, and torture,” he said.

He stressed that while the regime is gone, the focus should be on justice, not revenge.

“We must not approach this with a desire for vengeance,” he said.

Al-Sharaa stated that those responsible for crimes like the Saydnaya prison and chemical attacks must be held accountable.

“Their names are known and they must be pursued,” he said. He also affirmed that families have the right to file complaints against unknown perpetrators.

Al-Sharaa outlined efforts to address the issue of missing persons. “We’ve broken the barriers, and specialized organizations are now helping with this task,” he said.

A new ministry will be set up to track the fate of the missing, both the deceased and the living.

“This will also assist families with documents like death certificates and inheritance,” he added.

He acknowledged the challenge ahead but emphasized the need to uncover the truth. “This is a big task, but we must find the truth,” Al-Sharaa said.

When asked about hosting the interview at the People’s Palace, the same location where Bashar al-Assad once sat, Al-Sharaa responded with a light-hearted laugh.

“To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable at all,” he said. “But this is a place that should be open to the people, a site where they can visit and where children can play in these courtyards.”

* This article was originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat and can be read here.


Baghdad's first skatepark offers boarders rare respite

Baghdad's first skatepark offers boarders rare respite
Updated 24 sec ago
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Baghdad's first skatepark offers boarders rare respite

Baghdad's first skatepark offers boarders rare respite
  • The new skatepark at the sports ministry in a Baghdad suburb provides a welcome means of escape for young people in a country that has endured decades of conflict and crisis

BAGHDAD: Rukaya Al-Zubaidi placed a cautious foot on a skateboard and then struggled to find her balance as others glided back and forth at Baghdad’s first park dedicated to the sport.
“It’s only my second time skating, but I want to keep going, especially now we have the space for it here in Baghdad,” the 22-year-old said as loud music mixed with laughter from fellow boarders.
After negotiating with authorities for five years, three organizations from Italy, Iraq and Belgium have now opened Baghdad’s first skatepark.
It is not the first in the country, however: that honor went to the northern city of Sulaimaniyah.
The new skatepark at the sports ministry in a Baghdad suburb provides a welcome means of escape for young people in a country that has endured decades of conflict and crisis.
It also offers a rare respite from the gaze of conservative Iraqi society.
Zubaidi, wearing a pink sweater, watched fellow enthusiasts, both professional and amateur, as they rolled on colorful boards in the open-air park.
“When my friends first told me about skateboarding, I was scared,” she said — not just of falling but also because of what people might say and because her parents might not approve.
“But when I tried it, it just filled me with a beautiful energy,” she added.
The skatepark project “is about inclusivity and community, about having a place for everyone,” said Ishtar Obaid of Iraq’s Forsah association.
Forsah, which means “opportunity,” was one of the three organizations that spearheaded the project.

It provides a space “where people from different backgrounds” come together, and “that’s the beauty of sport,” said Obaid, who also advises Iraq’s Olympic committee.
Her organization plans to run skateboarding classes for children and trainers.
“It is a new chapter for sports in Iraq,” Obaid said.
When the authorities approved the project in late 2024, the associations including Make Life Skate Life, a Belgian-US charity that has set up skateparks in northern Iraq, Libya and India, built the new facility in just one month.
Kjell Van Hansewyck of Make Life Skate Life said it was a “real struggle” to find a location for the skatepark.
He described Baghdad as “a crowded city with a lot of pollution and traffic jams,” and lacking “public land and facilities for children.”
The Iraqi capital is bustling with dozens of infrastructure and construction projects. Towering cranes and machinery dominate its streets, as new tunnels and bridges are being built.
“It is like one big work site,” Van Hansewyck said.
When authorities said they could provide space at the sports ministry, the groups could hardly turn down the offer, despite this meaning skaters would have to pass through security checkpoints.
Van Hansewyck said the skatepark is “not visible from the streets,” which makes it difficult for people who want to check it out.
But he is confident that passionate skaters will still promote the park and do everything possible to make it a major attraction.

Mohammad Al-Qadi, 19, bought his first skateboard in 2019, the year he also joined a wave of nationwide anti-government protests.
Baghdad was the vibrant epicenter of the movement. Protesters also organized cultural and sports events before the demonstrations were crushed in a brutal crackdown that saw more than 600 people killed.
Since then, Qadi had only been able to skate on Baghdad’s busy streets.
“When we took to the streets with our skateboards, people would call us bad boys,” he said.
In conservative Iraq, skateboarding is widely viewed as an alternative sport adopted by rebellious youths — leading many to shun it for fear of ruining their reputations.
Qadi said this perception may have slightly improved, but until now local skaters still had nowhere to go.
“When I feel pressured by my studies or in my personal life, I turn to skateboarding, which has never let me down,” he said.
The new skatepark offers an “opportunity” for a break and a rethink, Qadi added.
Hussein Ali, 18, has been skating for five years and said he hoped Iraq will eventually have a national team to compete in championships.
Skateboarding was one of five sports that made an Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 games.
For some in Iraq, skateboarding provides a sense of normality in a country where violence had long been a fact of life.
For Ali, it is also a way to meet new people.
“When you see someone else skating you simply reach out, and just like that, you become friends.”


Why is Gaza truce under threat?

Why is Gaza truce under threat?
Updated 16 min 36 sec ago
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Why is Gaza truce under threat?

Why is Gaza truce under threat?
  • The warring parties have already completed five exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, but have in recent days have entered into a blame game over the implementation of the deal
  • US President Trump’s forceful backing of ally Israel has put the ceasefire under strain, and particularly his proposal to take over the Gaza Strip

JERUSALEM: A little over three weeks since it came into effect, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that halted the Gaza war has become increasingly fragile.
Under the truce, the warring parties have already completed five exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, but have in recent days have entered into a blame game over the implementation of the deal.
US President Donald Trump’s forceful backing of ally Israel has put the ceasefire under strain, and particularly his proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and remove its Palestinian inhabitants.
The truce is currently in its first phase. The next ones have not yet been finalized.
Here are the positions of the key actors who could decide the future of the truce:
For days now, Hamas has accused Israel of not respecting the agreement, saying that the amount and type of aid entering Gaza was insufficent.
Israeli authorities have denied the claims.
In several statements, the Palestinian militants have said they had not received machinery requested to clear the rubble in Gaza, and complained about obstacles to evacuating wounded people to Egypt under the terms of the agreement.
On Wednesday, Hamas said that as a result of the Israeli violations it would postpone indefinitely the next hostage release, which was due to take place on February 15.
Hugh Lovatt, a researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP that the announcement from Hamas may be an attempt to force a decision on the next phases of the truce.
“Hamas’s aim is to break the deadlock in the negotiations on the second phase of the agreement,” he said, adding that the Palestinian movement has been trying to obtain guarantees that the ceasefire will hold and the war will come of a permanent end.
It’s a “Hail Mary pass,” said Lovatt, “because they fear that Israel will take advantage of Trump’s support to impose new conditions and delay the implementation of the agreement.”
The ongoing first phase of the ceasefire is for 42 days. During this period, negotiations for the second phase were meant to start but that has not happened yet.
On Wednesday, a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo to discuss the disputes over the agreement with Egyptian negotiators.
But a Hamas spokesman warned that the group would not bow down to the “language of threats” from the United States and Israel.
Trump on Monday said “all hell” would break out in Gaza if Hamas did not free all Israeli hostages held in the territory by Saturday noon.
Under the terms of the truce, not all hostages were meant to be freed during the first phase.
The president’s threat came soon after he announced a plan for the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip and move its almost 2.4 million residents to Jordan or Egypt.
The proposal has provoked widespread international condemnation, and experts have said it would violate international law.
Yonatan Freeman, an international relations expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said that Trump’s statements had “underscored the US backing of Israel.”
“Trump and Netanyahu have both emphasized the importance of releasing hostages,” Freeman said.
He said that despite making threats, he did not believe that either Trump of Israel’s leaders wanted the war to resume.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Hamas cannot be allowed to use the ceasefire to “rebuild itself and recover strength.”
Echoing statements from the US president, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Hamas did not return hostages by Saturday.
Netanyahu did not specify whether he expected all the hostages to be freed, or a smaller batch due for release under the terms of the deal.
“It’s in his best interest to do it gradually,” said Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.
According to her, Netanyahu was deliberately being ambiguous and was “buying time” to extend the first stage of the truce and delay talks about the post-war future of the Gaza Strip.
But Netanyahu also faces domestic “public pressure” to secure the release of the remaining hostages, including through indirect negotiations with Hamas, said Zonszein.
“It could be a determining factor that when the three hostages came out last Saturday, they looked really, really bad,” she said of the three Israelis freed on Saturday.
They appeared emaciated, spurring concern among Israelis for the fate of those still in captivity.
Despite their disputes, Zonszein said that the sides have not “given up on anything yet.”
“They’re just playing power games.”


Wife of Colombian-Israeli hostage receives proof of life

Wife of Colombian-Israeli hostage receives proof of life
Updated 13 February 2025
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Wife of Colombian-Israeli hostage receives proof of life

Wife of Colombian-Israeli hostage receives proof of life

BOGOTA: The wife of Elkana Bohbot, a Colombian-Israeli man being held hostage by Hamas, said Wednesday she had received proof he was alive and denounced the “terrible” conditions in which he was being held.
In an interview with Colombia’s Blu Radio, Rebecca Gonzalez said that she received news of her husband from Ohad Ben Ami, one of the three hostages released by Hamas last weekend.
The three, whose emaciated appearance caused widespread shock, were released under the fifth exchange of prisoners since Israel and Hamas agreed a truce in their 15-month war on January 19.
“He (Ben Ami) brought me proof of life from my husband. I received a message, I even received a song in which he asks me to be strong,” Gonzalez, who is Colombian, said.
“He is alive, and we need to get him out of there immediately,” she pleaded.
Relating Ben Ami’s account of his captivity, which left him in a “severe nutritional state” according to doctors, Gonzalez said: “They are in tunnels, they are not allowed to see the light, they are not allowed to go out for air.”
She said her husband was living on a piece of bread a day, “very little water” and was “mistreated physically and psychologically.”
Bohbot, who hails from the town of Mevasseret Tzion near Jerusalem and has a young son, was one of the producers of the Supernova music festival, which Hamas gunmen stormed during their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
His childhood friends and fellow rave organizers Michael and Osher Vaknin were killed in the attack.
A Hamas video from October 7 posted online showed Bohbot, now aged 36, bound and injured in the face, being held by the Palestinian armed group.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro gave him Colombian nationality a month after the attacks.
The Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
The group also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has reduced most of Gaza to rubble and killed at least 48,222 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The United Nations considers the ministry’s figures reliable.


UNICEF decries soaring violence against children in West Bank

UNICEF decries soaring violence against children in West Bank
Updated 13 February 2025
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UNICEF decries soaring violence against children in West Bank

UNICEF decries soaring violence against children in West Bank
  • UNICEF condemns all acts of violence against children and calls for the immediate cessation of armed activity across the occupied West Bank

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Violence against children has surged in recent months in the occupied West Bank, where Israel is conducting a sweeping military operation, UNICEF warned Wednesday as it called for an end to hostilities.
UNICEF’s regional director Edouard Beigbeder said 13 Palestinian children were killed in the West bank since the start of the year alone, including seven killed following the launch of a large-scale operation by Israel in the north of the territory on January 19.
The casualties include a two-and-a-half-year-old child, whose pregnant mother was also injured in the shooting, according to the United Nations children’s agency.
“UNICEF condemns all acts of violence against children and calls for the immediate cessation of armed activity across the occupied West Bank,” Beigbeder said in a statement.
“All civilians, including every child without exception, must be protected.”
He added that the rising use “of explosive weapons, airstrikes and demolitions in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas Governorates — including in refugee camps and other densely populated areas — has left essential infrastructure severely damaged, disrupting water and electricity supplies.”
In total, 195 Palestinian children and three Israeli children have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since Hamas launched its brutal attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering Israel’s relentless campaign in Gaza.
That constitutes a 200 percent increase in the number of Palestinian children killed in the territory over the past 16 months, compared to the same period prior.
According to UN humanitarian agency OCHA, 224 children (218 boys and six girls) were killed between January 2023 and January 2025 in the West Bank by Israeli forces or Israeli settlers, which represents nearly half of the 468 children killed in total in the territory since 2005, when OCHA began documenting these victims.
More than 2,500 Palestinian children were also injured in the West Bank between January 2023 and December 2024, according to the agency.


Russian Red Sea base deal still on the table, Sudanese FM says

Russian Red Sea base deal still on the table, Sudanese FM says
Updated 13 February 2025
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Russian Red Sea base deal still on the table, Sudanese FM says

Russian Red Sea base deal still on the table, Sudanese FM says
  • The war in Sudan has drawn in multiple competing regional and global influences, in part due to its ample Red Sea coastline, as well as gold resources

CAIRO: An agreement signed years ago for the creation of a Russian naval base in Sudan remains on the table following talks in Moscow, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Yusef Sharif said in an interview with Russia Today on Wednesday.
Such a deal has been discussed for years since an agreement was signed under former President Omar Al-Bashir. The army generals who overthrew him in 2019 said later the plan was under review, and a base has never materialized.
“In our meeting we did not negotiate the deal ... there was a deal signed and there is no disagreement,” he said, saying that as before all that remains is the issue of ratification.
“There are no obstacles, we are in complete agreement,” Sharif had said earlier when asked about the deal, following talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
He did not provide any additional details on the plan.
Russia has cultivated ties with both sides in Sudan’s almost two-year-long civil war, and Russian officials have visited the army’s wartime capital of Port Sudan in recent months.
Last year, a top Sudanese general said Russia had asked for a fueling station on the Red Sea in exchange for weapons and ammunition.
Sharif said such a station presented no threat to any other country or to Sudan’s sovereignty, drawing on the example of nearby Djibouti, which hosts several foreign bases.
Such a station would be beneficial to Russia, particularly after the fall of Syria’s Assad regime put in question key bases there.
The war in Sudan has drawn in multiple competing regional and global influences, in part due to its ample Red Sea coastline, as well as gold resources.