The groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized power in Syria after overthrowing Bashar al-Assad, continue to send warm messages to Israel.<\/p>\n
Maher Marwan, the newly appointed governor of Damascus under HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, told NPR<\/em>, the U.S. public radio outlet, that the government seeks to establish cordial relations between Israel and Syria.<\/p>\n “Our problem is not with Israel,” NPR<\/em> quoted Marwan as saying, speaking on behalf of Jolani.<\/p>\n “Israel may have felt fear,” Marwan added, stating that they harbor no fear of Israel. “That’s why it advanced a little [in Syria], bombed [Syria] a little, etc.”<\/p>\n Israel, according to NPR<\/em>, has been striking strategic military facilities in Syria since the fall of Assad and the seizure of parts of the Golan Heights, fueling fears of annexation.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Marwan remarked that such fear is “natural” and conveyed a message as a representative of the political viewpoint of Ahmed al-Shara (Jolani) and the foreign ministry.<\/p>\n “We don’t want to get involved in anything that threatens the security of Israel or any other country,” Marwan said, avoiding any reference to the Palestinians or the war in Gaza, NPR<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n Further, Marwan urged the United States to facilitate improved relations with Israel.<\/p>\n “There is a people who want to live together. They want peace. They don’t want conflict,” he stated.<\/p>\n An unnamed U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, told NPR<\/em> that the United States had conveyed HTS’s message. The official added that the U.S. did not advise either country in any way.<\/p>\n “We want peace, and we can’t be against Israel or anyone else,” Marwan concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized power in Syria after overthrowing Bashar al-Assad, continue to send warm messages to Israel. Maher Marwan, the newly appointed governor of Damascus under HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, told NPR, the U.S. public radio outlet, that the government seeks to establish cordial relations between Israel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4268,548,4104,4170,1265,812,4448,4449,531],"class_list":["post-6949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middleeast","tag-abu-mohammed-al-jolani","tag-damascus","tag-golan-heights","tag-hayat-tahrir-al-sham","tag-hts","tag-israel","tag-maher-marwan","tag-npr","tag-syria"],"yoast_head":"\n