Israel vindicated? Syrian leader al-Shara ‘revealed his true face,’ says Israeli DM Katz as atrocities against Syrian Alawites continue

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blasted the Syrian leader Ahmad al-Shara as his troops and other Islamist militants continued to round up and execute civilians in the majority-Alawite coastal provinces of Syria amid violent clashes.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 800 people, including more than 500 Alawite civilians, were killed amid clashes between the forces of the new government and militant loyalists of the ousted Assad regime over the past three days.

SOHR reported that “532 Alawite civilians were killed in the Syrian coastal areas and the Latakia mountains at the hands of security forces and allied groups.”

Meanwhile, the Syrian military said its operations to search and destroy Assad loyalists had halted operations targeting Assad loyalists until unofficial forces aligned with the new government withdrew.

Syrian reports suggested that part of the atrocities against the Alawite minority, which had been the Assad regime’s main powerbase, were committed by Islamist terror groups which had not been dissolved and disarmed after the new government was formed.

On Friday, Katz accused al-Shara, known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani and was among the world’s most wanted terrorists until his group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled the Assad regime four months ago, of having revealed his true face.

Katz wrote on 𝕏 that al-Shara “took off his galabiya [traditional Islamic garb], put on a suit, and presented a moderate facade. Now, he has removed the mask, revealing his true face: a jihadist terrorist from the Al-Qaeda school, committing atrocities against the Alawite civilian population.”

The defense minister attached a video showing the execution of civilians, apparently at the hands of Islamist troops.

In a televised speech on Friday, al-Shara declared that “remnants of the fallen regime have sought to test the new Syria,” vowing a unified response, while adding he had “no desire for their blood.”

He also praised his troops for their “swift response in protecting civilians” but promised “severe punishment” for those who harmed civilians.

“Our people in the coastal areas, in the midst of these clashes, are an integral part of our nation, and it is our duty to safeguard them,” al-Shara said.

Following the fall of the Assad regime, Israel had immediately ordered its military to take over the former DMZ along the Golan Heights frontier, as well as several other strategic points along the border, such as the peak of Mt. Hermon.

In addition, the Israeli Air Force conducted a massive wave of airstrikes over several days, aiming to destroy any military equipment in the country that could potentially threaten Israel’s security.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel would defend the Druze community in southern Syria and vowed to maintain the whole area as a demilitarized zone.

“Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria,” Katz stressed Friday. “We will remain in the security zones and Mount Hermon and protect the communities of the Golan and Galilee. We will ensure that southern Syria remains demilitarized and free of threats, and we will protect the local Druze population - anyone who harms them will face our response.”

On Saturday, Israel Defense Forces reported that troops of the IDF’s 210th Division were continuing to conduct defensive operations on the Syrian border, including raids to destroy military equipment several kilometers within Syrian territory.

Over the past week, soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade, the Armored Corps and the elite Combat Engineering Yahalom Unit, located, confiscated and dismantled numerous weapons, including rifles, ammunition, missiles, and other military equipment left behind by the Assad's forces.

“The IDF will continue operations to eliminate any threat and strengthen the defense of the State of Israel and its citizens,” the Israeli military stated.

In another development vindicating Israeli military precautions previously criticized by the international community, Syrian sources reported that an Islamist terror leader was appointed as the new governor of the Quneitra province, bordering Israel’s northern Golan Heights.

Ahmed al-Dalati was deputy commander of the jihadist group “Ahrar al-Sham,” which was recently incorporated into the official security forces of the new, HTS-dominated Syrian government.