Israeli officials have frequently described Syrian President Sharaa as an Islamist extremist [Getty]
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa has freed Hamas and Islamic Jihad members who were detained under ousted President Bashar al-Assad‘s regime, The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) reported on Tuesday.
The IBC further claimed that those freed had already started planning or engaging in “violent activities”. It did not mention any names or say how many had been freed.
An Israeli security source denounced Sharaa as an “Islamic enemy wearing a tie, working to harm Israel’s security,” according to Israeli media.
According to Israeli security officials speaking to Hebrew news site Israel Hayom, the Israeli military is now strengthening its security measures. Israel seized Syrian land east of the Golan Heights after rebels ousted Assad in December 2024, saying it would stay there indefinitely.
Israeli security sources claim this is partly a precautionary measure against an “escalating threat” from Hamas abroad.
rael’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar criticised European leaders for visiting Damascus this week, stating that Sharaa “claims to provide an inclusive government, but in reality, he carried out a massacre against citizens in Syria”, referring to the killing of hundreds of civilians on the Syrian coast following an attempted uprising by Assad loyalist.
Sa’ar called for an end to the “legitimising of a regime that has committed atrocities since the beginning of its rule”.
However, last month, the representative of Islamic Jihad in Syria, Abu Mujahid, denied Israeli allegations regarding the presence of Hamas and Islamic Jihad military forces in Syria.
He told the German Press Agency that Israel was using these allegations “to justify military aggression and to pressure Syria in reaching a peace agreement”.
He reiterated that even under Assad, only Palestinian civilians lived in Syria.
