Al-Golani Did Not Say That Syria Does Not Want War With Israel
The Claim
Syria will not enter into a new war with Israel. The country is not ready for another war. Our biggest threat is Hezbollah & the Iranian-backed Shia militias in Syria.
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Emerging story
Amid recent developments in Syria led by al-Golani and the Israeli attacks on the country, a video went viral on X recently claiming to show Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, stating Syria would not engage in a war with Israel
Jackson Hinkle, a politician supporting the Assad regime, was among those sharing the claim. Hinkle shared the video on his X account, attributing the following quote to al-Jolani: “Syria will not enter into a new war with Israel. The country is not ready for another war. Our biggest threat is Hezbollah & the Iranian-backed Shia militias in Syria.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. The brief viral video does not show al-Golani discussing Israel.
Al-Golani Talks About Foreign Countries Fears
Misbar’s team searched for the interview of al-Golani where he allegedly said that “Syria will not enter into a new war with Israel,” and found that it originated from a Sky News interview.
The full interview can be found on Sky News’ social media platforms and website. Sky News’ Middle East news editor, Zain Jaafar, asked al-Golani about his message to foreign countries who fear wars from Syria considering the country’s current situation.
Al-Golani replied that “their fears are unnecessary,” as people are exhausted from war, and are not ready for another one. Syria “is not going to get into another war,” al-Golani explained.
He stressed that the source of Syria’s fears was from the “Iranian militias, Hezbollah and the regime which committed the massacres we are seeing today.” The removal of these parties is the solution for Syria. However, Syria’s current situation will not allow for a return to panic, according to al-Golani.
Reviewing the full interview, Misbar’s team concluded that al-Golani did not did not mention Israel.
We further reviewed Sky News' remarks on the interview for confirmation. The outlet cited the one-minute-long interview in a report titled, “West has nothing to fear from Syria, rebel leader whose group ousted Assad tells Sky News.”
Sky News’ explanation of the interview also did not include any talks about Israel.
Israel Attacks Syria Allegedly Fighting Iran’s Forces
Israel attacked Syria more than 400 times since the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. The attacks included airstrikes and military incursion into Golan Heights, the buffer zone that has separated the two countries since 1974.
Israel justified its attacks as targeting Iranian military assets. However, Iran has said none of its forces are currently in Syria.
In its attacks, Israel targeted military facilities, including weapon warehouses, ammunition depots, airports, naval bases and research centers. Syrian security forces have also reported Israeli tanks advancing from the Golan Heights into Qatana, six miles into Syrian territory and close to the capital, but Israeli military sources have denied any such incursion.
Observers of the Israeli attacks on Syria stated that the focus of Israel now is destroying Syrian military infrastructure, which was justified by Israel as an attempt to stop weapons from landing in the hands of “extremists,” a definition it has applied to a list of actors, most recently HTS.
It bears mentioning that simultaneously with Israel’s attacks on Syria which allegedly targets “extremists” as HTS, a senior U.N. official said that international powers seeking a peaceful transition in Syria have to consider lifting the “terrorist” designations applied to HTS.
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