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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched on Nov. 21 a scathing attack on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa during a Cabinet meeting, directing sharp criticism at him following his recent visit to Washington.
Netanyahu said Sharaa “returned from Washington puffed up and has begun taking steps we will not accept,” adding that the Syrian president is seeking to bring Russian forces to the border, according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan).
Sharaa held a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the eighth of this month, during which he affirmed that the occupying state had violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
He said Israel had breached the accord through military incursions and the expulsion of U.N. forces, in addition to carrying out more than a thousand attacks, including strikes that targeted the presidential palace and the Ministry of Defense.
Sharaa explained at the time that Damascus had refrained from responding militarily because it was “seeking to rebuild the state.”
Netanyahu’s remarks came just days after he visited southern Syria, accompanied by a delegation of officials from his government, last week.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Katz conducted a field tour inside Syrian territory, visiting an Israeli army position in the so-called buffer zone.
The delegation also included Foreign Minister Gideon Saraa and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.
They carried out an inspection of the front lines and then held a security meeting at the site.
According to a statement issued by the office of the Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu spoke with soldiers from both the regular army and the reserves, praising what he described as their efforts during the war. He also received a briefing on field developments and answered their questions.
At the same time, political sources told Israel Hayom that U.S. President Donald Trump does not expect Israel to withdraw from the territories it has occupied in southern Syria.
Senior Israeli officials and a source close to the White House say Trump has no expectation of an Israeli withdrawal from the buffer zone and that no such message has been conveyed so far.
The newspaper reported that after he met with Trump at the White House 10 days ago, Sharaa conditioned any agreement with Israel on its withdrawal from the areas it took control of following Assad’s fall. He even claimed, in interviews with U.S. media outlets, that Washington supports his position.
On Friday, a force from the Israeli army advanced into the countryside of Quneitra province in southern Syria, marking the second such violation in two days.
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