Ahmad Al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani, a unique example of the radical transformations foreseen by the region. Through his “Jihadist” experience in Afghanistan and Iraq to a political leader in Syria, Al-Sharaa drew a path reflecting the deep contradictions in the Arab geopolitical scene. These transformations lay crucial questions about Syria’s future and its role in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Al-Sharaa emerged from the heart of “Salafi-jihadist” ideology, with his worldview shaped in the training camps of Iraq during the US occupation. He spent several years imprisoned in “Bucca” detention facility. He later rose as the leader of Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in Syria, positioning the group as a hybrid entity that combines political pragmatism with adherence to Salafi rhetoric. Under Al-Sharaa’s leadership, Syria witnessed a dramatic transformation; from a bastion of resistance to a player seeking integration into a new regional order, one influenced by American guardianship and Arab normalization intiatives.
Ahmad Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani, embodies the culmination of a “Jihadist” experience that spanned from Afghanistan to Syria through Iraq, over the course of many years and various phases, until it crystallized into a political project under Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). HTS that was known to many as a Jihadist alliance that holds a level of political flexibility without giving up its commitment to the essence of “Jihadism” and its goal to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation, albeit through evolving methods and shifting strategies.
The Transformation of Syria’s Regional Position
For decades, Syria was the cornerstone of the axis of resistance. It supported the Palestinian resistance movements financially and logistically. It faced sanctions and international isolation with steadfastness. However, the new leaders aim to lead the country towards the western axis, where lifting sanctions and economic openness became a priority at the expense of central issues.
The project of “political Jihad,” embodied in Al-Sharaa’s rise to power, began transforming the country from part of the Resistance Axis into a Western-aligned axis, both economically and politically. The new Syria opened its doors to Western delegations and responded to pressures to lift sanctions in exchange for strategic shifts in its policies, most notably the so-called “expulsion of Iranian influence”, which for years had served as the umbrella under which the Palestinian resistance, particularly in Gaza, was protected.
With this experience reaching power in Syria and taking control of a country with significant geographical, strategic, Islamic, and historical importance, the nation witnessed a major shift in its political trajectory. Syria had, for many years, served as a cornerstone of the Axis of Resistance against the Israeli occupation. It had supported Palestinian and Islamic resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine financially, politically, and logistically, opening its arms to those movements, hosting their offices and camps, and facing the US sanctions and international isolation as a result.
Trump and Al-Sharaa Meeting: The Defining Moment
In a scene no one could have imagined years ago, Ahmad Al-Sharaa sat next to President of the United States Donald Trump, in an official summit hosted in the Saudi capital, Riyadh earlier this month (May 14). A man raised in the cradle of Salafi-Jihadist ideology, who fought fierce wars under transnational banners, now stands at the helm of power in Damascus, shakes hands with US President Donald Trump, while Gaza burns under a barrage of Israeli airstrikes backed by the US administration.
BREAKING:
Donald Trump met Syria’s Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh and urged him to join the Abraham Accords. pic.twitter.com/5ut6M0uI3f
— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) May 14, 2025
Giving up revolutionary discourse is not the only noticeable thing here, but also the strategic shift that was represented in Al-Sharaa’s historic meeting with Trump in Riyadh. A meeting that completely ignored the war crimes in Palestine, while focusing instead on “economic opportunities” and lifting sanctions. This scene was not isolated, but rather the culmination of a gradual policy that began with severing ties with Iran, marginalizing the role of the Palestinian resistance in official discourse, and engaging in regional projects that may serve as a prelude to normalization with the Israeli enemy.
The meeting between Al-Sharaa and Trump was neither a surprising nor an isolated event. Rather, it was the result of a long political trajectory that began when the man shed the mantle of “global Jihadism” and began repositioning his rhetoric to appeal to Western capitals and court Washington. The same figure who once adopted an anti-Western stance and championed the liberation of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as a central goal now stands at the head of a regime openly embracing the West, presenting itself as a “potential partner” in the regional stability project, abandoning not only the discourse of confrontation, but even the language of solidarity with Gaza, which, at the very moment of his meeting with Trump, was facing a full-scale genocide.
Palestine Absent from the New Discourse
One of the striking ironies of this transformation is that when Ahmad Al-Sharaa was asked about terrorism during his visit to France, he made no mention of the terrorism practiced by the Israeli occupation against the people of Gaza—who had once hoped that the new Syrian opposition would become a supporter of their cause. Instead, what happened was the complete opposite.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets France’s Macron in Paris.pic.twitter.com/9k9WNe6EGS
— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 7, 2025
What was shocking about the summit that hosted Al-Sharaa and Trump wasn’t only its timing, but also its content, as the joint statement, and all the remarks, were void of any reference to the Israeli aggression or the suffering of civilians in the besieged strip. There was no mention of the occupation, nor any condemnation of Israeli terrorism, only economic conversations, promises of reconstruction and a “new era” in relations with Washington.
That silence was no exception, but an extension of accumulated stances through which Al-Sharaa, since his emergence as a so-called “moderate leader,” has deliberately avoided addressing the Palestinian cause. In all his interviews with Western media, he never mentioned “Israel” except as a “regional actor,” and he refrained from using any terms drawn from the rhetoric of resistance or even from acknowledging the suffering of the Palestinian people.
In this context, the Director of Public Relations at the Syrian Ministry of Information, Ali Al-Rifai, conducted an interview with “Israel’s” Kan 11 channel, affirming his new government’s position seeks peace with all parties in the region, “including the Israeli enemy”, with notable avoidance of the fact that “Israel” continues to occupy significant territories in southern Syria.
Warnings and Outcomes
This is what the late Hezbollah Secretary General, martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned about in 2011 when he affirmed that Syria’s fall from the axis of resistance means its transfer into thewhat he called the “barn of Arab normalization.” This warning materialized in practice with Al-Sharaa’s meeting with Trump in Riyadh, along with a tragic situation in Gaza, where the genocide continues.
Al-Sharaa and Trump’s meeting, described as historic in New Syria’s media and some Arab channels, was a shock to both Syrians and Palestinians, especially with the continued Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Damascus was celebrating the lift of the US sanctions and Trump’s photos were raised high in the streets, whilst the people of Gaza are suffering from hunger, murder and evacuation, a provoking scenery to the Palestinian people, and specifically, the people of Gaza.
The absence of Palestine from Al-Sharaa’s speech, not condemning any Israeli aggression in Gaza or the West Bank and his meeting with Trump in Riyadh, sheds the light on a central question: Is the New Syria transitioning towards actual normalization, even if not declared, with “Israel”? And is this path being tested now through presenting credentials to the West on the basis of severing ties with the Palestinian cause?
After claiming to present a new Islamic model of governance, “Al-Joulani” fell into the West’s trap as he has become a replica of regimes that colluded with the West to liquidate the Palestinian cause. He stepped out from under the mantle of Jihadism into an alliance with Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, effectively handing the Zionist entity a blank check to take center stage in the Arab world.
False Hopes and Sanctions
Al-Sharaa is betting that the openness to Washington and the lifting of sanctions will be the gateway to economic recovery and political stability. However, as the new administration in Damascus believes this path will bring prosperity and stability to the country, it overlooks the example of Sudan, which saw its sanctions lifted in 2017 only for the promised economic relief to evaporate, its economy to collapse and its regime to fall. Similar outcomes have befallen several other nations that rushed toward the West and certain Arab states in search of investments, only to find themselves trapped in dependency and failure.
Sanctions are not merely a temporary tool of pressure; they are a mechanism for reshaping states in line with the interests of “Israel” and the United States where no state is allowed to be strong and independent unless it serves the security of “Israel”. Whereas those who seek liberation or dare to say “no” are pushed toward isolation or collapse.
In this context, Hazem Al-Ghabra, who served as Senior Advisor for Public Diplomacy for the Middle East at the US State Department in 2016, revealed the mechanism behind the decision to suspend American sanctions on Syria, noting that the information he presented came through direct communication with both the US State Department and the Treasury Department.
Al-Ghabra, who maintains extensive diplomatic ties in Washington and Tel Aviv, clarified that the current measure is not lifting of sanctions but rather a temporary suspension. He affirmed that the decision is scheduled for a two-year period, subject to a periodic review every six months to assess the effectiveness of the suspension.
According to Al-Ghabra, the first phase of the suspension will cover key sectors, including monetary policy, telecommunications, energy, and air transport. He stressed that a complete and permanent lifting of sanctions is not an easy process, as it requires approval from the US Congress, which remains the sole authority authorized to formally end the sanctions.
He further noted that the US administration is approaching the issue gradually, with each step tied to tangible results on the ground whether they be humanitarian or political.
Severing Ties with Palestine and Signs of Normalization
Since assuming power, Al-Sharaa’s leadership has shown a clear urge to sever all what connects Damascus to the Palestinian cause. No talks about Iran, no communication with the Palestinian resistance movements, no moral or political support to any confrontation with “Israel”. On the contrary, the new regime started establishing a network of understanding with Riyadh and Washington which, according to observers, might later pave the way to a calculated openness to Tel Aviv- even if it begins with backchannel communications or joint economic projects.
In this context, the prospect of Syria’s normalization with the Zionist entity—currently being tested through Al-Sharaa’s leadership policies—is not merely a political option, but a clear betrayal of the Palestinian people, regardless of motives or justifications. Palestine remains the compass of national and patriotic legitimacy, and any authority that bypasses it or turns a blind eye to the suffering of its people cannot claim to represent the nation or defend its rights.
It’s Either Axis of Resistance or Project of Liquidation
But every attempt to sideline Palestine from the Syrian scene will serve only as a test of the legitimacy of any ruling authority in Damascus. The Palestinian cause is not a passing political card. It is an integral part of Syria’s contemporary identity and of the ongoing struggle against American and “Israeli” hegemony in the region.
Any authority that bypasses this reality, bargains over it, or treats it as an “external burden,” will automatically sever its organic connection to the central cause of the Arab world, and—whether willingly or not—become an implicit partner in the project to liquidate the Palestinian cause, even if it does not formally sign a normalization agreement.
What is unfolding in Damascus is not a mere political transition, but a comprehensive reshaping of Syria’s national identity and regional role. It either be a part of the Al-Quds Axis, with a renewed mindset and more realistic calculations, or to join the American-Israeli “New Middle East” project, lured by illusory promises of growth and openness.
Today, Syria has only two options with no third. It either goes back to its historical role supporting the Palestinian cause, or completely falls towards normalization under the cover of “reality”. At the same time, Al-Sharaa’s movements can not be separated from the wider regional trajectory, where the “Deal of the Century” and economic incentives serve as tools to impose normalization as an inevitable path. Syria, which for years was the cornerstone of the Resistance Axis, is being tested today through a policy of “small steps” as follow:
Economic openness as a key to normalization: Promises of lifting the sanctions and reconstruction are being used as a trap to lure the regime into the circle of Western dependency.
Weakening the Iranian Axis: Expelling the Iranian influence, based on Western perspective, is not a step toward restoring Syrian sovereignty, but rather a means to block any alliance hostile to “Israel”.
Silence in the face of the Occupation aggression: The absence of any condemnation of the “Israeli” aggression on the part of Al-Sharaa’s leadership confirms that Palestine is no longer a priority, but a burden that is replaced by “strategic partnership”.
The greatest danger does not lie in the political shift itself, but in Syria’s loss of its role as a pillar of the Arab liberation project. Damascus, which for years hosted Palestinian and Lebanese resistance leaders and provided them with logistical and political support, is now turning into a state that views the Palestinian cause as a “burdensome legacy.” This is not a tactical repositioning, but a betrayal of the historical legitimacy Syria has held since the 1967 Six-Day War and even earlier events.
Moreover, the illusion that “opening up to the West” will bring stability ignores a clear lesson: no regime in the region is allowed to prosper unless it serves “Israeli” security. Sudan and Egypt are clear examples: The former saw its regime fall after sanctions were lifted, while the latter became a partner in the blockade of Gaza despite receiving “US aid.”
Source: Al-Manar Website
