President Trump’s special envoy has urged all warring factions to build a new “united Syrian identity”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syria’s interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa have allegedly agreed to a US-supported ceasefire proposal, after Israel carried out multiple airstrikes against the Defense Ministry in Damascus, ostensibly in defense of the Druze minority in southern Syria.
Special envoy Tom Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Türkiye, credited American diplomacy under President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the “breakthrough” agreement in a statement posted on X on Friday.
“We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and, together with other minorities, build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors,” Barrack wrote, adding that the ceasefire was “embraced” by Türkiye and Jordan.
BREAKTHROUGH —— Israeli Prime Minister @Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa @SyPresidency supported by the U.S.A. @SecRubio have agreed to a ceasefire embraced by Türkiye, Jordan and its neighbors. We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and…
— Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) July 18, 2025
The announcement follows a week of deadly clashes between Druze militias, Bedouin tribes, and central government forces in Sweida province – as well as a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting various locations, including the Defense Ministry in Damascus.
Since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government, Israel has moved to expand its presence in Syria beyond the previously occupied Golan Heights, citing the need to prevent hostile actors from entrenching near its borders. In a detailed statement on Thursday, Netanyahu said Israel had set two rules for Syria: the demilitarization of the region south of Damascus and the protection of the Druze community.
“Both those rules were broken by the regime in Damascus… I therefore directed the IDF to take powerful action,” Netanyahu stated. “As a result of that powerful action, a ceasefire came into force, and the Syrian forces retreated back to Damascus.”
Syria’s new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, is a former commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized control of Damascus last year. Since the upheaval, unaffiliated Islamists have reportedly carried out several massacres targeting Syria’s minority communities, including the Alawites and Christians.
Amid reports of new atrocities against the Druze, al-Sharaa insisted that government forces had only deployed to Sweida to stop the violence. In a televised address on Thursday, he announced a new deal with Druze factions – while accusing Israel of seeking to divide the Syrian people and turn Syria “into a battlefield of chaos.”
Despite past US designations of HTS and al-Sharaa as terrorists, Washington has increasingly backed the new leadership in Damascus and has moved to ease sanctions on Syria. Last month, Barrack even likened al-Sharaa’s transition from militant leader to head of state to that of George Washington following the American Revolution.
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