Shachar Kleiman
Israel Hayom, Mar. 10, 2025
“We are calling on you and on everyone. We don’t want him [Al-Julani]. Get rid of him.”
Nearly 1,000 Alawites have been murdered in recent days in horrific massacres carried out by Islamist forces in western Syria. While the UN stammers and the world once again stands idly by, the regime in Damascus is attempting to project an image of control and has announced the formation of an investigative committee into the attacks carried out by its own forces. Alawites who spoke with Israel Hayom are calling on Israel to strike the ruling militias and are distancing themselves from the Assad regime.
Meanwhile, a security official from the Syrian coastal region claimed last night that remnants of the Assad regime are receiving indirect assistance from Iran and that “foreign elements are seeking to exploit the situation” to provide logistical and media support to the militants.
“The [Syrian government’s] committee is dismissed by us. This is not what will satisfy us. Only decisions by the UN, human rights organizations, and countries that stand with the Syrian people will be acceptable. They are the ones who need to establish an investigative committee,” said an Alawite from the coastal region in a conversation with Israel Hayom. He had lived in a village near Tartus and fled with his children to the city to escape the massacres. “Al-Julani and his group are failing to govern. But they won’t admit it and are trying to shirk responsibility.”
He sends a direct plea to Israel: “We are calling on you and on everyone. We don’t want him [Al-Julani]. Get rid of him. When we decided to hold protests to overthrow Al-Julani’s regime, they raised their weapons and opened fire on demonstrators. I hope you convey the message that this is a corrupt regime, just like its predecessor, a murderous, criminal regime. It must not survive. Israel must defend us and strike with its air force all factions affiliated with Al-Julani in the Syrian coastal region, including in Latakia, Tartus, and their suburbs. No country is responding to our cries, not even the Russians, who have been in our land for years. Israel is the only one that can protect us.”