Syria’s Sharaa makes moves toward Abraham Accords to reduce Turkish influence

Peloni:  Securing radicals in suits such as Shaara in positions of dominance to secure peace deals begs the question as to whether the threat from having a unconfirmed, supposedly reformed, Jihadist on Israel’s northern flank is worth the potential of his turn from the dark side being sincere.  Notably as he used Turkey to gain control of Syria, is he just using the Americans to consolidate power in Syria?  Changing ideologies and political backers seems to be as nuanced to him as his change of name from Jolani to Shaara.  Hence, the question remains, whether Jolani-turned-Shaara will find his true North to be Jihadism or moderation when he finds he no longer needs to play the chameleon to suit his political needs.  Tomorrow’s misfortune is being planted in today’s political soil.  Moderates, not an Oslo-like wannabe, is the character of men which should be chosen to lead the region to a more passive future.  Planting radicals inside the wire of the Abraham Accords will only serve to undermine the safety and security of the coming generation, as took place under the Oslo framework.  Terrorists such as Jolani do not deserve our trust, and his actions since coming to power have certainly not lent themselves to suggesting otherwise.  The innocent will fill the butcher’s bill of making an Oslo like mistake out of an interest of political convenience today.

Maya Cohen | JPOST | Wed, July 3, 2025

Mohammed bin Salman met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, February 2025.  (Photo by Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic – Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic, Public Domain, Wikipedia)

By strengthening ties with Israel, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is essentially trying to reduce Turkish influence in Damascus, Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies’s Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak told Maariv on Wednesday.

Sharaa is trying to reduce dependency on Turkey without completely severing ties, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is concerned as a country that was once under his influence may join the Abraham Accords.
Is Turkey’s influence in Syria strong enough to prevent it from joining? A complex geopolitical struggle is unfolding with Turkey at the center.
Turkey sees every step Damascus takes toward joining the Abraham Accords as a direct threat to Ankara’s regional position.
Sharaa’s motives are far from ideological, however, Yanarocak argues. “Sharaa is making this move not because he’s a Zionist, but because it grants him a sort of independence from Turkey,” he clarifies.

A closer relationship with Israel opens the door for the new Syrian government to have sanctions lifted and to approach the wealthy Gulf states, which is key to gaining economic and security independence from Turkey’s sphere of influence.
However, Turkey’s influence in Syria is not just hypothetical. “Turkish intelligence was actually the first international body to conduct an open official visit to Syria after Assad’s fall,” Yanarocak noted.
“Northern Syria is still effectively under Turkish occupation. The Turks provide a lot of infrastructure for airports and transportation within Syria.”

 

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July 5, 2025 | 1 Comment »

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  1. I think, more than anything, al-Sharaa is pragmatist, and an opportunist. Yes, he was previously a jihadi, but it looks like he is willing to change his hat, (and his suit), whenever it will benefit him. At the end of the day, aren’t all politicians that way?

    As much as Israel would like to see a friendly regime sitting in Damascus, that is probably never going to happen. So as long as al-Sharaa is willing to engage in rational dialogue with Israel, maybe that’s a good place to start.

    As pointed out in this article, al-Sharaa is apparently trying to play Israel off against Turkey. That’s how the game is played. I’m sure that Israel can work within those parameters, and maybe even benefit from them. One might also ask oneself if al-Sharaa in Syria would be any different than al-Sissi sitting in Cairo. That too is a tense relationship, but Israel handles it OK.