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TEHRAN- Syria\u2019s new rulers are seeking cordial relations with Israel despite domestic anger over the regime\u2019s occupation of more lands of the Arab country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no fear toward Israel, and our problem is not with Israel. There exists a people who want coexistence. They want peace. They don\u2019t want disputes,\u201d the governor of Damascus said Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maher Marwan made the comments in an interview with the US public broadcaster NPR, apparently on behalf of Syrian de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa,\u00a0also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.<\/p>\n
Marwan added, \u201cAnd we don\u2019t want to meddle in anything that will threaten Israel\u2019s security or any other country\u2019s security. We want peace, and we cannot be an opponent to Israel or an opponent to anyone.\u201d
And this is how he tried to justify Israeli strikes on Syria after the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)\u00a0rebel group and its allies toppled the government of President Bashar Assad on December 8.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marwan said Israel\u2019s initial trepidation after the fall of Assad was \u201cnatural.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael may have felt fear. So it advanced a little, bombed a little, etc,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Israeli army has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria destroying much of the country\u2019s military capabilities since HTS removed Assad from power. The regime claims it wants to prevent military equipment from falling into hostile hands.<\/p>\n
Israel also sent its ground forces into a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights and beyond after Assad\u2019s fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israel has extended its occupation to further regions of the Syrian territory, encompassing various towns, villages, and the strategically significant Mount Hermon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israel claims the occupation of additional parts of the Syrian territory is aimed at ensuring the security of the regime\u2019s borders. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s land incursion into Syria violates the 1974 agreement between the two sides. The United Nations and a number of countries have demanded Israel withdraw from the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Syrians have also condemned Israel\u2019s presence on the country\u2019s territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, residents of a village in the southwestern province of\u00a0Quneitra\u00a0protested against Israel\u2019s military presence there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israeli forces opened fire on the demonstrators in the village of Susa, injuring several of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Israeli forces also attacked protesters who had gathered in the village of Maariyah on the western edge of Syria\u2019s southern Daraa province\u00a0to demand an end to the regime\u2019s military presence in the area. They shot and wounded a protester.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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