The Take: How will President Ahmed Al-Sharaa shape Syria's future?
Syria's new leadership under Ahmed al-Sharaa navigates transition, regional alliances and efforts to lift sanctions.
Published On 4 Feb 2025
Once an al-Qaeda-affiliated fighter, Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa now governs a nation in flux. He claims to be focused on stability, dissolving rebel groups and rebuilding institutions. His visit to Saudi Arabia signals shifting alliances and efforts to ease sanctions. But can he truly redefine Syria's future – and what will it mean for the region?
In this episode:
Osama bin Javaid (@osamabinjavaid), correspondent, Al Jazeera
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Khaled Soltan and Tamara Khandaker, with Sarí el-Khalili, Hagir Saleh, Melanie Marich, Hanah Shokeir and our host, Natasha Del Toro. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
Connect with us:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump news live: Los Angeles police order immigration protesters to go home
Police in Los Angeles have called on immigration protesters to clear the city's downtown, a day after US President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard in what local officials say has escalated the least 60 people have been arrested in San Francisco protests against immigration raids, with foreign countries, including China, warning citizens in the city to boost personal security amid near-blanket travel ban on 12 countries has gone into effect, despite charges that the policy is inherently and Chinese officials are set to meet in London for what are expected to be pivotal trade talks. Update: Date: 3m ago (14:00 GMT) Title: Welcome to our live coverage Content: Hello, and thank you for joining our live coverage of United States President Donald Trump's administration. Stay with Al Jazeera's Live team as we bring you all the latest developments, analyses and reactions throughout the day.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
‘Clearly an excuse': Does Netanyahu really want Hamas gone?
Israel's war on Gaza rumbles on, even as international condemnation grows. Hamas has expressed that it is ready for a deal to end the war, even offering to turn over the administration of Gaza to a technocratic government. United Nations Security Council members have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a ceasefire, a resolution blocked from passing only by a United States veto. But Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is adamant in its refusal of any agreement that does not include what it calls the 'defeat of Hamas', even if that means endangering the Israeli captives still held in Gaza. 'Hamas is already the weakest it's ever been, and there's nothing they can do that is remotely comparable to what Israel possesses,' writer and researcher on Israel-Palestine and founder of The Fire These Times podcast Elia Ayoub told Al Jazeera. 'There's ample evidence by now that the only reason this genocide is ongoing is because Netanyahu wants it to continue. It's clearly just an excuse to keep the war going.' But why would Netanyahu want the war – which is Israel's longest since 1948, and is causing economic crisis – to continue? One answer is that the war provides a distraction from Netanyahu's own problems. Israel's longest-serving prime minister has well-documented legal troubles; he is being tried for corruption. And, aside from that, should a permanent ceasefire be realised, some analysts believe Israeli society will hold Netanyahu accountable for security shortcomings that led to October 7. 'He's afraid once it's done, eyes will rightfully turn to him over corruption and the failures of October 7,' Diana Buttu, a legal scholar and former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said. And so, Netanyahu has two main tasks. The first is to prolong the war, allowing him to continue using it as an excuse to avoid accountability. The second is to prevent the breakup of his government, while somehow setting himself up for another successful election, which must happen before October 2026. Netanyahu has been 'reliant upon Hamas throughout the war', Mairav Zonszein, an expert on Israel and Palestine for the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera. 'The far right and Netanyahu have consistently used Hamas as an excuse not to negotiate or plan for a day after,' she said. The Israeli refusal to negotiate a final end to the war stands in stark contrast to Hamas's willingness to hand over all captives held in Gaza. Over the last 20 months, much of Hamas's leadership has been killed. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political leader, was assassinated in Tehran on July 31, and Yahya Sinwar, his successor, was killed in Gaza on October 16. Israel is now claiming it killed Sinwar's successor and younger brother, Mohammed, though Hamas has yet to confirm his death. Militarily, analysts say, Hamas is estimated to have lost significant strength. It is still conducting some attacks, but fewer and further between than the ambushes it was able to carry out earlier in the war. In a sign that Hamas perhaps understands that it is no longer in a position to rule Gaza, it has also offered to step down from the administration of the Palestinian territory, which it has controlled since 2006, and hand over to a technocratic government. 'The technocrat offer is not new,' Hamzé Attar, a Luxembourg-based defence analyst from Gaza, said. 'It was on the table since before the invasion of Rafah [which occurred on May 6, 2024]. They want Hamas to give up their arms and give up everything, and Hamas has responded by saying: 'We're stepping aside.'' That has been firmly rejected by Israel, which has not endorsed any vision for post-war Gaza. Instead, over the last nearly 20 months, Israel has killed more than 54,300 Palestinians and wounded more than 124,000 in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry. In addition, Gaza is now 'the hungriest place on Earth', according to the UN, all its inhabitants at risk of famine after Israel strangled aid delivery throughout its war, then completely blocked it from March 2 until May 27. Israel has also turned 70 percent of the enclave into no-go zones. All the while, Israel's bombing of Gaza continues. Discounting the pretext of destroying Hamas and returning the captives, some analysts believe there is a deeper goal: pushing Palestinians out of Gaza. 'Neither Hamas nor the hostages are the targets,' Meron Rappaport, an editor at Local Call, a Hebrew-language news site, said. 'The goal is to push the people of Gaza into very few, small and closed areas where food will be delivered scarcely, hoping that the pressure on them will get them to ask to leave the Strip.' 'Israel is no longer fighting Hamas,' he added. Netanyahu said in late May that Israel would control the entirety of Gaza by the end of its latest offensive, while many foreign officials and experts have warned either directly or implicitly that Israel's actions amount to ethnically cleansing Gaza. A recent report in Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, cited 82 percent of Jewish Israelis supporting the expulsion of the people in Gaza. To do so would have a historic impact, Buttu said, one that Netanyahu might feel he can portray as protecting Israel from a Palestinian state – something he has repeatedly promised to prevent. 'He recognises he will be the fall guy or the hero,' Buttu said. 'If he is the one who ethnically cleanses Gaza, he becomes the hero.' Until that happens, analysts believe, Palestinians will continue to die at the hands of the Israeli military. Hamas is the pretext and their willingness to negotiate or succumb is of secondary importance. 'Benjamin Netanyahu has no intention of ending this war,' Zonszein said. 'It doesn't matter what Hamas offers. They can offer to return all the hostages or give up governance. 'This war is going to continue until Netanyahu is forced to stop it, and that can only come from Trump.' Additional reporting by Simon Speakman Cordall
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Yemen's Al Qaeda leader threatens Trump, Musk over Israel's war on Gaza
The leader of Al Qaeda's Yemen branch has targeted US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk over United States backing for Israel's ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and its besieged Palestinian population. 'There are no red lines after what happened and is happening to our people in Gaza,' said Saad bin Atef Al Awlaki in a half-hour video message that was spread online on Saturday by supporters of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemeni branch of the armed group. 'Reciprocity is legitimate,' he said. The message featured images of Trump and Musk, US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, as well as logos of Musk's businesses – including electric carmaker Tesla. Born in 2009 from the merger of Al Qaeda's Yemeni and Saudi factions, AQAP is completely distinct from Yemen's Houthi rebel group, which controls most of the country and agreed to a ceasefire with the US earlier this month. AQAP grew and developed amid the chaos of Yemen's war, which has pitted the Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition backing the government since 2015. (Agencies)
