16-07-2025
Chikli denounces Syria's Sharaa as 'barbaric terrorist murder who should be eliminated'
"We must not stand idly by in the face of the Islamo-Nazi terror regime of al-Qaeda operatives in suits," Chikli stated.
Anyone who thinks Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a legitimate leader is "gravely mistaken," Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli wrote on X/Twitter on Tuesday.
He is "a terrorist, a barbaric murderer who should be eliminated now," Chikli added.
"We must not stand idly by in the face of the Islamo-Nazi terror regime of al-Qaeda operatives in suits," Chikli stated.
Sharaa was formerly aligned with al-Qaeda until splitting from the terror group in July 2016.
"We saw the horrific massacre of the Alawites, which European leaders remained silent about, and we now see the acts of slaughter and humiliation against the Druze," he commented as context for his statement.
"The terror regime in Syria must be fought!" he concluded.
Chikli also posted a video showing footage from Israel's Channel 14, in which Sharaa, while still going by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani, was speaking to HTS militants in an undated video, and stated: "With Allah's help, we will not only reach Damascus, Jerusalem awaits us too."
"No agreement should be made with an enemy," Chikli commented in response, stating that people refuse to learn from past mistakes, and must listen to the enemy, take them seriously, and learn about the basic concepts of political Islam.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also denounced Sharaa as having carried out a "brutal massacre."
"They remain violent, cruel extremist Islamists, and the West must not be deceived by their suits and ties," Smotrich added.
"Israel cannot afford to retreat under any circumstances from the buffer zone and Mount Hermon's peak.
Clashes between Syrian gov't., Druze in Sweida
This followed a clash in which at least 18 members of Syria's security forces were killed in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, the Defence Ministry said.
The clash came after they deployed to quell deadly sectarian violence that had resumed on Monday, while Israel said it struck tanks in a town in the same province on the same day.
Reuters contributed to this report.
