129. Women had nothing to fear in Syria but men needed to worry 

I don’t have much knowledge about the Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa. 

While watching him on television I am unable to connect that Sharaa has spent time in US jails inside Iraq since he has been given a given a rock-star welcome where ever he has gone including US.

However, I couldn’t disagree with him when he said that Israel is fighting ghosts and exporting its crises to other countries after the war in Gaza.

He was referring to the persistent airstrikes and incursions by the Israeli military into southern part of Syria.

Donald Trump has also issued a warning to Israel to co-operate with the Syrian president, suggesting he does not welcome the Israeli incursions inside Syria.

I feel Sharaa is right. Israel has been extrapolating its conflict with Hamas and justifying aggression in the name of security. 

Sharaa also has clarified that Syria had insisted on respecting a 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel that had held for over 50 years and tampering with the deal and seeking other agreements such as a demilitarised zone could lead us to a dangerous place with unknown consequences.

Israel army pushed into a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights after the fall of Bashar al-Assad a year ago and conduct regular incursions deeper into Syria. 

Israel says it fears terrorist groups linked to Hamas or that Sharaa will invade Israel unless there is a firm buffer zone. 

Israel has seized the 400 sq km (155 sq miles) of demilitarised buffer zone in southern Syria.

While Israel is responding to Syria with extreme violence, launching more than 1,000 airstrikes and carrying out 400 incursions into its territory. 

But Sharaa says the demand for a demilitarised zone raised many questions for Syria, chiefly, who will protect this zone if there is no presence of the Syrian army? 

Israel has no answer to this question.

Sharaa seems more mature than the Israel PM as he has been trying to deal with Israel with a very positive and cooperative attitude and always talking about regional peace and stability.

His very bold statement also attracted my attention – coming from an Islamic ruler – when he recently said that women had nothing to fear in Syria. It was the men that needed to worry.