US encourages Israel to open dialogue with new Syrian leadership

The outgoing Biden administration is urging Israel to develop communication channels with Ahmed al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani), the new leader of Syria, according to an Israeli report on Channel 12 on Monday.

Israeli officials, however, remain skeptical, suspecting him of manipulating the international community only to consolidate his new regime.

"Your cooperation and communication channels with al-Julani will strengthen Israeli influence throughout the region," American officials reportedly told Israeli counterparts. "He is a pragmatic leader who wishes to develop strategic relations with the countries in the region."

This desire for rapprochement aims to prevent the return of Iranian influence in Syria. In recent days, after having met him in Damascus, Barbara Leaf, the US assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, announced that the US had decided to remove the $10 million bounty that was on the former rebel leader's head, who overthrew the regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

A few days after managing to overthrow the Assad regime, the rebel leader spoke for the first time about his position regarding Israel, stating that he did not intend "to enter into conflict with Israel." In a subsequent interview with Sky News, he added: "The people are exhausted by the war, the country is not ready and will not engage in a new conflict. The country is moving towards development and reconstruction, it is heading towards stability."

Israeli officials nevertheless remain wary, believing that he is only trying to stabilize his new regime without any real intention of fundamentally changing his position.