White House Pressures Syria To Normalize Ties with Israel Amid 'Quiet Talks'

According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, President Trump believes Syria may soon join the Abraham Accords, a peace agreement between Israel and several Arab states. This development is seen as an opportunity to control the outcome and force Damascus to make peace with Israel, following the removal of Assad. Syria, under the Assad family, has been a longtime enemy of Israel, with a de facto state of war for half a century. Leavitt stated that Trump remains optimistic about expanding the peace agreement and brought up the issue with Syria's new de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, during his recent visit to Riyadh. Sharaa had previously expressed openness to joining the accords under the "right conditions." US Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack has also been involved in quiet discussions with Damascus, encouraging the international community to give Syria's new leadership a chance to prove itself. However, the new government, stacked with extremist group members, has turned a blind eye to massacres targeting religious minorities, including Alawites, Christians, and Druze. The White House has failed to address these concerns, including the protection of churches, as a condition for dropping sanctions on Syria. Recently, a suicide bomber attacked a church in Damascus, killing 25 people, and threatening messages were left at another church in Hama countryside. The US appears to be ignoring the plight of Syria's religious minorities as Damascus' new hardline Sunni leaders engage in deal-making, despite their extremist past.