ISTANBUL
Syria on Wednesday decried Israel’s airstrikes on the capital, Damascus, as a political maneuver aimed at escaping from internal pressure facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The Syrian government has the full right to assert control over its territory, and the people of Suwayda are a fundamental pillar of the Syrian state,” Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said in comments carried by the state news agency SANA.
He said the Syrian government had not been in a position of weakness regarding the situation in Suwayda in southern Syria.
“We could have resolved the file months ago,” he said, “but we asked all sides to agree on a joint framework. Unfortunately, some bet on foreign actors,” he added, without naming specific groups.
The minister said Damascus had shown “significant flexibility” in pursuing political solutions but was met with continued provocations, broken promises, and “a militarized reality opposed to the state,” even as the government avoided resorting to force.
Mustafa emphasized that the Israeli strikes on Damascus “were not a victory, but an escape from internal pressure” faced by Netanyahu’s government.
Syria’s Interior Ministry confirmed a new ceasefire agreement in Suwayda on Wednesday, which includes full reintegration of the province under central government authority, according to SANA.
The deal was announced amid Israeli strikes targeting Damascus, Suwayda, and Daraa in southwestern Syria.
The Israeli army claims the operations are to protect the Druze minority.
Clashes erupted between armed Druze militias and Bedouin groups in Suwayda after both sides reportedly seized vehicles from each other.
The Interior Ministry said more than 30 people have been killed and nearly 100 injured in the violence.