The Meeting of the Syrian Foreign Minister with a Delegation from the Jewish Entity in Paris: A Stab in the Back of the Revolution and an Alarm Bell, Warning of What Comes Afterwards
(Translated)

By Ustadh Nasser Sheikh Abdulhai*

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met with an ‘Israeli’ delegation in Paris on Tuesday, 19/8/2025, “to discuss a number of files related to enhancing stability in the region,” including the province of Suwayda and the reactivation of the 1974 agreement, confirming that the meeting took place with American mediation.

This meeting was preceded by preparatory encounters direct and through intermediaries, public and secret, in the UAE, Azerbaijan, and Paris. It should be noted that al-Shibani’s meeting with the Jewish Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, in Paris is the first official meeting openly acknowledged by the current administration with leaders of the Jewish entity.

This dangerous meeting exposes the new political orientations of the Syrian administration and confirms the extent of American influence and control over its policies, decisions, and direction. Accordingly, several truths must be recalled:

Firstly: The Jewish entity is one of treachery and betrayal, a foreign and illegitimate occupier of our land, a defiler of our sanctities, and a murderer of our people and brothers. Its ambitions will not stop at Suweida; it is built upon a declared expansionist project aiming to swallow more land, exert control, and strip away sovereignty. It will not stop at borders or temporary understandings.

Secondly: The talk of a so-called humanitarian corridor to Suwayda is nothing but an exposed lie. The province used to receive tons of aid from the transitional government in Damascus. What is happening today is nothing more than a cover to pass political and security objectives under the pretext of humanitarian work.

Thirdly: The mere thought of engaging with the Jewish entity let alone meeting it is a grave crime and a betrayal of the Muslims’ foremost cause. It is also a stab in the back of the people of the Syrian revolution, who chanted in their demonstrations for the victory of their brothers in Palestine, condemned the regime’s criminal protection of the Jewish borders, and longed for the day of its downfall so they could aid their brothers in Gaza and all of Palestine. It is also a betrayal of the entire Islamic Ummah, which has a long-standing conflict with the accursed ones. This perilous slide will not bring us security nor stability, but rather more arrogance and aggression from the Jews, dragging upon us unending calamities.

Fourthly: Our conflict with the Jews is existential, not one of borders. It is a matter of life and death, until Allah’s decree in Surah al-Isra is fulfilled. This occupying entity cannot be dealt with through pacifying speeches, appeasement, or begging for peace. Nor can this approach succeed with its supporters America and the West. Allah (swt) says,

[أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِندَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعاً]

“Do they seek honor through them? Indeed, all honor belongs to Allah.” [TMQ Surah An-Nisa 139].

The Shariah obligation Allah (swt) has imposed on us regarding this entity is crystal clear: it stems from the ‘aqeedah and constants of the Ummah, not from short-term political calculations. Thus, under no circumstance is it permissible to submit to normalization projects or illusory peace processes. Our salvation lies in holding firmly to the Ummah’s principles, defending its vital causes, and rejecting all forms of normalization pushed forward by America with this criminal usurping entity.

Let us recall that our people in Gaza are being slaughtered with American weapons, and under unlimited U.S. political cover, on top of America’s crimes against Muslims worldwide. Can such a power, allied with our enemies in killing our brothers, starving them, and expelling them from their homes, ever be trusted to care for our stability and interests? The same America that blessed the killing of the Syrian revolutionaries before?

We remind those who still invoke the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah whenever they seek to justify a betrayal whether at Camp David, Wadi Araba, or now through the meetings held by the new administration in Damascus with the Jewish entity, that their shallow understanding ignores an important historical incident. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) moved to aid his allies, the Khuza‘a tribe, when Quraysh attacked them, even though many of them had not embraced Islam yet. So how can we accept peace with war-waging disbelievers who slaughter the Muslims of Gaza, aggress against the land of ash-Sham daily, bomb it, destroy its resources, arrest its people, and interrogate them with impunity? Allah (swt) describes them,

[لا يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ جَمِيعاً إِلَّا فِي قُرًى مُّحَصَّنَةٍ أَوْ مِن وَرَاءِ جُدُرٍ بَأْسُهُم بَيْنَهُمْ شَدِيدٌ تَحْسَبُهُمْ جَمِيعاً وَقُلُوبُهُمْ شَتَّى ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَعْقِلُونَ]

“Even united, they would not dare fight against you except from within fortified strongholds or from behind walls. Their malice for each other is intense: you think they are united, yet their hearts are divided. That is because they are a people with no real understanding.” [TMQ Surah Al-Hashr: 14].

Indeed, our Aqeedah has defined the relationship with the Jewish usurpers of our sanctities: it is a relationship of war and existential conflict. The battle between the sincere sons of the Ummah and the Jews is inevitable. Therefore, normalization or any treaties acknowledging their sovereignty over even a span of Muslim land are absolutely prohibited.

This battle is destined and inescapable. Delaying it or failing to prepare for it will only drain more lives and resources. We must therefore prepare for it and equip ourselves with all that we have.

It is time for us to realize that our true salvation, the solution to all our worries, pains, calamities, and disasters, lies in working sincerely and earnestly for the establishment of Allah’s rule on earth through the Islamic State, the second Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly-Guided Caliphate) upon the Method of Prophethood which Netanyahu himself has repeatedly warned against. It will come with men of mighty strength who will move through the lands, fulfilling Allah’s promise against the accursed ones,

[فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا مَا عَلَوْا تَتْبِيراً]

“And when the second warning would come to pass, your enemies would be left to totally disgrace you and enter that place of worship as they entered it the first time, and utterly destroy whatever would fall into their hands.” [TMQ Surah Al-Isra: 7].

* Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Syria