Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa sharply criticized Israel's policy overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, after he was asked whether he understood the trauma the Israeli public experienced following the events of October 7.
"I understand what happened on October 7 to some of the innocent people," he said, "but it's not possible that all policies are based on an incident that happened." He added, "It is not appropriate for what happened on October 7 to dictate policy toward Syria."
Al-Sharaa was responding to reporters' questions at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council (a Washington-based foreign policy think tank) in New York, held alongside the UN General Assembly, where the Syrian president is set to speak Wednesday. The event, moderated by former senior White House official Brett McGurk, who served in the Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, addressed Syria's future, its reconstruction and its relations with countries in the region.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa:
When I visited Trump at the White House, when he said the Golan Heights belongs to Israel, I made the joke, "Why don't you give New Jersey to the Israelis? You don't own the Golan Heights to give, but you own New Jersey."
I believe New Jersey… pic.twitter.com/eJEaN6eqYv
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 22, 2026
Al-Sharaa also addressed the war in Gaza, claiming that more than 70,000 people, including women and children, have been killed. He said Israel's policy toward Syria is illogical and creates additional security threats. "If you want to protect your own security, you must respect the security of others," he said, adding that Israel needs to change its policy.
"Why has Syria been bombed for two years, every day?" he asked. He said Israel has carried out arrests inside Syrian territory and has struck the presidential palace twice, as well as airports. "Will that bring security to Israeli citizens?" he wondered. Al-Sharaa compared Damascus's relations with other countries to its relations with Jerusalem, concluding, "I believe the problem is with Israel, not with Syria."
He went on to address the US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and said he had joked about it with President Donald Trump. "I told him, why don't you give New Jersey to the Israelis? You don't own the Golan Heights to give, but you own New Jersey," he said. He then added that, in his view, no one has the right to relinquish the Golan or hand it over to others.
Despite the sharp tone, al-Sharaa said direct contacts with Israel have continued for about a year under US mediation. He claimed the two sides "have almost reached agreements on 90%" of the issues, but that Jerusalem has backed away from some understandings or has set additional conditions.
He clarified that at this stage, this is not a peace agreement. According to him, the first step should be an Israeli withdrawal from the territories Israel entered after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, and a return to the lines of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement. After that, he said, it would be possible to discuss security arrangements, and only later the possibility of peace.
