“Syria’s new strongman is a wolf in sheep’s clothing” (Sharren Haskel)
Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, has called Syria’s new strongman Abu Mohammed Al-Joulani a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.
At a press conference in her country’s capital, Haskel said it was “important to avoid the temptation to whitewash the jihadist groups in Syria. We know who they are and their true nature, even if they change their names, and we understand how dangerous they are to the West.” During her speech, she displayed several photos of Abu Mohammed Al-Joulani, the leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTC), when he was working as a member of jihadist organizations. “They are terrorist organizations and [Al-Joulani] is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” she added.
In 2003, Abu Mohammed Al-Joulani fought in Iraq, following the American invasion. He was the one who created the Al-Qaeda branch in Syria, the Al-Nusra Front, which became HTC.
(MH with Manon Pierre - Source: Le Monde - Illustration: Unsplash)