Despite $10mil on his Head, Rebel Leader Al-Jolani Embracing Israel in Smile Offensive

Photo Credit: Times Asi / Flickr

Syrian rebels capture key town near Jordan border.

Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Shara al-Jolani, 42, on Saturday addressed the IDF preemptive operation in Syria, saying that Israel had the excuse of the Iranian presence to attack the country. However, according to him, this argument no longer holds, and “There are no arguments for any intervention in Syria after the Iranians have left.”

The commander of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group that led the armed opposition against the former Syrian government, also said his fighters would not fight against Israel.

Al-Jolani stressed that his HTS troops did not seek confrontation with Israel, despite the many hundreds of Israeli airstrikes that over the past week had decimated Syria’s ground, air, and marine forces, as well as many of its chemical weapons factories. He also said his army harbored no animosity toward Iran or Russia, the two main supporters of the Assad regime.

The Israeli intelligence community was surprised, having invested the bulk of its resources in tracking Iran, Hezbollah, and the PA. The Military Intelligence Service spoke of reconstruction in Assad’s army, and even after the rebels had taken Aleppo, the IDF intelligence predicted low chances of success and insisted the Assad regime remained stable.

Last Monday, having taken the capital Damascus, al-Jolani declared, “This victory, my brothers, is a victory for the entire Islamic nation.”

ابو محمد الجولانی کی نظریں
جولان پر ہیں۔۔۔۔!!

بہت امید ہیکہ بہت جلد غزہ کے بارے میں خوشخبری ملے گی۔ ان شاءاللہ، pic.twitter.com/cEyGJwGaWY

— Asad Mansoor (@AsadMansoor222) December 9, 2024

“This victory, my brothers, by the grace of God Almighty, follows the sacrifices of the martyrs, the widows, and the orphans. This victory, my brothers, has come through the suffering of those who endured imprisonment,” he said.

“This new triumph, my brothers, marks a new chapter in the history of the region, a history fraught with dangers that left Syria as a playground for Iranian ambitions, spreading sectarianism, stirring corruption,” he said.

Iran appeared to be the target of al-Jolani’s pointed message, as its influence in the region was being curtailed. The theocratic regime’s land corridor to its biggest proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon was severed. Its support for Hezbollah forces in Syria was challenged, and its former weapons depots were no longer secure havens.

But the message also resonates beyond Tehran. Al-Jolani had been designated the leader of a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel, with a $10 million bounty on his head. Therefore, he understands that, at least for the early phase of his takeover of Syria, his recognition of Western and Israeli interests in a reshaped Syria is the key to his survival, to be cajoled rather than challenged.

عشرة أيام كانت كافيه لهذا الرجل لكي يقوم بإنهاء معاناة شعب إستمرت 13 سَنة .
– لم يستعن بأجندات خارجيه .
– لم يذهب ويبكي عند الأمم المتحده .
مشى على قانون أن العالم لا يحترم ولا يسمع ولا يفهم إلا لغه القوه .
– أبو محمد الجولاني سّطر إسمه ضمن صفحات التاريخ غصب عن كل شخص ، إحترام . pic.twitter.com/cxaUkBAsWe

— صلاح الدين (@SyrianVersion) December 7, 2024

Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, has emerged as a pivotal figure in Syria’s turbulent political landscape. Born in 1982, al-Jolani has led Tahrir al-Sham since 2017 and played a decisive role in the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives that resulted in the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Some analysts regard him as Syria’s de facto supreme ruler.

Al-Jolani was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to a Syrian family from the Golan Heights (hence the name, al-Jolani – DI). His career as a terrorist began just before the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq when he joined al-Qaeda in Iraq and took part in the insurgency for three years.

Captured by American forces in 2006, he was imprisoned until 2011. Following his release, coinciding with the outbreak of Syria’s revolution, he established the al-Nusra Front in 2012 with al-Qaeda’s backing to fight Assad’s Ba’athist government.

Under his command, al-Nusra entrenched itself in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Governorate, becoming one of the most formidable factions in the conflict. Al-Jolani notably resisted efforts by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to merge al-Nusra into the Islamic State, triggering a violent schism between the two groups.

In May 2013, the U.S. State Department designated al-Jolani as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” intensifying international scrutiny. In 2017, the US announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture, underscoring his enduring prominence in the region’s complex and often volatile political theater.

On May 16, 2013, the US State Dept. designated al-Jolani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, blocking all his property and interests that are subject to US jurisdiction, and prohibiting US citizens from engaging in any transactions with him. In addition, it became a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to his terrorist organization.