Nanar Hawach

“Israel appears intent on a lasting military presence in southern Syria, and it uses Suwayda as a lever against Damascus, offering enough support to keep the province reliant on Israeli protection and too little to secure its future,”

Nanar Hawach · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-26

Hawach described Israel's strategy of maintaining a military presence in southern Syria and using Suwayda as leverage against Damascus.

“Trust tends to return through what the state delivers. Damascus stands a better chance of winning people back by serving residents directly and pursuing accountability for July 2025.”

Nanar Hawach · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-26

Hawach said Damascus could win people back by serving residents directly and pursuing accountability for the events of July 2025.

“[Barrack’s] remarks expose differences with Israel,”

Nanar Hawach · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-26

Hawach told Al Jazeera that Barrack's remarks revealed differences between Washington and Israel over Syria.

“Washington is building a partner in Damascus while Israel appears to prefer a Damascus that is too weak to assert itself in the south.”

Nanar Hawach · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-26

Hawach contrasted Washington's approach of building a partner in Damascus with Israel's apparent preference for a weak Syrian government.

“Sheikh al-Hijri’s authority rises with the community’s sense of threat and opens to debate as that threat recedes, so pressure from Damascus tends to strengthen the leadership it aims to weaken,”

Nanar Hawach · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-26

Hawach explained that al-Hijri's authority in Suwayda rises when the Druze community feels under threat.

“Each side points to the other’s hard line to justify its own. That keeps Suwayda’s future framed in security terms and crowds out the many residents, clerics and local figures seeking a path between central rule and separation.”

Nanar Hawach · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-26

Hawach said both sides in Suwayda point to each other's hard lines, keeping the province's future framed in security terms.

“Distrust has hardened, partly because Damascus has sought to bring Suwayda back by pressuring its leadership, and residents feel that pressure first, in their salaries, their children’s exams and the road to the capital,”

Nanar Hawach · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-26

Hawach described how distrust in Suwayda has hardened as Damascus pressures the province's leadership and residents feel it in daily life.

“Along its line in Quneitra and Daraa [areas of southern Syria that Israel has invaded], Israel treats neighbouring communities differently, reviving wartime grievances between Syrians that any future Syria-Israel arrangement would struggle to undo.”

Nanar Hawach · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-26

Hawach noted that Israel treats communities in Quneitra and Daraa differently, reviving wartime grievances among Syrians.