Barrack Blasts Israeli Intervention as “Ill-Timed” Amid Escalating Sectarian Strife in Sweida
A top U.S. envoy emphatically stated Washington’s unwavering support for Syria’s nascent government on Monday, asserting that there is “no Plan B” to collaborating with it to unify a nation scarred by civil war and now plagued by fresh sectarian violence. In an exclusive interview, Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria with a temporary mandate in Lebanon, also sharply criticized Israel’s recent military intervention in Syria, deeming it ill-timed and complicating regional stabilization efforts.
Barrack’s remarks come as Syria’s southern province of Sweida has endured more than a week of deadly clashes between Druze religious minority militias and Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes.
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Syrian government forces, ostensibly intervening to restore order, were accused of siding with the Bedouins before eventually withdrawing under a ceasefire agreement with Druze factions. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting, with allegations of government fighters executing Druze civilians and engaging in widespread looting and burning of homes.
Last week, Israel intervened directly in the conflict on behalf of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on Syrian government force convoys in Sweida and even striking the Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. Over the weekend, Barrack announced a ceasefire between Syria and Israel, with Syrian government forces redeploying in Sweida to prevent renewed clashes, and civilians from both sides set for evacuation today.
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“The killing, the revenge, the massacres on both sides” are “intolerable,” Barrack told the Associated Press, yet he expressed a nuanced view of the Syrian government’s role. “The current government of Syria, in my opinion, has conducted themselves as best they can as a nascent government with very few resources to address the multiplicity of issues that arise in trying to bring a diverse society together.” However, at a later press conference, he stressed that Syrian authorities “need to be held accountable” for any violations.
Regarding Israel’s strikes, Barrack clarified, “The United States was not asked, nor did they participate in that decision, nor was it the United States’ responsibility in matters that Israel feels is for its own self-defense.” Nevertheless, he stated that Israel’s intervention “creates another very confusing chapter” and “came at a very bad time.”
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Prior to the Sweida violence, Israel and Syria had been engaged in security talks, with the Trump administration reportedly pushing for full diplomatic normalization. Barrack noted that Israel’s perspective was that the area south of Damascus constituted a “questionable zone” requiring mutual agreement on military actions, a view not fully shared by Syria’s new government.
The ceasefire announced Saturday between Syria and Israel is a limited agreement addressing only the Sweida conflict, not broader issues such as Israel’s desire for a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. Barrack praised both sides for their efforts in reaching this specific agreement regarding the movement of Syrian forces.
He also raised concerns that Israel might prefer a fragmented Syria over a strong, centralized state. “Strong nation-states are a threat – especially Arab states are viewed as a threat to Israel,” he said, but argued that in Syria, “I think all of the minority communities are smart enough to say, ‘We’re better off together, centralized.'”
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X Monday that Israel’s strikes “were the only way to stop the massacre of the Druze in Syria, who are brothers of our Druze brothers in Israel.” He added, “Whoever criticizes the attacks are not familiar with the facts,” though it was unclear if he was directly responding to Barrack’s comments.
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