\n<\/p>\n
Syria\u2019s new leaders met the French and German foreign ministers in the capital, Damascus, on Friday in one of the highest-level Western diplomatic visits since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last month.<\/p>\n
Annalena Baerbock of Germany and her French counterpart, Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot, arrived in Damascus for the first such trip in years on behalf on the European Union, as world powers have begun building ties with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham<\/a>, the Islamist group that leads the new Syrian government.<\/p>\n Ms. Baerbock and Mr. Barrot met with Ahmad al-Shara, the group\u2019s leader, after visiting the notorious Sednaya prison, where Mr. al-Assad\u2019s regime had tortured and killed thousands<\/a> of detainees.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are traveling to Damascus today to offer our support, but also with clear expectations of the new rulers,\u201d Ms. Baerbock said in a statement before the meeting. \u201cA new beginning can only happen if all Syrians, no matter their ethnicity and religion, are given a place in the political process.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The visits are among a flurry of contacts between rebel leaders and Western officials looking to gradually open channels to the new Syrian authorities. Mr. al-Shara has worked to project a moderate image since taking power.<\/p>\n Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is still blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United States and the United Nations because of its past ties to Al Qaeda<\/a>. Mr. al-Shara has called on the international community to remove that designation and sought to reassure minority groups, saying he wants to focus on rebuilding Syria after years of civil war.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current events demand the lifting of all sanctions on Syria,\u201d he said in a televised interview last month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Barrot said that France was urging the new rulers in Damascus to pursue a political transition that would allow \u201call the communities in Syria, in all their diversity, to be represented.\u201d Part of that included reaching a \u201cpolitical solution\u201d with the Kurdish minority, he said, which has carved out an autonomous region in northeastern Syria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The diplomacy comes during a realignment across the Middle East, where Mr. al-Assad\u2019s regime was a core part of Iran\u2019s regional coalition. His family\u2019s decades of iron-fisted rule were opposed by many Syrians, spurring the 2011 uprising and civil war. At least six foreign militaries were involved in the fighting, including those from Iran, Russia and Turkey.<\/p>\n Many countries \u2014 including the United States \u2014 have begun forging ties with the new government<\/a>. In late December, Barbara Leaf, the senior State Department official for the Middle East, met with Mr. al-Shara in Damascus and told him that Washington would no longer pursue an outstanding bounty for his arrest.<\/p>\n Some Syrians \u2014 particularly Christians and other minority groups \u2014 are uncertain about Mr. al-Shara, pointing to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham\u2019s conservative Islamist roots. In Idlib, a province controlled by the group since 2017, its leaders banned buying and selling alcohol and opened a chain of free religious schools. But Mr. al-Shara\u2019s faction has eschewed<\/a> the draconian decrees and brutal punishments of extremists like the Taliban and the Islamic State.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In a sign of the jitters among some Syrians, a posting on a Facebook page run by the Education Ministry this week described a new curriculum that was interpreted by some as taking a more Islamist slant<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It was not clear whether any of the changes had been implemented, but the minister of education, Nadhir Al-Qadri, said in a statement that the curriculum was unchanged except for the removal of \u201ccontent glorifying the Assad regime\u201d and the addition of images of the Syrian revolutionary flag.<\/p>\n Officials in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have laid out an ambitious plan for establishing a new government, and rebel leaders have assumed key positions to oversee a transition. They say they are establishing a caretaker government in consultation with Syrians of all backgrounds, as well as a committee to draft a new Syrian constitution.<\/p>\n Many in the region are also wary of the new Syrian government, including<\/a> Gulf States like the United Arab Emirates, which has long tried to prevent the rise of groups that embrace political Islam, as well as Israel.<\/p>\n Overnight on Friday, Israeli warplanes bombed Syrian defense research sites near Aleppo, according<\/a> to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israel declined to comment on the report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against Syrian military sites since the fall of Mr. al-Assad in an effort to eliminate sophisticated arms like chemical weapons and long-range missiles. Mr. al-Shara has said he will uphold a longstanding cease-fire agreement with Israel, saying that Syria poses no threat to its neighbors.<\/p>\n Here are other developments in the region:<\/p>\n Houthi missile attacks: <\/strong>The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at Israel before dawn on Friday, setting off air-raid sirens across central Israel, including in Jerusalem. The Israeli military said it had intercepted the missile and there were no reports of serious casualties. Israeli fighter jets have flown over 1,000 miles to strike Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen but Israel has struggled to stop<\/a> the attacks, which have escalated over the past month.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Northern Gaza hospital: <\/strong>The Israeli military is operating near the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, from which many doctors and patients have already fled, health officials there said, noting that the sound of gunfire could be heard outside. The Israeli military said it did not intend to evacuate those remaining at the hospital at this time. The Israeli military raided Kamal Adwan, another northern Gaza hospital, last week, charging that Hamas was operating in the compound. Israeli troops apprehended at least 240 people they said were militants, including Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital director. Israel has not provided evidence that Dr. Safiya is a militant, and Amnesty International has called<\/a> for his release.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Israeli strikes in Lebanon: <\/strong>The Israeli military said on Thursday night that it had bombed Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, while a 60-day truce largely continues to hold<\/a>. Since the agreement went into effect in late November, Israel has repeatedly bombarded what it says are Hezbollah fighters violating the agreement. Hezbollah has generally refrained from responding militarily. The current cease-fire is set to expire in late January, although the United States and its allies hope it becomes permanent.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Abu Bakr Bashir and Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n