For Dr. Jalnar Hamad, doubts over al-Sharaa were balanced against hopes that his meeting with Trump could open a “new chapter” that could see Sweida “benefit from development or reconstruction programs,” she said. But sensitivities remain about Trump appearing with a man caught by US forces two decades ago planting an improvised explosive device for al-Qaeda and who spent five years in jails in Iraq. Unlike most national leaders he was ushered into the White House by a side entrance for a private Oval Office meeting.
Trump is keen to push Syria’s new leader towards the Abraham Accords, a normalisation agreement with Israel signed by five Arabic nations, but this would almost certainly mean Sharaa permanently ceding control over the occupied Golan Heights in the southwest of his country. After less than a year in office, he is prepared to talk about the future of the area but does not appear ready to commit to any territorial handover.
