Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the jihadist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), dismissed President Donald Trump’s plan for America to take over the Gaza Strip as a guaranteed failure, comparing it to Trump “pushing Mexicans out of America.”
Sharaa made the comments during an appearance on Monday on the British podcast Leading, hosted by interviewers Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell. The conversation included discussions on the recently concluded Syrian civil war, the country’s relationship with its neighbors, Sharaa’s assessment of Trump, and the impact of the war on him as a person.
Sharaa took over Syria after toppling the regime of former dictator Bashar Assad, who fled the country after HTS entered Damascus on December 7. HTS is an al-Qaeda offshoot militia that was one of several actors fighting in the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011 and ultimately attracted a large variety of warring parties including jihadists such as the Islamic State that did not directly fight Assad. For most of the war, Sharaa used the nom de guerre “Abu Mohammed al-Jolani” and took orders from al-Qaeda terrorists.
Since ousting Assad and formally becoming president in late January, Sharaa has begun to wear Western-style suits and has repeatedly promised prospective foreign investors that he will create an “inclusive” post-Assad government. Sharaa has refused to commit to establishing a secular government, however, insisting that he will impose Islamist rule despite the presence of several ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians, in the country.
Prior to his criticism of the Gaza plan, Sharaa had been very supportive of Trump publicly, sending a positive message to the president following his inauguration and describing him as capable of “bringing peace to the Middle East.”
Sharaa shared similarly positive comments on Trump on Leading this week outside of the context of Gaza.
“In the Middle East there are many different views on President Trump,” Sharaa said. “I believe that Trump has brought positive messages during his current administration, he is focused on domestic policy and revitalizing the United Staes economy.”
“He is also interested in peacebuilding in the Middle East,” Sharaa continued. “I view this as a positive start from President Trump and a positive approach to the Middle East … I am optimistic that if the ideas proposed during his campaign become reality, he will play a big role in achieving global peace.”
Sharaa suggested that, beyond the Middle East, Trump could greatly improve the state of the world “if he ends the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
The Leading hosts then asked Sharaa about Trump’s plan for the United States to take over Gaza, which elicited a much more negative response.
“I believe no power can drive people from their land. Many countries have tried to do it and they have all failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza over the past year and a half,” Sharaa asserted. “The people endured pain, killing, and destruction and they refused to leave their land … all attempts to displace them have failed, those who left have regretted their decision.”
Trump’s plan to remove Palestinian civilians from Gaza to allow for the destruction of Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure and removal of unexploded munitions and other dangers received a much less warm reception from Sharaa. Allowing Palestinians to seek refuge outside of Gaza, Sharaa proclaimed, “is a serious crime that will ultimately fail.”
“It would be neither wise nor morally or politically right for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land, in my view,” Sharaa said. “Why is he pushing Mexicans out of America now? He is doing the same thing. I believe this is a serious crime that will ultimately fail.”
President Trump made the shocking announcement last week that he had a plan for America to take “long-term ownership” of the Gaza Strip, which has been governed by the jihadist terror organization Hamas for over two decades. Hamas has largely destroyed the densely populated region, outfitting hospitals and schools with terrorist tunnels and explosives and forcing civilians to tolerate its deadly activities. Gaza has been in an active state of war since 2023, when Hamas invaded Israel and massacred hundreds of civilians.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll love it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous bombs and other weapons on the site,” Trump told reporters last week, “and get rid of the destroyed buildings [and] create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing.”
Trump added that Gaza had “unbelievable” potential as a global tourism destination.
To rehabilitate the area, Trump has repeatedly stated that the entire civilian population of Gaza must be removed, offered safe refuge in neighboring countries. He has suggested that Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, and Jordan, which has a large Palestinian population, take them in. Both countries have virulently rejected the idea of taking in even one Palestinian refugee while insisting that their governments care deeply about the Palestinian cause. Egypt called an emergency meeting on Sunday of the Arab League to reject the plan, which Sharaa is expected to attend.
Elsewhere in the interview, Sharaa urged the world to remove sanctions on his country, as they were all imposed in response to atrocities committed by the Assad regime.
“Sanctions were imposed on the previous regime during its systematic crimes including mass killings, some documents were made public and the United States reacted by imposing sanctions,” he explained. “These sanctions should be lifted as there is no justification for them after the fall of the regime.”
Syria remains on the State Department’s short list of state sponsors of terrorism as a result of Assad’s deep relations with Iran and Hezbollah, which HTS openly fought against. Both Hezbollah and HTS are designated foreign terrorist organizations. Sharaa did not request in the interview that HTS be removed from the list and has in the past indicated that the militia would be dissolved in the context of the end of the civil war.
Sharaa also rejected the identity of a “revolutionary.”
“I believe that a revolutionary mindset cannot build a country,” he asserted. “The revolution in its previous sense ended with the overthrow of the regime.”
