 "Syrian rebel leader urges Israel to end airstrikes after Assad's overthrow")
The head of the Syrian insurgent group that led the overthrow of Bashar Assad's government says they are not about to enter a conflict with Israel. But Ahmad al-Sharaa in his first public comments on Israel in the week since Assad's fall said "the pretexts that Israel uses have ended" for its airstrikes inside Syria in recent days.
Al-Sharaa said the Israelis have crossed the rules of engagement in his interview with Syrian TV on Saturday. About 400 Israeli airstrikes in the past days have destroyed much of the Syrian army's assets.
Al-Sharaa leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. The excerpts released from his interview did not address contact with the United States, which on Saturday said had been in direct communication with HTS, which it designated a foreign terrorist organisation years ago.
The HTS leader did say the new authorities in Damascus are in contact with Western embassies, and that authorities have a plan to start reconstruction and development in Syria. He did not give details.
He added that the authorities have given Russia - a key backer of Assad - an opportunity to reconsider relations with the Syrian people, and that authorities are not hostile to the people of Iran, another Assad backer.