Syria’s interim president has signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria's interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase.
The nation's interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of Syria since the Islamist former insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led a lightning insurgency that overthrew longtime President Bashar Assad in December.
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Former HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa is now the country's interim president — a decision that was announced after a meeting of the armed groups that took part in the offensive against Assad. At the same meeting, the groups agreed to repeal the country's old constitution and said a new one would be drafted.
While many were happy to see an end to the Assad family’s dictatorial rule of more than 50 years in the war-torn country, religious and ethnic minorities have been skeptical of the new Islamist leaders and reluctant to allow Damascus under its new authorities to assert control of their areas.
Abdulhamid Al-Awak, one of the seven members of the committee al-Sharaa tasked to draft the temporary constitution, told a news conference Thursday that it would maintain some previsions from the previous one, including the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim, and Islamic law is the main source of jurisprudence.
But Al-Awak, a constitutional law expert who teaches at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey, also said that the temporary constitution includes provisions that enshrine freedom of expression and the media.
The constitution will “balance between social security and freedom” during Syria's shaky political situation, he said.
A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it's unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria's political, religious and ethnic groups.
The deal came after government forces and allied groups crushed an insurgency launched last week by gunmen loyal to Assad. Rights groups say that hundreds of civilians — mostly from the Alawite minority sect to which Assad belongs — were killed in retaliatory attacks by factions in the counteroffensive.
A key goal of the interim constitution was to give a timeline for the country’s political transition out of its interim phase. In December, Al-Sharaa said that it could take up to three years to rewrite Syria’s constitution and up to five years to organize and hold elections.
Al-Sharaa appointed a committee to draft the new constitution after Syria held a national dialogue conference last month, which called for announcing a temporary constitution and holding an interim parliamentary election. Critics said that the hastily-organized conference wasn't inclusive of Syria's different ethnic and sectarian groups or civil society.
The United States and Europe have been hesitant to lift harsh sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad's rule until they are convinced that the new leaders will create an inclusive political system and protect minorities. Al-Sharaa and regional governments have been urging them to reconsider, fearing that the country's crumbling economy could bring further instability.
Also Thursday, an Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in a suburb of the capital, wounding three people, one of them critically, Syria's state media and a paramedic group said.
Israel’s military said that the airstrike on the Damascus suburb of Dummar targeted what it called a command center of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The military alleged that the command center has been used to direct attacks against Israel and vowed to “respond forcefully” to the presence of Palestinian militant groups inside Syria.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that “whenever terrorist activity is organized against Israel,” al-Sharaa “will find air force planes circling above him and attacking terrorist targets.”
A Palestinian Islamic Jihad member at the scene of the airstrike in Syria told The Associated Press that the apartment that was targeted was the home of the group’s leader, Ziad Nakhaleh.
Ismail Sindak said the apartment had been empty for years, adding that Nakhaleh isn't in Syria. Asked whether anyone was killed in the strike, Sindak said that “the house was empty.”
Kareem Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Abdelrahman Shaheen contributed to this report from Damascus.
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