The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Muhammad Al-Julani, managed to overthrow the tyrannical regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad in nine days.
YONI BEN MENACHEM -- However, despite his success, Al-Julani has not been able to shake off his negative image in the Arab world and the international community as a senior terrorist.
Al-Julani was active in al-Qaeda and ISIS, and even founded his own organization called "Jabhat al-Nusra," which was an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Syria, and later changed its name to "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham." Now, he needs international legitimacy to rehabilitate Syria and lead it on a new path, different from Assad's.
Five key issues appear to determine whether Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will be removed from the US terrorist list:
A. How the new Syrian regime will deal with the terrorist organizations al-Qaeda and ISIS in Syria.
B. The new regime’s attitude towards the US’s regional allies: Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon.
C. His relationship with US rivals, such as Russia, China and Iran.
D. How he will deal with chemical and biological weapons in Syria.
E. The regime's treatment of women and minorities in Syria.
Israeli security sources estimate that al-Julani will have no choice but to disband his organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, in order to encourage the American regime to remove it from the terrorist list.
He will probably integrate the organization's activists into the interim government and the new Syrian army that he is about to establish.
According to the sources, the burden of proof lies with al-Julani, and he will have to prove that his actions represent real change and not a temporary political maneuver until he is elected the next president of Syria.