Khattab is known in Syria as the "shadow man" of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization, which al-Julani heads, and controls all political and security affairs.

Khattab's appointment came after al-Julani met in Damascus with Hamid al-Shatri, the head of Iraqi intelligence. Last week, al-Julani also met with Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin.

WHO IS ANAS HASSAN KHATTAB?

Khattab is a native of Damascus who served in the Syrian military security apparatus. After the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, he joined the organization ISIS in Iraq.

His relationship with al-Julani grew stronger while they served together in ISIS in Iraq. He later left ISIS with al-Julani and joined the Al-Nusra Front. He managed to escape an assassination attempt by the US military and arrest in 2014.

In 2012, he was given a senior position in the organization and his name was added to the US terror list due to his ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Syrian sources claim that he cooperated with the Americans in all matters related to the elimination and arrest of jihadist terrorists from rival organizations such as ISIS, and the Jund al-Aqsa and Khorasan al-Din organizations.

Last week, al-Julani appointed his close associate and friend Muharraf Abu Qatza as Syria's new defense minister.

Until his appointment, Abu Qatza served as the head of the military wing of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization. According to Syrian sources, he has a background in jihadist terrorism and led many operations during the Syrian civil war.

Senior security sources say that al-Julani's appointments indicate the nature of the new regime, which he is trying to obscure and hide from the West, until he consolidates his rule, is elected the next Syrian president, lifts sanctions on Syria, and receives extensive economic aid from Western countries.

According to them, al-Julani Appoints only his loyal associates, with a background in jihadist terrorist activity, to senior positions in the new regime, who currently function as "terrorists in disguise."

Last Friday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said that the new regime in Syria "is not a democratically elected regime, but a terrorist gang that was previously in Idlib and took control of the city of Damascus and other areas."

Senior security officials say that Israel is closely monitoring the new regime in Syria and will take all necessary steps to prevent it from taking hostile measures against Israeli citizens.

Yoni Ben Menachem, A NEWSRAEL Contributor, is a Middle East senior analyst ,a journalist and the former CEO of the Israel Broadcasting Authority(IBA). He has decades of experience in written and video journalism. Ben Menachem’s path in the media world began as a producer for Japanese television in the Middle East. 

After that, he held many key positions in the media The Israeli: CEO of the Israel Broadcasting Authority, director of “Kol Israel” Radio, reporter on West Bank and Gaza Strip affairs, political reporter and commentator, commentator on Middle East affairs and editor-in-chief and presenter of the program “Middle East Magazine”.