Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara stated on Thursday that the Israeli occupation deliberately targets Syria's stability, has been sowing discord since the fall of the previous regime, and seeks to turn Syria into an endless arena of chaos while dismantling its national unity.

In a televised address, President al-Shara emphasized: "We, the people of Syria, know full well who is trying to drag us into war and who seeks to divide us and scatter our efforts—and we will not give them that opportunity."

He affirmed that "Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies nor a place to fulfill others' ambitions at the expense of our children's and women's blood." The president stressed that the Syrian state belongs to all its citizens, embodies the nation's dignity and pride, and represents every Syrian's dream of rebuilding their homeland. He called for unity "to restore Syria’s prestige and place it among the forefront of nations living in security and stability."

Addressing the Druze community as "an integral part of Syria’s social fabric," al-Shara declared that "Syria will never be a place for division or sowing discord among its people." He underscored that "protecting rights and freedoms is among our top priorities," rejecting any attempt "to drag [communities] toward external actors or create divisions among us."

The president highlighted the government’s intervention to halt internal fighting in As-Suwayda between armed groups over long-standing disputes, deploying state institutions "with full determination to end the clashes." He accused "lawless groups accustomed to chaos, sabotage, and incitement" of rejecting dialogue for months, prioritizing "narrow personal interests over the nation’s welfare," and recently committing "crimes against civilians."

Despite Israeli occupation forces’ "expanded targeting of civilian and government facilities to undermine these efforts"—which significantly escalated tensions—al-Shara noted that the Ministries of Defense and Interior had launched a broad security operation in As-Suwayda to restore order and expel outlawed factions.

A decision was made to "task local factions and community leaders with maintaining security in As-Suwayda," as the optimal step to "safeguard national unity and citizens’ safety based on supreme national interest." The president framed this as stemming from "our deep awareness of the threat to our unity and our refusal to let Syria slide into a new large-scale war" that could derail recovery from the devastating conflict and ongoing political-economic challenges.