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FIRST ON FOX – In a rare appearance at Israel’s parliament this week, Syrian political activist Shadi Martini shared a message from Damascus – one he says came directly from Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“We have an opportunity like this only once in a hundred years,” Martini quoted al-Sharaa as saying in a recent meeting held in the presidential palace. “The window will not remain open forever.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Martini, the CEO of Multifaith Alliance and longtime advocate for humanitarian cooperation between Syrians and Israelis, said the conversation with al-Sharaa focused on potential normalization and regional security – but also revealed points of friction.
He also confirmed that President al-Sharaa knew his message might be conveyed in Israel. “It wasn’t off the record. It was honest and accurate – and the message was, ‘Act now.’”
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Shadi Martini during a parliamentary committee meeting at Israel’s Knesset.
“We talked a lot about Israel,” Martini said of the Damascus meeting, which occurred just after Eid al-Adha in June and days before renewed Israeli airstrikes inside Syria. “There was a lot of concern about Israeli incursions in Syrian territory. And the president made clear – how can we talk about a peace deal while that continues?”
Still, Martini emerged from the discussion hopeful. “I definitely felt there was an opportunity,” he said. “It’s not just about al-Sharaa personally wanting this – there’s growing recognition across Syria that if we want investment, if we want prosperity, if we want stability, something has to change.”
That same message was delivered this week to Israeli lawmakers at a first-of-its-kind regional security caucus committee meeting led by members of the Knesset. Martini, once the director of a hospital in Aleppo who escaped to the U.S. when the war in Syria broke out in 2012, addressed the body alongside a Saudi analyst and Israeli officials, signaling what he called a “historic” moment.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa shakes hands with President Donald Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 14. At right is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (AP)
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“Syria is watching Saudi Arabia closely,” he said, referencing Riyadh’s signals of openness to ties with Israel under certain conditions. “Both countries are looking at the economic opportunity – what President Donald Trump is offering for the region – and wondering if Israel will seize it. Because if not, that prosperity might bypass.”
Speculation about a potential U.S.-brokered agreement between Syria and Israel has been circulating in the media this week, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met twice with President Trump at the White House.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told Fox News Digital, “President Trump welcomes any effort toward a greater peace in the Middle East and around the world.”
When asked Wednesday morning by FOX Business Global Markets Editor and anchor Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria” whether he is currently working on a non-aggression pact with Syria, Netanyahu responded carefully: “I think there are opportunities now,” he said. “You remember President Wilson used to say, ‘I believe in open covenants openly arrived at.’ I have a slight variation: I believe in open covenants secretly arrived at.
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the chief of the General Staff, conducted a situational assessment in the area of separation in Syria. (IDF)
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“So whatever we can do in diplomacy, I think we should do discreetly – and then surprise people. We worked for three years on the Abraham Accords, and then all of a sudden we surprised people with four peace treaties. And I think more are coming.”
Martini stressed that al-Sharra said some issues remain unresolved. “There’s Gaza, there’s the need for a ceasefire, and a pathway to a Palestinian state,” he said. “And from Syria’s side, there’s the issue of the Golan Heights. But the first and most important step is returning to the 1974 armistice line.”
Martini acknowledged that calls for peace with Israel remain controversial in Damascus. “There are extremists in the government,” he said. “But more Syrians now understand this is what Syria needs.”
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According to Martini, Israeli lawmakers responded positively. “I felt they were genuinely listening,” he said. “And I hope that having a message come directly from Syria will help clarify things.”