US to demand that Syria ban Palestinian groups in 'tough' new stance: report

The Trump administration is threatening to take a hard line with Syria’s new government, issuing demands that include cracking down on extremists and expelling Palestinian fighters in return for a limited easing of sanctions.

The White House recently issued policy guidance calling on the Syrian government to take steps such as securing the country’s chemical-weapons stockpile, several US officials familiar with the policy told The Wall Street Journal.

In exchange, the US would consider renewing a temporary sanctions waiver, originally issued by the Biden administration, that was intended to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid to Syria, the officials added.

In a new demand, however, the US has also said that Syria must ban all Palestinian groups from operating inside the country and prevent them from raising funds there, the WSJ reported.

Syria has had a large Palestinian population ever since 1948, when Zionist militias ethnically cleansed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees from their land in an event known as the Nakba.

Any move by the new authorities to comply with the US demand would likely result in a confrontation with armed Palestinian groups, as well as being highly unpopular with Syrians, who have widespread sympathy with the Palestinian cause.

The guidance reflects a hard-line stance among administration officials toward Syria’s government, which is now led by former rebel commanders who ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad in December, ending the country’s 13-year-long civil war.

The US has said that it would commit to Syria's territorial integrity, resume diplomatic relations, and remove "terrorist" designations from Sharaa and other Syrian government officials in exchange for a move against armed Palestinians, according to the WSJ.

The policy blueprint makes no mention of Russia, signalling that the Trump administration is backing off from the previous push under Biden to pressure Damascus to expel Kremlin military forces, as US officials continue negotiations with Moscow over a possible end to the Ukraine conflict, the WSJ reports.

"The United States currently does not recognise any entity as the government of Syria," said a State Department spokeswoman when asked about the policy notice by the WSJ.

"Syria’s interim authorities should fully renounce and suppress terrorism," she added.

The US government still considers Sharaa to be a terrorist — a designation dating back years to his role in the insurgency against US forces in Iraq and his founding of a Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, which he later distanced himself from.

During his time in power in the Idlib governorate, however, Sharaa cracked down on members of al-Qaeda and destroyed the Islamic State group (IS), and has taken a conciliatory line to the US since assuming leadership of Syria.

US defence officials said this week that the Pentagon plans to reduce the roughly 2,000 US troops stationed in Syria by half in the coming weeks and consolidate its outposts there.

The administration is also preparing a review to determine whether further reductions should be made this summer. US forces had been tasked with preventing Syria from becoming a stronghold for extremist groups such as IS.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said last month that Sharaa is "a different person than he once was. And people do change". Key Republican leaders are concerned about pulling back US influence in Syria in a way that could allow an opening for Russia and China.

Sharaa's government faces significant challenges that necessitate some level of US support.

Years of war have devastated the economy and left major cities in ruins. The conflict, marked by Russian and Iranian support for Bashar al-Assad and heavy bombardment of civilian areas, prompted the US and its allies to impose sanctions.

Although the EU and UK have eased some restrictions, Syria’s reconstruction efforts remain constrained. Without US support and access to the American financial system, rebuilding will be difficult, with the government struggling to pay workers, restore infrastructure, and encourage the return of refugees.