Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on September 21st, 2025, that peace with Syria and Lebanon is possible. The statement was reported by Alertes AFP between 1:08 PM and 3:07 PM UTC, during a period of ongoing diplomatic discussions in Washington involving Syrian Foreign Minister Asad a-Shevani and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. These developments follow mutual accusations between Syrian Government Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) regarding shelling incidents in eastern Aleppo on Saturday evening, September 20th. The Syrian Ministry of Defense denied involvement in shelling the village of Umm Tina, instead accusing Qasd forces of targeting villages including Tal Maarez, Alasa, and Al-Khawiyar with mortar shells and missiles. Unverified social media reports from SyrianOsint suggest a plea from Minister a-Shevani to lift sanctions, stating, "Can you lift the sanctions, please? We will behave, I swear…" This alleged statement was reportedly posted around 10:30 AM UTC. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is currently in the United States for diplomatic engagements. Earlier in the day, Syrian Foreign Minister Asad a-Shevani commented on a local election withdrawal, framing it as a reflection of Syria's commitment to women's roles. Previous reports indicated that Syrian Government Forces launched artillery strikes near Aleppo on Saturday evening, resulting in at least seven civilian deaths. Separately, the Yedioth Agency reported via N12 that parliamentary elections in Syria will be held on October 5th. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has also faced accusations of recruiting Syrian mercenaries.
