Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a temporary constitution that will be in force for a five-year transitional period, three months after his forces led a lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Al-Sharaa said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the start of “a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice”, as he signed the document on Thursday.
The temporary constitution retains some aspects of its predecessor, including the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim and the establishment of Islamic law as the main source of jurisprudence, said Abdulhamid al-Awak, a member of the drafting committee.
Reporting from Damascus, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar said the question of introducing rules on the religious affiliation of leaders had been a “disputed issue”.
“There were lots of questions over whether that was going to be one of the articles or not, but now it’s clear that the head of state has to be a Muslim,” he said.
The document also includes provisions enshrining freedom of expression and the press and women’s “social, political and economic rights”, said al-Awak, adding that it would serve to “balance between social security and freedom” during Syria’s shaky political situation.
Much of its focus will be on transitional justice, aiming to ensure that crimes committed under the previous al-Assad government are prosecuted.
Under the temporary constitution, executive power would also be restricted to the president, said al-Awak, pointing to the need for “rapid action to confront any difficulties”.
A people’s assembly, a third of which will be appointed by the president, would be tasked with all legislation “until the elections are held”, said Serdar. “That is perhaps going to take, according to the president, up to four to five years.”
“That assembly of people will have authority of … sacking the president himself as well. So theoretically that’s possible, but practically it’s going to be extremely difficult because [many of] the members … are going to be appointed directly by the president himself.”
A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it is unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria’s political, religious, and ethnic groups.
Al-Sharaa on Monday reached a landmark pact with the US-backed Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria, including a ceasefire and a merging of their armed forces with the central government’s security agencies.
The agreement came after government forces and allied groups crushed a rebellion launched last week by gunmen loyal to al-Assad.
Rights groups say that hundreds of civilians – mostly from the Alawite minority sect to which al-Assad belongs – were killed in retaliatory attacks by factions in the counter-offensive.
Syria’s interim rulers are still trying to exert their authority across much of the country since al-Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led the assault that overthrew al-Assad in December.
Critics say that al-Sharaa’s national dialogue conference last month calling for the temporary constitution and holding interim parliamentary elections was not inclusive of Syria’s different ethnic and sectarian groups or civil society.
Israel strikes Damascus
The signing of the constitutional declaration came as the Israeli Air Force conducted an air strike in Damascus on Thursday.
“We heard two loud explosions almost at the same time the constitutional declaration was being signed,” said Al Jazeera’s Serdar, adding that reports that one person had been killed were still unconfirmed.
Israel’s military said in a statement it had targeted a “terrorist command centre” in Damascus belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which fought alongside Hamas in Gaza against Israel.
Islamic Jihad spokesperson Muhammad al-Haj Musa denied the targeted building was a command centre, writing on Telegram that it was an empty house.
Two Syrian security sources told the news agency Reuters that the target was a Palestinian person.
“This is a show of force definitely and Israelis just want to make sure the new leadership in the country is aware that Israel is monitoring them, is watching them,” said Serdar.
“This is the psychological game of Israel,” he said. “Israel definitely is now by doing that making the job of the new administration extremely difficult while the country is trying to preserve the state apparatus … and trying to recover from the civil war.”