Syrian president says Israel is ‘fighting ghosts’ and must abide by deconfliction accord

(CNN) — Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has accused Israel of exporting crises to other countries and “fighting ghosts,” amid persistent incursions and air strikes by Israeli forces into southern Syria.

Al-Sharaa was speaking at the Doha Forum in Qatar on Saturday, in a conversation with CNN’s Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour.

Syria’s interim president again demanded that the Israel agree to reinstate the 1974 deconfliction agreement that separated Syrian and Israeli forces. Israeli forces crossed into southern Syria a year ago, as the Assad regime fell, and continue to occupy the strategic heights of Mount Hermon . The summit, which overlooks Israel, Lebanon and Syria, had been in a buffer zone for the previous 50 years.

Israeli officials have said the Israel Defense