News- Middle East: Israeli occupation forces have arrested, disarmed and "stripped naked" a number of the militants allied with Syria’s ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), with the Takfiri-linked regime led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani remaining silent on the embarrassing move.

Iraq's Alahad TV news network, citing some Arab media outlets and local news channels in Syria, reported the arrest of “several” HTS members in the Damascus countryside by the Israeli regime's occupation army.

According to the report, the security forces affiliated with Syria’s HTS administration were arrested by the Israeli military in an area in the countryside of Dara’a in southern Syria, near the demarcation line with the Israeli-occupied territories.

“After being disarmed, their military uniforms were removed, and they were stripped naked,” the Iraqi news network said, stressing that Syrian authorities have thus far remained silent on the matter.

Israeli troops regularly carry out raids across various parts of Syria since Western-backed Jolani, also known as Ahmed al-Sharaa and once affiliated with al-Qaeda and Daesh, was installed as president in Damascus.

Israel also occupied large additional swathes of territory in southwest Syria following the collapse of the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December last year.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes to destroy the heavy weapons and military capabilities of Damascus under the controversial rule of HTS militant group over the Arab nation.

US President Donald Trump recently announced a decision to lift all sanctions against the al-Jolani regime in exchange for normalizing ties with Israel.

Jolani has assured the US-led Western countries that Syria will “normalize relations” with Israel, recognize the regime, and exchange ambassadors by the end of 2026.

The HTS-led regime will reportedly hand over the occupied Golan Heights to Israel as part of a looming normalization deal with the illegal entity.

In recent months, the Israeli and Syrian HTS regimes have engaged in direct discussions focused on stopping Tel Aviv’s aggressive maneuvers against the Arab nation and achieving a “security agreement.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his forces to advance further into Syrian territory and capture multiple strategic sites within the country.

Experts maintain that the HTS regime's inaction, along with its consent to normalization with Tel Aviv, has emboldened Israel to expand its occupation of Syrian soil and intensify its airstrikes on the country.

Source: Press TV