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Syrian Opposition Leader Quits Post Syrian Opposition Leader Quits Post
(about 1 hour later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon – The president of the main Syrian exile opposition group, who had pushed for political talks between the Syrian government and its armed opponents, resigned on Sunday, days after the coalition elected an interim prime minister who rejects such dialogue. BEIRUT, Lebanon – Moaz al-Khatib, the president of the main coalition of the Syrian opposition in exile, declared on Sunday that he was resigning, and complained bitterly about foreign powers that he said were witholding aid from the Syrian rebels while trying to control their every move.
Moaz al-Khatib, the president of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, announced his resignation in an online statement. He blamed the Syrian government for ignoring his overtures and bitterly criticized unnamed nations for placing too many conditions on aid to Syria and manipulating the crisis for their own interests. The resignation of Mr. Khatib, who has pushed for talks between the Syrian government and its armed opponents, came five days after the coalition elected an interim prime minister, Ghassan Hitto, who rejects any such dialogue.
The announcement threw the Syrian Opposition Coalition into disarray. It underscored the challenges the group still faces in establishing legitimacy and effective leadership, evn though it was recognized by dozens of countries four months ago as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
Adding to the confusion, the coalition’s media office said later on Sunday that Mr. Khatib, had agreed to stay on, while a spokesman for Mr. Khatib said that he had not.
Mr. Khatib is a prominent imam who formerly preached at the revered Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the Syrian capital; he sided early on with the revolution against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. His departure from the leadership of the coaliton could set back the opposition’s efforts to broadew its appeal and to reach a political resolution to the two-year-old coflict. Some in the coalition have criticized him for being willing to talk with some members of Mr. Assad’s government, while others saw him as a moderate, ideally suited to reach out to Damascus residents who support the government or who fear the rebels. Though he is outside the country, Mr. Khatib had begun to build respect among some fighters inside Syria.
Mr. Khatib said the Syrian government had ignored his overtures, and he assailed foreign nations that he did not name for placing too many conditions on aid to the rebels and for trying to manipulate events for their own interests.
“They support whomever is ready to obey, and the one who refuses has to face starvation and siege,” Mr. Khatib said in his statement. “We will not beg to satisfy anyone, and if there is a decision to execute us as Syrians, so let it be.”“They support whomever is ready to obey, and the one who refuses has to face starvation and siege,” Mr. Khatib said in his statement. “We will not beg to satisfy anyone, and if there is a decision to execute us as Syrians, so let it be.”
It was not clear which of the opposition’s many frustrations Mr. Khatib, often cryptic in his public statements, was referring to — the reluctance of Western countries to send arms to rebels for fear they will fall into the hands of extremist fighters, meddling by the uprising’s foreign supporters in the choice of a prime minister, or both. It was not clear which of the opposition’s many frustrations Mr. Khatib, who is often cryptic in his public statements, was referring to: the reluctance of Western countries to deliver arms that they fear will fall into extremist’s hands, or meddling in the choice of an interim prime minister, or both.
His resignation appeared to be an at least short-term blow to prospects for a political solution to the conflict. And it underscored the challenges the opposition coalition still faces in establishing legitimacy and effective leadership, four months after dozens of countries recognized it as the legitimate representative of Syrians. “
Mr. Khatib, a prominent imam who had preached at the revered Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and sided early on with the revolution, had drawn criticism from some in the coalition for being willing to talk with some members of Mr. Assad’s government. But others saw him as a moderate who was ideally suited to reach out to Damascus residents who support the government or fear the rebels, and he had begun to build respect among some fighters inside Syria. A coalition member who is familiar with Mr. Khatib’s thinking and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss politically sensitive matters said that Mr. Khatib resigned because of interference from Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the Syrian uprising. The member said that Saudi Arabia threatened to cut off financing and divide the coalition if its favored candidate for prime minister, Assad Mustafa, was not chosen. That demand enraged coalition members, who responded by hastily choosing Mr. Hitto, who was backed by Qatar and the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, the member said.
Last week, the coalition, divided and under pressure to choose a temporary leader to try to administer rebel-held areas, selected a relatively unknown Syrian-born Texas businessman, Ghassan Hitto, as prime minister. Mustafa Sabagh, anothert member of the coalition who is close to the Saudi government, denied that the Saudis had interfered, and said he believed Mr. Khatib resigned over Western countries’ conditions for supplying aid the uprising.
Mr. Hitto quickly made clear that he sees no room for dialogue with anyone in the government, after a conflict that has killed more than 70,000 people. Mr. Khatib promised to keep working for the rebels’ cause outside official channels. “The door to freedom has opened and won’t close,” he said, “not just in the face of Syrians but in the face of all peoples.”
“The regime missed the most valuable opportunities to implement national comprehensive reconciliation,” Mr. Khatib said in his statement. Another group of Syrian dissidents in exile, many of them Alawites — the same minority as Mr. Assad, his family and his inner circle — held a rare public gathering in Cairo to try to persuade more Alawites in Syria to abandon the government. One of the meeting’s aims was to dispel the widely held notion that Syrian Alawites, who make up roughly 13 percent of the Syrian population, all march in lockstep with Mr. Assad.
Mr. Khatib projected an earnest, unpolished persona and never fit the profile of a politician, sometimes failing to build support for controversial moves before announcing them and then posting mournful statements on Facebook about how he had been misunderstood. Some coalition members and anti-government activists in Syria said they wished he had stayed in office to push back against the foreign interference he spoke of, rather than resigning abruptly and emotionally. Alawites at the conference said the mainly Sunni opposition coalition had failed to reassure Alawites that they would be safe if Mr. Assad fell, and had done little to persuade Syria’s neighbors to shelter Alawites who decided to flee, several participants said.
A coalition member familiar with Mr. Khatib’s thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss politically sensitive matters, said Mr. Khatib resigned over interference from Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the Syrian uprising. Fears that the conflict in Syria would spill across borders widened on Sumday when the Israeli military said that it had hit a Syrian military position. The strike came after two Israeli patrols came under fire from across the decades-old cease-fire line in the Golan Heights, the Israelis said, adding that the two patrols suffered no casualties.
The member said that Saudi Arabia threatened to cut off funding and split the coalition if it did not select its favored candidate for prime minister, Assad Mustafa, who had promised to appoint a Saudi favorite as defense minister. That, the member said, enraged members, who then hastily settled on Mr. Hitto, who was backed by Qatar and the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. Israel’s new defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, warned in a statement that “any violation of Israeli sovereignty and fire from the Syrian side will be answered with the silencing of the source of fire,” and added, “The Syrian regime is responsible for every breach of sovereignty. We will not allow the Syrian army or any other groups to violate Israel’s sovereignty in any way.”
Another member, Mustafa Sabagh, who is close to the Saudi government, denied the Saudis had interfered and said he believed Mr. Khatib resigned over the many conditions Western countries had placed on aid to the uprising. The Israelis did not say whether the the Syrian position that was hit — a machine gun emplacement — belonged to Syrian government forces or to rebels.
Mr. Hitto was elected with a large majority, but some members complained about the process, and the Free Syrian Army, the umbrella group for many of the rebel battalions, said on Saturday that it rejected him because he was not a consensus choice.
“We in the Free Syrian Army do not recognize Ghassan Hitto as prime minister because the National Coalition did not reach a consensus,” Louay Mekdad, the Free Syrian Army’s media and political coordinator, said, raising further questions about the interim government’s ability to establish authority.
Mr. Khatib promised to keep working for Syria outside official channels. “The door to freedom has opened and won’t close,” he said, “not just in the face of Syrians but in the face of all peoples.”
Some read that remark as a possible dig at Gulf monarchies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar that support the Syrian uprising but keep a tight political clampdown on their own citizens – but given Mr. Khatib’s oblique style, it was hard to tell.
The turmoil in the opposition came as the Israeli military said it hit a Syrian position after two Israeli patrols came under fire from across the decades-old Israeli-Syrian cease-fire line in the Golan Heights, adding to fears that the Syrian conflict will spill over its borders.
Israel’s newly appointed defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, warned in a statement that “Any violation of Israeli sovereignty and fire from the Syrian side will be answered with the silencing of the source of fire,” adding, “The Syrian regime is responsible for every breach of sovereignty. We will not allow the Syrian army or any other groups to violate Israel’s sovereignty in any way.”
Israel captured part of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that overlooks northern Israel, from Syria in the 1967 war and has since effectively annexed it in a move that has not been internationally recognized.
The military said that two military patrols came under fire from the Syrian side on Saturday night and Sunday morning, escaping without injury. Israeli forces fired back at the source, a machine gun position, destroying it, according to the military.
The military did not specify whether the Syrian position belonged to Syrian government forces or rebels. Rebels in recent days have expanded their grip on the area and control several miles along the boundary after overrunning a military base on Saturday.

Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, and Hania Mourtada from Beirut.

Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, and Hania Mourtada from Beirut.