Syrian journalist in exile Noor Golani, like many other of his countrymen who escaped the Assad regime during the civil war, was making plans to return home after living in Germany.
In an interview with Ynet he said he had been watching events unfold and was pleased to see the regime fall, as he had long hopes and believed it would and claimed the rebel forces refrained from harm to civilians as they advanced.
"Thank God all the detainees were freed from jail. Many Syrians waited for their children to be released. Some had been imprisoned for years and they were never informed," he said. "I did not sleep. This is the first morning of the post-Assad era. There is no Assad, no Iran, no Ba'ath Party. It is the best morning I have had."
Golani said his father was murdered by the regime. "I am glad that my father's murderer was toppled. The person who destroyed the country and killed two million Syrians is gone. Syria has been returned to its people," he said.
He also sent a message to Israelis, to calm concerns, although the developments in the wake of the fall of Assad, are not yet known. "The Syria people want to build a country that respects its citizens, with institutions, without war and destruction, only peace," he said in the interview.
"I understand the concern of Israelis over what is happening in Syria but it is the regime that caused everything," he said. "There was cooperation in the region in the past. There will be no violations and no attacks. It was a stable region. The Syrian regime brought in the militias and all the problems. It was the problem. Now, I tell you there will be stability," he said.
"I want to give a message to Israel, that we do not want war and division. We want peace. Do not fear the Syrian people," he said.
Rebels at Assad's presidential palace
In a separate interview, Syrian opposition member Yahya al Kurdi could not hide his joy and, like many other Syrians in exile, was celebrating the fall of Assad's regime. "There will be a new life for 20 million people, he said.
"For 50 years the regime has killed Syrians," he told Ynet. He thanked Turkey for taking in millions of refugees from Syria and also thanked Israel and president-elect Donald Trump.
"The future of Syria will be a joint one for all factions," he said. "Syria is not Lebanon, Yemen or Iran and the opposition is not heading in different directions. Israel helped us indirectly by weakening Hezbollah. It is important for me to say this was also thanks to Trump's election," he said.
An interview with Yahya Kirdi, a former Syrian opposition activist
(צילום: מיקי שמידט)
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Al Kurdi had been attempting to prove that foreign interests had been intervening in discussions on Syria in the UN. He appealed to the international body to launch an investigation. "For over a decade, the Syrian people have suffered terribly under the regime. Cities were destroyed, millions displaced, and countless lives were lost. Despite that, there has not been enough international intervention to help the Syrians."
That neglect, as he called it, raises disturbing questions regarding decisions made at the UN, he said claiming that those who negotiated with the Syrian opposition had been working for Iran and Russia.