The minister is one of the key figures in the new caretaker government and is close to the country’s de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Sharaa’s Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the offensive that toppled former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.

Former HTS member Ahmed al-Mansour had launched a social media campaign from Syria calling for the overthrow of Egypt's president and for reigniting the 2011 revolution

No country has as much to gain from a stable Syria as Turkey, and few have as much to lose if it implodes. Turkey is home to more than 3m Syrian refugees, and wants Syria to be safe enough for many to return.

While it’s unclear what exact political path Syria will take, the dilemmas the country faces are similar to the experiences of other Arab countries more than a decade ago. In the winter of 2010, an outbreak of protests in Tunisia spread across the region, toppling several regimes in what became known as the Arab Uprisings.

Residents of Syria's Bayirbucak region seek justice, return of lands confiscated for palace construction since 1974 - Anadolu Ajansı

The E.U. is moving to ease sanctions in a bid to sway how HTS leads Syria’s transition and to further curb Russian influence in the region, diplomats told The Post.

The first Turkish Airlines flight in 13 years landed in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, an AFP correspondent reported.

Crowds of displaced Palestinians made the arduous journey back to heavily destroyed northern Gaza for a second day Tuesday, under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Families walked for hours up a seaside road with whatever they could carry.

Mr Sharaa’s drive for integration is not unprecedented. Bosnia granted citizenship to hundreds of jihadists who fought for it in the 1990s. “Granting citizenship is not so new; the whole world does it,” says Obayda Amer Ghadban, another researcher of Syrian armed groups.

Trump floated the idea on Saturday, saying he would urge the leaders of the two Arab countries to take in Gaza’s now largely homeless population.

European foreign ministers agreed on a “road map” to lift financial restrictions, but the change will happen in stages.