The Syrian president has sharply blasted Israel for a new law that forces non-Jewish people to take an oath of allegiance to Israel as a "Jewish state."

"The decision… expresses the Israeli fascism that appears in the killing and such decisions," Bashar al-Assad said on Monday.

He also criticized Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for hindering talks between Damascus and Tel Aviv.

"The Arab side really wants the peace process and the Israeli side is working in the opposite direction," Assad said.

He made the remarks during a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at al-Shaab palace in Damascus.

"There are ideas being put forward by some countries," Assad was quoted as saying by Reuters. "The atmosphere is not positive."

The Syrian president was referring to US and French moves to re-launch Syrian-Israeli talks which broke off in 2008 without an agreement.

The four rounds of Turkish-mediated talks stalled following Israel’s December 2008-January 2009 assault on the Gaza Strip, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead.

Syria has repeatedly called on Israel to completely withdraw from the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East War.

However, Tel Aviv insists on talking to Syria without preconditions.

(Press TV)