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The new Syrian government on Thursday announced that it would suspend the country’s constitution and parliament, amid calls for celebrations of the victory of the Syrian uprising and rebellion which began over 13 years ago, and more Israeli strikes near Damascus.

The constitution will be suspended during a three month "interim period" in which a new "legal and human rights committee" would be formed to revise and amend it.

The current Syrian constitution, adopted in 2012, gives the president wide powers and places no checks and balances on his rule.

Syrian government spokesman Obaida Arnaout said that the "rule of law" would be instituted in Syria in the meantime.

He added that Syria’s "cultural and religious diversity" would be respected.

Thousands celebrate first Friday after fall of regime

Syrians also celebrated and performed the first Friday prayers since the fall of the Assad regime. During the Syrian uprising in 2011, large-scale protests against the regime would usually take place on Friday after midday prayers.

The regime used deadly force to suppress these protests, killing hundreds and plunging the country into a deadly 13-year conflict which ended up killing half a million people and displacing millions more.

This Friday, however, thousands of people gathered at the historic Umayyad Mosque in central Damascus in a joyous atmosphere. Some of them had travelled from as far away as Aleppo in northern Syria.

Al-Jazeera reported that some of those gathering were former prisoners who had been tortured by the Assad regime, as well as survivors of the regime’s chemical weapons attacks.

Syria's new authorities called for peaceful behaviour during the celebrations, saying that security forces would be "heavily deployed" to ensure this happened.

"Public Security will deal firmly with anyone proven to be involved in shooting during the demonstrations," the Military Operations Management which oversaw the rebel capture of Damascus and other Syrian cities warned.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend celebratory events.

Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the leader of the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which spearheaded the rebel capture of Syria, said in a video message shared on Telegram: "I would like to congratulate the great Syrian people on the victory of the blessed revolution and I call on them to go to the streets to express their joy."

The rebel leader, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani, was also due to attend prayers at the Umayyad Mosque.

Al-Jazeera also reported that members of Syria’s former ruling Baath Party, which has suspended activities following the rebel capture of Damascus, handed over their weapons to the new authorities in Damascus.

Continued Israeli attacks and incursions

The celebratory atmosphere however has been marred by further Israeli airstrikes and incursions and reports of protesters killed in Raqqa.

Early on Friday, Israel carried out two airstrikes on facilities belonging to the former regime’s army on Mount Qasioun near Damascus.

Israel claims to have destroyed 90 percent of the surface-to-air missiles belonging to the regime, while "heavily damaging" other strategic weapons.

The Israeli army said that this will aid it in a potential future attack on Iran.

Israel continued to seize territory in and near the demilitarized buffer zone separating the Golan Heights, illegally occupied by Israel since 1967, from the rest of Syria.

Israel has forcibly displaced the inhabitants of several villages in the area from their homes.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israeli troops would remain on top of Mount Hermon in the buffer zone, also known as Jabal Al-Sheikh, throughout the winter.

Four protesters killed in Raqqa

In northeastern Syria, protests continued against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), leading to a deadly response from SDF troops.

The US-allied SDF control most of northeastern Syria and have maintained their presence amid the rebel advance in the rest of Syria.

In the city of Raqqa, SDF troops shot dead four people and injured others after they protested calling for the entry of Syrian rebels into the area, the Enab Baladi news site reported.