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Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3635
Meet Israel's New Neighbors in Syria
(Israel Hayom) Eyal Zisser - The Syrian regime's grip is loosening by the day. Insurgents seized the al-Raqqah Governorate in eastern Syria over the past week, the first time an entire administrative region has fallen under rebel control. A significant number of the rebels in the Golan Heights area belong to the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, but alongside that group are a whole host of other armed militias. These groups lack a central leadership and are mainly composed of outlaws and bandits out for a fight. These gangs seek control of the rural regions and the Syrian periphery. These are Israel's new neighbors and we had better get used to them. If the UN Disengagement Observer Force leaves (as it might in the wake of recent developments), Israel would no longer enjoy the buffer that has separated it from the Syrian revolution. Alas, the revolution is now part of our everyday lives. Prof. Eyal Zisser is former director of the Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.