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Israel's Expanded Perch on the Syrian Border
(Wall Street Journal) Stephen Kalin - Since the Assad regime imploded less than two weeks ago, Israel's military has expanded its perch on the peak of Mount Hermon, straddling the 1974 disengagement zone and giving Israel clear sightlines to the Syrian capital, Damascus, 25 miles away. Israeli troops and tanks, operating overtly in Syria for the first time in 50 years, have moved into southern Syrian villages below, where residents say they are trying to disarm the population. The positioning builds a bigger cushion between Israel's citizens and whatever emerges in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad as president. Israel says its incursion into Syria is meant to demilitarize the borderlands and secure northern Israel against a potential ground infiltration by its enemies. Kheder Khaddour, a Syrian researcher at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said Israel's "priority is to position themselves for the worst-case scenario that might happen in Syria....They want strategic locations to strengthen their position in southern Syria should a bad situation happen." Israeli troops often dispatch drones with speakers to populated areas, requesting to speak with local representatives. In those meetings, residents said, Israeli soldiers have sought to reassure residents that their presence is temporary to seize weapons and secure the border. The Israeli military said it avoids entering villages unless absolutely necessary.