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Source: https://jstribune.com/rubinstein-the-view-over-the-yarmouk-river/
The Continuing Threats to Israel from Syria
(Jerusalem Strategic Tribune) Eitan Rubinstein - As part of my army reserve service, I belong to a unit that is holding a sector opposite Syria, defending Israel on the northern border. Syria continues to host terrorist organizations hostile to Israel and intent on harming it. The fall of Assad's regime did not bring peace. Instead, it created a strategic vacuum that was quickly filled by radical Sunni militias. When Syrian opposition forces took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, 2024, in response, the IDF moved into the demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria established by the 1974 ceasefire agreement and set up several forward posts. Today, the IDF holds these positions as strategic depth to defend the nearby towns and villages of the Golan Heights from various hostile actors. Iranian-backed Shi'ite forces are still operating in southwest Syria and are trying to rebuild their capabilities. An operational arm of Lebanese Hizbullah is attempting to rebuild its capabilities on the Syrian front, with funding from Iran. ISIS is also facing us in southern Syria, in addition to many small terrorist groups seeking to harm Israel, including organizations affiliated with Hamas abroad. The flat terrain in the center of the Golan Heights could allow vehicles from Syria quick access to Israeli civilian communities in a very short time. In the southern Golan, a landscape of deep wadis can enable covert infiltration by terror cells. The constant presence of the IDF in this challenging terrain allows it to preempt the build-up of hostile forces - a task that would have been impossible had the IDF remained behind the buffer zone fence. The Israeli presence in the buffer zone is essential to prevent a repeat of an Oct. 7-type surprise attack in the Golan. The writer is an IDF reserve paratrooper officer who has fought in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.