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Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-902644
Trump Sees Israel's Presence in Southern Syria as a Problem, Israel Sees It as a Solution
(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - When Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa swept into power in December 2024, Israel quickly implemented policies born of the lessons learned from Oct. 7. The first was to act before threats metastasize rather than after. The second was never again to let those who want to murder you encamp right on the border. As a result, the IDF carved out a buffer zone inside southern Syria designed to keep forces hostile to Israel from establishing themselves within easy striking distance of Israeli communities on the Golan Heights. President Trump reportedly urged Prime Minister Netanyahu last week to begin withdrawing from southern Syria, Axios reported. He sees Israel's presence in Syria as a problem. Israel sees it as a solution. Before Oct. 7, Israel's security doctrine rested heavily on deterrence, intelligence, sophisticated border barriers, and rapid military response. Oct. 7 shattered confidence in all of these. The result has been a fundamental shift in Israel's security doctrine which increasingly seeks physical depth between hostile forces and Israeli civilians. The reasoning is simple: enemies cannot launch another Oct. 7 and swarm into people's homes if they are prevented from massing on the border. That thinking now shapes Israeli policy in Gaza and southern Lebanon. The question is not simply whether Sharaa seeks peace today. It is whether he will still be able or willing to prevent hostile forces from operating near Israel's border five years from now. Another factor reinforcing Israeli caution is Turkey, Sharaa's principal external backer, which is increasingly seen as a potential long-term threat. From Israel's perspective, replacing an Iranian sphere of influence immediately on its border with a Turkish one would hardly constitute progress. None of this means Israel intends to remain in southern Syria indefinitely. But Jerusalem is in no great hurry to withdraw. It wants sustained proof that Syria has fundamentally changed before dismantling one of the principal security measures put in place after Oct. 7.