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Growing Hizbullah Presence near Israel's Border Leads to Uptick in Israeli Responses

(Jerusalem Post) Anna Ahronheim - The past week saw two attacks against Iranian proxies in southern Syria attributed to Israel. Israel has made it clear that it won't accept Hizbullah's growing presence in the Syrian Golan. Senior intelligence officers in the IDF Northern Command said that Hizbullah's Golan presence began last summer following the reconquering of the Syrian Golan by regime troops. The uptick in Israeli strikes is because "there has been increased Hizbullah presence," said David Daoud, a research analyst at United Against Nuclear Iran. "Hizbullah knows that Israel is watching," so they are using more local forces rather than sending brigades of Lebanese fighters to the area, said Phillip Smyth, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The retaking of the Syrian Golan by Assad also forced Israel to end its medical and humanitarian aid to thousands of Syrians living near the border. "Times have changed," said Smyth. "Not everyone has switched over, but if you're stuck in Syria and you have no options...and you can't run into Israel...you have to back the strongest horse." And that's Hizbullah.
2019-07-26 00:00:00
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