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Developments in Syria - Significance for Israel

(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Dr. Carmit Valensi - As a central component of the Axis of Resistance, the Assad regime had posed a major strategic threat to Israel. Hizbullah's force-building was made possible from Syrian territory. The military capabilities of the various rebel groups are far inferior to those of Iran and its proxies. The main adversary of these rebels is the Assad-Iran-Hizbullah axis. As a result, Israel is unlikely to be a top priority for these groups in the near future. Moreover, the rebels in the border area with Israel do not belong to or identify with the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham but rather are remnants of the Free Syrian Army and Druze forces, which have had a positive attitude toward Israel and with whom Israel has been able to work in the past. Israel could explore providing "soft" aid to favorable elements in Syria, inspired by the "Good Neighbor" Initiative from 2016 to 2018 when Israel provided medical aid and food to Syrians during the civil war. Some of the key contacts are still available. The writer, a senior researcher at INSS, served as a senior advisor in IDF Intelligence and as an analyst at the IDF's Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies.
2024-12-17 00:00:00
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