As Syrian Assad Regime Falls, Israel Defends Border and Preps for Day After

December 9, 2024

by: Joshua Spurlock ~ Mideast Update

Monday, 9 December 2024 | The rapid collapse of the Syrian Bashar al-Assad regime, whose government was overthrown on Saturday, has left Israel among the many watching the situation with hope for a new era of peace and concern about an uncertain future. And Israel is doing more than just watching: They have also been reportedly striking a number of weapons stockpiles and facilities in Syria—including chemical weapons—and actively defending the border on the Golan Heights. Israel is also pursuing diplomacy in a multi-faceted effort to prevent a chaotic situation from becoming a new threat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin on Sunday summarized the challenging but promising position facing Israel. “This is a historic day for the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers. This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad’s main supporters. It set off a chain reaction of all those who want to free themselves from this tyranny and its oppression,” said Netanyahu in comments published by Israel.

“…We send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria: to the Druze, to the Kurds, to the Christians, and to the Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel. We’re going to follow events very carefully. If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that’s our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel.”

That approach includes destroying Syrian chemical weapons. The Jerusalem Post confirmed reports in Arab media that the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] last week struck a Syrian factory for the weapons of mass destruction, over concerns that rebel forces in Syria—some of whom have troubling connections to terrorism—could capture it. In addition, the Times of Israel reported on Sunday, citing defense sources, Israel has launched “very intensive” air strikes on Syrian weapons stockpiles and production capabilities, as well as air defenses.

Meanwhile, the Israel–Syrian border has become another potential hotspot for conflict, with the IDF intentionally invading the Syrian side in a preventative act. The IDF feed on X (formerly Twitter) reported that in response to the situation, including the “entry of armed personnel into the buffer zone” between Israel and Syria, the IDF has “deployed forces in the buffer zone and in several other places necessary for its defense, to ensure the safety of the communities of the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel.

“We emphasize that the IDF is not interfering with the internal events in Syria. The IDF will continue to operate as long as necessary in order to preserve the buffer zone and defend Israel and its civilians.”

In Netanyahu’s comments on Sunday, made while visiting an observation point watching Syria, he explained the IDF approach. “We have to take action against possible threats,” said Netanyahu. “One of them is the collapse of the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria [following the Yom Kippur War]. This agreement held for 50 years. Last night, it collapsed. The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”

Israel has also intervened to defend the United Nations [UN] forces located in Syria. The IDF X feed on Saturday said “armed individuals” attacked a UN post inside Syria, but that the IDF was “assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack. The IDF is deployed with reinforced forces in the Golan Heights area and will continue to operate in order to protect the State of Israel and its citizens.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar elaborated further on X on the “armed forces” entering the Israel–Syria buffer zone: “Israel is concerned about violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria, which also pose a threat to its security, the safety of its communities, and its citizens, particularly in the Golan Heights region.”

Israel has also been active diplomatically. In a post on X, Sa’ar recapped his conversation with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský in which Sa’ar “emphasized the need to ensure the safety of the Kurdish minority in Syria, who are still facing attacks. The Kurds fought bravely against ISIS and the international community must ensure their protection from attacks by radical Islamists.”

Protecting Syrian minorities was also a topic in a call between Sa’ar and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. In a recap of that discussion posted to X by Sa’ar, he also “emphasized that Israel is not intervening in Syria but taking the necessary steps to guarantee its security and that of its citizens.”

Posted on December 9, 2024

Source: (This article was originally published by the Mideast Update on December 8, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today.)

Photo Credit: Exx8/Wikimedia.org

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