The overthrowing of Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels shocked the world this week. But with uncertainty surrounding the future of Syria and what might now happen, Israel is not taking any chances.
The dramatic end to over five decades of the Assad regime’s rule in Syria is yet another blow to Iran, which has been propping up Bashar al-Assad since 2011. In the past year, Hamas has been almost decimated, Hezbollah has been severely weakened, and Iran itself suffered a major set-back after Israel’s retaliatory strikes in October.
But even a hampered Tehran will seek to take advantage of the vacuum left by Assad, as will Turkey’s Erdogan who is an enemy of the Kurds in northern Syria and is a backer of some of the groups now claiming power. However, it is also the threat posed by the Jihadi groups, including ISIS and other radical extremists, that caused Israel to act decisively after Assad’s toppling.
Despite the West hailing the new coalition of militants, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), time will tell whether their leaders have truly reformed. Even then, it might not withstand more extremist factions. HTS might be telling the West what it wants to hear, but many in Syria, including Syrian Christians and other minorities, are holding their breath. HTS has origins in Al Qaeda, including the remnants of the group led by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Palestinian Jordanian known as the “sheikh of the slaughterers”. Just as Assad was a self-declared enemy of Israel, HTS jihadists will be no different.
Colonel Richard Kemp, writing in the Daily Telegraph, warned: “The HTS jihadists have been seizing weapons wherever they have found them. Now there is every likelihood that vast stockpiles of munitions, including chemical weapons, armoured fighting vehicles, combat planes and missiles will fall under their control.”
Israel struck more than 80% of Syria’s strategic weapons arsenal in just 48 hours, preventing them from falling into the hands of Islamic terrorists. The IDF confirmed that Israeli Air Force conducted more than 350 aerial strikes, with hundreds of hours of flight time logged over Syrian airspace, the largest military operation by Israel over Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The targets included anti-aircraft batteries, Syrian Air Force airfields and dozens of weapons production sites in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyra.
In the operation dubbed “Arrow of Bashan”, strategic weapons were neutralized, including Scud tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-sea, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, drones, fighter jets, attack helicopters, radar systems, tanks and hangars.
Meanwhile at sea, Israeli Navy missile ships attacked two Syrian Navy facilities simultaneously: Al-Bayda Port and Latakia Port, where 15 Syrian naval vessels were docked, and dozens of sea-to-sea missiles carrying heavy explosive payloads were destroyed.
It is believed that the Syrian Air Force could yet be destroyed in its entirety, which would substantially reduce the threat posed to the Jewish state by the incoming Syrian government. The last time Israel destroyed an entire air force was in 1967, when the Egyptian Air Force was wiped out in the first hours of the Six-Day War.
“For the time being, HTS have their sights set on control within Syria,” says Kemp, “But it is not credible that they will not turn their attention beyond the borders in time. And that may not be limited to aggression against Israel: there is every likelihood that Syria is once again about to become a major exporter of jihadist terrorism. “
He continues, “Before welcoming the rise of HTS, we should bear in mind that the enemy of my enemy can still be my enemy.”
Israel has also taken ground in the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights is an area that Israel has sovereign rights to, despite opposition, however Israel’s move this week was one of security necessity. On Saturday, Israeli forces entered the so-called “area of separation,” a 155-square-mile buffer zone established in the Golan Heights border area in 1974, during a rebel attack on the U.N. Disengagement Force. The latter, a force of some 1,100 peacekeeping troops, is supposed to be the only one present and able to act militarily in that area.
After repelling the attack, Israel has maintained a presence in the area and on the Syrian side of the Golan.
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, penned a letter to the Security Council ahead of Monday’s closed session that was called to take aim at Israel’s advancement.
Israel has “taken limited and temporary measures” to counter any threats arising in the area of separation, Danon wrote. He added that the Jewish state is “focusing on specific locations where defensive measures are necessary to maintain security, stability and preventing armed gangs from threatening Israeli territory.”
JNS has been sourced in this article.
