Action in Syria

Now that Israel has decided to hold early elections on April 9, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has to be particularly cautious about any moves that could trigger a conflagration in the region. As the IDF demonstrated this week, it will not hesitate to take action against Iran in Syria or elsewhere if Israel’s security is threatened. While that’s how it should be, there is a real danger of Syria becoming a flashpoint for a new conflict involving Israel.According to foreign reports, Israeli air strikes in Syria on Tuesday night hit several Hezbollah officials as they boarded a plane bound for Iran. Newsweek cited an unnamed source as saying that the strike also targeted strategic Iranian munitions. At least one Hezbollah official and three Syrian soldiers were wounded in the attacks.Newsweek said its source had received the information from Israeli military officials. According to Syrian state media, the strikes were launched from Lebanon, and Syrian air defenses had fired at “hostile targets” west of Damascus; its weapons warehouses were hit by Israeli fire. For its part, the IDF said it had deployed air defenses against a missile fired from Syria at Israel, which caused no harm or damage.“An IDF aerial defense system was activated in response to an anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria,” the army said. Photographs on social media showed the launch being carried out from near the northern city of Hadera.Israel has over the past few years conducted hundreds of air strikes in Syria, treading a fine line between Russia, which supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and the US, which recently announced a withdrawal of American troops from the country.Israel’s main goals have been to stop Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria that would threaten the Jewish state, as well as thwart attempts by Iran to transfer advanced arms and ammunition to Hezbollah in Lebanon.In the latest issue of The Jerusalem Report, veteran military analyst Yossi Melman argues that US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw his contingent of more than 2,000 troops from Syria was “a Christmas gift to the US’s enemies and rivals, above all Russia and Iran, and indirectly China, and a bombshell dropped on Israel and the Sunni Arab world, which have been encouraged by the US to form a steadfast front against the expansionist aspirations of Shi’ite Iran.”Melman notes that the US evacuation opens up an Iranian land corridor from Tehran to Damascus that will allow Iran to accomplish its aspirations to reach Lebanon via land. Where does all this leave Israel?As Melman concludes, although Israel will continue to enjoy the diplomatic backing of the US and it remains the strongest military power in the region that can defend itself and its interests, without a US presence in Syria, “it will be much more difficult to deal with the crisis.”“The recovery of the Assad regime and the reassertion of its control over most of the country has brought the Syrian army back to the Golan Heights, where it was joined by Iranian and Hezbollah forces, as well as by Tehran-backed Shi’ite militias,” writes Maj.-Gen. Gershon Hacohen in a paper published by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, summing up the key strategic turning points of 2018. “The situation was further complicated by the Russian military presence in Syria and the constraints it imposed on Israel’s operational freedom, especially after the September 2018 downing of the Russian plane by Syrian air defense forces.”Israel, under Netanyahu, has managed to overcome such blips as the downing of the Russian plane, while maintaining close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the US pullout, Netanyahu has to be even more careful not to upset Putin.Now that Russia has become the key player in Syria, it is essential for Netanyahu to protect Israel’s interests by coordinating with Moscow to foil any Iranian plots against it. We urge him to be tough but smart in acting against Iran in Syria, especially now with new elections on the horizon.