Israel Makes More Violations In Syria and Lebanon

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Israel continues to violate the 1974 separation of forces agreement with Syria, taking advantage of the recent fall of the Assad regime.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) invaded Syria just hours after the fall of the regime on December 8, advancing in the southern governorates of al-Qunitra, Rif Dimashq and Daraa. It also launched hundreds of strikes against bases and equipment of the now-dissolved Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

According to recent Syrian media reports, Israeli troops are currently operating in several towns beyond the buffer zone in southern Syria.

The Daraa 24 outlet said on December 16 that the IDF entered the town of Ma’ariya, a few hundred meters east of the buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights, and questioned locals. The outlet added that on December 17 Israeli tanks entered the town of Saidah, also on the edge of the buffer zone.

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Also on December 17, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Mount Hermon, a strategic height in southern Syria that was the first SAA position to fall under IDF control after the fall of the Assad regime.

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The premier was joined by Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bat and Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Uri Gordin.

Standing atop Mount Hermon, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would remain on its peak “until another arrangement can be found that guarantees Israel’s security.”

“I was here 53 years ago with my soldiers on a Sayeret Matkal patrol,” he said, speaking of the nostalgia that the site brought him.

“This place hasn’t changed, it’s the same place, but its importance to Israel’s security has only been reinforced in recent years, and especially in recent weeks with the dramatic events taking place below us here in Syria,” Netanyahu said.

He added that going forward, Israel would “determine the best arrangement that will guarantee our security.”

Despite Israel’s hostile moves, the new government in Syria, which is led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), remains passive.

HTS head Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously went by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani, said in an interview with The Times, a British outlet, on December 17 that Israel must stop bombing Syria and withdraw from the buffer zone between the countries which Israel seized after Assad’s fall.

“Israel’s justification was the presence of Hezbollah and Iranian militias, so that justification is gone,” al-Sharaa claimed.

“We are committed to the 1974 agreement and we are prepared to return the UN [monitors],” he said “We do not want any conflict whether with Israel or anyone else and we will not let Syria be used as a launchpad for attacks. The Syrian people need a break, and the strikes must end and Israel has to pull back to its previous positions.”

Despite invading Syria after the fall of the Assad regime, Israel showed some positivity towards the new rulers in Damascus. However, this appears to be changing now.

On December 17, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel accused al-Sharaa of being “a wolf in [sheep’s] clothes” because of his jihadist history.

Speaking at a press conference, Haskel held up a photo collage of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani showing him as a member of jihadist organizations.

“It is important to avoid falling for the attempt to whitewash jihadist [groups] in Syria. We know who they are and their true nature, even if they change their names, and we understand how dangerous they are to the West,” said Haskel. “These are terrorist organizations and this is a wolf in [sheep’s] clothes.”

The fall of the Assad regime in Syria isolated Hezbollah in Lebanon which had just come out of a costly fight with Israel.

The ceasefire in Lebanon, which was brokered by the United States and entered into effect on November 28, is still holding up. However, Israel continues to expand its freedom of operations in the country, taking advantage of Hezbollah’s weakness.

The IDF said on December 17 that it carried out a drone strike in southern Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah operative who was violating the ceasefire agreement, after he was spotted loading up a vehicle with weapons. The drone strike was carried out to “remove a threat,” the military added. There was no response from Hezbollah.

Despite taking serious blows in both Syria and Lebanon, Iran, a former ally of Assad and the main backer of Hezbollah, appears to be determined to continue the fight against Israel.

Iran’s supreme leader said on December 17 that Israel was wrong to believe that it can eradicate Hezbollah and that an “axis of resistance” of Tehran’s allies in the region is finished.

State TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying during a recent meeting on the occasion of Women’s Day that “the Zionist regime, in its delusion, believes it is preparing itself through Syria to encircle and eradicate Hezbollah forces, but the one that will be eradicated is Israel.”

The supreme leader added that Israel and the U.S. “thought the issue of resistance was over. They are gravely mistaken.”

All in all, Israel is emerging as the main winner of the recent developments in Syria, with a weak government in Damascus and an isolated Hezbollah. Both Syria and Lebanon could still make a comeback. However, this would require an openness from both HTS and Hezbollah.

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