This is what Israel is facing in Syria… remarkable details
The rise of an extremist alliance
Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the US Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC, says in an analysis on the US magazine Newsweek that the rapid collapse of the Assad regime last December in the face of the opposition led to the overthrow of the old status quo, coinciding with the rise of an alliance of extremist groups. Led by Al-Qaeda’s affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Abu Muhammad al-Julani.
The writer added that the new Syrian regime may seem beneficial to Tel Aviv, as the overthrow of Assad helped remove the previous strong presence of Iran on the northern border of Israel, and remove thousands of foreign fighters.
Thousands of Iranian civilians have already fled Syria, while Iran has had to rely on Russia to move its military forces to safety.
Also important in this context is the fact that the “land bridge” between Tehran and Beirut – which the Iranian regime has used for years to supply weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon – has now been effectively destroyed, according to the writer.
A profound strategic challenge for Israel
However, the author adds, a closer examination of the situation suggests that the transformation taking place in Syria represents a profound strategic challenge to Israel, a challenge that the Jewish state now seeks to address.
However, the writer continues, the post-Assad landscape in Syria poses a challenge to the government of Israel, whose focus over the past decade has been exclusively on the threat coming from Iran and its various proxies.
Ortal pointed out that “the speed with which Al-Julani and his partners from Al-Qaeda were welcomed enthusiastically is a source of concern,” as Al-Julani and his alliance are members of jihadi organizations like Hamas.
