Chemical weapons as a target
In 24 hours with well over three hundred air strikes, military airports with fighter planes, helicopters and modern air defense systems were destroyed. Air strikes from Syria are therefore no longer to be expected in the next few years, and air strikes against Syria can hardly be expected to be defended against.
Huge weapons depots containing the heaviest long-range missiles were also destroyed. Above all, Syria’s feared poison gas and chemical weapons were on the Israeli pilots’ target list. They also razed the infamous research center near Barsan to the ground. On Tuesday, Assad’s fleet was bombed out of sea after heavy naval attacks.
With the advance of the ground troops, in addition to the destruction of Israel’s military effectiveness, a second strategic goal of Israel was achieved: the capture of strategically important points along the demarcation line, which has been demilitarized since 1974. Above all, this includes Hermon, Syria’s highest mountain, which is snow-covered until summer. Until 1967, the Syrian army shelled Israel from here almost every day.
Positions built
Israel’s army spokesman explains the move as a “temporary measure until the chaotic situation in Syria has clarified.” Which is probably not to be understood as “short”. Aerial photos show the beginning of the construction of permanent positions of the Israeli army. Israel annexed the part of the Golan Heights that it captured in the Six-Day War in 1967 in 1981. What the USA recognized under President Donald Trump in 2019. Even if Israel’s army withdraws at some point, Israel will no longer tolerate the presence of enemy forces on these mountain slopes.
That is why Israel is pursuing a third long-term goal: neighborly contact with the new forces in Syria. Russia and Iran, Assad’s former aides, are already rethinking. Their attempts to get on good terms with the rebels they previously fought against are now underway. This could be well received by the Islamist forces among the rebels.
Israel has therefore already called for the “protection of minorities in Syria”. What they have to fear most is an Islamist regime replacing the old Assad rule. Once the joy of victory is over, the old hostilities between the actually hostile militias can break out again. In a war-torn Syria, each ethnic and religious group must ensure its own protection.
The Druze in southern Syria, right in front of the barbed wire to Israel, should have no problems working with Israel. The Israeli Druze have been fighting in the Israeli army since 1948. The Druze living on the annexed Golan Heights have also been orienting themselves towards Israel for a long time. And if the Druze are threatened – regardless of the state – they help each other.
Israel also maintained secret contacts with the Kurds living far to the east. Up to and including military aid. The Kurds have created a stable zone of influence for themselves in this war. Which is now threatened by Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Further cooperation with Israel would actually be an inevitable consequence. Christians, Yazidis and Shiite Alawites are also threatened by the Islamists. They are also looking for help. And Israel is the closest.