All you need to know about Israel and Syria

While all eyes were on Gaza last week, a dramatic shift in Israeli strategy toward southern Syria occurred that was not widely understood.

The decision to let the IDF penetrate deeper into the area east of the border in the Golan Heights has nothing to do with a desire to conquer more territory or the Greater Israel doctrine as some people told me, but everything with the security of the residents of the Golan Heights and the Druze minority in Syria.

In addition, the change in strategy has to do with the creation of a possible independent Druze state in southern Syria, as we will see.

IDF broadens invasion of southern Syria

At the end of February, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to conduct more operations in the entire area from the Syrian capital of Damascus to Suweyda, commonly referred to as the Druze Mountain.

The purpose of this change in strategy is twofold. First, Israel wants to prevent the new Syrian regime of the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from establishing itself in the area east of the Israeli border on the Golan Heights.

The second goal is to protect the large Druze community in Suweyda and the border area with Israel and to help establish an independent state.

It is also clear that the IDF will remain in southern Syria to ensure the safety of the residents of the Golan Heights.

The IDF presence on the entire Mount Hermon in the far northeast of Israel is particularly important given the possibilities for gathering intelligence on what is happening in southern Syria and the area around Damascus.

Permanent presence

The publication of a video of a so-called Mezuzah ceremony by IDF alpinists on the top of Mount Hermon last week showed that Israel is serious about its continued presence in southern Syria.

IDF alpinists were seen gathering at a building that was until recently in the hands of the Syrian army. As the soldiers stood deep in the snow and talked about the freezing temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius on the top of Mount Hermon, they recited the customary blessing that precedes the attachment of a mezuzah to the doorposts of a house. In this case, it was the entrance to a building where the Syrian army used to have a base.

It was clear that this action had more than symbolic value, given that Halakha, Jewish law, requires a Jew to attach a mezuzah to the doorposts of his house in case of permanent residency.

By attaching the mezuzah to the doorpost of the entrance of the abandoned Syrian army building, the IDF signaled that the Syrian side of Mount Hermon is now considered Israeli territory. The Israeli government had previously stated that the Syrian side of the mountain would not be returned to Syria.

The remarkable action by the IDF alpinists coincided with the announcement that a new phase had begun in IDF operations on the northern front.

Widening of IDF operations

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yisrael Katz issued a statement saying that Israel would not allow southern Syria to be turned into a second southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu and Katz also made it clear that the new strategy was also intended to protect the Druze in Syria and help them defend themselves against HTS.

“Any attempt by the Syrian regime army units to establish themselves in the security zone (that the IDF has created in southern Syria) will be met with fire,” Katz said.

The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported shortly afterwards that the IDF had begun operations in Daraa province, which borders Jordan, and in the western part of Quneitra province, which borders Israel directly.

At the same time, IAF warplanes were seen in northern Israel bombing targets in southern Syria. For the first time in a long time, the air was filled with the roar of IAF fighter jets and the sound of Apache attack helicopters.

HTS reacted angrily to the Israeli actions and announcements. On social media, HTS threatened Hamas-style actions in videos, such as invading Israel, beheading men and raping Israeli women.

Druze react with joy to Israel’s intervention

The Druze themselves reacted strongly to Israel’s support and took immediate action. Several Druze militias in the Suweyda province joined the new ‘military council’ led by Tariq al-Shufi, who thanked Netanyahu for his support for the Druze, who have historically been persecuted by Muslims.

Shortly after al-Shufi spoke, a military parade was held in Suweyda and a mobilization of fighters began.

The Druze in Syria had long been supporters of the Assad regime and once were fiercely anti-Israel.

That slowly changed after Assad let the Druze down hard and forced young Druze to enlist in the Syrian army.

HTS now poses a direct threat to the Druze because they are seen by the Islamists as collaborators with the overthrown Assad regime and now also with Israel.

After the statements of Netranyahu and Katz, a meeting took place in Damascus between a Druze delegation and the new Syrian president Abu Muhammad al-Juliani (Ahmad Al-Shara).

The purpose of this meeting was clear al-Juliani does not want Syria to fall apart further and is of course against an independent Druze canton next to Israel and south of the capital Damascus.

The new Syrian president, a former ISIS commander, is trying to create a united Syria in various ways but has so far had little success in his attempts to achieve national unity.

Possible crash course with Turkey

This also has to do with the military situation on the ground where Turkey, with a coalition of Sunni militias, is involved in a protracted conflict with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that are supported by the United States.

There is a war of attrition in eastern Syria where the Turks are using their air force to attack the SDF but have not yet carried out their threat of a major offensive.

Israel now seems to be using the internal divisions in Syria to guarantee its own security interests.

This is also the reason why Israel is now actively supporting the large Druze minority in Syria and the IDF has been ordered to take military action to protect the Druze from the aggression of HTS that is currently fighting the Druze in the city of Jaramana south of Damascus.

Katz and Netanyahu have ordered the IDF to protect the Druze in this city and the IDF is currently drawing up an operational plan.

Israel furthermore wants to help give the Druze their own state for the first time, something that is now openly sought by the Druze in Syria.

A Druze canton in southern Syria offers Israel protection from an HTS invasion of the border area on the Golan Heights.

Support for the Druze in southern Syria is also expressed in other ways. Israel is now providing them with humanitarian aid and weapons and allowing Syrian Druze to work in the Israeli Golan Heights.

However, the Israeli intervention in Syria is not without risks as it could put the IDF on a crash course with the Turkish army.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan waged his war of words against Israel on Monday, warning those who seek profit from the instability in Syria. “We will not allow them to divide Syria as they imagine”, the Turkish tyrant warned without mentioning Israel.

Turkey is the main sponsor of HTS and wants to set up bases throughout Syria that will make the country effectively a vassal of the Turks and will advance Erdogan’s imperialistic agenda in the Middle East.

So, Israel’s intervention in Syria is not about expansion of its territory or to create an empire as Erdogan dreams of. It’s about preventing another Jihadist organization from setting up camp on its northeastern border.