Israel's Heavy Hand In Syria's Civil War
When Israel conquered the Golan in 1967, it launched a 50-year
occupation of the Syrian Golan in which tens of thousands of Syrian
Druze lived. Though an armistice line now separates the Druze in Syrian
and Israeli-occupied zones, both communities are deeply intertwined.
The sense of solidarity now, in the midst of a raging civil war, is no
different than Diaspora Jews felt in 1967 before the war broke out.
Millions rallied around the world concerned about Israel’s fate. Now
the Druze in Israeli-held Golan are fearful for the fates of their
brothers and sisters.
Israel claims, falsely, that it is neutral in the Syrian civil war.
Unfortunately, the world media are taken in by this charade. Israel
intervenes regularly on behalf of the Syrian Islamist rebels. The UN
observed the IDF unloading supplies in boxes at the armistice fence,
which were then picked up by Islamist fighters. Al Monitor even
reported that the IDF shells government positions inside Syria. The
Israelis meet regularly with al-Nusra commanders (who are affiliated
with al-Qaeda) to offer intelligence. A Syrian Druze videotaped one
such meeting, which was aired on Syrian TV. He was promptly secretly
arrested by the Shabak. The Israeli media was forbidden from reporting
his name, Sedki al-Maket, thanks to a security gag order (I was the only
journalist outside Syria who reported his name and story).
Israeli TV reported
that Israel has built a camp for Syrian army deserters in Israeli
occupied Golan. Israel has also bombed Hezbollah and Iranian convoys
inside Syria carrying advanced weaponry meant for the Lebanese front. It
has assassinated several senior Iranian generals and Hezbollah
commanders on Syrian soil as well. It opposes Assad not so much for
political or ideological reasons, but because the regime’s chief allies
are Israel’s arch-nemeses, Iran and Hezbollah.
Israeli soldiers walks near the border with Syria near the site of a
Sunday Israeli airstrike, in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights,
Monday, April 27, 2015
