Syria: Rebels give up positions near Golan Heights - AP
The AP reports: "Syrian rebels laid down their weapons and started evacuating their
positions near the Golan Heights on Friday, paving the way for President
Bashar Assad’s forces to retake their positions along the Israeli
frontier for the first time since 2011. [...] Since June 19, government
forces aided by Russian air power have swept through southwestern Syria
to consolidate Assad’s control over this strategic corner of the
country. It puts the government back on the front-line again with
Israel, and opens a sorely needed corridor for trade between Damascus
and Jordan. [...] Israel has refrained from taking sides in Syria’s
seven-year-long civil war, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
indicated he does not object to the government’s return to southwest
Syria — as long as Israel’s archenemies Iran and the Lebanese militant
group Hezbollah stay clear of the frontier."
Comment: This is very good news for Israel. On the surface, it suggests that some kind of status quo might be in the offing in which Syrian forces man the border and respect the agreement with Israel without any trouble from Iranian forces. Looking deeper though, we have to wonder if those Iranian forces might dig in for a long-term presence as long as they don't go near the border. I was under the impression that Israel made it clear to Assad and his Russian patrons that any permanent Iranian presence in Syria would be considered a threat to Israel and dealt with accordingly.
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