Israel sees efforts to unify Syria as threat, expands strikes: Report

Israel has been targeting military sites in southern Syria while lobbying world powers to ensure the central government in Damascus remains weak, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The report states that Israel views groups attempting to unify Syria, including those backed by Türkiye, as a threat to its security interests.

Israel intensifies strikes in southern Syria

According to the WSJ, Israeli forces have carried out airstrikes on military sites in southern Syria, aiming to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the country’s new government.

The report also claims that Israel has targeted groups backed by Türkiye that are working to unite Syria, which has been fractured along sectarian and ethnic lines since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December.

Since Assad’s departure, Ahmed al-Sharaa has led the new Syrian administration, appointing Mohammed Al-Bashir to oversee the country’s transitional government.

However, Israel has expanded its military actions in Syria, including taking control of the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which violates the 1974 disengagement agreement.

Israel pushes for ‘federalist Syria,’ supports Druze community

The WSJ report states that Israel has been lobbying world powers to support the idea of a federal Syria divided into autonomous ethnic regions, with a demilitarized zone along Israel’s border.

This proposal has been rejected by the new Damascus government, which seeks to maintain Syria’s territorial unity.

Additionally, Israel recently announced it would allocate more than $1 billion in support of the Druze community in northern Israel.

Security analysts believe this funding is part of an effort to persuade Druze leaders in Syria to reject the new government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the Israeli military to “protect” Druze communities in Syria, further escalating tensions.

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has criticized Israel’s moves, accusing it of using Druze soldiers and officers in the Israeli military to suppress Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank while seeking to expand its influence into Jabal al-Arab, the Druze stronghold in Syria’s Suwayda governorate.

“Zionism is using Druze as soldiers and officers to suppress the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, and now they want to seize Jabal al-Arab (Druze) in Syria,” Jumblatt said.

Escalating military activity in Syria

In recent days, tensions have risen in Jaramana, a Damascus suburb home to Druze and Christian communities. Armed groups refusing to disarm have sparked unrest, with Israel closely monitoring the situation.

Netanyahu has demanded that southern Syria be “demilitarized,” declaring that Syrian forces, some of whom were previously allegedly aligned with al-Qaeda, would not be allowed to operate near Israel’s borders.

Israel’s military has also struck arms depots belonging to the ousted Assad government in Qardaha, the Assad family’s ancestral home, as well as in other strategic locations across Syria.

These strikes have drawn condemnation from the UN and several other nations.

Concerns over regional stability

While Israel has justified its actions as necessary for its security, some experts warn that its strategy of keeping Syria fragmented could have unintended consequences.

“Israel has a legitimate interest in ensuring no threats can emanate against it from Syria. But it also has an interest, as does the U.S., in seeing if a stable transition in Syria can take hold,” the WSJ quoted former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel B. Shapiro as saying.

Some Syrian community leaders fear that Israel’s long-term strategy could deepen divisions within Syria and create instability along its borders. Reports suggest that Israel has de facto control over Quneitra, one of the three Syrian provinces bordering Israel, raising concerns about potential expansionist ambitions.

Laith Balous, a prominent Druze militia leader in Suwayda, commented on the situation, stating: “We do not want war, and we do not want Syria to become sectarian.”