The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday reinforced Israeli military positions along the Syrian border in the Golan Heights after rebels in southern Syria advanced on the Syrian regime in conjunction with rebels in the north. did.
After his father Hafez died in 2000, Bashar al-Assad succeeded his dictatorial regime, which is backed by Iran and Russia. But the numbers are staggering after a week-long advance by Syrian rebels, including Islamist forces, who took control after the defeat of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Iran had been using in Syria's civil war. . Rebels have captured the city of Aleppo and then Hama, and are advancing rapidly as regime forces retreat.
Israel regards both sides as enemies and flatly refuses to get involved in the conflict, other than to say it is concerned about the fate of the Kurdish minority in the north who have withdrawn from the fighting.
Turkey, an enemy of the Kurds, supports Syrian rebels against the Kurdish regime, even as it also supports Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in its war against Israel. For now, the focus is on the Assad regime, not Israel.
Nevertheless, the collapse of the regime could pose new threats to Israel, and the IDF is preparing to contain the chaos in Syria and defend the Israeli territory of the Golan Heights, which it captured in the 1967 defensive war. There is.
The IDF said in a statement:
Based on the ongoing situation assessment by the General Staff and Northern Command since yesterday, and in response to developments in the internal conflict in Syria, the IDF is increasing its air and ground forces in the Golan Heights region.
IDF forces are deployed along the border, and the IDF is monitoring developments and preparing for any scenario, both offensive and defensive. The IDF will not tolerate threats near Israel's borders and will stop any threats against the State of Israel.
According to social media reports, President Bashar al-Assad appears to be withdrawing his troops to Damascus to fight rebels trying to take over the country. Russia has so far done little to defend its client state, apart from bombing rebel targets last week.
Despite sending new advisers and militia to Syria, Iran has been unable to halt the rebel advance.
Russia and Iran both look weak as one of the Middle East's oldest and deadliest tyrannies is on the brink of defeat.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
