Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently made a bold statement, claiming that the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government was a direct result of Israel’s military actions against Hezbollah and Iran. According to Netanyahu, Israel’s strikes weakened these powerful forces, which had been supporting Assad, and helped create a path for anti-government forces to take control.
Over the weekend, there were intense clashes in Syria. Anti-government groups, including the radical group Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) and U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army fighters, stormed Damascus, Syria’s capital. The Syrian army reportedly stood down, and Assad, according to Russia’s foreign ministry, left the country for an unknown location. HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, once a commander in al-Qaeda, celebrated the victory in a televised speech, saying, “The future is ours.”
Netanyahu wasted no time visiting the Israel-Syria border, where he hailed the collapse of Assad’s regime as a historic moment for the Middle East. In a video statement, he said, “The Assad regime is a central link in Iran’s axis of evil. This regime has fallen.” He went on to claim that Israel’s military actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon and its strikes on Iranian forces were directly responsible for weakening Assad’s hold on power. These actions, he explained, made it harder for Assad’s supporters to reinforce him as the jihadist forces advanced.
But the situation was far from simple. HTS forces had launched an unexpected attack on the Syrian Army in northern Syria, making quick gains in important cities along the way to Damascus. The Syrian government claimed that many of these jihadists were foreign fighters, and Russia even suggested that Ukrainian military intelligence might have trained them. Although it’s unclear whether HTS coordinated with the U.S. or Israel, former U.S. official James Jeffrey once called HTS an “asset” of Washington. Al-Jolani himself has said that his fight was against Assad and Iran, not the West.
Adding another twist to the story, some jihadist fighters, including one from Idlib, spoke to Israeli media and expressed surprising support for Israel. “We love Israel and we were never its enemies,” the fighter said. “We don’t hate you, we love you very much.”
As the situation in Syria became more chaotic, Israel took action. Netanyahu announced that Israel was moving troops into a part of the Golan Heights that had been a buffer zone between the two countries for decades. This area had been a peacekeeping zone since the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, which came after the Yom Kippur War. Netanyahu stated that Israel was acting to protect its border, as Syria’s military forces had abandoned their positions, effectively ending the agreement.
With the regime change in Syria, Netanyahu believes that the region is now safer for Israel, and he sees this as a pivotal moment in the Middle East’s future. Could Netanyahu be right? Is this a sign of a new era in the region, or just another chapter in Syria’s long-running crisis? Only time will tell, but one thing is clear: the balance of power in the Middle East is shifting, and Israel is right at the center of it.
