The October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, which sparked the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, is indirectly responsible for reigniting the Syria civil war.
(File)
Syria civil war: The Assad regime in Syria has fallen. During early hours of Sunday morning, President Bashar al-Assad fled the capital Damascus. with several reports claiming that his plane “vanished” from radar. The Syria civil war, which broke out in 2011, seems to come to an end as Syrian opposition forces announced the ‘liberation’ of the country from Assad’s rule as rebels stormed the capital city.
Who would Israel prefer to rule Syria?
However, the fall of Assad’s regime is poised to drastically change the power balance in the volatile region, with Shia Iran losing a major chunk of its influence and a Sunni dominated regime likely to helm the new government/administration in Syria. While Israel would be relieved that Iranian influence has considerably decreased with Assad’s downfall, but who does the Jewish nation want in charge of affairs in Syria?
The question is whether Tel Aviv would prefer a Iran-backed Shia regime or a Sunni jihadi coalition backed by Turkey, on its border. On one hand, Israel will to contend with Iran, which considers the Jewish nation as its mortal enemy, while on the other, a Sunni regime could likely be worse as Israel has committed unspeakable atrocities in the Gaza Strip and the rest of Palestine, majority of whom are Sunnis, and Syrian jihadi rebel groups would be looking to avenge the Israel’s brutalities.
Oct 7 Hamas attack reignited Syria civil war?
The October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, which sparked the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, is indirectly responsible for reigniting the Syria civil war. The Hamas onslaught led to Israel launching a brutal military campaign in the Gaza Strip which displaced millions of people.
The Israel-Hamas war also drew in Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group which had previously helped quell the rebellion against the Assad regime in Syria.
While Hezbollah and Iran became preoccupied in the bloody war with Israel, Syria’s rebel forces, backed by Turkey, apparently used this opportunity to rebuild and regroup, and on November 27 last month, launched a fresh wave of attacks, capturing major cities, Hama, Aleppo, Daraa, and finally succeeded in toppling the Assad regime when they took Damascus on early Sunday morning.
On the other hand, Russia, another major ally of Bashar al-Assad is engaged in a raging war with Ukraine, leaving the Syrian regime exposed to an all out onslaught by rebel forces who ultimately toppled it.
Despite Bashar al-Assad being a proxy of Iran, experts believe Israel would have liked him to remain in power because he is a known entity and Israel can predict his moved. In contrast, the new jihadi regime, which is likely to come to power in Syria, presents the danger of morphing into another Islamic State-esque terrorist group which would pose a major threat to Tel Aviv and its interests, especially on the Israel-Syria border.