Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is keeping a close eye on Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohamad al-Julani, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on March 11 while visiting the military’s new post atop the strategic Hermon mountain in southern Syria.
Sharaa’s Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham led the offensive that overthrew the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad last December.
Just hours after the fall of the regime, the IDF invaded the buffer zone adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights and launched hundreds of strikes against Syria’s military capabilities. Since then, the military has established nine posts in the zone, including two atop Mount Hermon. Three brigades, under the 210th Bashan Regional Division, are deployed to the area.
The highest IDF position atop Hermon, close to the peak, overlooks much of southern Syria, including Damascus, in addition to Beqaa Valley, a stronghold of Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.
“Every morning when Julani opens his eyes in the presidential palace in Damascus, he will see the IDF watching him from the heights of Mount Hermon and remember that we are here, and throughout the security zones in southern Syria, to protect the residents of the Golan and Galilee from any threat from him and his jihadist friends,” Katz told a group of journalists who escorted him and deputy military chief Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai on the visit.
“The IDF is preparing to stay in Syria for an unlimited time. We will hold the security zone and Mount Hermon and ensure that the entire security area in southern Syria is demilitarized and free of weapons and threats, and we will also protect the safety of the Druze in the area. Last night we operated powerfully against military targets and attacked more than 40 targets in southern Syria to implement the policy we announced and warned about, and to thwart threats to the State of Israel,” the minister continued.
He added that “We will strengthen the connection with the residents of the area and soon on the 16th of the month, Druze workers will begin working in the Golan Heights settlements.”
The Israeli “security zone” in southern Syria is split into two areas, according to Katz. The first, the buffer zone, is located up to around five kilometers from the Golan front. Within the buffer zone and areas adjacent to it, there are some 40,000 Syrian residents, many of them Druze. It is within this area that the IDF established its nine posts.
The second zone is an area up to 15 kilometers deep into Syria, where the IDF has been carrying out raids and capturing weapons.
In addition, Hebrew media talked about a third zone in southern Syria located up to 80 kilometers from Israel’s border, reaching the outskirts of Damascus and the Druze-majority city of al-Suwayda.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that southern Syria must be completely demilitarized, warning that Israel would not accept the presence of the forces of the new Syrian Islamists government near its territory. The primer also warned the government against attacking the Druze, vowing to defend the minority.
The Syrian interim government condemned Israel’s moves in the south on more than one occasion. However, it stopped short from taking action.
Israel’s plans are clearly meant to weaken the Syrian government. They also pose a serious threat to the unity of the country. Sharaa’s heavy reliance on Islamists will likely fracture the country even more and push Israel to escalate further in the future.
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