TAKING advantage of the chaos in post-Assad Syria, Israel has proceeded to grab more of the Arab state’s land, while destroying a large percentage of Syria’s military infrastructure. While Israel had been conducting attacks in Syria for years, primarily targeting troops and facilities of the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’ present in the country to defend Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the level of the present aggression appears unprecedented. Tel Aviv has been occupying the Golan Heights since 1967, but in the wake of Mr Assad’s fall it has formed a ‘sterile defence zone’ within Syria, a euphemism for the further illegal occupation of land. This behaviour is consistent with Israel’s insatiable appetite for other people’s land. What is more, the Zionist state has, over the last few days, launched hundreds of strikes targeting military positions in Syria. Naval bases, airports, warehouses and other military facilities have been hit. It would not be wrong to say that Syria has been left defenceless, and will not be able to protect its territory from predatory regimes — such as Israel — that seek to do it harm for years to come.

Those who claim to be friends of the Syrian people need to condemn this flagrant violation of that country’s sovereignty in clear terms. Israel is doing all it can to ensure Syria is not able to stand on its own feet for the foreseeable future. At a time when the transitional administration in Damascus is trying to rebuild the state, such destabilising forays are sowing more chaos. The groups that toppled the Assad regime — and their foreign backers — must confront Israel and defend Syrian soil with the same vigour. In fact, the foreign powers that maintain a presence in Syria, including the US and Turkiye, should only remain there if the Syrian administration is on board. Israeli aggression, and the controversial presence of foreign troops in Syria, will further complicate matters.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2024