Sources reported that Israel is working to remove landmines in the Golan region in a move that may be considered an attempt to open a new front with Hezbollah across the Syrian border. What are the repercussions of these moves if the reports are true? Is Israel about to conduct any military operations in Syrian territory as it does in Lebanon?
Reuters reported, on Tuesday, that: Security sources and analysts Israeli forces removed landmines and established new barriers on the border between the Golan Heights and a demilitarized strip on the border with Syria.
The sources said that this step indicates that Israel may be seeking for the first time to hit Hezbollah targets from a greater distance to the east on the Lebanese border, while establishing a safe zone that enables it to freely conduct military monitoring operations of the armed group’s movements and prevent infiltration.
Sources who spoke to Reuters also revealed additional unpublished details that showed that Israel is moving the fence separating the demilitarized zone towards the Syrian side and is carrying out excavation work to establish more fortifications in the area.
The sources include a Syrian soldier stationed in southern Syria, a Lebanese security official, and a United Nations peacekeeping force official.
Sources to Reuters: Israel removes mines on the Golan border
Reuters news agency quoted security sources and analysts as saying that Israeli forces removed land mines and established new barriers on the border between the Golan Heights and a demilitarized strip on the border with Syria, indicating that Israel may expand its ground operations against Hezbollah while strengthening its defenses.
When the Israeli army was asked about clearing mines, it said that it “does not comment on operational plans” and that it is “currently fighting the Hezbollah terrorist organization in order to allow the residents of the north to return to their homes safely.”
The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, Russia and Syria did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Military affairs expert, David De Roche, rules out that Israel will invade Syria, and says: “I think there are two goals: positioning yourself in an appropriate way to attack Hezbollah from high ground. Until now, Israel is facing Hezbollah from low positions, and here it wants to circumvent Hezbollah’s positions.” God moves from high lands to low places.”
“The second goal is to direct an implicit threat to Syria. We know from reports that Iran is trying to push Syria to be more active, forcing Israel to distribute its military assets in order to confront a potential Syrian threat.”
He confirms in An interview with Al-Hurra channel “Israel reminds Syria that the distance between Damascus and the Golan is not far, and perhaps this may lead to the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.”
Roche says, “We must consider the nature of the Syrian regime, which did not forcefully oppose Israel, but rather hosted Iranian proxies, such as Hezbollah and others, only in order to survive after the Syrian uprising.”
He stated, “The uprising was on the verge of success until Hezbollah intervened with Iranian officers, in 2014, and even then Assad was facing defeat, and his regime was weak as it was focused on producing Captagon.”
He points out, “There were attacks from Israel on Syria, but the latter did not respond. Israel did not call for the overthrow of Assad or confirm its support for the uprising. In general, in Syria, there was an attack by Israel on the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah.”
It is likely that “Iran wants to see greater Syrian activity to support Hezbollah.”
In response to a question about whether Israel is able to control the pace of its operations so that it does not lead to an explosion in the situation in general, Roche responded by saying: “This is the art of leadership. Part of the problem is that one party sees this as a deterrent measure, while the other party sees it as devoid of responsibility.” “Any action.”
He explains that “Israel has proven that it is effective in sending messages to Damascus in a way that ensures that Damascus pays attention to its own interests.”
He gave an example of the strike that caused the death of three Iranian officers in an annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus last April, which Israel was accused of carrying out. He stated that there was no response from the Assad regime.
He reiterated that previous Israeli operations had led the Assad regime to realize that if it confronted Israel, a response would also come.
“Losing the threads of the game”… Where is Russia in what is happening in Syria?
A month ago, Israel carried out a special landing operation on a Syrian military facility in the Masyaf region in the center of the country. After collecting information and exploring a program to manufacture precision missiles, its members left there on board helicopters from a distance of only 70 kilometers from the Russian “Hmeimim” base located in the Latakia countryside.
Regarding the possibility of Iranian-backed armed militias in Iraq intervening in any conflict that the allied militias might witness inside Syria, Roche says: “The Iranian agents in Iraq are more militant than those in Syria, and the Syrian regime decided to step back and leave others and their involvement in the war.”
He notes that “Israel has a free hand in securing its interests as it deems appropriate, and one of these interests is to prevent the spread of the conflict to Syria.”
He points out that any American intervention to prevent Israel from taking any action will be of no benefit, criticizing what he described as the “shrinking influence” of US President Joe Biden, and that Israel will respond that it has the right to respond to Hezbollah’s threats from all directions.
Roche ruled out that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would respond to American pressure regarding any additional moves. He said that “the Israeli government has what it needs to wage a war against Hezbollah without any additional American capabilities,” and that Israel was working to stockpile weapons in addition to its defense production. Active.
He points out a “misunderstanding” among some that “there is a button for Washington that it can press” to pressure Israel, and explains that “the truth of the matter is that the weapons used and the capabilities that Israel has amassed over decades, if there is a war, the matter may take months, “If not years, for (American) pressure to be effective and successful.”
ظهرت في الأصل على www.alhurra.com