The worrying ground incursion of the Israeli army into Syrian territory

48 hours after the announcement of the fall of Bashar Al Assad’s regime, the news from Syria is worrying. And this, not because of the change which has occurred and the first signs of which are rather reassuring according to the admission of United Nations observers, but rather because of the Israeli military intervention on Syrian territory, in violation of the international law.

“ The Israeli army seized a buffer zone in Syria’s Golan Heights in violation of a 1974 disengagement agreement. tells us a dispatch from Euronews (1)

Citing an AFP dispatch, the Lebanese daily, close to Maronite circles, L’Orient-Le-Jour note : ” The advance of Israeli troops in Syria into the buffer zone on the edge of the part of the Golan Heights occupied and annexed by Israel constitutes “a violation” of the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, the Israeli Defense Minister said on Monday. UN spokesperson » (2)

Worse. Two regional security sources earlier told Reuters that Israeli troops were about 25 kilometers southwest of Damascus. A Syrian security source specified that the Israeli army had reached Qatana (east of the demilitarized zone which separates the Golan Heights occupied by Israel from Syria (3)

The Israeli army has denied reports of an advance by Israeli tanks towards the Syrian capital, Damascus. “Reports disseminated by some media according to which Israeli armed forces are advancing towards or approaching Damascus are completely false”army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Tuesday on the social network

An intervention that violates international law

But regardless, the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) declared: confirm that Israeli armed forces have entered the zone of separation, moved within the area and remain present in at least three locations “, said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Monday, who added that Israel had warned the Blue Helmets of the entry of its troops (5)

In response to this incursion by the Israeli army into the demilitarized zone, UNDOF “ informed his Israeli counterparts that these actions would be a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement “. “ There must be no military forces or activities in the area of separation. And Israel and Syria must continue to implement the terms of the 1974 agreement and preserve the stability of the Golan » declared the UN official (6)

This ground incursion by the Israeli army into Syrian territory follows unprecedented air attacks against Syrian military targets located in several regions including the capital, Damascus.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Israeli army “destroyed the main military sites in Syria” by carrying out more than 300 airstrikes in the country since the capture of Damascus by the rebels and the fall of Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday (7)

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed the attacks, saying: “The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens. “That is why we have attacked strategic weapons systems, such as remnants of chemical weapons as well as long-range missiles and rockets, so that they do not fall into the hands of extremists”. (8)

Israeli strategy

The fall of the Bashar Al Assad regime could not leave the State of Israel indifferent, which had until then put up with a regime whose anti-Israeli rhetoric never really worried Israel. The latter now fears that a new state emanating from popular will in Syria could constitute a much more formidable adversary in the future.

This explains the attacks by the Israeli army, which have a dual character: firstly, they are preventive attacks with a view to preventing Syrian revolutionaries from taking possession of the arsenals of the Syrian army. Then, these are attacks which aim to intimidate Syrian revolutionaries to dissuade them from any action contrary to the security of Israel.

By occupying the demilitarized zone, Israel seeks to create a security zone that could serve it in the future against any claims by the new Syrian state on the annexed Golan.

It is no coincidence that Netanyahu has just recalled that the annexed part of the Golan “belongs to Israel for eternity”. In a press conference in Jerusalem, he said: “ Today, everyone understands the capital importance of our presence on the Golan, and not at the foot of the Golan » before adding: “ Our control over the Golan Heights guarantees our security, it guarantees our sovereignty » (9)

Netanyahu did not forget a fitting nod to Donald Trump “ I want to thank my friend, President-elect Donald Trump, for responding to my request to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019 “. Of course, Netanyahu forgot to say that Israel’s annexation of the Golan remains illegal under international law.

It is also not excluded that Israel, fearing the prospect of a peaceful political transition which could lead to a future strong Syria, has chosen a military intervention which aims to weaken the new de facto authority and to thus favoring a new emergence of jihadist groups or chaos which would precipitate a new foreign intervention in Syria.

International reactions

The worst-case strategy that Israel seems to be following in Syria has not yet caused any reaction in Western capitals, which are busy giving lessons in democracy and human rights to the Syrian actors who have rid the country of the dictatorial regime of Bashar Al Assad.

For their part, the United Nations is concerned about these dangerous developments which could thwart efforts to ensure a peaceful, inclusive political transition where all components of the Syrian people find their place.

“ It is very worrying to see Israeli strikes and movements on Syrian territory. This must stop “, declared the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen (10)

Israeli military intervention in Syria is all the more unwelcome as the UN envoy acknowledged that there are encouraging signs that Syrian revolutionaries are aware of the challenges to achieve an inclusive transition.

The United Nations envoy did not forget the fact that the organization Hay’at Tahrir Al Cham (HTC), resulting from the former Jabhat Al Nusra, is still included on the list of terrorist organizations, which according to him “a complicating factor”.

This did not prevent the UN envoy, who is in contact with Hay’at Tahrir Al Cham, from declaring: “We also have to be honest and see what has happened over the last nine years (…) and the reality so far is that HTC and the other armed groups have sent positive messages to the Syrian people” (11)

Pedersen recalled that there had certainly been theft and looting on Sunday, particularly in Damascus, “but that seems to have stopped and that’s a good thing”. Above all, “They sent messages of unity and inclusion and, frankly, we also saw reassuring things on the ground in Aleppo and Hama” he added.

The UN envoy also highlighted the important fact that the head of HTC Ahmed Al-Charaa himself had mentioned in an interview with CNN that“they are discussing the possibility of dismantling HTC”. But “we need to see what they say be implemented on the ground”affirmed Mr. Pedersen who clarified that “the most important test will be how the transition agreements are organized and implemented” (12)

If Western capitals have so far remained silent in the face of Israeli provocations, the Arab League and several neighboring Arab countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan have denounced the Israeli intervention and called for respect for the territorial integrity of Syria.

But the most remarkable reaction came from Turkey, which has a direct interest and also the will and the means to influence the course of events in neighboring Syria. “Now we cannot allow Syria to be divided again. (…) Any attack on the freedom of the Syrian people, the stability of the new Syrian administration and the integrity of its territory will find us against it alongside the Syrian people”declared Tuesday the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a televised intervention (13) Le Monde December 10, 2024.

Euro News, December 9, 2024
L’Orient-le-Jour, December 9, 2024
Le Monde December 10, 2024.
Le Monde December 10, 2024
L’Orient-le-Jour December 9, 2024
L’Orient-le-Jour December 9, 2024
Le Monde December 10, 2024
The Guardian December 9, 2024
RFI, December 9, 2024
Le Monde December 10, 2024
Le Monde December 10, 2024
Le Monde December 10, 2024