SAEDNEWS: Despite Israel's occupation of Syria, leaders of the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) claim they will not go to war with Israel and consider the Zionist occupation a rational and understandable action!
According to Saadnews, citing a report from Fars News, the new governor of Damascus, in an interview with NPR (National Public Radio), stated: “It is understandable that when a new government comes into power in Syria, Israel becomes concerned. Maybe Israel felt threatened, which is why they advanced and carried out some airstrikes. We have no fear of Israel, and we have no issues with Israel. We seek peace and do not want to be involved in anything that threatens Israel’s security.” This statement comes after Israel's occupation of Syria and over 400 airstrikes involving multi-ton bombs.
Israel’s initial occupation of Syria dates back to 1967. After the third war between Israel and Arab countries, known as the Six-Day War, the Zionists occupied a region of Syria called the Golan Heights. The Golan is a strategically important area, providing Israel with the ability to monitor military and intelligence activities. The region is located about 60 kilometers from Damascus, Syria’s capital. Due to its geographical position, Israel has long faced water shortages. However, with control over the Golan and the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), Israel gained access to substantial freshwater resources.
Since Israel’s occupation of the Golan in 1967, the occupation has been condemned internationally. Even countries that recognized Israel’s occupation of Palestine did not accept the occupation of the Golan. The only exception was the U.S., which recognized the occupation under Trump, though this decision faced significant international backlash.
Despite this, Israel has never ended its occupation of the Golan and continues to seek further territorial expansion in Syria. However, as long as the Assad regime remained in power, despite challenges, inefficiencies, and crises like the rise of ISIS, Israel was unable to extend its occupation.
But immediately after the fall of the Assad regime, Israeli tanks advanced from the Golan and occupied more Syrian territory. Israel, citing the need for a buffer zone, also occupied the strategic Mount Sheikh region. In unprecedented airstrikes, Israel bombed Syria's vital infrastructure with around 400 operations, using multi-ton bombs.
The rebellion led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani provided Zionists with the opportunity they had long awaited. Initially, it seemed that the further occupation of Syria was a result of the power vacuum and the weakness of the Jolani-led opposition. However, it quickly became clear from statements made by Jolani and HTS that the situation was more complex.
Jolani, who was once a senior member of ISIS and now claims to govern Syria, responded to Israel’s occupation by reassuring them that he would not engage in war with Israel. He even officially declared that his main concern was Hezbollah and Iran.
In another interview with The Times of London, Jolani went further in supporting the Zionists, saying: “Syria will not be used as a launchpad for attacks on Israel.” In other words, Jolani not only refrained from opposing the Israeli occupation but also reassured Israel, taking on the role of its security guardian. Jolani did not pose a threat to Israel himself and even sought to neutralize other potential threats against Israel emanating from Syrian soil.
It is worth taking a brief look at the history of ISIS. ISIS, which Jolani was once a high-ranking member of, claimed to be forming an Islamic caliphate. ISIS considered only itself Muslim and declared other faiths as infidels, whose blood they deemed permissible to spill. According to the logic of this terrorist group, Jews and the state of Israel should have been their top enemy. However, ISIS never fired a single bullet at Israel.
