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IDF Spokersperson/TPS-IL on 5 December, 2024
Looking at Syria, IDF Bolsters Troops In the Golan Heights
Jerusalem, 6 December, 2024 (TPS-IL) -- The IDF has decided to reinforce air and ground forces in the Golan Heights area in light of the developments in Syria, where a surprise offensive by the Sunni jihadist groups is reshaping the battlefield and threatening Assad’s regime.
Situational assessment, where the decision was taken, was held yesterday at the IDF General Staff and Northern Command, the IDF Spokesperson has reported.
IDF forces are deployed along the border area, increasing readiness and preparedness according to various scenarios.
“The IDF is monitoring the events and preparing for any possible scenario, both in attack and defense,” the statement says.
As jihadist rebels gain ground in Syria at the expense of Iran, “a quick victory” could be bad for Israel.
“A long-term conflict in Syria between pro-Turkish Sunni groups, very close to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, on the one hand, and what they call the Iranian ‘axis of resistance’ on the other hand, is good for Israel because it reduces the resources that both of them can throw into the fight against Israel,” Bar-Ilan University’s Professor of political studies Ze’ev Khanin told TPS-IL. “However, if Assad’s regime collapses, or weakens significantly, quickly, then instead of Iranians together with Hezbollah Israel will get Salafi, Sunni groups on its northern borders, and we are out of the frying pan into the fire.”
