Islam Times - 500 Airstrikes in 10 Days: What Does Israel Want in Syria?

Islam Times - In less than 10 days after collapse of government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Israel launched over 500 airstrikes across the Arab country. Al-Mayadeen news network reported on Saturday, citing Israeli sources, that Tel Aviv within hours destroyed Syrian air defenses and dropped 1,800 bombs on 500 targets in Syria. Meanwhile, the question is why has Israeli regime stepped up bombing of Syria in a week?

What targets were bombed?

By referring to the reports and news published about the areas bombed by the Israeli regime in Syria, we can list some of the targets bombed in the Arab country after fall of al-Assad. It should be noted that the majority of the targets bombed are military targets belonging to the former army of this country. According to a Euronews report, the Israeli air force has struck various types of weapons during these attacks, including Scud and cruise missiles, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, drones, warplanes, attack helicopters, radars, tanks and aircraft hangars.

Some of these targets include: Al-Mazzah military airport in Damascus, the Sweida air base as a missile storage base for the Syrian army, many workshops of the ministry of defense in Aleppo, other weapons and ammunition depots around Damascus, military bases, dozens of warplanes, dozens of surface-to-air missile systems, military equipment production sites, weapons depots and surface-to-surface missile depots, the Syrian army Air Defense Battalion in the Maaloula area, the headquarters of the 4th Division and the 105th Division of the Presidential Guard, other military targets in western Damascus, a number of military bases in the city of Daraa in southern Syria, the headquarters of the 132nd Brigade of the Syrian army in the south, the Syrian army's Scientific Research Center in Damascus suburb, the Jediya Battalion in the north of the city of Ankhal, the Tel al-Hamad area west of the city of Sheikh Miskin in Daraa province, Tel al-Shaar in Quneitra province, and the Scud long-range surface-to-surface missile depot belonging to the 155th Brigade of the army in the Qalamoun Mountains.

Israeli pretext for bombardment

Israeli regime has been for years justifying its attacks in Syria under the ruse of destroying military targets operated by the Iranian forces or their allies. Still, evidence suggests that currently there are no Iranian forces or forces aligned with Tehran on Syrian soil.

Ahmed Delali, an official in the Joint Operations Directorate of the former Syrian opposition factions that now control the country, told Media Line that the ruling factions have secured all the military facilities they seized after the fall of al-Assad government. He added that the Israeli attacks have mostly focused on missile depots, scientific research centers and warships, and that Israel's claim that Iranian forces are present in these facilities is not true.

Another pretext for Israel's bombing of military targets in Syria is an attempt to prevent fundamentalist groups from accessing weapons from the former Syrian army. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar defended Israel's aggression against Syria on Sunday, claiming that Israel's intention was to target suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range missile sites to prevent these equipment from being seized by armed groups.

What does Israel want in Syria?

Regardless of the allegations made by the Israeli officials, it seems that Israel pursues aims beyond the stated claims.

Fighting or helping the rebels: Just contrary to the claims made by Israel for its Syria bombardment for the aim of preventing the weapons from falling to rebels, it seems that the Syrian rebels are satisfied with the Israeli aggression. The silence and absence of a strong and decisive reaction of the rebel groups to the continued bombing of targets in Syria and the Israeli incursion into Syrian territory indicates that the ruling rebels in Damascus do not have much opposition to this aggression. In fact, bombing the targets of the Syrian army means completely destroying what remains of this army, and the collapse of the Syrian army and military is the ideal goal of the rebels and the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in order to eliminate any possibility of a coup by former Syrian army soldiers. In other words, the Israeli regime has set out to completely destroy the Syrian army through continuous bombings, and the complete destruction of the Syrian army is the desired goal for the rebels after the fall of al-Assad government in Damascus so that the supporters of the former Syrian government do not launch military operations or stage a coup against the ruling rebels.

Occupation of Syria: Along with airstrikes, Israeli forces advanced deep into Syria territory close to the capital Damascus. Israeli army has also fully occupied Syria's Golan Heights to establish a claimed buffer zone on the border with the crisis-ravaged country. But many believe that the occupation of parts of Syrian territory by Israel may pave the way for the complete occupation of these areas and their annexation to other occupied territories. Mohammed Alloush, a Syrian writer and political researcher, has commented on the occupation of areas of Syrian territory by the Israeli regime, saying: "The pretext that Israel puts forward to destroy Iranian weapons and cut off the vital and supply lines of Hezbollah in the bombing of Syria is a false and unrealistic excuse. Israel has another goal, which is to use the political vacuum and security imbalance in Syria to seize more Syrian territory under the pretext of maintaining security, and in this it enjoys the open support of the United States. Israel is trying to put the future Syrian government in a new fait accompli, because it knows that the future Syrian government would be too weak to enter a new war."

Some hardline Israeli parties have called for annexation of all Golan Heights. Israel may not be able to fully sieze Golan because of the international pressures, but its advances to 20 kilometers from Damascus will give Tel Aviv a trump card for future negotiations with Syrians and perhaps Israel will tie its withdrawal from these areas to Syrian recognition of its sovereignty over parts or all of Golan region. In this case, the Israelis not only are fishing in Syrian troubled waters, but also they are pushing deep into Syrian territory to create for themselves a play card for possible negotiations with future Syrian rulers.