Israel uses Assad’s demise for further colonialist land-grab in Syria

On 9 December, corporate media focused almost entirely on the ‘rebel’ (read jihadist-led) victory over the brutal Assad regime in Syria. Israel’s military expansion further into Syria, meanwhile, attracted only passing attention. But the reality was that Netanyahu just expanded the genocidal state’s illegal occupation further into Syria.

Israel was preparing this in Syria ‘for months’

In mid-November, before the rapid jihadist offensive in Syria had begun, the BBC reported that Israel had been building both in the occupied Golan Heights and in the “buffer zone” between the area and the rest of Syria. The UN said the latter resulted in “severe violations” of a ceasefire agreement. As the BBC stated:

Satellite photographs show new trenches and earth berms dug over the past few months along the length of what is known as the Area of Separation (AoS).

The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) also revealed that “Israeli army vehicles and personnel have also entered the buffer zone”.

Israel has long taken advantage of the impunity which the US empire has granted it during its ongoing genocide in Gaza in order to attack Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria. And as the Assad regime fell on 8 December, Israel’s war criminal prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the event was a:

direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran.

And it’s difficult to disagree. Because Israel’s merciless rampage against its regional opponents, along with Russia’s quagmire in Ukraine, left Assad utterly isolated.

Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights has long reduced Syria’s border with Lebanon. But further occupation could make it even harder for Hezbollah to receive support via Syria.

Strengthening another Israeli occupation

Israel took the Golan Heights from Syria back in 1967, annexing it in 1981. And in 2019, Donald Trump officially recognised that annexation, making the US the first country to do so.

On 8 December 2024, meanwhile, Netanyahu essentially ended the 1974 buffer zone agreement, stating the ‘Syrian army’s abandonment of its positions’ as the reason. This would be temporary, he claimed, “until a suitable arrangement is found”. As Yahoo noted:

The area is significant both militarily and for its water sources.

The territory is also fertile, as “the volcanic soil grows apple and cherry orchards as well as vineyards”, according to Al Jazeera. Around 25,000 Israeli colonisers live in 30 settlements there. Many of the Arabic Druze community there who did not flee after Israel’s occupation “do not hold Israeli citizenship and are Syrian nationals”.

Amid the chaos in Syria, Israel has now expanded into the buffer zone, taking Mount Hermon. By doing so, it has shortened the Syrian-Lebanese border even further.

Israel’s Ynet reported:

As history unfolds, Israel strengthens its position by capturing key high points on Mount Hermon from the Assad regime

Considering that the international community opposes the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, we might expect there to be more of a media focus on Israel’s apparent expansion of the occupation. However, given the corporate media’s hopeless coverage of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, that seems like wishful thinking.

Featured image via the Canary