Israel Attacks al-Jolani After Plan to Drag Syria into War in Lebanon Collapses
Israel’s defense minister criticizes the head of Syria’s transitional government amid reports that a U.S.–Israeli plan to draw Damascus into a conflict with Lebanon has failed.
NYN | Reports and Analyses
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz launched a sharp attack on the head of Syria’s caretaker government, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, in a development that reflects growing frustration within Israeli circles following reports that Damascus had refused to become involved in any military confrontation against Lebanon.
Speaking to the press on Saturday, Katz said that Israel “does not need al-Jolani’s assistance in Lebanon,” criticizing the performance of Syria’s new government and referring to what he described as its “policies toward the Alawite and Druze communities.”
The Israeli minister’s remarks came as Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem revealed what he described as the failure of a U.S.–Israeli plan aimed at encouraging Syria to participate in a confrontation against Lebanon. According to Qassem, the plan sought to create a “military pincer” from both the south and the north in order to pressure Hezbollah.
Qassem stated that the Syrian leadership rejected involvement in the plan, resulting in the collapse of efforts to open a new front against Lebanon.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had expressed a desire for the Syrian leadership to play a larger role in Lebanese affairs, noting that he had proposed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the idea of assigning such a role to al-Jolani.
Political reports indicate that Washington had been counting on Syria’s new leadership to help reshape regional balances in a manner consistent with American and Israeli interests. However, Damascus’s refusal to participate in any military escalation against Lebanon reportedly represented a setback to those expectations.
In a related development, Katz’s remarks coincided with reports that Israeli forces had once again entered areas of Syria’s Daraa Governorate in southern Syria, in what was described as a violation of de-escalation understandings reached under U.S. sponsorship. The incident reflects continuing tensions in the region despite the apparent failure of efforts to broaden the scope of the confrontation.
Observers believe that the Israeli media and political escalation against the Syrian leadership reflects frustration over the failure to capitalize on political changes in Damascus to open an additional front against Hezbollah and Lebanon.
