TEHRAN- Israel is pressing ahead with its nefarious plans in Syria as numerous individuals in the Arab country feel an initial sense of elation at having toppled the government of president Bashar Assad. 

Israel has carried out large-scale airstrikes in Syria since Assad was ousted by armed groups last weekend. These groups are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which began an offensive late last month from Syria’s northwest and took over Damascus on Sunday. 

Israel appears to be among the HTS supporters but it has hit Syrian military facilities and long-range missiles to prevent them from falling “into the hands of extremists.” 

Israel has also carried out a ground incursion into Syria. Israeli troops have been sent both into and beyond a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights. They have seized towns and villages as well as Jabal al-Shaykh (Mount Hermon) — a strategic peak inside the buffer zone.

The Israeli war minister has ordered troops to prepare to remain throughout winter on Jabal al-Shaykh.

Syrians are experiencing a period of euphoria after the downfall of Bashar Assad’s government.  

“Due to what is happening in Syria, there is a huge security importance to our holding of the Hermon peak and everything must be done to ensure the IDF’s preparations in the area, to allow the troops to stay there in the difficult weather conditions,” Israel Katz said in a statement. 

Israel had already declared that its military presence in Syria would be temporary with the aim of ensuring that the regions adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights are not exposed to any potential security threats.

Israel’s ground offensive in Syria is in violation of an agreement signed between the two sides in 1974.

Israel’s aggression on Syria has been met with strong reaction. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been “deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

“The secretary-general is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli air strikes on several locations in Syria, stressing the urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country,” Dujarric said. 

                               

  Israeli war minister Israel Katz ordered the military to prepare to stay atop the Syrian side of Mount Hermon during the coming winter months.

Several countries including Iran have condemned the Israeli aggression against Syria. 

Unsurprisingly, the United States has thrown its full weight behind Israeli strikes and ground offensive in Syria. 

"What Israel is doing is trying to identify potential threats, both conventional and weapons of mass destruction, that could threaten Israel, and, frankly threaten others as well," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told a press conference in Tel Aviv following a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sullivan tries to justify Israel’s attacks in Syria under the pretext of eliminating weapons of mass destruction. But he has failed to provide any evidence to back up his claim about the existence of such weapons. 
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made similar comments. 

"The stated purpose of those actions by the Israelis is to try to make sure that the military equipment that's been abandoned by the Syrian army doesn't fall into the wrong hands -- terrorists, extremists, et cetera. But we'll be talking -- we're already talking -- to Israel,

we're talking to others, about the way ahead," Antony Blinken said on a visit to Jordan on Thursday. 

The top US diplomat has traveled to the region for the 12th time since Israel launched its war of genocide on Gaza in October 2023.

Blinken also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara on the second leg of his regional tour to discuss ongoing developments in Syria. 

                                   

  The US has defended Israel’s airstrikes and ground offensive in Syria. 

“Our country worked very hard and gave a lot over many years to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS (ISIL), to ensure that that threat doesn’t rear its head again,” Blinken said after meeting Fidan. 

Blinken stressed the importance of supporting a Syrian transition in the wake of Assad’s downfall. 

Both the United States and Israel stand accused of supporting terrorists who committed heinous crimes after the 2011 Arab Spring in Syria. 

Now, Blinken claims that the US wants to prevent ISIL from raising its ugly head. 

On the one hand, the US has designated ISIL and HTS as terror groups, and on the other hand it aids and abets them. 

The HTS is a rebrand of the Nusra Front that was founded by ISIL more than 10 years ago and later pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. The Nusra Front severed its connections with al-Qaeda in 2017 and subsequently rebranded itself as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). But the ideology of the HTS is fundamentally based on the principles espoused by terrorist organizations.

According to revelations by Israeli and American media in 2015, the Tel Aviv regime had also provided treatment to terrorists who had been wounded in fighting against the Syrian government. 

The United States and Israel handed over Syria to the HTS. But Israel is destroying Syria’s military infrastructure to prevent the rebels from launching any potential attacks against the regime. 

On Friday, a large number of people in Syria held celebrations amidst the first Friday prayers after Assad’s fall.  But their elation will soon wear off when they wake up to the fact that Israel and the HTS are transforming Syria into a vassal state. 

Undoubtedly, resentment against Israel will grow in Syria over the occupation of the country. 

Besides, discontent will start to boil once Syrians realize that they have lost the benefits they previously enjoyed under the Assad government.

Sooner or later, growing discontent in Syria could spread like a tsunami, at the speed of light, that will engulf rebels and their backers.