An Israeli source said that Israel is holding indirect talks with the Syrian rebel groups who captured Syria in recent days, Arutz Sheva reported on Monday.
The communication is being carried out via the Druze populations in Israel and Syria, the Kurdish population, foreign intelligence organizations, and the US.
“There is someone to speak to on the other side and messages were passed,” the source said, adding that Israel plans to continue carrying out airstrikes throughout Syria to destroy weapons caches from the Assad regime.
The source also said that the US has been informed of Israel’s actions and is fully supportive.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held a press briefing on Monday and confirmed the report to foreign reporters, saying that Israel has been in contact with several Syrian rebel groups in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime.
Sa’ar emphasized that Israel’s only focus regarding the developments in Syria is maintaining “the security of Israel and its citizens.”
Sa’ar also confirmed that the IDF has targeted “strategic weapons” throughout Syria, including chemical arms and long-range missiles, to prevent them from falling into the hands of extremist groups.
Sa’ar also explained that the IDF entered the buffer zone on the Israeli-Syrian border after observing militants attacking a UN position near the border.
“The decision to act was made to prevent an event like the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7,” Sa’ar said.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
Considering as Netanyahu made a barely veiled threat towards Assad during his Lebanon cease-fire speech, I’m not surprised that the Israelis have indirect or direct relationships with the rebels.
I’m not suggesting the IDF was directly behind the recent events in Syria, but if decades from now information regarding their involvement would come to light, I would hardly be surprised.
Also, bear in mind that while Assad fled to Russia upon being deposed, Putin has at least one contingency plan that would place Putin in Israel if he were deposed. He owns a compound in Caesarea for that purpose.