Syria is a brutal place, even today. Israel is wise to destroy weapons there.
Armed forces in Syria still loyal to the ousted Bashar al-Assad launched attacks on the new regime near Alawite strongholds two weeks ago. Reprisals by followers of the new regime ensured, including the murder of Alawite and Christian civilians.
If ever there were an unsympathetic religious minority, it is the Alawites. For 50 years they supplied the Hafez al-Assad and his son and successor Bashar al-Assad with the brutality that the Assads favored as their main means of maintaining power. When the Syrian civil war began in March, 2011, Bashar al-Assad killed hundreds of thousands of Syrian citizens. As often as not, the killers were Alawites.
It is entirely understandable that with the first show of armed resistance to the new rulers of Syria by forces loyal to the old Assad regime, the followers of the new regime would turn on the Alawites — understandable, but wrong. Civilians, be they Alawite or otherwise, are not legitimate military targets. Yet, they were targeted; apparently, Christians were too, and they too were unarmed civilians.
If evidence were still needed that Syria is a brutal place where violence erupts unpredictably, the events two weeks ago prove it.
These events also prove the wisdom in Israel’s insistence on destroying weapon depots throughout Syria. They could fall into the hands of hostile forces that could just as easily be turned on Israel as they were turned on Alawites and Christians.
We wish the new rulers in Syria the best of luck in establishing a free, peaceful democracy. But as far as Israel is concerned, trust and verify.
With the new Syrian rulers’ al-Qaida background, with the long history of state-sponsored brutality in Syria, with success of ISIS only a few years ago in establishing a terrorist state in Syria — remember, ISIS stands for “Islamic State in Syria” — and with Syria’s history of launching wars against Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973, and considering itself in a state of war with Israel to this day — Israel is fully justified in taking advantage of Bashar Assad’s fall to destroy any weapons Israel can find in Syria.
As if all the aforementioned elements in Syria’s brutal history were not enough to justify the Israeli attacks, Syria was the main route used by Iran to deliver weapons to Hezbollah. Those weapons — and weapon routes — are also wisely destroyed by Israel.
Hezbollah did not learn from its massive losses at the hands of Israel last September-November to lay down its goal of destroying Israel. Hezbollah did not sue for peace with Israel. Quite the contrary. It began to figure out how to rebuild. Israel would be derelict in protecting its national security if it did not destroy every weapon destined for Hezbollah that it could. Not to mention, every Israeli strike against Hezbollah is a strike against Iran.
Once again, the double standard in the international courts in the Hague and in many circles of public opinion is blatant. Some in Syria would destroy Alawites, which is genocide, while Israel would destroy weaponry, which is not genocide. Nor is it genocide for Israel to destroy Hamas’ weaponry. The only difference between Israel’s actions in Gaza and in Syria stem from the radically different internal responses there. Gazans have not yet learned that it is in their best interest to drive out Hamas. Syrians, on the other hand, have driven out Assad. It would be tragic indeed if, in the pursuit of a new Syria, the new rulers there turned on their own, just as Assad did.
Either way, Israel’s destruction of weaponry designed to harm its people is not genocide. Intent to destroy the Alawites is.
© IJN 2025
