Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

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Israel ‘to allow’ Syrian forces into Suwayda area for next 48 hours: Israeli official

An unnamed Israeli official has told reported that Israel “has agreed to allow limited entry of the [Syrian] internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours” due to the ongoing instability in southwest Syria.

It comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s policy going forward will be to “not allow Syrian army forces to enter the region south of Damascus”.

Earlier this week, Israel launched air attacks on Suwayda and the capital, Damascus, where it targeted the Defence Ministry and areas near the presidential palace.

Israeli authorities say they intervened to protect the Druze community and to ensure the southern area is demilitarised after fighting between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes erupted on Monday. But leading analysts in Israel have suggested the attacks may not have been entirely motivated by concern for the welfare of the Druze, so much as the personal and political aims of the Israeli government and its embattled prime minister.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday condemned the Israeli air attacks, saying Israel was seeking to turn his country into a “theatre of endless chaos”, as he pledged to protect all communities in Syria.

Israeli intervention a challenge to Syrian government

Many Syrians who you speak to are concerned about Israel’s intervention in the situation in Suwayda, and the threats it poses to national unity and the government’s efforts to extend its authority across the country.

Israel is calling the shots in many ways. Just two days ago, it blew up the Syrian Defence Ministry. It has been targeting government forces across southern Syria, and ordered the Syrian government to withdraw its forces from the south or it would face further attacks.

There’s a concern that Israel’s actions, which it claims are on behalf of Suwayda’s Druze community, will affect two of the key challenges facing Syria’s new government: Extending its authority across the country, and reaching out to Syria’s minorities, whether Druze, Alawite or Kurds.

They have to try to rebuild a nation, a country with deep-seated animosities after 14 years of war and decades of al-Assad rule, which pitted communities against each other.

There are concerns about the possibility of division, and many, including the Syrian president himself, blame Israel for trying to sow it.

Why is Israel ‘allowing’ Syrian security forces to enter Suwayda?

Labib al-Nahhas, a Syrian political analyst, says Israel has agreed to “allow” local security forces to enter Suwayda for 48 hours to prevent more violence between the Bedouins and the Druze as more Bedouin tribes are expected to join the fighting in the south following abuses there.

“After the Israeli strikes against Damascus and other areas in the south of Syria, the militias of Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, the main Druze spiritual leader, took control over Suwayda, but they committed the big mistake of committing crimes and violations against the Bedouin tribes and families,” al-Nahhas told Al Jazeera.

“[In a] traditional kind of practice within tribes – which are a very important part of the social structure in Syria – Bedouins in the southern part of Syria called for the assistance of other Syrian tribes,” he said, adding that the past 24 hours saw an outpouring of forces coming from all over the country to fight al-Hajari’s forces.

“So at the moment, [Israel’s] game is not going in the direction that they wanted, their allies are under threat, so they need to intervene and the middle ground solution … is to allow in security forces – not the army, security forces – for a limited period of time to prevent clashes between the Bedouins and the Druze.”