We say: yesterday Idlib, today Damascus, tomorrow Jerusalem!
by Michael Pröbsting, Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 10 December 2024, www.thecommunists.net
Since the glorious Syrian Revolution succeeded in overthrowing the Assad tyranny, Israel has escalated its aggression. [1] Israeli air force attacked more than 250 military targets across Syria over the past 48 hours. “This is one of the largest offensive operations in Air Force history,” Israeli military radio Galei Tzahal reported. [2]
Furthermore, the Israeli army deployed troops to the buffer zone on the border between Israel and Syria. Israel’s 210th “Bashan” Regional Division, took over the entirety of the Golan, including the Syrian side of the Mount Hermon summit. According to local sources, reported by the Lebanese Al Mayadeen, “Israeli tanks are now positioned 3 km away from the city of Qatna in the capital’s countryside, nearly 20 km away from Damascus. Moreover, Israeli forces have occupied several towns and villages, including Aarna, Baqa’sm, al-Reemeh, Hinah, Qal’a, Jandal, al-Husseiniyah, Jita, and al-Khashab in the southern countryside of Damascus.” [3]
While the United Nations and several Arab countries immediately denounced this blatant aggression and land grab, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that the Golan Heights would remain permanently under Israeli control.
Israel’s interests
The reasons for the Zionist aggression are obvious. First, as a colonial settler state, Isreal is, and has always been, expansionist and tries to expel the Arab people from their land. It did so in 1948, in 1967, in 1973, in 1982 and today in Gaza. There will be no peace as long as the Zionist terror state continues to exist.
Secondly, Israel fears that a Syria under control of the rebels will be more dangerous than under Assad. Already before the successful overthrow of the tyrant, various Israeli officials stated their preference for Assad staying in power. Eliyahu Yosian, former member of the notorious Israeli 8200 Intelligence Unit, said: “We must support Assad; keeping him in power aligns with Israel’s interests. Assad is a weak guy serving our interests. We must support Assad’s existence.” [4] And Israeli state-owned KAN reported that despite labeling Assad as a “brutal dictator,” the U.S. seems to prefer his regime’s stability over the chaos of uncontrolled armed factions. [5]
Israel’s reasoning is no surprise since Syria under the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad never fired a single shot against the settler state.
Now, with the rebels in power, the Zionist state wants to weaken its enemies as much as possible. The Israeli outlet ynet, affiliated with newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth – one of the largest in the country – reports today: “Israel has seized the historic opportunity after the fall of the Assad regime, to destroy the last remaining advanced weapons systems on its borders. (…) According to estimations the Syrian air force could be destroyed within days and would not fall into the hands of the rebels. Air defenses including surface to air missile systems have also been put out of commission, solidifying Israel’s air superiority.” [6]
And the Times of Israel, another big mainstream newspaper, writes “that if the strikes continue at their current pace, officials believe the Syrian Air Force will be all but destroyed in a matter of days, ensuring that the rebel groups, and any future government, will not be able to threaten Israel from the air.” [7]
The Putinist smear of the rebels as “proxies” of Israel and the U.S.
All this demonstrates how silly the smears of the pro-Assad and pro-Putin propagandists – parroted by their Stalinist friends around the world – have been who denounce the rebels as “proxies” of Israel and the U.S. If their so-called “proxies” have come to power, why on earth would Israel intensify its aggression against Syria?! Clearly these people live in a parallel universe … or took too many of Assad’s Captagon pills! [8]
It is a particular shame that the YPG – the self-proclaimed leadership of the Kurdish minority in Syria – has turned to Israel to build an alliance against the rebels. According to the Jerusalem Post – an English-language mainstream Israeli newspaper – “representatives of the Syrian Kurds have appealed to Israeli officials seeking assistance and protection. (…) Israel, which views the Kurdish community as a friendly and Western-oriented entity, has been working with Western countries since the beginning of the current campaign to ensure the security of the Kurds within the emerging new reality in Syria. The current situation, including the victory of Sunni jihadists and the intensification of the civil war, creates security and political uncertainty.” [9]
It is obvious that the YPG leadership which has collaborated closely with U.S. imperialism, and which now reaches out to Israel, does not represent the authentic interests of the Kurdish masses! [10]
Let’s be clear: Israel is the enemy of the Syrian people. We have no doubt that the Syrian masses will defend their homeland against the Zionist aggressors, reclaim the Golan Heights and aid the heroic Palestinian people in liberating their land.
A commander of the rebels certainly expressed the feelings of many Syrians when he proclaimed in the famous Umayyad Mosque: “This is the land of Islam, this is Damascus, the Muslim stronghold. From here to Jerusalem. We’re coming for Jerusalem. Patience, people of Gaza, patience!”. [11]
Yesterday Idlib, today Damascus, tomorrow Jerusalem!
