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At about one kilometer from the territory held by the Israelis, in a Syrian village on the edge of a yellowed valley, one can see a handful of tents, some planted in a grove of trees, d 39, others overflowing boxing classes.
The Syrians fled a punitive military attack from their own government while they were trying to annul an anti-regime rebellion – now in its eighth year – once and for all.
which separated Israeli and Syrian forces for decades in this ancient fortified war zone, one can see larger encampments, with hundreds of tents and caravan homes.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = " Recommended: Iranian-Israeli rivalry burns, Tehran's ties with Russia could be sung "data -reactid =" 14 "> Recommended: While the rivalry between Israel and Iran burns, Russia's ties with Tehran can be heard
Th The presence of these Syrians displaced in the interior of the country, under the watchful eye of the watchtowers and bases of the Israeli army, is visually striking and indicates a change of attitude at least temporary among Syrians. About 10,000 to 12,000 people fled to the door of Israel.
"We decided that the Israeli border was the safest," said one of them, a 29-year-old teacher named Mohammed. He made the trip to the border village of Al Briqa after his hometown of Daraa – a rebel stronghold where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011 – was attacked by forces Syrian landmines and Russian warplanes at the end of June. On Friday, the first ceasefire agreements were reached between Syria and the rebels in the Daraa region, prompting some civilians to return home. The government's assault sent about 300,000 people fleeing their homes, most of them flocking to Jordan and the Golan Heights. "We have seen how Israel has treated the Syrians over the last seven years, and the goodwill of the Israelis has encouraged us to come to the border," Mohammed told a group of journalists via Skype. "We know that Israel is a strong country and no one can attack Israel."
That Syrian civilians are turning to Israel for the shrine is just one example of how civil war has reshaped attitudes right here that it has changed the equilibrium power . With Russia and Iran on the side of the winners, there is also a new impetus for Israel to woo Russia and accept the political survival of Mr. Assad.
For Syrian civilians, the Golan border region is an attractive draw. -facto buffer zone. It is located in the demilitarized zone defined by the 1974 agreement ending the clashes between Israel and Syria that erupted during the Middle East war in 1973. And it remained calm during all these years, even if technically the nations remain at war.
The word of "Operation Good Neighbor" of Israel seems to spread, especially in southwestern Syria that extended beyond the territory in 1967. The policy was launched five years ago when the Syrian civil war did not seem to stop and Islamist militants among Syrian rebels could use the region to launch attacks on Israel.
Israel decided the best way to minimize this threat was to encourage villages and border towns to keep these elements at bay – first by offering humanitarian aid in the form of food, food and drink. gasoline and medical supplies, and then expanding this aid to the treatment of the wounded Syrian. To date, about 5,000 Syrians have been treated in Israeli hospitals.
But Israel decided to host refugees, citing potential security risks and fearing that this would set a precedent for refugees from the border.
Israel focuses on Iran
But far from the humanitarian drama on its doorstep, Israel's main concern as a Syrian war seems to end with Iran.
Iranians and their proxies – Lebanese Hezbollah and other imported Shi'ite forces have played a leading role in supporting the Assad regime, and Iranian forces are unlikely to leave Syria, warn Israeli experts, but will eventually find their way to the border with Israel
. The alleged targets of Iran, Israel reportedly sent its jets to hit Syria's T4 air base, which is used by Iran. The date of the latest strike, according to Israeli military analysts, seemed linked to a meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Moscow between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In addition, Israel said that a drone launched from Syria had been shot down Wednesday after entering several kilometers into Israeli airspace.
Israel asks Russia, which played a decisive role in overthrowing the Syrian civil war Assad and now acts as a power broker in the country, to ban Iran from Syria.
Most observers regard this demand as unrealistic and think that the most Israel can hope to negotiate would be that the Iranians are kept deeper in Syria. Israel's fear, says Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security advisor in Israel and lecturer at Harvard University's Belfer Center's international security program, is that Iran could launch missiles on Israel from the Syrian border. This would create the possibility of a three-front war with rocket fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
"I am normally the guy who says that Israel should cool it, we can take a defensive approach.But it's something that Israel can not tolerate, even the risk," said Mr. Freilich. In such a conflict, he says, "Israel will be hit in a way never before seen, with collapsed buildings and clogged roads" because everyone will leave the house to get out of his reach, and he will not be seen before. there will be no out of reach this time. you are going south of the Negev … it will be ugly. "
Assaf Orion, Reserve Brigadier General and Senior Scientist at the International Institute of Security Studies of Tel Aviv University, offers a more restrictive assessment, saying that he does not see "much appetite on any front" for the conflict soon. "All actors involved understand the consequences of a war," he says, "the grammar of violence is very limited right now "
THE RUSSIAN FACTOR
Seen from Israel, the Syrian conflict also plays a role in the complicated relationship between President Trump and Putin, who may point to Syria to assert that he foiled the United States, Israel's main ally
This reinforces Israel's interest in wooing Putin as he prepares for a civil war in Syria. that Russia has indicated that it will not drive Iran out of Syria, Orion says Moscow does not have been a bad address for requests from Israel.
"In Russia, we find a very interesting partner who is attentive to our needs, we can coordinate with them on certain issues, although they are not at all a strategic partner like the United States for us. "
That said, if Israel continues to strike Iranian targets in Syria, it will test Russia's patience, warns Moshe Maoz, a Syrian expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Israel must also determine the way forward with Assad, although Professor Maoz and others assume that the Syrian leader will have his hands full of power of reconstruction and consolidation. It will take years, if not decades, to rehabilitate the country.
There is no lost love between Israel and Assad. Israel considers him a war criminal, the man who used chemical weapons against his own people. But he is also the same leader who, before and during the civil war, kept the border with Israel quiet.
There is something, Moaz allows, with the adage: "Better the devil than you know."
WITH SYRIAN PATIENTS IN ISRAEL
Meanwhile, in the coastal city of Nahariya, in northern Israel, Syrians continue to encourage new attitudes
There are five years ago, the first Syrians wounded to wake up in Israeli hospitals were shocked and horrified. doctors remember, having grown on stories of Israel as a cruel enemy. But later, they returned home, after a series of complicated reconstructive surgeries to repair horrible war wounds, and told friends and neighbors of the excellent treatment they received in Israel, say Syrian patients in the hospital. treated the majority of Syrian wounded. Thirteen other Syrians arrived last week, all seriously injured in the latest round of fighting. The hospital currently treats 40 Syrian patients.
Eyal Sela, who directs the surgical division of the head and neck of the hospital, describes the sophisticated work involved in reconstructive facial surgery
. We will treat anyone who enters the hospital. We do not see nationality or religion, "he said at a press briefing." I'm not here to pamper you with clichés, but that's what we do. "
But he admits that there is another force that propels him.
"I do it for my future, for my children" Dr. Sela says. "If I can change the [attitudes] of Syrian people, I will do it. "
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