Syria must put an end to Israel's incursions - and fast | Opinion by David Hearst

David Hearst, editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye, says that Israel is the greatest obstacle to a unified, sovereign and independent Syria. Despite repeated efforts by the Syrian government to avoid conflict, Israel has interpreted these peace overtures as weakness, responding with increasingly aggressive actions. Hearst added that before Bashar al-Assad’s downfall seemed inevitable, Israel had planned to divide Syria into three regions: the Kurds in the north, the Druze in the south and Bashar al-Assad in charge of a rump Alawite state, funded by the Emiratis. However, when Assad struggled against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Israel shifted to an alternative strategy. It unilaterally declared support for the Druze and Kurds while Israeli jets launched relentless air strikes, crippling Syria’s navy and heavy weaponry - attacks that continue today. Recently, Netanyahu has demanded the complete demilitarisation of southern Syria, an ask that may not even represent the full extent of Israel’s military ambitions, David suggests. But who is Israel to dictate the future of its neighbour? David argues that Israel’s actions are not rooted in any Biblical claim to the land but in the exercise of brute force. Israel is acting not as a small state, but as a regional hegemon, David says. It has to be faced down in Syria - and soon. Support stories that matter. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR0fZh5SBxxMNYdg0VzRFkg/join Subscribe to our channel: http://ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: https://t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG Middle East Eye Website: https://middleeasteye.net Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@middleeasteye Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/MiddleEastEye Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/MiddleEastEye Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye