Syrians Fear Israel Normalization Could Trigger Another Countrywide War

Many Syrians fear another country-wide war could erupt if the country’s new post-Assad rulers make peace with Israel through a normalization deal based on Trump’s Abraham Accords.

Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reports that normalization with Syria and Lebanon is on the table, as Prime Minister Netanyahu agrees with Washington on a hoped-for expansion of the Abraham Accords.

“Israel is interested in expanding the Abraham Accords circle of peace and normalization,” Saar said. Israel had already signed deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan – the result of Trump’s first term in office.

“We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors – to the circle of peace and normalization while safeguarding Israel’s essential and security interests,” Saar added.

PM Netanyahu himself has recently said that the June war with Iran had opened “the path to dramatically enlarge the peace accord.”

From a strategic point of view, Tel Aviv wants to isolate any Arab country which remains resistant and critical of its war in Gaza.

Going back to Hafez al-Assad who ruled Syria since 1970, Ba’ath-ruled Syria had long been Israel’s fiercest enemy and neighbor, with the two having fought several wars.

The average Syrian has long been hugely critical of Zionism and Israeli expansionism, particularly since it came under control of the Golan Heights.

Now under President Sharaa, hundreds of foreign jihadist groups are running around Syria, often persecuting Christians, Alawites, and Druze as Sharaa’s HTS government in Damascus turns a blind eye.

ISIS is also a continuing reality in parts of Syria – though Sharaa himself is ‘former’-ISIS, as are some government ministers and officials.

Strangely, or perhaps unsurprisingly given it was at one point a tool of the US regime change war on Damascus, the Islamic State has never really waged a terror war against Israel. The reality is that Israel was also a big player in the CIA’s regime change operations, dubbed ‘Timber Sycamore’.