Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based Chatham House think tank, said Israel risked further isolation in the region and on the international stage as continues to face mounting condemnation over its deadly war in Gaza.
“Everyone knows that Israel is the … dominant military power of the Middle East, and it didn’t need to damage its legitimacy and credibility in Syria,” she said.
Fears of further violence
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington was “very worried” about the violence, calling it a “direct threat to efforts to help build a peaceful and stable Syria.” He said the Trump administration was in “constant talks” with Syria and Israel.
A defiant Sharaa said, according to a transcript from Reuters: “We are not among those who fear war. But we put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction.” He added that local factions and sheikhs had been assigned the responsibility of maintaining security in Sweida.
Sharaa has worked to shake off his jihadist past and build global confidence in his leadership. But this appears to be the most serious threat yet to the fragile control he holds over the country following dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted.
And Vakil said future flare-ups of violence felt inevitable.
“This is not over, unfortunately,” she said, adding that it would take a more “sustainable de-escalatory agreement” and robust efforts toward reconciliation and accountability to temper the possibility of further violence.
