[This is the seventh part of a nine-part series. To read more, see Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 here.]

Israel has always considered Syria a militant, very pro-Arab, brutal country, but stable under its Assad family dictatorship. Simply put, Israel sees Syria as a danger to its existence. While Israeli intelligence services often criticize the West for not understanding the Middle East, they themselves have also been wrong about Syria. Even under the Soviet umbrella, former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad kept Syria out of wars with Israel and only provoked the rival state from behind the veil of terrorist groups.

Israel avoids Syrian war

When the Soviet Union began to collapse in 1991, Syria entered peace talks with Israel via the Madrid Peace Conference. Its willingness to engage came as a surprise for the West and Israel themselves. The talks over the years ended with little change. In 2011, Syria became embroiled in its civil war.

Israel did not get involved in this war. It held the Golan Heights as it had for many years, and it kept its head down. The Israeli government did not want to repeat the same mistake it had with Lebanon, when it became mired in the 1982 Lebanon War for 18 years before withdrawing in 2000.

The Assad regime collapsed in December 2024. Israel remains as uninvolved in Syria as possible. Israel protects the Golan Heights area but is also committed to defending the Druze community in southern Syria if necessary.

[Will Sherriff and Lee Thompson-Kolar edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article/video are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.