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Israel Syria Demilitarisation Demand Escalates
On February 23, 2025, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu demanded Israel Syria demilitarisation, targeting southern Syria’s Quneitra, Deraa, and Suweida provinces. In a Sunday speech to military cadets, he barred Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)—the Islamist group that ousted Bashar al-Assad in December—and the new Syrian army from south of Damascus, vowing indefinite IDF presence in seized Syrian land. “We won’t tolerate threats to the Druze either,” he added, shifting from Israel’s prior “temporary” Golan Heights buffer zone stance. At 4:02 AM PST, February 25, this hardline pivot risks igniting conflict with Syria’s fledgling HTS-led interim government under Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Sharaa, pledging no conflict and upholding the 1973 disengagement deal, insists Syria won’t attack Israel, urging IDF withdrawal from the buffer zone—annexed by Israel in 1967, US-recognized in 2019. Netanyahu’s distrust, aired Sunday, deems HTS’s jihadist roots a danger akin to pre-Assad extremists. Monday’s Quneitra protests met his words with fury, signaling Syrian defiance. Israel’s move, post-Assad’s fall, swaps a “secure the Golan” rationale for a broader control grab, flexing muscle as Iran and Russia fade, Turkey rises, and Trump’s US may disengage—per posts on X reflecting regional shifts.
Israel Syria Demilitarisation: Stakes for Sharaa
Israel Syria demilitarisation tests Sharaa’s vision of a sovereign, unified Syria free of foreign sway—vital after years of civil war. Netanyahu’s ban on Syrian forces in their own south, plus IDF strikes on Assad’s old arsenal, chafes Damascus’s non-confrontational facade. Turkey’s HTS backing looms large—its role could shape Syria’s post-Assad path. For more, visit BBC or Kenkou Land.
Main Body: A Fragile Peace at Risk
Today, February 25, 2025, at 4:02 AM PST, Israel Syria demilitarisation demand stirs a hornets’ nest. Netanyahu’s Sunday call—Quneitra to Suweida emptied of HTS or new Syrian troops—escalates from a Golan buffer grab (400 sq km per X posts) to a permanent foothold, defying Sharaa’s peace overtures. The 1973 deal’s buffer, UN-patrolled till Assad’s fall, now hosts IDF indefinitely—Netanyahu’s “indefinite” vow jars with Sharaa’s “withdraw” plea. Quneitra’s Monday protests, captured by Getty, shout rejection; Syria’s 5% global rare minerals (per Kyiv estimates) tempt Trump’s $500 billion aid-for-assets push, muddying waters.
Russia and Iran wane—Putin’s Monday mineral offer to the US (state TV) pivots from 2023’s “West wants our wealth” rant. Turkey’s HTS lifeline grows; the US, under Trump, may ditch Kurdish north-east allies—Sharaa’s sovereignty dream teeters. Israel’s strikes and troop creep—post-Assad chaos—mock his unify-Syria pitch to a war-torn nation. At 4:02 AM PST, Netanyahu’s gambit risks war—HTS, squeezed, may ditch its moderate mask. Will Syria stomach this, or flare? A new leadership’s test begins—peace hangs by a thread.