Israel’s naked expansionism extends till the Euphrates

How far will Saudi Arabia and Iran remain impassive as the Syrian cauldron keeps boiling?

“We wake up the King of Jordan in the middle of the night to make him carry out our orders. Syria must be completely subordinate to us, as must Jordan, without any military capabilities. We will not allow a military force to emerge in Syria after Assad's fall. Damascus must be under full Israeli control, and we will ensure that it comes under our control. Syria is our bridge to the Euphrates, and in the future we will reach Iraq and Kurdistan.” These prophetic words in Hebrew appeared in a video footage on X last weekend attributed to no less than the Chairman of the Israeli Knesset National Security Committee Boaz Bismuth. 

The Euphrates is a hallowed river for Jews. It is cited over 50 times throughout the Hebrew Bible, a geographical reference that is part of the beginning and end of the world in scripture! In Genesis 2, the Euphrates River is described as one of the four rivers that flowed out of the Garden of Eden. 

In Deuteronomy 1, God promised to give the Israelites the land from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean Sea — ‘See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the LORD swore he would give to your fathers — to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — and to their descendants after them.’ 

Israel typically conjures up justification from the Hebrew Bible for its outrageous behaviour to seize land and water and holy places that rightfully belonged to others. But Bismuth couldn’t care less to ignore such amorphous moral, religious, or spiritual justification for his country’s objectives, which are purely geopolitical.  

To be sure, Israel intends to bring under its control the whole of Syria all the way up to the Iraqi border and Iraqi Kurdistan to gain control over the Euphrates, the longest river in Western Asia which originates in Turkey and flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris to reach Shatt al-Arab and empty into the Persian Gulf.

Bismuth is brutally frank to admit that the Israeli incursion into Syria ostensibly to create a buffer zone following the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad is in reality naked expansionism aimed at controlling that country which could solve many of the existential problems haunting Israel. By far the largest part of drinkable water in Israel, for instance, is being produced nowadays by desalination of seawater obtained from the Mediterranean Sea. Water from the Euphrates can solve the problem. Israel has realised that the international opinion has been largely indifferent to its land grab in Syria so far, and is no longer shy about admitting its maximalist intentions. 

Israel lost no time to destroy Syria’s military capability even as the regime change in December was playing out. Its calculations were spot on. Israel calculated that the ascendancy of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a coalition of northern Syria-based Sunni Islamist insurgent groups that evolved from Jabhat al-Nusra, or ‘Nusra Front’, al-Qaida's former branch in Syria, meant that Syria’s national unity would be irreparably damaged, given the country’s demography, sectarian divides, ethnic diversity, and, above all, its relatively recent origin of nationhood — having emerged as an independent country for the first time in October 1945.

Within a short period of three months, serious doubts have arisen not only about HTS’ governance capabilities but also its inability to manage Syria’s sectarian diversity. The brutal execution of hundreds of Alawites in cold blood in the most recent days in western Syria revives memories of jihadi ideologies associated with al-Qaeda and Islamic State, calling into question HTS’ self-projection as ‘born-again Muslims’ who parted with their beastly habits.

To be sure, resistance is inevitable. Reports suggest the formation of a new force called the Free Syrian Military Council. Internal divisions are deepening and feeding into the economic crisis, fuelling widespread discontent. HTS’ harsh security policies have inflamed social tensions, increasing the likelihood of further escalation. 

The return of proxy war seems a matter of time, now shifting the balance of power in favour of foreign actors. The cautious approach by Western media to HTS brutalities in Latakia and other areas (in the vicinity of the Russian bases) is ominous; so, indeed, HTS’ ambivalent stance toward Israel. Fortunately, US President Donald Trump, unlike his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, is yet to signal any desire to engage with HTS leadership, having instead stated that the US "should have nothing to do" with the internal conflicts of Syria. US Vice-President J D Vance too was notably suspicious of the HTS victory in December, likening it to past jihadi advances that resulted in horrific human rights abuses against minorities, particularly Christians. 

However, that is small comfort since the regional states are once again projecting power into Syria taking advantage of the retreat of Iran-supported militia groups and Hezbollah from the Syrian chessboard — especially, Turkey with its muscle power and Qatar with its seamless capacity to bankroll jihadi (mis)adventures. The known unknown is how far Saudi Arabia and Iran will remain impassive as the Syrian cauldron keeps boiling. The point is, the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement should remain the fulcrum for West Asia’s stability and it still needs consolidation. 

Suffice to say, the advantage goes to Israel as it is now well-placed to take advantage of the indifference of the big powers. The chaos that is descending on Syria will eminently suit Israel. To be sure, Bismuth felt emboldened to present the Israeli roadmap on a landscape where angels fear to tread.

(M K Bhadrakumar is a former diplomat.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.