Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a clear signal of Israel’s disquiet about the cease-fire just after it was announced. His office released a public statement laying out Israel’s “red lines” in Syria. Any deals, he said in remarks to his Cabinet: 1) Have to keep Iran and Hezbollah away from Israel’s Golan border; 2) Must prevent “the establishment of an Iranian military presence in Syria as a whole”; 3) Must block any attempt by Hezbollah to acquire “precision weapons.” This statement has raised the stakes for Jerusalem, as Israeli leaders do not usually speak about red lines.
There are two budding developments that worry the Israelis. One, the development of a land bridge organized by Iran that goes through Syria and threatens Israel. Two, the building of underground rocket factories for Hezbollah by Iran in Lebanon.
The impending fall of Mosul and Raqqa potentially opens the way for Iran to have a land bridge that sets up a confrontation between Iran and Israel. To keep the land bridge from becoming a reality requires cooperation between Russia and the US; a development that is opposed by Democrats and the Media. The Democrats regard Israel as no longer a friend (I. e.; not a Socialist outpost) which was at the root of Obama's anti-Israel stance. Nothing in the Middle East is easy and simple.
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