Is Israel Happy With The Collapse Of Bashar Al Assad's Regime In Syria?

The ousted Syrian president Bashar Al Assad and his family arrived in Moscow on Sunday (8/12/2024), where Russia offered them asylum, according to reports from the Russian state news agency. (ANTARA/Anadolu/py)

JAKARTA On Sunday (8/12/2024) early morning local time, opposition forces declared Syria free from the rule of President Bashar Al Assad. The former president has reportedly left Damascus, and is now in Moscow, where Russia offers asylum to them.

The collapse of the Al Assad family power after more than 53 years is considered a historic moment. Just a few weeks ago, this regime was still in control of the country, but now everything has changed.

On November 27, the opposition fighting coalition launched a massive attack against pro-government forces. The first attack took place on the front lines between the opposition-cured Idlib and neighboring province of Aleppo. Three days later, opposition fighters seized Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo.

Now, after the former president fled Syria, Israel is said to have been secretly pleased with the fall of the Al Assad regime.

The Assad family is known to have ruled Syria for more than 50 years with iron hands. Bashar Al Assad only became president after the death of his father, Hafez, in 2000. Bashar was previously an eye doctor studying in London and he had no interest in politics.

His father actually expected Bashar's brother Bassel, as the next president. But he died in an accident in 1994 and Bashar was asked to return to Syria after that, prepared as the successor to the Assad dynasty in Syria.

In order to occupy the presidency, parliament must lower the minimum age limit for candidates, from the previous 40 to 34 years. Bashar also managed a referendum with more than 97 percent of the votes in which he was the only candidate.

Initially Bashar, known as a quiet man, raised hopes of reform, but it turned out that his government was very similar to his father's authoritarian government for 30 years.

Bashar Al Assad's government has political and military support from Russia and Iran, as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah group backed by Tehran. But on November 27, militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and their allied rebel factions launched a massive attack in northwestern Syria.

In a short time the rebels seized Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, then moved to the capital of Damascus after the military fell.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed that Syria and other security forces withdrew from Damascus's international airport after Bashar Al Assad reportedly fled Syria.

Although his whereabouts were unknown, Al Assad is currently in Russia, where he has asylum. This was reported by Russian state media, citing a Kremlin source.

The Syrian president, Assad, has arrived in Moscow. Russia granted asylum to him and his family on humanitarian grounds," Reuters said.

Along with the news of his resignation, some people gathered on the streets of Damascus to celebrate the collapse of the Assad regime. rebel commander Anas Salkhadi assured the Syrian religious and ethnic minority by saying: Syria is for everyone, without exception. Syria is for the Druzes, Sunni, Alawi, and all sects.

"We will not treat people like the Assad family did," he added, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

The fall of the Assad rezmin is said to be good news for Israel. In an interview with Al-Jazeera, executive vice president atwakilan Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Trita Parsi, said Israel was secretly pleased with Bashar Al Assad's official fall.

"On the one hand, it is very positive for them to give a significant blow to Iran, to Iran's access to Lebanon, and to the axis as a whole. But on the other hand, what will happen next?" Parsi said at Doha Forum.

Indeed, the Israeli government prefers Al Assad over the opposition because its government is not a threat to Israel. However, Parsi suspects that in recent months Israel's perspective has shifted. However, Parsi noted this is not a scenario that makes Israel feel completely comfortable.

What is clear is that they are taking advantage of it because they are building a buffer zone. There is no objection from the international community, there is no objection from the United States. However, it doesn't seem like it will happen without the newly questioned Syrian government," he said.

Regarding the possible position of HTS and other opposition groups towards Palestine, Parsi said the people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank as a whole strongly sympathize with the Syrian revolution.

"The idea that this new Syrian government suddenly pretended to be a Palestinian problem is not one of the most important issues driving the entire Middle East, I think it's shocking. I absolutely don't believe it might happen."

So what will happen next in Syria? Wait and see, so observers say. Some analysts say there are many possibilities to occur in Syria, as there is also a number of possible traps if various parties do not cooperate.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali in a video circulating stated that his cabinet was ready to "take his hand" to the opposition and hand over its function to the transitional government.

"This country can be a normal country that builds good relations with its neighbors and the world, but this problem depends on the leadership chosen by the Syrian people," al-Jalali said in a speech broadcast on his Facebook account.

Meanwhile HTS leader Mohammed al-Jolani said in a statement on social media that public institutions would remain under the supervision of the prime minister until they were officially handed over.