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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria on Sunday, arguing it was a “direct result” of Israeli attacks on Iran and Hezbollah.
Netanyahu made the remarks in a public speech shortly after the news broke Assad had fled Damascus Saturday night with his family. Islamist rebels took control of the city on Sunday. Netanyahu warned that the fall of the Assad regime is nevertheless “fraught with significant dangers”.
“This is a historic day for the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but is also fraught with significant dangers. This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, the Assad government. It caused a chain reaction of all those who want to be freed from this tyranny and their oppression,” Netanyahu said.
Syrian dictator Bashar Assad flees into exile as Islamic rebels conquer the country
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a televised statement Nov. 26 in Jerusalem. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)
The israeli leader he also noted that the fall of the Syrian regime also prompted action by the Israel Defense Forces, which were forced to take positions abandoned by the Syrian army near the border with Israel.
“But it also means that we have to take action against potential threats. One of them is the collapse of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria. That agreement lasted for 50 years. Last night it went collapse,” he continued. . “The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We ordered the Israeli army to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile forces are embedded right next to Israel’s border . This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”
Opposition fighters remove a government flag from an official building in Salamiyah, east of Hama, Syria, on Saturday, December 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Netanyahu closed by offering a “hand of peace” to the people of Syria, including “Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel.”
Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks to The Associated Press at the presidential palace in Damascus, Sept. 21, 2016. (AP/Syrian Presidency)
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“Also, we send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria: the Druze, the Kurds, the Christians and the Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel. We will follow the events. If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that is our desire, but if we do not, we will do whatever is necessary to defend the State of Israel on Israel’s border,” Netanyahu concluded.
