Since 2013, Israel has quietly cultivated ties with factions of the Syrian opposition, weaving a complex web of alliances to advance its strategic aims in Syria and beyond.

According to Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), the recent offensive in Aleppo, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group with roots in Al-Qaeda, represents more than a battlefield victory for the Syrian opposition. For Israel, it could mark a critical step toward achieving its long-held strategic goals in the region, particularly cutting off Iran from its allies in Syria and Lebanon.

A recent Hebrew-language publication by the INSS outlined the potential fallout from the weakening or collapse of the Syrian government. The report predicted that such a shift would compel Iran to withdraw its forces from Syria, sever the supply route to Hezbollah through Iraq and Syria, and destabilize pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Most significantly, the analysis suggested Tehran would be forced to divert its focus toward securing its own borders, limiting its ability to retaliate against Israel.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News, a Syrian rebel officer made a bold declaration: if President Bashar al-Assad were overthrown, “peace and security with the entire region and with Israel” could become a reality. Former Israeli military intelligence officer Lt. Col. Mordechai Kedar added weight to this claim, revealing that he has maintained direct contact with Syrian rebels. “I passed on to senior officials in Israel a detailed list of equipment that they requested to receive from Israel,” Kedar stated. He claimed the rebels are prepared to sign a peace agreement with Israel—on one condition: they must first take control of Syria and Lebanon.

On Sunday, the Israeli military announced that its air force had conducted a mission over Syria to prevent an Iranian airliner from landing, alleging it was transporting weapons to Hezbollah. The operation, along with a series of airstrikes targeting the Syrian-Lebanese border, has been cited as evidence of Israel’s involvement in the conflict.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari delivered a sharp warning against Iran’s influence in Syria, vowing that Tel Aviv would act unilaterally to disrupt any weapons transfers into Syrian territory. The announcement came on the heels of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pointed remarks accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of “playing with fire.”

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source close to the Syrian leadership revealed to MintPress News that the United States had approached Damascus with an offer of sanctions relief. The proposal, tied to Syria’s participation in the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement, hinged on cutting off weapons supplies to Hezbollah. According to the source, Damascus rejected the overture outright.

Proxy Wars: From Medical Aid to Military Support

In 2014, it was revealed that the Israeli military had provided medical aid to fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra (now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) while the group controlled parts of the Golan Heights. This controversial decision sparked widespread criticism, given the group’s alignment with extremist ideologies and its later formal association with Al-Qaeda in Syria. In a 2016 interview, former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy defended the move, dismissing concerns about potential repercussions. “No, I don’t think so,” Halevy said when asked about the risks of blowback, adding, “Al-Qaeda, to the best of my recollection, has, up until now, not attacked Israel.”

Israel’s involvement with Syrian opposition groups extended far beyond medical aid. By July 2018, reports emerged that Israel had been covertly funding and arming as many as 12 opposition factions in Syria. Fighters aligned with these groups were allegedly paid a monthly salary of $75, with the explicit aim of advancing Israeli interests in the region.

A Wall Street Journal report revealed that Israel had been transferring at least $5,000 per month to Forsan al-Julan, a Syrian opposition group based in Quneitra, near the country’s southern border. Backed by Israel since 2013, Forsan al-Julan emerged as one of Tel Aviv’s early proxy organizations in the Syrian conflict. Its commander, Mu’atasem al-Julan, candidly acknowledged the group’s dependence on Israeli support, declaring, “Israel stood by us in a heroic manner. We would not have survived without its assistance.”

The majority of fighters receiving medical treatment from Israel in the Golan Heights were reportedly members of al-Nusra Front, a group with direct ties to al-Qaeda. In one notable instance, Israel allegedly opened its border gates to allow the militants access to its territory. A United Nations report, bolstered by the testimony of a journalist arrested while investigating the Israeli-al-Nusra connection, painted a picture of a significant partnership.

Al-Nusra, now operating under the name Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is currently leading the offensive against the Syrian army in Aleppo. During the Syrian war, the group was directly aided by Israel at a time when it was allied with ISIS—a collaboration that saw both groups working together to take control of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus.

During the early years of the Syrian war, the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC spearheaded a campaign to pressure policymakers in Washington to launch military strikes against Syria, explicitly aiming to achieve regime change in Damascus.

Israel’s long-standing ambition to establish a buffer zone extending into Syrian territory, even as far as Suwayda, has gained quiet support from the U.S. occupation of Syria’s southern al-Tanf province. Yet this expansionist vision has faced stiff resistance from the Druze-majority population in Suwayda, which remains staunchly aligned with the Syrian government. Still, the crippling economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and EU have destabilized the region, allowing Druze gangs to thrive on the profits of the narcotics trade.

In 2020, a new Druze-led group, the Syrian al-Liwa Party, surfaced under the leadership of Malek Abu Kheer. The organization presented a brazen plan to U.S. forces stationed in al-Tanf, proposing to overthrow Syrian government forces in the region and expel factions allied with Iran from the country’s southern territories.

In 2020, protests flared in Suwayda over government mismanagement, and Israel saw an opportunity to advance its ambitions in Syria. The unrest was used as a lever for Tel Aviv’s push to establish a “Druze self-administration” in the region. By 2022, Israel had sent Mowaffaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, to Moscow with demands for federalization. The gesture was clearly aimed not at supporting Druze aspirations but at dismantling Syrian sovereignty.

Israel’s support for Syrian opposition groups has been a consistent thread in its regional strategy since at least 2013. The rebels, in turn, have demonstrated a notable reverence towards Israeli interests. In a blatant display of this dynamic, militants in Idlib recently celebrated an Israeli bombing in Beirut that killed some 300 civilians. Holding up a placard written in Hebrew, they publicly expressed their gratitude to Israel for the attack.

Feature photo | A Syrian anti-government militant sits on an office chair posing for a picture at the Aleppo International Airport in Syria, Dec. 2, 2024. Omar Albam | AP

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show ‘Palestine Files’. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe’. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47

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