Israeli escalation in southern Syria, Palestinian issue top newspaper

Arab newspapers published this morning monitored Netanyahu’s “visit” to southern Syria, and warned of the future of the West Bank after the Gaza war.

Netanyahu’s messages from southern Syria

The Emirati newspaper Al-Khaleej focused on the “visit” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to southern Syria, describing it as a dangerous message addressed to Syria and the region.

The newspaper said that “the Israeli incursion into vast Syrian territories after the fall of the previous regime represents a blatant violation of international law and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.”

It pointed out that Netanyahu seeks to exploit the Druze issue in Sweida under the pretext of “protection,” in order to establish a new security reality that allows Israel to intervene directly in southern Syria, in a manner similar to what is happening in southern Lebanon. The paper argued that Israel seeks to draw new maps that align with the ‘New Middle East’ project, at a time when there is “no Israeli readiness to support negotiations that guarantee the sovereignty of Syria and Lebanon or withdrawal from occupied lands.”

Damascus’ openness to a proposal to deploy Russian forces in southern Syria provokes Tel Aviv

Meanwhile, Al-Arab wrote: “Damascus’ openness to a proposal submitted by Moscow to redeploy Russian military police forces in southern Syria has stirred Israel’s anger. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, one day after a controversial visit he paid to the buffer zone, accompanied by Defence Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.”

This is the first time Netanyahu publicly takes a position regarding the proposal to deploy Russian forces in the border area. Sources had previously revealed that Russia presented a proposal to deploy elements of its military police as separation forces between Syria and Israel.

After the Gaza war… the West Bank

For its part, Al-Bayan warned of the state of boiling tension in the West Bank, despite the world’s preoccupation with the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

It relied on Western reports, most notably The New York Times, which documented the rise in settler attacks on Palestinians, in a manner that portends forced displacement and demographic change.

The newspaper pointed out that far-right governments in Israel, led by Minister Bezalel Smotrich, are pushing toward enforcing a settlement reality that prevents the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state, through land confiscation and accelerating approvals for new settlement units.

The paper concluded that the continuation of these policies will lead to a new explosion in the West Bank and undermine any prospect of a just peace, as “the small spark today may turn into a wide regional fire.” 

A-H 

ANHA