Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with outgoing White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday in Jerusalem and noted the need to protect minorities — Christian, Druze, Kurds, and others — in Syria.
Netanyahu met with Sullivan for the first time since Syrian rebels ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad. The rebels are largely Sunni Muslims, and include many groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the so-called “Islamic State,” or ISIS.
While welcoming the demise of the Assad regime, an enemy of Israel that assisted Iran and Hezbollah, Netanyahu had earlier stressed both the “great opportunity” and the “significant dangers” present in the overthrow of the regime.
One danger is the threat to religious minorities — including the Assad family’s own Alawite group, and also to the small Syrian Christian community, as well as Kurdish communities in the north, and Druze communities in the west.
In a statement released by the Israeli Government Press Office, Netanyahu said that Israel and the U.S. should work together to ensure that these minorities do not fall victims to atrocities carried out by the rebels (emphasis added):
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Thursday, 12 December 2024), in Jerusalem, met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan; the two discussed regional developments, especially the reality-changing events in Syria.
Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear that Israel would do its utmost to defend its security against any and all threats; to this end, he ordered the IDF to temporarily take control of the buffer zone in Syria, until there is an effective force that will enforce the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.
The Prime Minister raised the issue of the vital need to assist the minorities in Syria and prevent terrorist activity against Israel from Syrian territory.
Israel has been attacking Syrian weapons stockpiles, conducting hundreds of air raids, naval strikes, and on-the-ground maneuvers to ensure that the resources of the Syrian military, especially chemical weapons, do not fall into rebel hands.
While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved troops into the former demilitarized zone with Syria, and onto the peak of Mount Hermon, it has also reportedly moved beyond those areas and deeper into Syrian territory.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
