Communications

“It is not a new phenomenon that HTS is trying to present a moderate image. This trend has been seen since 2017 when they severed ties with Al Qaeda,” Carmit Valensi, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told JNS. ...Valensi provided a more pragmatic reading of the direction HTS is likely to go, saying, “More extremist elements in HTS have...

“After over a year of fighting on multiple fronts, Israel is concerned that the unrest in Syria could spill over into its territory. In response, it has taken preemptive measures, including intensifying aerial strikes to target strategic weapons and prevent them from falling into hostile hands. Additionally, Israel has seized control of a demilitarised buffer zone established...

C.V. : Que la transition actuelle ne soit qu’une façade, qu’on assiste à une résurgence de mouvements islamistes radicaux et à de nouvelles révoltes internes, ce qui risquerait de replonger la Syrie dans une fragmentation accrue, où chaque région fonctionnerait sous l’autorité de pouvoirs locaux distincts : les Kurdes dans le nord-est, les Druzes dans le sud, et la communauté...

Carmit Valensi, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Israel could be jeopardizing its chances of good relations with a historically hostile neighbor in favor of a short-term security boost. “It will be important for us to generate positive ties with positive communities in Syria near our border,” she said. If the temporary positions...

Chuck Freilich, former deputy national security adviser for Israel and a frequent Netanyahu critic, said Israel had a clear defensive imperative to secure Syrian military assets along the border. If the regime’s chemical weapons, missile stocks and aircraft fell into the wrong hands, they could pose a threat not just to Israel but to Jordan and other neighboring countries, he...