There have actually been attempts to establish peaceful relations between the two countries, but negotiations have always deteriorated. As recently as , the U. If you're interested in learning more about that, check out this piece by Max Fisher in Vox, where he poses the question: Could a peace treaty between Syria and Israel have prevented the Syrian civil war? I never predicted the brutality that would come from inside.
Iran rejects Israel's right to exist, considering it an illegitimate occupier of Muslim land. Israel sees Iran as a threat to its existence and has always said Iran must not get a nuclear weapon.
Its leaders are worried by Iran's expansion in the Middle East. Israel has watched anxiously as its neighbour Syria has been consumed by war since Israel has stayed out of the fighting between the Syrian government and rebels. But Iran has played a bigger and bigger role backing Syria's government by sending thousands of fighters and military advisers.
Israel is also worried that Iran is trying to secretly send weapons to fighters in Lebanon - Israel's neighbour - who also threaten Israel. Israel's prime minister has repeatedly said that his country would not let Iran create bases in Syria which could be used against Israel.
So as Iran has become stronger in Syria, Israel has intensified its strikes on Iranian targets there. Iran has long backed groups which target Israel - such as Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas. Inside Syria, all but one Palestinian armed group have fought on the side of the regime as auxiliary militias.
These Palestinian pro-regime militias are responsible for grave human rights violations, including the siege of the Palestinian Yarmouk camp south of Damascus by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, which resulted in the death by starvation of dozens of people. A picture taken on October 26, shows wounded Syrian men sitting next to their mules after rriving at a meeting point with Israeli soldiers on Mount Hermon in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on the border line between Israel and Syria, before being transferred to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment.
Palestinian political parties and organizations such as Fatah, the PLO and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have either sided with the regime or remained silent about its crimes.
Hadi al-Abdullah, the most prominent Syrian opposition media activist, published a series of tweets criticizing Hamas. While lauding Israeli strikes on the regime, some Syrians were quick to clarify that this does not mean abandoning the Palestinian issue.
As prominent activist from northwestern Syria who fled the country to Turkey due to regime bombings and threats from a jihadist group wrote on Facebook,. Israeli assistance was initially quite controversial, with groups accusing one another of serving as Israeli agents by providing aid.
Jihadist groups are particularly opposed to such cooperation and have previously targeted suspected collaborators with Israel. Aid supplied for free from Israel is often sold by profiteers, but prices are still quite low. Others, however, are more critical, like the head of a humanitarian NGO operating in Syria. But this point of view is seen by many as outdated.
In addition to humanitarian aid, it was revealed that Israel was supplying military support as well, which is much more controversial. The imposition of no-fly zone or a safe zone would offer the hundreds of thousands of civilians residing in the area a sense of security from Assad regime and Russian strikes. Israeli officials, however, have consistently rebuffed pleas by Syrian opposition activists to implement such a plan in the past, and its execution may pit Israel against Russia, Iranian-backed militias and the Assad regime.
At the same time, even Syrians expressing admiration for Israel are quick to believe conspiracy theories about its motivations, plans and actions. Activists and rebels in southern Syria have accused Israel of foiling numerous offensive operations against the Assad regime, even operations during which Israel aided the rebels, such as the failed attempt to prevent the capture of besieged Beit Jinn by regime forces.
During a research trip to southern Turkey, I was peppered with questions from activists, rebel and community leaders about why Israel supports the Assad regime and prevents his removal.
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