Why does Trump wants Israel to withdraw from Syria, and what does it mean for the IDF? - analysis - Seth J. Frantzman

 

by Seth J. Frantzman

For Israel, there is no real strategic or tactical need to keep up the friction with Syrian villages along the buffer zone - and a re-think may be necessary in the future.

 

(L-R) Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the backdrop of Syrian and Israeli flags (illustrative)

(photo credit: REUTERS/KHALIL ASHAWI, Yair Sagi/POOL)

 

US President Donald Trump may be pressuring Israel to withdraw forces from several areas along the border with Syria, according to Axios.

“President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call Thursday that Israel should start redeploying its forces out of Syria and urged him to do the same in Lebanon, according to US and Israeli officials,” an Axios report by Barak Ravid noted on Tuesday.

This leads to questions about where Israel might shift forces and what areas are in the spotlight. To understand Israel’s current posture in Syria, it’s worth understanding how it got here.

Israel conquered the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War in 1967. After the Yom Kippur War in 1973 led to a ceasefire with Syria and Egypt, there was a new buffer zone created in the Golan between Israeli and Syrian forces. This led to a 1974 ceasefire line.

The line is not a simple line. It is actually several lines, one of which is called Alpha and another called Bravo.
In 2020, the IDF noted that “the Israel-Syria border consists of two lines which are separated by a 155-square-mile buffer zone. This buffer zone lies in Syrian territory and is monitored by the UN. To the east of it is the Bravo Line that signifies the end of the buffer zone and the beginning of Syria. To the west is the Alpha Line, where the UN buffer zone ends and Israel begins.”

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a bilateral meeting alongside the NATO leaders summit at the Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Israel's concerns about threats from Syria 

Therefore, we are actually talking about an area that is a long strip of land. There are Syrians who live along this line. During the Syrian civil war, Israel became more active along the Golan and reinforced its border fence while also providing food and medical care to Syrians. 

Seth J. Frantzman

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-902562

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter