Syrian-Israeli Peace and Hezbollah's Stance Amid Regional Conflicts

A report by Bassam Abou Zeid, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine

On May 31, 1974, Syria and Israel signed a disengagement agreement following the October 1973 War, which resulted in the occupation of the Golan Heights.

Since then, the Syrian-Israeli front has remained calm, with only occasional incidents that did not threaten the agreement. In contrast, there have been numerous confrontations between the two sides in Lebanon, most notably in 1981 and 1982 during the Israeli invasion, while the Golan front remained quiet.

 

This calm persisted before the Syrian war; even when Israel destroyed what it claimed was a nuclear reactor being built in Deir ez-Zor, Damascus did not retaliate.

The calm continued during the Syrian war, despite Israel targeting Syrian territory multiple times, most recently less than a month ago, when it attacked Syrian army positions in the Golan and held the regime responsible for any strikes originating from Syrian territory.

Since the outbreak of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, there have been questions about Syria's stance on the war and the possibility of opening a supporting front from the Golan. However, this has not happened, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly stated that Syria's conditions do not allow it to participate in this war.

Hezbollah explains that the current war is one of support, where each party can participate as it sees fit, while a full-scale war would involve Iran and Syria as direct participants. 

Hezbollah states that the resistance axis relies entirely on Iranian political, military, and financial support, and Tehran has decided to retaliate against any attack. 

Regarding Syria, Hezbollah's sources describe it as the vital artery for resistance in Lebanon. There are armed factions on Syrian territory conducting operations against Israel by launching some drones, despite the Turkish and US occupations in Syria and ongoing clashes between extremist groups and the Syrian army from Damascus to Idlib.

Moving Syrian forces to the Golan front would practically allow these groups to regain control over other areas in Syria.

Hezbollah acknowledges that Lebanon's situation is not better than Syria's and that it has waged a war against Israel in anticipation of a potential attack on Lebanon if Israel defeats the resistance in Palestine. Sources confirmed that while Hezbollah remains mindful of Lebanon's and the Lebanese people's conditions, it will not stand idly by in the face of Israeli aggression.