FSA Rebels Urge Israel to Impose No-Fly Zone Over Syria

Claims Intervention Would Win 'Hearts of All Syrians'

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the “vetted, moderate” rebels the US are constantly arming, but who are also allied with ISIS, have urged Israel to join in the Syrian Civil War by imposing a no-fly zone across the nation’s south.

“Israel has the opportunity to win the hearts of all Syrians, whom the entire world has forsaken,” declared the FSA commander, quoted in the Times of Israel, going on to assure Israel that the border with Syria would be secure post-Assad.

The reality, however, is that the Israel-Syria frontier is controlled almost entirely by al-Qaeda at this point, and analysts believe it will be only a matter of time before al-Qaeda starts attacking Israel across the Golan Heights.

Though Israel has long insisted it is neutral in the Syria War, they have attacked Syrian military targets in Golan repeatedly, including when they were fighting al-Qaeda forces in the recent takeover. It is hard to imagine, however, that the FSA narrative of Syrian gratitude for Israeli intervention will come to pass, particularly with al-Qaeda and ISIS in the rebellion’s driver’s seat.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.