Jordan Agrees: Israel Can Use Airspace to Attack Syria

Deal Will Allow Israel to Avoid Lebanon Overflights

In a deal that will allow Israel to stop violating Lebanese airspace on a regular basis (if they do is another matter), Jordan has agreed two open two airspace corridors to Israeli planes and drones through their country.

The two corridors are meant to give Israel access to Syria for the purposes of drone surveillance, but Jordan has also agreed that Israel can use them to attack Syria in the future if they choose.

The deal reportedly came at the behest of US President Barack Obama, who pressed Jordan’s King to allow Israel the access. Jordan has also been hosting a growing US military presence along the Syrian border, currently focused on training rebels but also with an eye on a ground invasion to “secure” Syria’s chemical weapons.

Previous Israeli attacks on Syria have used southern Lebanon’s airspace, though naturally without the Lebanese government’s permission. Such overflights have been a regular source of condemnation from UN troops deployed to southern Lebanon to oversee the periods between Israeli invasions.

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.