Israel Shores Up Golan Force With Eye on Hezbollah

Sees Syrian War Eventually Spilling Over

Though Israeli officials concede that at present the situation in the Syrian portion of the Golan Heights isn’t particularly threatening to them, the influx of Israeli tanks along the frontier is in anticipation of a spillover.

Specifically, the Israeli vision is that Hezbollah fighters, who have joined Syria’s civil war on the side of the government, will eventually cross the ceasefire line into the Israeli-occupied portion of the heights.

Hezbollah’s leadership has presented that as a goal, but so far the group appears to be focused on fighting Sunni Islamist factions along the Lebanese border and into the northern portion of the country.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been quick to pledge eventual moves on Israel, but this may have been to sell the Syria intervention to his group, as many in the Lebanese militia are said to be concerned that the Syria war will distract from the force’s ability to thwart Israeli invasions of southern Lebanon.

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.