As the war continues to escalate between Israel and Iran, a lot of nations are hoping to stay out of the fight. That doesn’t mean people don’t have an opinion on Israel’s attack last week, and indeed some nations are seeing it become a political issue, as they didn’t navigate the fallout well early on.
Syria is a prime example of this, as the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government has been entirely quiet on the conflict, to the point of not just not taking sides, but not even issuing a statement to condemn the Israeli use of Syrian airspace to carry out the attacks.
The Sunni HTS is not on good terms with Iran, and presented themselves as wanting a rapprochement with Israel, so this lack of comment is perhaps not entirely surprising. But Iraq was quick to issue a condemnation on the exact same grounds, and the lack of anything out of the HTS is suggesting acquiescence to some.
Israeli F-35 warplanes | Image is public domain
Locals are complaining that it gives the impression of Syria as “weak and powerless,” and the lack of even a tepid response points to a lack of any confidence on the international stage. Many are wanting them to coordinate with the Arab League or the European Union to advocate for peace.
Contrasting the Iraqi reaction, Syria has completely remained silent about the Israeli warplanes still flying back and forth overhead. But the HTS has also amassed some 3,000 troops at the Iraqi border, saying they’re meant to “deter” infiltration by Shi’ite militias from Iraq that are favorable toward Iran.
Iraqi officials downplayed the risk of any such incidents at the border. They also pointed out that at no point did Syria’s government even contact them to express such concerns, instead they just sent troops to the border.
Though the HTS has put considerable effort into improving their reputation with the West, both the actions they have taken over the conflict and those they haven’t take are raising questions with how well they’re going to ultimately be accepted within the region, as in trying not to take sides on the conflict by not saying anything, they’re giving the impression of taking sides.
