BEGIN-SADAT CENTER
Israel and the Emerging Trends in Syria
Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen
February 4, 2025

…The Turkish orientation towards the leadership of [Syrian leader] al-Julani, leader of the rebels, warrants great concern. President Erdoğan has never hid his ambition to renew the Ottoman Empire. The prospect of an occupation of Damascus by Sunni Muslim forces has an exciting power that could reunify radical Islamic forces to the point of reestablishing an al-Qaeda state in Syria. The third purpose of the IDF’s operations in the region is to focus on these concerns. Meanwhile, under Erdoğan’s leadership, the Kurdish region east of the Euphrates River is under threat of a military attack meant to eliminate it. This will test the ability of the American administration to stand up for its Kurdish allies. READ MORE

JINSA No More Talk: It’s Time to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program But there have also been positive changes since Trump was last in the White House that make preventing a nuclear Iran much more feasible than perhaps any time before. Iran’s nuclear program now lies exposed and effectively unprotected thanks to Israel crushing Hamas, degrading Hezbollah and its rocket arsenal, demolishing Syria’s heavy weaponry, and wrecking Iran’s most capable air defense systems. Meanwhile, Israel’s defenses have held strong against repeated Iranian missile attacks, bolstered by American anti-missile batteries.

ASSOCIATED PRESS US draws ‘red line’ over including Hezbollah in Lebanon’s government, new envoy says A newly appointed U.S. envoy said Friday that she hoped Lebanese authorities were committed to making sure that the Hezbollah militant group isn’t a part of the new government in any form. Morgan Ortagus, a former U.S. State Department spokesperson and U.S. Navy Reserve officer, recently assumed the role of deputy special envoy for Middle East peace in President Donald Trump’s administration, replacing Amos Hochstein, who helped broker the ceasefire that ended the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah.