Israel
Netanyahu in first public rift with Donald Trump
The Israeli PM has hit out at the US President’s ceasefire deal over Syria
July 17, 2017 15:55
The Israeli PM has hit out at the US President’s ceasefire deal over Syria
July 17, 2017 15:55In a first open policy rift between the Israeli government and the Trump administration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel was opposed to the Russian ceasefire agreement in Syria, endorsed by the United States.
Mr Netanyahu told reporters on his visit to Paris that the agreement bolstered Iran’s military presence in Syria, including close to the Golan border with Israel.
Israeli generals and intelligence officials have been warning in recent weeks that Iran is entrenching its presence in Syria and has plans to construct its own air and sea bases in the country.
Iran-backed forces are currently mapping out their push towards the Euphrates Valley. This area, currently occupied by Isis, is a central link in the “Shi’a Crescent” — the land corridor connecting Iran, through Iraq and Syria, to Hezbollah’s strongholds on the Lebanese Mediterranean coast.
Israel fears that the ceasefire agreement, endorsed earlier this month by the Trump administration, will not only make it easier for Iran to create this land corridor, it will also allow Iran-controlled militias — both Hezbollah and forces of press-ganged Afghanis, led by Iranian officers — to take control of area near the Golan Heights.
Mr Netanyahu has expressed his concerns in meetings and phone conversations with both Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and senior US diplomats and military experts have visited Israel in recent weeks to discuss these concerns.
However, the agreement, as it has emerged in recent weeks, has not included any limitations on Iranian and Hezbollah activity in Syria.
In his meeting with French President Emanuel Macron in Paris on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu raised these concerns and asked Mr Macron to use France’s influence with the Lebanese government to try to limit Hezbollah’s plans to construct factories for Iranian-designed missiles. “I share Israel’s concerns regarding Hezbollah’s activity in southern Lebanon and the weapons held by the organisation,” said Mr Macron after their meeting.
