Trump Warns Israel Not To Escalate Against Syria In Bizarre Turn Of Events

Illustrative image. (Syrian Presidency)

United States President Donald Trump warned Israel on December 1 against destabilizing Syria and its new Islamist-led government, shortly before holding a phone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The warning came just three days after a clash in the south of the war-torn country that left 20 Syrians dead and six Israeli troops wounded. Israel said that its troops were on a mission to arrest suspects from a “terror group”. Later, Hebrew media reported that the involvement of the Syrian intelligence was suspected.

“It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump went on to stress that he was “very satisfied” with Syria’s current performance under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who made a historic visit to the White House in November. During the visit, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a 180-day extension of its suspension of enforcement of the so-called Caesar sanctions.

Sharaa “is working diligently to make sure good things happen, and that both Syria and Israel will have a long and prosperous relationship together,” he said, adding that the U.S. was “doing everything within our power to make sure the Government of Syria continues to do what was intended” to rebuild the country.

Good relations between Syria and Israel would add to his efforts for a wider Middle East peace following the fragile Gaza ceasefire in October, said Trump.

Shortly after the social media post, Netanyahu’s office said that the prime minister held a phone call with Trump who invited him to the U.S.

There was no direct mention of Syria in the Israeli readout of the phone call, which said that the two leaders discussed “the importance of and commitment to dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, and discussed the expansion of the peace accords.”

Israel’s Channel 12 news reported later that Netanyahu is likely to make the trip to the U.S. by the end of the current month. The Syrian issue is expected to be a prime topic of discussion, according to the news channel.

Trump has been pushing for a security agreement between Israel and Syria since assuming office earlier this year, all while showing unwavering support for Sharaa.

He has largely ignored a wave sectarian-fueled massacres by forces loyal to Sharaa along the country’s coast in March, in which over 1,400 civilians from the Alawite community were killed, and another in July in al-Suwayda in the south of the country which claimed the lives of more than a 1,000 civilians from the Druze community. Israel intervened in the second case to protect the Druze citing historic relations with the community.

Following Trump’s warning, Axios reported that the administration is fuming at Netanyahu over Israel’s escalation against Syria.

“We are trying to tell Bibi he has to stop this because if it continues he will self-destruct,” a senior U.S. official tells the news site.

“Syria doesn’t want problems with Israel. This isn’t Lebanon,” a second senior U.S. official says. “But Bibi is seeing ghosts everywhere.”

“We are trying to tell Bibi he has to stop this because if it continues he will self-destruct — miss a huge diplomatic opportunity and turn the new Syrian government to an enemy,” the official added.

Syria has repeatedly called on Israel to withdraw from the territories it occupied in its southern region following the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad last year as a condition for a security agreement. The U.S. appears to be on its side when it comes to this issue.

Netanyahu, however, pushed back against the pressure from the U.S. while visiting Israeli troops who were wounded during the recent clash in southern Syria on December 2.

He said that “the expectation from Syria is to establish a demilitarized buffer zone from Damascus to the buffer zone, including of course the approaches to Mount Hermon and the Hermon peak. We hold these territories to ensure the security of Israeli citizens, and that is what obligates us. With goodwill and understanding of these principles, it is also possible to reach an agreement with the Syrians, but we will stand by our principles in any case.”

In addition, Netanyahu stressed, yet again, that Israel will remain committed to the protection of its Druze allies in southern Syria.

Trump’s stance on Syria is unprecedented on all levels, even more so straight up suspicious. The U.S. never showed this much support for Syria in the face of Israel, even when the two countries were moving towards a full-on peace pact in the 1990s.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that Trump himself was the one who recognized Israel’s annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights during his first term.

Trump is either very vocal in his support for Sharaa to appease Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar who vouched for the new Syrian government in the U.S., or straight up tricking Sharaa in coordination with Israel. In either case, his latest warning will likely embolden Syria.

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