Operation Beit Jann... Is the Israeli escalation related to Damascus's refusal to concede occupied territories?

SadaNews - While Israel asserts that its forces' incursion into the Syrian town of Beit Jann in recent hours resulted from a security operation to combat "terrorist organizations," analysts claim that the real reason behind this incursion lies in the failure of the recent round of negotiations between Damascus and Tel Aviv, during which Israel attempted to impose its will by annexing Syrian territories, according to the principle of "peace through strength."

According to these analysts, Israeli negotiators presented two options to the government of Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara: either reach a comprehensive peace agreement wherein Damascus concedes the Golan Heights occupied since 1967, or a phased understanding agreement that allows Israel to maintain its occupation of ten points deep within Syrian territory from Mount Sheikh in the north to the southern border.

The essence of this dispute was revealed by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in his recent statements, where he said he rules out the existence of a "peace trend" with Syria; in a closed session of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Knesset on Wednesday, Katz stated that "Syria is demanding that Israel concede Golan, which is impossible."

However, Katz also provided arguments for maintaining Israeli forces and conducting military operations in deep Syrian territory, stating that "there are forces within its borders (in Syria) thinking of invading the towns of the Golan and using them as a launching point for attacks on Israeli towns (referring to settlements in the Golan)."

Among these forces, he mentioned several Islamic organizations, including the Houthis and Iranian militias, as well as "ISIS," "Hamas," and other Islamic groups, considering them all a threat of "a ground invasion of northern Israel."

These statements sparked outrage even in Tel Aviv; the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" reported that "Israel has never spoken about attempts by the Yemeni Houthi group to operate against Israel from Syrian territory. There is no information about Houthi activity in Syria, despite them launching missiles and drones at Israel over the past two years in response to its war to annihilate Gaza."

Katz again raised the issue of the Druze in Syria, saying it is a matter that "concerns Israeli officials," and threatened that "the Israeli army has a ready plan, and if assaults on Mount Druze (in southern Syria) occur again, we will intervene again, including closing the borders."

At the same time, the Israeli army has bolstered its presence in the vast area it occupied in deep Syrian territory since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, which spans 450 square kilometers, in addition to occupying all the peaks of Mount Sheikh and constructing 10 large military sites there.

After the Israeli Air Force launched a comprehensive attack on airports and military bases in Syria immediately after the regime's fall about a year ago, destroying 85% of its defensive capabilities, it continued to carry out airstrikes on various areas in Syria from Deir ez-Zor to Homs and from Aleppo to Daraa, executing incursions to arrest those it labels as "suspected of terrorism."

The Israeli army also intervened in internal conflicts in southern Syria under the pretext of defending the Druze, demanding a passage from the Golan to Suwayda, which has a Druze majority.

Israel divided southern Syria into two areas; the first was a security belt along the border, 5 - 7 kilometers deep, prohibiting the entry of any armed person, and the second is a demilitarized area where heavy Syrian army vehicles are restricted, extending from Damascus to Daraa. Israel carried out sporadic violations in these border areas while high-level negotiation delegations from both countries were meeting in various capitals under the supervision of mediators (such as the United States, Turkey, and Azerbaijan).

Analysts believe that the recent Israeli military strikes were part of negotiation tools, pressuring to impose concessions on Damascus.

In recent weeks, Israel has brought in force 55 from the Israeli army, known for its commando units, relocated from the Khan Younis area in the Gaza Strip, to conduct operations similar to those in the Gaza strip and in Bint Jbeil, Lebanon.

This force raided the town of Beit Jann in the rural Damascus area in southern Syria early Friday morning with a large contingent to detain three individuals suspected of preparing operations against Israel. After detaining them in their homes while on their beds and as they began to leave the town, they were fired upon. As a result of this sudden gunfire, the forces were shocked and panicked, and an armored personnel carrier got stuck in the mud, causing the Israeli force to flee, leaving behind a large military "Hummer" that operated like a tank, but they destroyed it from the air to prevent it from falling into the hands of militants.

The army announced that six of its soldiers and officers were injured in the incident, with wounds to two of them being serious, and another moderate. Meanwhile, the Syrians reported 13 citizens killed, insisting that the Israeli bombardment targeted only civilians.

The Israeli army stated that its operation "is complete. All wanted men have been arrested, and a number of (terrorist elements) have been dealt with," pointing out that "the army forces are spread in the area and will continue to work against any threat targeting Israel and its citizens."

Though the Israelis stated that the injured are "saboteurs" belonging to the "Islamic group," local sources confirmed that no organizational or security ties are known about the detainees, who are merely civilians involved in agriculture and livestock.

The Israeli forces began conducting retaliatory military strikes after this incident; in Quneitra, the occupation forces targeted Tall Ahmar east of the governorate's countryside with a number of artillery shells, and renewed their incursion into the governorate's countryside at the Um Batna junction in the northern Quneitra countryside, where three military vehicles intruded into the area. Israel stated that it has a "target bank" to respond to the injury of its soldiers in Beit Jann.

Source: Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper