The long awaited battle for Daraa has begun despite repeated warnings issued to the Syrian government from the US not to extend its military campaign to the country's south, where the conflict first began with fierce anti-Assad protests in 2011 and then quickly spiraled into violence.
Fighting began Tuesday night as the army's elite Tiger forces assaulted an air base in northeast Daraa which had been under jihadist control — namely the US-backed FSA "Southern Front" group and allied Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (formerly Nusrah, al-Qaeda). After liberating the base government forces are now pounding opposition controlled towns with artillery fire which have for years been a hotbed of the al-Qaeda and ISIS terror insurgency.
The army and allied forces, including reportedly including Hezbollah special forces units, have penetrated deep into Al-Quneitra and Daraa governorates where a massive campaign is expected to begin at any moment for the final push to take control of the entire southwest. President Bashar al-Assad has vowed in recent interviews to liberate "every inch" of sovereign Syrian territory.
Notably ISIS has long maintained a stronghold along the Israeli occupied Golan Heights and Jordanian border — something which Israeli leadership and media are all too aware of and appear to have turned a blind eye to. Western media has increasingly acknowledged Israel's "not so secret" quiet support to jihadists along the Golan border, with even the Wall Street Journal confirming weapons transfers and medical aid given to al-Qaeda insurgents.
As early as 2015 former Acting Director of the CIA Michael Morell directly told the Israeli public, during a tour of the country that Israel's "dangerous game" in Syria consists in getting in bed with al-Qaeda in order to fight Shia Iran.
Syria continues to ignore US warnings that it cease "unilateral [military] activity" in the southwest:
.@SecPompeo spoke w/ Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov by phone today, to discuss issues & concerns related to #Syria and the bilateral relationship. Sec. Pompeo also reemphasized the U.S. commitment to the southwest ceasefire arrangement approved by @POTUS and President Putin. pic.twitter.com/THU7PdFO9J
However, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's top priority remains deterring Iran and Hezbollah in Syria, especially penetration of these forces near the Israeli border, which he has called a "red line" on which Israel would act — something also invoked during Israel's massive airstrikes on Damascus and other locations in May.
The Syrian Army's ongoing push into Deraa was no doubt a key topic of discussion during Netanyahu's Monday visit to King Abdullah of Jordan — the first public meeting between the two leaders since 2014. Just last week Abdullah blasted Iran for what he described as “interferences in Arab affairs” and policies “that harm the...