Israeli officials are deeply worried about President Donald Trump’s public suggestion that Syria should “deal with” Hezbollah. A senior Israeli source told Channel 12 News that the idea would be “like throwing a match into a barrel of explosives,” warning that Israel could end up facing “Al Qaeda and Erdogan on the northern border.”
Israel was not surprised by Trump’s remarks, because similar ideas had already come up in previous conversations between Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S. president. Still, security officials view the proposal as the worst-case scenario, because they believe the danger is not only Ahmed al-Sharaa, known as Al Jolani, but also Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom they say stands behind him. Both men have long enjoyed unusual favor from Trump in the White House.
Israeli sources say the only way to block this direction is to accelerate talks with Lebanon. Those same officials say there has recently been significant progress toward a framework agreement with Lebanon.
According to the Israeli assessment, residents of southern Lebanon will eventually return to their homes, and the Lebanese Army is already deployed in the area.
