«Israel» Concerned About Syria Ceasefire

Local Editor

Amidst fears of expanding presence of Hezbollah, the "Israeli" entity's security cabinet held its first meeting on Sunday discussing the ceasefire reached by the US and Russia in southern Syria, an agreement that has raised concerns in Tel Aviv.

A senior "Israeli" official with knowledge of the meeting's content - which lasted for hours - said the ministers were briefed that the US and Russia had not yet cemented all elements of the ceasefire, and that the "Israeli" entity is working with Washington and Moscow to improve the agreement and ensure it does not harm the entity's security interests.

The senior "Israeli" official who spoke on condition of anonymity said those present at the meeting included "Israeli" Occupation Forces [IOF] chief Gadi Eisenkot, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and a number of senior figures in the military, the Foreign Ministry and the War Ministry.

Furthermore, the official added that a large part of the meeting focused on briefings on the situation in Syria and on the ceasefire, including the de-escalation zones to be established as part of the agreement on the Syria-"Israel" border and Syria-Jordan border.

The "Israeli" entity's main concern is the question of who would guarantee those arrangements in the zones, monitor the cease-fire and guarantee no entry of Iranian, Hezbollah or Shi'ite forces.

"The whole issue of monitoring is not resolved yet," said the senior official. "The talks between the US, Russia and Jordan on the matter are continuing in order to iron out the details. The Americans heard our message about opposing the agreement and there are complex talks with them," he said.

Accordingly, the "Israelis" fear that Iran and Hezbollah's foothold in Syria would expand. Hence, the entity made it clear to the US that the de-escalation zones serve to keep both forces away from the "Israeli" entity and Jordanian borders. "Israel" also opposed enforcement of the cease-fire by Russian military forces in the de-escalation zones near its border.

As the ceasefire worries the "Israeli" entity greatly, when Netanyahu met in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron some two weeks ago, he raised the entity's concerns from the emerging agreement. In a press conference after the meeting Netanyahu said that the "Israeli" entity opposes the cease-fire agreement in south Syria, because it perpetuates the Iranian presence in the country.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team