Israel's Need to Take a Stand against the Assad Regime: A Moral Imperative and Strategic Necessity (Amos Yadlin, INSS)

The Middle East is being reshaped by an extended process that began over five years ago, and its end-point is currently impossible to predict. Still, it can be assumed that the parties involved with the conflicts in the region in general, and in Syria in particular, seek resolutions through an attempt to reshape the power relations between them and the state structures in the area. Against this background, Israel has a fundamental interest in ensuring that Iran and Hezbollah will not be the forces that are strengthened within the framework of a new order in the Middle East. Gone are the days in which Israel could impartially observe the developments in Syria from the sidelines. If Israel wants to help shape the nature of the surrounding region in the years to come and improve its standing in the region, it must not hesitate, as doing so could mean missing this opportunity to undermine its most bitter enemies. An assertive, moral, proactive, and creative policy against the radical axis, revolving around the ousting of the pro-Iranian Assad regime, is the path Israel must follow. This insight was already applicable three years ago, after the Assad regime made use of chemical weapons, and its validity increased substantially when such weapons were used again

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