Days after Assad fell and fled, Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, received then-Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. During this meeting, a comment leaked to the press quoted al-Sharaa expressing admiration for the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. This was no passing remark; it signalled a strategic outlook that has since shaped al-Sharaa’s approach to resolving issues with Israel.
But the 1974 disengagement agreement was effectively rendered void when Syrian forces were ordered to withdraw from all positions during Bashar al-Assad’s escape to Moscow. Within hours, Netanyahu publicly declared the accord’s collapse.
Israel seized the moment to dismantle the remnants of the Syrian Arab Army’s infrastructure. Air strikes on Syrian territory resumed with intensity, targeting military installations, equipment, and heavy weaponry.
Yet Netanyahu did not stop there. Exploiting Syria’s internal instability, he began interfering in domestic affairs —evident in both the unrest in Sweida and the politically charged strike on Damascus. The latter was more symbolic than strategic.
Even al-Sharaa's assassination was reportedly considered, only to be dropped after Saudi, Jordanian, and Turkish intervention via Washington, which recognised that such an act would trigger a total collapse in Syria.
