Hezbollah: Israel Attacking Syria to Prevent ISIS Being Defeated

Nasrallah: ISIS' Defeat Would Be Hezbollah's Victory

by Jason Ditz, March 19, 2017

Addressing the flurry of Israeli attacks against Syria in recent days, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says he believes Israel is deliberately trying to help ISIS in an effort to prevent ISIS from suffering outright defeat in Syria amid growing pressure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the Friday attacks, which started the latest flurry, targeted a weapons convoy intended for Hezbollah forces, who are in Syria fighting alongside the government against ISIS and other rebel forces.

Nasrallah, however, said that Israel has been using “all kinds of excuses” throughout the war to intervene, and that what they are really afraid of is an ISIS defeat, because that would mean a Hezbollah victory. This is largely in keeping with Israel’s own narrative on the Syrian Civil War, despite the pretense of neutrality.

Israeli officials have repeatedly expressed concern that the survival of the Assad government would mean that a Shi’ite ally of Iran would remain along their border. Moreover, last summer Israel’s Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevy, their military intelligence chief, publicly declared that Israel does not want to see ISIS defeated in the war, and prefers ISIS over the Assad government.