Netanyahu, speaking to journalists who had accompanied him to China, said he made it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel would continue to attack arms convoys, adding that Moscow hadn’t changed its policy about such Israeli strikes. This was a response to the claim by Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations that Russia had told Israel to halt its airstrikes. [...]
Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot described Israel’s policy goals as unchanged from what they were more than five years ago, shortly after Syria’s civil war began: keeping Israel out of the actual fighting but trying to prevent arms transfers to Hezbollah. [...]
The question Israel’s leadership must ask itself now is whether this change in circumstances requires a change in Israeli policy – or in other words, when is a string of airstrikes that are tactical successes liable to create strategic risk by spurring Syria into a harsher response, or alternatively by persuading Moscow to send a strongly worded cease-and-desist message (which, according to Netanyahu, hasn’t yet happened). [...]
Last month, during his visit to Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, Netanyahu also articulated another goal: He asked Trump for American recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan. To date, the international community has not recognized the 1981 annexation, but Netanyahu may perceive an opportunity with the ongoing Syrian civil war, global criticism of the Assad regime and Trump’s avowals of support for Israel since taking office.
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