Report: Israel Secretly Armed, Funded Syrian Rebels
Dan Arkin
| 09/09/2018
Archive photo: AP
Israel covertly armed and funded at least 12 rebel groups in southern Syria that helped prevent Iran-backed fighters and militants of the Islamic State from entrenching near the Israeli border in recent years, Foreign Policy reported Thursday, citing more than two dozen commanders and rank-and-file members of the rebel groups.
The military transfers, which ended in July of this year, included assault rifles, machine guns, mortar launchers, and transport vehicles. Israeli security agencies delivered the weapons through three gates connecting the Israeli Golan Heights to Syria – the same crossings Israel used to deliver humanitarian aid to residents of southern Syria under Operation Good Neighbor, launched in 2016.
Additionally, according to the rebels and local journalists, Israel paid each rebel fighter $75 a month and provided additional funds for the groups to buy arms on the Syrian black market.
According to the report, the Israeli aid created an expectation among the rebels that Israel would intercede if the Assad Army tried to advance on southern Syria.
Archive photo: AP
Israel covertly armed and funded at least 12 rebel groups in southern Syria that helped prevent Iran-backed fighters and militants of the Islamic State from entrenching near the Israeli border in recent years, Foreign Policy reported Thursday, citing more than two dozen commanders and rank-and-file members of the rebel groups.
The military transfers, which ended in July of this year, included assault rifles, machine guns, mortar launchers, and transport vehicles. Israeli security agencies delivered the weapons through three gates connecting the Israeli Golan Heights to Syria – the same crossings Israel used to deliver humanitarian aid to residents of southern Syria under Operation Good Neighbor, launched in 2016.
Additionally, according to the rebels and local journalists, Israel paid each rebel fighter $75 a month and provided additional funds for the groups to buy arms on the Syrian black market.
According to the report, the Israeli aid created an expectation among the rebels that Israel would intercede if the Assad Army tried to advance on southern Syria.
