IDF Chief: US Pullout from Syria is “Significant, but should not be Exaggerated”
Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said on Sunday that the American withdrawal from Syria is “significant” for Israel, but will not affect the IDF’s ability to act against Iran and Hezbollah on its own
IsraelDefense
| 23/12/2018
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot (Archive photo: AP)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot on Sunday discussed President Trump's decision to withdraw American forces from Syrian soil.
Speaking at a conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Eizenkot stated the pullout was a “significant event, but shouldn't be exaggerated.”
“For decades, we have dealt with this front alone,” Eizenkot said regarding Syria. “The IDF acted independently throughout the entire period. The Americans make the decision when the relationship between the militaries is at its peak,” he added.
Eizenkot also referred to friction with Russia in Syria: “Russian presence at the end of 2015 created a new situation that required us to enter a dialogue to create a system to prevent friction, and it has been a factor affecting how we have used force. Through the entire period, I as chief of staff have felt that there has been an understanding regarding Israel's security needs.”
The IDF Chief emphasized that over the past four years, the Israeli military’s activity in Syria focused mainly on preventing the Iranians from establishing a strategic military presence across the country.
“We’ve poured enormous resources into it, all the while the average Israeli citizen wasn’t even aware of it. Unfortunately, the public was exposed to the situation after the Russian plane was shot down during an Israeli attack.
“The Iranians had a vision where they had 100,000 fighters in Syria,” he added, “including ground troops, navy and intelligence unit, as well as a number of outposts along the Golan Heights … Over the past two years, we’ve been able to thwart these plans, entirely on our own.”
Eizenkot then turned the focus on another actor in the northern front, Iran-backed Hezbollah. “In recent years, there's been an effort against Hezbollah, who worked to build a very broad capability with three principles – an attack plan on the Galilee, producing precision weapons with a steep trajectory, and an effort to build a second front against Israel from Syria,” he said.
In this context, the chief of staff explained IDF actions in Operation Northern Shield: “Hezbollah had the will to carry out an attack to occupy settlements. They positioned forces where fewer tunnels were built. It isn't hard to imagine what would have happened had there been a future security deterioration. The incident would have begun with hundreds of Hezbollah fighters infiltrating into Israel and carrying out an attack.
“This scheme was identified by us four years ago and we built a plan to thwart it without going to war and to my delight, most of the tunnels entering Israel have been located so far, and I believe in the near future we'll be able to thwart this plan.”
Regarding the recent terror wave in the West Bank, Eizenkot said, “The sense of security in the Palestinian arena is a subject that's usually on the public and media agenda. The IDF is working to ensure a sense of security and to enable the political echelon to accept any decision from a position of strength. We thwart the terrorists before they hit. We arrest 3,000 terrorists every year and save hundreds of lives.
“There’s the thinking here that if we only apply more force against terrorism, it will end. That’s a mistaken approach. I frequently hear that deterrence has collapsed, but such a concept is elusive. Deterrence doesn’t drop and isn’t built in a day,” Eizenkot stated.
“Our enemies understand our intelligence and air superiority. They see that we are acting against them, against Iran and Hezbollah and against Gaza as well. The way in which our enemies understand our capabilities provides us with the capacity to act and to cause our enemies not to act,” he added.
[Sources: Israel National News, Haaretz, Ynet News, The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post]
Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said on Sunday that the American withdrawal from Syria is “significant” for Israel, but will not affect the IDF’s ability to act against Iran and Hezbollah on its own
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot (Archive photo: AP)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot on Sunday discussed President Trump's decision to withdraw American forces from Syrian soil.
Speaking at a conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Eizenkot stated the pullout was a “significant event, but shouldn't be exaggerated.”
“For decades, we have dealt with this front alone,” Eizenkot said regarding Syria. “The IDF acted independently throughout the entire period. The Americans make the decision when the relationship between the militaries is at its peak,” he added.
Eizenkot also referred to friction with Russia in Syria: “Russian presence at the end of 2015 created a new situation that required us to enter a dialogue to create a system to prevent friction, and it has been a factor affecting how we have used force. Through the entire period, I as chief of staff have felt that there has been an understanding regarding Israel's security needs.”
The IDF Chief emphasized that over the past four years, the Israeli military’s activity in Syria focused mainly on preventing the Iranians from establishing a strategic military presence across the country.
“We’ve poured enormous resources into it, all the while the average Israeli citizen wasn’t even aware of it. Unfortunately, the public was exposed to the situation after the Russian plane was shot down during an Israeli attack.
“The Iranians had a vision where they had 100,000 fighters in Syria,” he added, “including ground troops, navy and intelligence unit, as well as a number of outposts along the Golan Heights … Over the past two years, we’ve been able to thwart these plans, entirely on our own.”
Eizenkot then turned the focus on another actor in the northern front, Iran-backed Hezbollah. “In recent years, there's been an effort against Hezbollah, who worked to build a very broad capability with three principles – an attack plan on the Galilee, producing precision weapons with a steep trajectory, and an effort to build a second front against Israel from Syria,” he said.
In this context, the chief of staff explained IDF actions in Operation Northern Shield: “Hezbollah had the will to carry out an attack to occupy settlements. They positioned forces where fewer tunnels were built. It isn't hard to imagine what would have happened had there been a future security deterioration. The incident would have begun with hundreds of Hezbollah fighters infiltrating into Israel and carrying out an attack.
“This scheme was identified by us four years ago and we built a plan to thwart it without going to war and to my delight, most of the tunnels entering Israel have been located so far, and I believe in the near future we'll be able to thwart this plan.”
Regarding the recent terror wave in the West Bank, Eizenkot said, “The sense of security in the Palestinian arena is a subject that's usually on the public and media agenda. The IDF is working to ensure a sense of security and to enable the political echelon to accept any decision from a position of strength. We thwart the terrorists before they hit. We arrest 3,000 terrorists every year and save hundreds of lives.
“There’s the thinking here that if we only apply more force against terrorism, it will end. That’s a mistaken approach. I frequently hear that deterrence has collapsed, but such a concept is elusive. Deterrence doesn’t drop and isn’t built in a day,” Eizenkot stated.
“Our enemies understand our intelligence and air superiority. They see that we are acting against them, against Iran and Hezbollah and against Gaza as well. The way in which our enemies understand our capabilities provides us with the capacity to act and to cause our enemies not to act,” he added.
[Sources: Israel National News, Haaretz, Ynet News, The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post]
