Itongadol.- The Syrian war raging since 2011 is "not ours, but we are preparing ourselves for the day when the situation will change," a senior IDF officer from the 210th territorial Habashan Division, based on the Golan Heights, said Sunday.
Israel can deploy major firepower to the area if needed "within minutes," the source said, adding that "we don\’t need more forces here."
The air force and artillery can all be mobilized "within minutes," the source said, adding, "The Golani Reconnaissance Battalion is here. Every sector would be glad to have these as their guarantors. There are infantry divisions and armored divisions for when we feel there\’s a need to have a bigger presence."
Most of the cross-border fire into Israel over the past month is stray fire, the officer added. "We can differentiate between stay fire and deliberate attacks. Sometimes, we will respond to stray fire. The response will not necessarily be immediate. Our intention is to respond correctly, not quickly. If there is an immediate danger, we will respond immediately. The aim is for the war to stay there."
Every field command level is authorized to respond if it identifies an immediate danger. In other cases, the division commander and OC Northern Command decide together on whether to launch an Israeli response to incidents.
The IDF will attack a Syrian army position in response to cross-border fire "only if it believes the position is tied to to the fire. We would never attack a position for no reason," said the officer.
"The Syrian air forces is not violating the demilitarization agreement. The Israeli air force knows a certain line, which, if crossed by the Syrian air force, authorizes Israel to attack it," he added.
"I don\’t differentiate between the rebels and the regime. I respond when there is a need, and when we identify a danger. When I detect fighting in the border area, I move my forces. In recent days, we maintained the orchards [in place of civilian farmers] in Ein Zivun, because of the events in Quneitra. Soldiers from the Golan Division worked the harvest. I also plan to do this, to calm the residents. We are not going backwards at all. For Israel, the situation is good," the source stated.
"I don\’t see us evacuating communities. We came here to live, not to evacuate, despite the threats that are here. This will never be Switzerland. The goal of the IDF division to to focus on life here," he said.
Casting a wider look at events in Syria, the officer said, "We are witnessing the collapse of the Sykes-Picot agreement throughout the whole of the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Iraq and Syria are moving back in time. This is their story, not ours, but we are on the borders, and there are implications."
He mapped out both sides of the Syrian war. On the side of the Assad regime, there is the Syrian military, which has shrunk significantly since the start of the civil war in 2011, and which suffers from low motivation among soldiers. "But there is no significant harm to the regime\’s tanks or air force," he added. In any case, the Syrian military has never had a high quality air force, he argued. "This is an army that knows how to function. [But] its draft is partial. It is three quarters of what it was in 2011."
Next are Assad loyalist paramilitaries called the Committees for the Defense of the Homeland. "This is a fairly new organization, which is set up on the basis of what was once known as the Shabiha. These are youths who defend the villages. Since being set up in 2012, its ranks have grown, and it consists of 90,000 members. These forces are less moral than the Syrian army. They do the dirty job for the regime. Its main loyalty is to the regime. It links up to military forces. They are based on regional formations, but members can also wonder from one location to another," the source explained.
The third component are Syria\’s intelligence services, who safeguard the regime\’s domestic capabilities. "The entire war is inward focused," he stated. Lastly, there is Hezbollah, which has sent a few thousand members to fight shoulder to shoulder with Assad\’s soldiers, in areas where Hezbollah has a vested interest.
"There is no Hezbollah presence on the Syrian border [with Israel]. These are people who physically fight the rebels. The radical axis – Hezbollah, Iran, and the Assad regime – cooperate down to the lowest tactical level in order to defeat the rebels," he said.
On the other side of the divide are a myriad of rebel forces, who are only unified by their hatred for the Assad regime. These include the Sunni-dominated Free Syrian Army, a nationalist Syrian organization seeking to found a free, secular Syrian state. The FSA is struggling to set up a strong leadership, and the West is trying to help it, with little success.
"The humanitarian aid we are providing is primarily to this population," said the source, adding, "We\’ve treated almost 1300 Syrians. During the winter, we send Syrian civilians warm clothing. This is a moral and basic matter for us, as human beings. We can\’t stand on the side and watch people being slaughtered, and not at least extend a hand. Medical patients are not questioned by us. When they are released [from hospital], they get a basket of medicines they will need for the future. We want our neighbors on the other side to develop positive feelings for us. We will bring in a wounded Syrian if he arrives at the fence."
Next are Syrian nationalist Islamists, who wish to set up a Muslim Brotherhood-run nation-state.
The third element forming rebel forces are Jabhat Al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. This organization moved to Syria from Iraq after the US withdrawal left. It is seeking to cancel old borders separating Syria from Lebanon and Iraq, and set up an Islamic state that will eventually encompass the entire world.
Jabhat Al-Nusra is "also fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon. In July – August, we saw them take over significant locations in the Quneitra area, near the Israeli border," the the source.
Lastly, there is the Islamic State, which has seized eastern Syria from Jabhat Al-Nusra and taken over large swaths of Iraq. "The Islamic State is not present on the border with Israel," said the officer, but could show up "tomorrow."
In their fundamental nature, the Islamic State and Jabhat Al-Nusra are similar, he arged. "The difference is in their methodologies… Jabhat Al-Nusra wants the Islamic State weakened," he added.
Near the border with Israel, rebels have taken control of Ahatinia, Tel Kudna, and Tel Ahmar. Additionally, the Assad regime\’s 61st brigade has collapsed, the officer said, and rebels have taken over its area of operations, primarily, old Quneitra. "There is almost no regime presence on the border with Israel, with the exception of the Khader area," he added.
"One pattern we have seen is rebel groups seizing areas, going on to take additional areas, and leaving former regions unguarded, only for other organizations to move in. Jabhat Al-Nusra is dominant on the border now. It is cooperating with other organizations in order to defeat the Assad military," the officer continued.
"We are making every effort so that this does not become our war. We study the area and monitor it day and night. I\’m not trying to influence this war. I repeat, it\’s not our war," he added.
At this time, the Syrian army is not looking to begin a fight with Israel, he added.
Addressing the decision by the United Nations Disengagement and Observation Force (UNDOF) to leave the border area after a string of kidnappings by jihadi rebels, the source said their departure does not affect Israeli security. Fijian peacekeepers held by Jabhat al-Nusra earlier this month were released "in exchange for money," the source added.
"It\’s hard to know where the sector is going. We are monitoring everything that moves here, trying to organize ourselves in accordance with these movements. As time goes by, there will be a stronger and more dominant side here. It could be that this element will be more extreme in the future as a result," he assessed.
In Damascus itself, described by the source as an enormous city President Basher Al-Assad is making major efforts to prevent combat from reaching regime-controlled areas.
Assad continues to control Aleppo, Damascus, and the Mediterranean Coast, while focusing combat on areas connecting these places.