Israel Sees Sectarian Partition Of Syria Inevitable And Preferable

Amman, 6 Jumadal Awwal 1437/16 February 2016 (MINA) – Israel expressed doubts on Sunday that the agreement reached in Munich to halt hostilities in Syria would succeed, suggesting a sectarian partition of the country was inevitable and perhaps preferable, AlMesryoon.com reported.

While formally neutral on the five-year conflict in Syria, Israel has some sway among the world powers that have mounted armed interventions and which on Friday agreed on a “cessation of hostilities” to begin within a week.

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who took part in the Munich conference and met with European and Arab leaders including King of Jordan Abdullah II, expressed pessimism regarding the truce’s prospects, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“Unfortunately we are going to face chronic instability for a very, very long period of time,” he said. “And part of any grand strategy is to avoid the past, saying we are going to unify Syria. We know how to make an omelette from an egg. I don’t know how to make an egg from an omelette.”

Ya’alon also predicted that Syria will turn into “enclaves” under the de-facto control of religious and ethnic sects.

Ram Ben-Barak, director-general of Israel’s Intelligence Ministry, described partition as “the only possible solution”.

“I think that ultimately Syria should be turned into regions, under the control of whoever is there,” he told Israel’s Army Radio, arguing that Assad’s minority Alawite sect had no way to heal its divisions with the Sunni Muslim majority.

“I can’t see how a situation can be reached where those same 12 percent Alawites go back to ruling the Sunnis, of whom they killed half a million people there. Listen, that’s crazy.” (T/P002/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)