According to an Israel Hayom report, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered to help President Bashar Assad make amends with the world in exchange for kicking the Iranians out of Syria but when Prime Minister Naftali Bennett came into office he nixed the idea. If this report is accurate, it shows an opportunity has been squandered, and not for the first time.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
There is an unexplained disparity between Israel's impressive military posture and its very limited tendency to proactively engage the region diplomatically. The assessment that Assad could not deliver on such a deal was based on an obsolete analysis of the situation in Syria. The Middle East keeps surprising experts and pundits who give something zero chance of happening. For example, no one could predict that Egypt would kick out its Soviet advisers until President Anwar Sadat did just that out of the blue. Likewise, everyone was sure Syria would never leave Lebanon since Damascus saw the land of the cedars as an inseparable part of its domain, but the Lebanese managed to kick them out.
A year after the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War I had lunch with a well-known journalist. When he asked me about Assad's future, who at this point was considered a goner by pundits, I replied that the Syrian ruler was going to survive and will eventually be courted. "You are the only one who thinks that," he responded with bewilderment. I retorted that circumstances change over time.
Now the question we face in Syria is: Has the situation truly shifted in Syria? I believe so. Iran, which used to be a strategic asset for the Assad regime for many years, is now a liability when it comes to rebuilding the country. Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, the UAE, Morocco, and Bahrain want to reappoint ambassadors and bring Syrian back into the fold. Assad knows that Iran, China, and Russia are incapable of healing the country, only the West can.
A stable Syria would be of great value to the region's overall stability. Let's not fool ourselves: Assad is a war criminal and his actions are unforgivable, but a new reality in the country could result in real change in Syria and the region, potentially paving the way to put Assad on trial once his country is back on sure footing. Meanwhile, Assad knows that he would not be able to stay on the sidelines for long as more and more Sunni countries join the anti-Iran alliance.
Israel is duty-bound to take a leap of faith in the hope of bolstering its diplomatic standing: It should take advantage of this opening and go down a path that was closed for many years. Maybe Israel doesn't have to lead this effort, but it could advocate for it. A Syria that is stable and lacks foreign forces, a Syria that is back in the Sunn-Arab fold will be commensurate with Israel's national interest. It is time for some realpolitik.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
