RT @IsraelPolicy4m: 🚨 Gaza's Humanitarian Emergency | Webinar today at 2pm ET. LTC (res.) Or Elrom, former COGAT senior officer, and @Shira….

Our recent report lays out specific steps the PA must carry out to improve governance, strengthen the security sector, bolster the economy, and enhance accountability, as well as concrete recommendations for the U.S.

Coupled with the Abbas' recent appointment of a deputy, this meeting is an opportunity to reset US-PA relations, and more importantly, for the US to push for real reforms that address the PA’s deep flaws.

Israel has a deep interest in a stable Syria: keeping it out of Iran’s orbit, removing all chemical and biological weapons, and relieving its economic crisis. Current Israeli policy is likely to backfire and result in a weaker Syria, undermining Israeli security.

Cooperation or at least deconfliction with Turkey, especially with a looming U.S. drawdown of forces in Syria, is key. Israel should use existing talks in Azerbaijan to pursue de-escalation of tensions in Syria and in the broader Israel-Turkey relationship.

By responding positively to Damascus’ actions against extremists and Iran, reducing buffer zone friction, and making clear that IDF presence in Syria is temporary, Israel can improve relations and secure protections for the Syrian Druze and demilitarization of the Golan Heights.

In the worst case, rising instability and mounting attacks on IDF personnel in the buffer zone will draw Israel deeper into Syria, leading to more conflict between governments and the loss of any opportunity for better relations.

Syria’s future remains very fluid. In the best case, the new regime will remain moderate and become a stable, anti-Iran neighbor that contains extremists, giving Israel a much-needed stable border.

Erdogan has earned his share of distrust through virulent anti-Israel rhetoric, and Turkish designs on Syria are explicit. But Turkey is not Israel’s adversary: both are major U.S. allies and share strong economic and security interests, despite a strained relationship.

Turkey presents another challenge. Israel has bombed Syrian airbases Turkey sought to take over, and wants to prevent a Turkish foothold in the country. Official rhetoric increasingly presents Erdogan’s Turkey as an enemy.

However, continuing the current aggressive policy risks creating a backlash that closes off improved Israel-Syria relations that could help lock Iran out of the region. Showy military incursions without a complementary diplomatic strategy will not net Israel its desired results.

Israeli skepticism is warranted. The new Syrian regime should be judged on its actions, not words, and Shara’s jihadist past is jarring. Moreover, the logic of acting based on enemy capabilities, not trusting intent or Israeli deterrence, is unarguable after October 7.

Israel has continued to strike inside Syrian territory, operate beyond the buffer zone, and built at least nine military posts. Prime Minister Netanyahu has called for a demilitarized zone all the way to Damascus, and Defense Minister Katz has said the IDF will stay indefinitely.

When the Assad regime suddenly collapsed in December, due in no small part to Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel was taken by surprise and acted swiftly to destroy Syria’s major miliary capabilities, take over the UN buffer zone, and strengthen its defenses.

Israel has long pursued a cautious Syrian policy. Even after the Syrian Civil War broke out and the country became a major base for Iran and Hezbollah, Israel sought to eliminate their influence without deposing Assad, preferring the devil they knew to chaos.

Israel’s aggressive policy in Syria, while understandable given the uncertainty of the new Sharaa regime and the security lessons of October 7, is an overreach that risks backfiring and foreclosing a rare and fragile opportunity for a durably better Israel-Syria dynamic.

Syrian leader Ahmad Shara recently told a Congressman that he would consider joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing with Israel under the right conditions. As @citrinowicz and I wrote yesterday, Israel should not waste this rare strategic opportunity.

Thanks, @Laura_E_Adkins !.

Just another example why the sentence about how we “keep American boots off the ground” in the address of @IsraeliPM to Congress shouldn’t have been included. Not these days.

Hence the “hopefully.” Not in article but I also said that assassinations are one tool in a toolbox and do not substitute for the clear lack of strategy. And that continuing on this path will lead us either to a long multi-front attrition war or escalation into high intensity war.