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Israel's Defense Minister is warning rebels in Syria that he won't tolerate any extremists on its borders. Israeli forces have been striking Syrian naval and air assets as well as taking up positions inside Syria near the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. But the Israelis do see some promise in the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime and, with it, Iran's influence. And NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: By most accounts, the Israeli government was caught off guard by the swift pace of the rebellion, but that didn't stop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from going to the border over the weekend to claim credit for helping to bring about the fall of the Assad regime.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: This collapse, is a direct result of our forceful action against isbalah and Iran, Assad's main supporters. It set off a chain reaction of all those who want to free themselves from this tyranny and its oppression.
KELEMEN: The Israelis have been pounding Syrian military assets in recent days to take out air defenses, missile depots, the navy and chemical weapons sites. The Israeli military has also taken over a buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. The buffer zone was set up 50 years ago, as Netanyahu pointed out.
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NETANYAHU: The Syrian Army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli Army the order to take over this position to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.
KELEMEN: Egypt and Jordan protested the move as a land grab, and many in the region wonder how temporary this move will be. Dina Lisnyansky is an expert on political Islam and terrorism at Tel Aviv University and thinks that the Israelis will have to stay for a while to see how things play out in Syria.
DINA LISNYANSKY: We need to see how it unravels. We need to see if it goes to the peaceful side of events or perhaps a new civil war would occur in Syria, which would, of course, endanger our borders maybe even more. So this is a matter of time, and I think we need to be very patient here and very careful.
KELEMEN: She told the Jerusalem Press Club that, for the moment, the Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani is saying the right things, talking about a government that would represent all Syrians and telling neighbors he wants peace.
LISNYANSKY: And he mentioned Jordan, Lebanon and Israel. And this is important because it does say that, at least from what it seems right now, he is interested in showing some kind of maybe an intent for cooperation.
NIR BOMS: I don't think we need to assume that everyone in Syria is a future enemy.
KELEMEN: This is Nir Boms, the chairman of the Syria Research Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University.
BOMS: Israel needs to stay out of the war. That's not our war, and it's not something that we need to take sides with. But just like any other country who may have a new neighbor, I think it's important to understand who our neighbors are.
KELEMEN: So he says Israel has a couple of near-term objectives. The first is to continue to degrade Syria's missile stocks and chemical weapon sites.
BOMS: Making sure that weapon will not get into the wrong hands, destroying additional depositories. And, you know, more quietly, in other circles, I think we're also looking into understanding the new powers and whether there are other opportunities there.
KELEMEN: One good sign, he says, is that the takeover of Damascus has not been bloody, and no one came to Assad's rescue. He describes the rebel leaders as pragmatic Islamists but says Syria has always been a secular country and that it's not clear yet which direction it will take now.
Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
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