Expert Says Al-Asad Likely To Take 'Imprudent' Reaction Against Israel 'If Situation Worsens'

At 1900 GMT on 5 May, Cairo CBC Satellite Channel Television in Arabic broadcasts its regular "Here Is the Capital" talk show, presented by Lamis al-Hadidi. The episode interviews Tariq Fahmi, head of the Israeli Studies Unit in the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies, to comment on the Israeli "assault" on Syria. 

Responding to a question on the US stance on the Israeli "assault" and whether the United States has provided "political cover" for Israel, Fahmi says: "Part of the qualitative development incarnated in the frequent Israeli strikes on Syria is related to the follow up of the chemical and biological weapons and their storage locations. This has been intended to prevent the falling of these weapons at the hands of Hizballah and other new organizations on the Syrian scene." Fahmi goes on to say: "The strikes came after the occurrence of very dangerous developments in the Syrian file; it is the opening of the Jordanian airspace for the Israeli aircrafts. We are seeing a new scene in which there is a US-Israeli-Jordanian attempt to broadly tackle the Syrian issue." 

Fahmi further says: "The problem lies in the jihadist organizations that started to operate on the Syrian lands, of which some are affiliated with the Al-Qa'ida [Organization]. Over the last few weeks, the United States sent 200 intelligence elements to Jordan to monitor the scene from a close point. The latest involvement of Israel is an attempt to find a role for Israel to play in case the situation deteriorated; this role has been delayed for several months and would not be limited to the Israeli borders from the Golan Heights." 

Asked on Iran's "loudest and most angry" voice in denouncing the Israeli strikes, Fahmi says that Iran wants to "completely reorganize the Syrian file" and "involve the Egyptian role in the Syrian issue" in favor of [Syrian President] Bashar al-Asad. Fahmi adds: "We should not anticipate any [military] reaction from Al-Asad. However, if the situation worsens, he might think of imprudent reaction by striking the Golan Heights with direct missiles. At least, this is unlikely to take place now. Now Al-Asad wants to appear before the international community as a president of a state whose lands are being attacked by Israel, and that no one of the Arab leaders is backing him."

 

Source: Cairo CBC Channel Television in Arabic