Israel is concerned by Washington’s plan, Kan broadcaster has reported
White House officials have conveyed a message to West Jerusalem that US President Donald Trump is looking to withdraw American troops from Syria, Israeli public broadcaster Kan has reported.
The plan by the US leader “is raising grave concerns” in Israel, the media outlet said in an article on Tuesday.
There are also fears among Kurdish armed groups in Syria that they could be “harmed” by Türkiye if the American withdrawal occurs, Kan said. The Kurds, who had been helping the US in fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), are considered terrorists by Ankara.
After the fall of the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad in early December, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved deeper inside the neighboring country’s territory in the area of the occupied Golan Heights.
At the same time, Türkiye, which has links with Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) and other militant groups that were instrumental in deposing Assad, ordered its troops to advance into northeastern Syria.
Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted that “aggressive actions” by Israel in Syria “must come to an end as soon as possible.”
Russia, which had been assisting the Assad government in battling militants in the country since the mid-2010s, currently retains two military bases in Syria – the Khmeimim airfield and Tartus naval base.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this week that Moscow was in talks with the country’s new authorities about the future of the facilities, but no agreements had yet been reached.
The US deployed troops to Syria a decade ago without the permission of the Syrian government on the pretext of fighting IS, but they ended up occupying areas in the northeast of the country where major oil fields are located.
Last month, the Pentagon announced that the number of US servicemen in the country stood at around 2,000, which was roughly 1,100 more than the figure it had previously provided.
Trump had ordered a partial withdrawal of US troops from the country during his first term, but this was never completed. The Assad government and Moscow had repeatedly said the American presence in Syria was “illegal” due to it not being sanctioned by Damascus, and called for the US contingent to abandon the occupied areas.
