Syrian National Dialogue Conference: Israel must withdraw unconditionally

As part of the Syrian National Dialogue Conference today (Tuesday), representatives of all groups within Syria firmly rejected any Israeli presence on Syrian soil or effort to detach southern Syria from the rest of the country, according to Kann News.

According to the report, the Conference resolutions included the following: "1. Preserving the unity of the Syrian Arab Republic and its sovereignty over all its territory, and opposing any form of division or relinquishing any part of the homeland's territory. 2. Condemning the Israeli invasion of Syrian territory, which constitutes a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty, and demanding an immediate and unconditional withdrawal, and opposing the provocative statements of the Israeli Prime Minister and calling on the international community to stop the aggression and violations."

These resolutions address the IDF's presence in southern Syria, as part of what Israel calls a "defensive" operation meant to ensure no weapons are present in the region which can be used to attack Israel. Here, Syria demand all soldiers withdraw.

The resolutions also hint at the recent statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, per which southern Syria should effectively be made an autonomous zone for the Druze minority there, and in which no arms or central government presence will be tolerated. As noted, the Conference rejected these ideas outright.

The Conference also passed this resolution: "Restriction of weapons in the hands of the state, and the establishment of a professional national army - any armed organization that is not part of the state are groups of lawbreakers."

Such a statement could be a double edged sword for Israel. On the one hand, it means that groups with terrorist leanings will not be allowed to operate in the country as they were under Assad - especially terrorist groups tied to Iran such as Hezbollah.

On the other hand, it also means minority groups such as the Druze and Kurds in Syria - with whom Israel has had close ties in the past - would also be disarmed and possibly helpless in the face of hostile enemies such as the Turks.