Pro-Israel Republican blasts IDF’s ‘deeply disturbing’ conduct in Syria

A veteran, pro-Israel Republican lawmaker blasts Israel’s conduct in Syria, where it has established an expanding buffer zone purportedly aimed at protecting communities in the Golan Heights.

“As the founder of the Republican Israel Caucus, I have been a friend of Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu throughout my career,” Rep. Joe Wilson tweets before offering considerable criticism of Israel’s current policy in Syria.

“Israel’s continuing aggressive operations in Syria are deeply disturbing, especially in recent days, including bombing and taking more Syrian cities,” Wilson writes.

“Israel’s actions in Syria are counterproductive and harmful to the interests of Israel. These actions are irresponsible and go against what President Trump, Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack have tried to do,” Wilson writes.

“They also make it more difficult to remove War Criminal Putin’s malign influence in Syria,” he continues. “Taking Syrian land and attacking Syrian cities will hurt Israel in the long term and need to end immediately.”

Wilson touts the Trump administration’s efforts to aggressively take on Iran and its proxies, while also brokering peace talks between Israel and Lebanon and “giving Syria a chance,” by lifting sanctions put in place during the previous Assad regime.

He argues that US policy in Syria has paid dividends, including for Israel’s security

“Rather than being a land bridge to Hezbollah, Syria now actively shuts down Hezbollah routes and networks in the country. The IRGC has totally withdrawn from Syria,” he writes.

“Under the new government, Syria has not launched a single attack against Israel and pledges to never allow Syrian land to be used against its neighbors,” Wilson asserts.

“In my talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Syrian leadership, I have been deeply impressed by their foresight and openness to seeking good and respectful relations with Israel,” he says, praising US efforts to broker a non-aggression pact between Jerusalem and Damascus that have largely stalled in recent months.

Wilson says such a deal “has the potential to stabilize the region, including for the Druze populations in both countries.” Israel has justified its presence and actions in Syria as being designed to protect Druze communities that have come under attack from regime-tied forces.

But Channel 12 aired a report earlier this week in which they interviewed IDF soldiers stationed in Syria who said they have very little to do there and that there’s no clarity regarding what their mission is.