Yediot Aharonot: Israel sent secret message to Assad to ease tension

The Israeli daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, reported on Monday that Israel has sent a secret message to the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, as part of efforts to ease tensions after the second attack on Syria in less than 48 hours.

The newspaper featured on its front page reports that the Israeli clarification to the Syrian president stated that the target of the attack was not the Syrian regime, but Hezbollah bases containing Iranian missiles.

The newspaper added that the secret message sent through diplomatic channels clarified that it is not interested in interfering in the civil war in Syria. It said that Israel believes the probability of a Syrian or Hezbollah response is minimal.

Alex Fishman, writing in Yediot Ahronot said that Hezbollah, Syria and Iran are not interested in opening another war front with Israel.

He added that as a result, the Israeli security services regard the chaos in Syria as a rare opportunity to get rid of the country’s weapons arsenal without leading to a complete war.

“The Syrian army has no control over the Golan Heights, and the Syrian Air Force is nothing to be mentioned,” he wrote.

Fishman believes the price that Israel would pay for the end result is worth the risk. He noted that while a few artillery shells would be fired at the Golan Heights and perhaps a major terrorist operation, in the long-term quiet will prevail for several years to come.