Top Israeli political and military officials have been discussing the initiative to split up Syria since the fall of Damascus on December 8, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported on Thursday.
By partitioning the Arab country in turmoil, Israel reportedly hopes to safeguard the rights of Syria's ethnic minorities, address Turkey's growing influence in the region, and protect the northern border from Syrian rebel groups that are not committed to the Israeli-Syrian ceasefire deal.
Israel has no plans to indefinitely control the parts of Syria it has entered since the Syrian armed opposition came to power in December, nor does it intend to withdraw its troops just yet, the daily reported, citing security sources. An international conference would be instrumental in resolving this issue, the newspaper suggested.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in early December that the Israeli-Syrian agreement on the disengagement of forces in the Golan Heights, reached shortly after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, was no longer valid, since Syrian soldiers had left their positions after the collapse of President Bashar Assad's government. Netanyahu ordered the army to occupy the demarcation zone. Defence Minister Katz ordered the army to prepare for wintering in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.