Israeli media on Tuesday alleged U.S. President Donald Trump plans to pull out thousands of American troops from Syria, something that would impact Israel’s expansionist plans in the south and activities of the terrorist groups it supports in the north.
Israel’s official public broadcasting Kan reported that “senior White House officials conveyed a message to their Israeli counterparts indicating that President Trump intends to pull thousands of U.S. troops from Syria.”
It added that “the withdrawal of American forces from Syria will raise significant concerns in Tel Aviv.”
According to a Pentagon announcement in December, the U.S. has some 2,000 troops deployed in Syria.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, visited the occupied Mount Hermon in Syria on Tuesday, emphasizing Israel’s intent to maintain a military presence there indefinitely following its occupation last month.
“We will not allow hostile forces to establish a foothold in the security zone south of Syria, from here to the Sweida-Damascus axis. We will act against any threat,” said Katz.
In December, taking advantage of Syrian factions toppling Bashar Assad’s regime, Israel expanded its occupation in the Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized zone in Mount Hermon.
On Dec. 8, Israeli forces launched extensive airstrikes across Syria, destroying military sites, weaponry and infrastructure, a violation of Syrian sovereignty that drew international condemnation.
Furthermore, Israel declared the collapse of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement with Syria, deploying its military in the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights, most of which it has occupied since 1967. This move has faced criticism from the U.N. and Arab states.
The U.S. withdrawal also concerns Türkiye, who opposes Washington’s military cooperation with the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which is proscribed as a terrorist group by the European Union, the U.S. and Türkiye. It is responsible for more than 40,000 deaths in Türkiye, including women and children. It maintains strongholds in northern Iraq and Syria to create a self-styled “Kurdish state.”
The U.S. has dispatched troops along with military equipment and weapons to Syria’s northeast during the Syrian civil war to help the PKK/YPG under the pretext of the fight against Daesh. Ankara says the YPG/PKK is on par with Daesh and should have no presence in the new Syria.
Swathes of northern Syria, including oil-rich areas, have been occupied by the PKK/YPG since 2015.
Türkiye has mounted multiple operations against the PKK/YPG since 2016, and the Syrian National Army (SNA) has captured several YPG-occupied towns in the past months, including Manbij and Deir el-Zour.
Clashes have continued between the SNA and the YPG since, nowadays concentrated around the Tishrin Dam near Manbij.
Türkiye said it expects Trump to heed his NATO ally’s security concerns and pull back U.S. troops from northern Syria. Ankara has also threatened military action if the terrorist group refuses to disband.
Earlier this month, then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was working to address Türkiye’s concerns and dissuade it from stepping up its offensive against the YPG.
In a call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan last week, Blinken’s successor Marco Rubio reiterated the “need for an inclusive transition in Syria,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
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