The U.S. is working to broker an agreement under which the Syrian government would grant Israel permission to open and operate a humanitarian corridor directly into the southern Syrian province of Suwayda, ostensibly for the purpose of delivering humanitarian aid to the Druze community, according to statements by American and Israeli officials on August 12.  

Israel’s request came after Jordan refused to allow it send aid to Suwayda via Jordanian territory, prompting Israeli forces to deliver it via airdrops. The Syrian government also voiced its concern to Washington that Druze militias could use the corridor to smuggle in weapons.  

Israeli is hoping to achieve several goals and objectives through obtaining the Syrian government’s approval to open a humanitarian corridor to Suwayda, primarily:  

• To restore Israel’s reputation, tarnished by the stifling blockade it imposed on Gaza, which has caused famine and killed many children, part of a series of policies that amount to genocide. This has exposed Israel to an unprecedented wave of international criticism and public opposition to its policies around the world. Israel wants the so-called “humanitarian corridor” to Suwayda to restore a veneer of the humane, despite the irony of it submitting its request via the U.S., which has consistently used its veto to protect Israel from condemnation at the UN Security Council.  

•    To portray the Syrian government as having preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Suwayda, in a form of sectarian discrimination against the Druze. A joint Syrian-Jordanian statement issued in Amman on August 12 gave the lie to Israel’s accusations in this regard, welcoming the Syrian government’s steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to all areas of Suwayda governorate, including in cooperation with the relevant UN agencies. Damascus has already opened humanitarian corridors through which it has sent convoys of humanitarian aid and the operational supplies necessary to restore basic services. It has also allowed those wishing to leave Suwayda to pass through these corridors and travel to any destination they wish, both inside and outside the country, without any recorded incidents of harassment or arrest.  

•    To consolidate Israel’s influence in Syria. In addition to launching ground incursions and expanding its control over some areas along the front lines, Israel is also working to establish a proxy force in Syria, similar to Iran’s relationship with the Shiite community and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Through this faction, Israel seeks to interfere in Syria’s domestic affairs and undermine the stability the Syrian state has been seeking to build since the fall of the Assad regime.  

•    To incite other Syrian minorities, such as the Kurds and Alawites, to provoke the Syrian government into armed confrontations, asserting that Israel would be prepared to provide them with support and possibly pressure the Syrian government to open humanitarian corridors for them to ensure they can sustain these confrontations for as long as possible. The Israeli request would also see aid directed exclusively to the Druze, not to all those affected by the violence, thus seeking to undermine civil peace and the social reconciliation that the Syrian government is striving to achieve, as welcomed by the Amman Declaration.  

•    To convince the international community to intervene to protect minorities in Syria, internationalizing this issue in order to pave the way for the partition of the country or the establishment of cantons beyond the control of the central government, in which militias would retain their weapons and refuse to integrate into national state military and security forces. It is no small irony that the U.S. is pushing the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah and impose a state monopoly of arms, while simultaneously mediating an agreement in Syria that would ensure that Druze militias can retain their weapons and their control over a portion of Syrian territory.  

In conclusion, the Syrian government should reject any Israeli request to establish a humanitarian corridor into Suwayda and refuse to negotiate on this matter. It should also affirms its full commitment to cooperating with the UN and its affiliated agencies to address genuine humanitarian needs in Suwayda.