The Zionists Are King on the Syrian Chessboard with Washington’s Support

Repeated Ceasefire Failures in Suwayda, Southern Syria

After the partial withdrawal of the Tribal militia from the Suwayda province in southern Syria, the communities in Suwayda are now under siege and facing starvation, lack of electricity, and water. The siege is being enforced by the HTS Jolani (Ahmed Al Sharaa) regime to punish the Druze for their opposition to integration into the Al Qaeda state apparatus and their refusal to disarm.

People from Suwayda report that only Syrian Arab Red Crescent are bringing any kind of aid to the province which includes food, water and basic medical supplies. Gas, oil and more crucial medical supplies have been denied. Jordan has not yet opened its borders to send aid. During the clashes the Tribal factions had destroyed many of the electricity pylons and stations; electricity is available, on average, 15 minutes per day.

The result of this pressure on the Druze will have several consequences. The ceasefire was imposed under US pressure on Jolani, and with Saudi, Emirati, and Jordanian mediation to pacify the Tribes, but it remains fragile. The Tribal factions need a symbolic victory after the Druze resistance inflicted heavy losses on their militia and on HTS fighters involved in the attacks on Suwayda.

The Tribes may well turn against Jolani if no victory is achieved, so Jolani must give them a pyrrhic victory or redirect them to other fronts, which could include the Kurdish SDF in the northeast, or against Lebanon or Iraq, as discussed in previous articles. On 28 July 2025, it was claimed that Jolani’s foreign Takfiris crossed the border into the northern Lebanese town of Al Mazariya and raided the homes of the Al Abu-Jabal clan members, which led to clashes in the area. Two HTS fighters were allegedly killed during the firefight.

There is no going back from events in Suwayda over the last two weeks. The Druze, already opposed to Jolani, have now lost all trust in any negotiation process. The Jolani regime is proven to have incited sectarian hatred across social media and media channels.

The Druze have demanded full withdrawal of hostile forces from all villages in the province and from Suwayda City. A demilitarised southern region aligns with the Zionist bloc strategic gaols to secure southern Syria and to extend up the eastern border of Syria with the David’s Corridor project. Not all Druze are aligned with Israel; the majority simply want security for their families and guarantees of stability after the appalling ethnic cleansing campaign by Jolani and Tribal militias. 

Regional Players Need Chaos to Dominate Syria and West Asia

Syria is the hub of all energy and trade routes in West Asia, intersecting with virtually all proposed economic corridors. A future article will go into greater detail about the ‘corridor wars’.

Multiple regional players are vying for influence, resources and territory to further their global agendas, and Syria is the crossroads for these projects.

None of the regional actors are fostering stability in Syria for good reason. Organised chaos is the gateway to their West Asia (Middle East) domination strategies. Each state has its own vision regarding the scope, duration and eventual outcome of this period of chaos. The lives and futures of the Syrian people are largely irrelevant except as pawns on the chess board. Decades of claiming ‘war for the rights of the Syrian people’ are again exposed as the humanitarian fig leaf for destabilisation and land grab.

Turkey: Erdoğan’s Neo-Ottoman Vision

Turkey would not benefit from the partitioning of Syria, but it does consider it as a viable fallback plan. Strategists believe that limited chaos would allow Ankara to expand influence over northern Syria and push towards the Alawite-majority coastal regions, thanks to the historical Alawite links in Turkey-annexed Hatay province.

 

 

If Ankara fails to secure influence over a unified Syria, it would annex the northern territories as a counter to Israeli expansion in the south and east.

 

 

 

The Limits of Turkey’s Role and Its Relationship with Jolani 

As with Gaza, Erdoğan’s administration is heavy on belligerent rhetoric and light on counter-Zionist action when it comes to Syria. Recently, Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan issued the provocative statement, “Turkey will intervene militarily if Syria is partitioned”. The actual response to Jolani’s plea for support was lukewarm. Turkey made promises of technical training and intelligence sharing; nothing that would actually alleviate any pressure for Jolani short–term. This, in itself, is an indication of the restrictions imposed on Turkey, a NATO member state, by the US and EU who see Syria through a Zionist lens, not an Ottoman one. The UK’s historical enmity with the Ottoman Empire, and their role in the creation of the Zionist entity, will exclude any support for Erdoğan from that direction. 

Erdoğan is the authoritarian figurehead of a structured, centralised Turkish state governed by institutional consensus and an entrenched deep state which will calculate very carefully how far Turkey can extend its military and political influence.

Turkey is also reliant upon its membership of NATO, as NATO is reliant upon Turkey’s inclusion. Turkey has been pushing for inclusion in the EU, BRICs, and membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, bringing it closer to Russia and China. Turkey is juggling many geopolitical agendas, and it must not appear too expansionist in Syria, as this would potentially alienate many of the emerging trade partnerships.

For economic and military reasons, a broader Arab role was necessary. The Turkish economy is already overstretched after 14 years of investment in the regime change war in Syria. It cannot accept sole responsibility for Syria’s reconstruction without economic returns. Its own domestic economy is on its knees.  Erdoğan promised that the war waged against Syria would bring economic rewards for the Turkish population, but the country is now flooded with Syrian refugees, and Syria is yet to yield any serious benefits despite the fall of the Assad Government in 2024. 

Ultimately, Turkey cannot support any escalation in a war with Israel. It cannot act in Syria without US, Zionist, and British Intelligence cooperation. Russia and Israel are forming an alliance that threatens to curtail any concept of Turkish expansionism in Syria. Israel has bombed previous attempts to advance Turkish interests further into central Syria, and has made it very clear that Turkey will be restricted to the annexation of northern border territories. 

For Erdoğan, the hostility towards the Kurds has now taken a back seat, following the reconciliation with the PKK and their initial moves towards disarmament. This shift towards resolution of a historic threat to Turkish stability gives Erdoğan the possibility to find a way forward with Syrian and Iraqi Kurds long-term. After all, if Ankara can negotiate with Abdullah Öcalan—jailed for decades as a ‘terrorist’—and maintain relations with Barzani and Talabani, it can certainly strike deals with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the US and Israel. This would improve Erdoğan’s image on the global stage where he is seeking Turkish prominence.

To some degree, Erdoğan will return to the original plan: a stake in Syria’s reconstruction and an increased market for Turkish export and investments. Turkey will control Aleppo City and province—the industrial heart of the Syrian state and a crucial part of the trade corridor transit through Syrian territory. 

The Neo-Ottoman Project vs. the Greater Israel Project 

The priority for Israel and Washington is to contain Iran, weaken Hezbollah in Lebanon, and fracture the entire Resistance Axis. The most efficient way to achieve this is to, initially, empower a hardline Takfiri state and a repressive regime in Syria. This may eventually lead to the replacement of Jolani and the Al Qaeda state with a political Sunni Muslim alternative incubated in the US—always an option favoured by the CIA. From ’75 Years & Counting: A History of Western Regime Change in Syria Part I’: “The CIA favoured a (majority) Sunni Islam regime in Syria—‘U.S. interests in Syria probably would be best served by a Sunni regime’—particularly one led by Sunni ‘business-moderates’ who would ‘see a strong need for Western aid and investment’”.

The 1982 Yinon Plan also described exactly what is happening in 2025’s Syria: “Israel must become an imperial regional power, and must effect the division of the whole area into small states by the dissolution of all existing Arab states”.

The Trump-Kushner-Blair Abraham Accord project would then ensure normalisation between those sectarian statelets and Israel. 

It is worth noting that serious investment in Syria is virtually impossible with the unresovled conflict in Suwayda unless there is full control of the armed factions on the ground. Only state-backed businesses can operate. External and independent internal investors are excluded. Syria becomes a central economic protectorate which is exposed to cronyism and corruption, as recently exposed in a Reuters investigation. 

Turkey’s belligerent posturing against Israel is only cosmetic. Erdoğan has maintained support for Israel throughout the October 7th genocide by supplying Baku oil through Turkish territory. Turkey was the world’s fifth–largest exporter to Israel in 2024, despite an alleged trade ban. The anti-Israel rhetoric is only to appease the Arab/Muslim factions that would oppose Ankara’s role in the ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza and the West Bank. 

Turkey has NATO’s second–largest military, but it lacks technological advancement. Turkish weapons projects are experimental. Its F-16s are outdated and ineligible for upgrades. Its bid for F-35s was blocked by the US due to Erdoğan’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence systems. Missile systems still depend on US and EU support. 

Finally, Turkey watched the Israel-Iran conflict closely. The entire region is now extensively militarised. Turkey must avoid reckless military adventurism that might deepen its economic quagmire. Although a NATO member state, Turkey’s arsenal is also predominantly manufactured in the West, and it is restricted by arms embargoes, which ultimately are in the interests of Israeli security in the region. 

The Jolani Gamble: A Miscalculated Investment

Turkey made a long term investment in Jolani on behalf of the wider Intelligence coalition involved in the 14 year-long regime change war against Syria.

Jolani is now abandoning his signature Takfiri origins and pivoting towards a Westernised version of an extremist Sunni dominated state; one which will inevitably prioritise Israeli expansion and security interests over Turkey’s.

Syrians are secular and tolerant, historically. Even traditionally Islamist Sunnis are expressing disgust over the ethnic cleansing pogroms and expanding sectarian divides threatening Syrian unity. There is a nationwide breakdown of law and order, and an explosion of mafia cartels, decentralised corruption, and criminal networks. 

Erdoğan, blinded by his own hubris, effectively walked into the Syrian trap. Deceived by Washington, the Israelis, and the British, he believed he would have the green light to run Syria as an Ottoman province. This will never be allowed to happen.

The reality is, he collided with historical, competing agendas that he had no control over and was excluded from long-term. Suwayda delivered a major blow. Turkey was not able to take prominence in the peace negotiations. Now, Turkey is losing control over Jolani who is aligning with the US-Gulf-Arab project that will serve Israel over Turkey. 

The Zionist Project in Syria Was Facilitated by the US from the Beginning 

The Israeli project in Syria is the clearest and most openly declared. Israel has never hidden its expansionist aims or its plan to annex parts of the south and complete the so-called ‘David’s Corridor’. A reading of Netanyahu’s book A Place Among the Nations: Israel and the World reveals the full blueprint of this project.

Israel prefers Syria to be partitioned with proxy elements—without direct military expenditure—but there are multiple variations on the strategy. During the Suwayda conflict, Israel dispatched a massive military convoy to Qatana, southwest of Damascus. It also carried out two airborne operations in Qalaat Jandal, also in Qatana, using Druze troops from Palestine. Today, Israel possesses a military force just 11 km from Damascus—effectively a spearhead, should it choose to strike the capital directly.

Israel can, at any moment, shell Damascus with artillery, cut the Beirut–Damascus highway, or circle around the city from the south to isolate Daraa, south of Damascus. The Suwayda operation was thus a critical test run in Israel’s strategy, aimed in part at rallying the Druze community to its side, especially amid the severe manpower shortage facing the Israeli military.

The US illegal military base at Al Tanf on the Syrian border with Jordan and Iraq was always intended to be a crucial component of Zionist plans. From the beginning of the war on Syria, it has served as a strategic outpost for Israel, providing airspace for Israeli bombing raids during the former Assad presidency. 

Nestled at the intersection of Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, it offers a commanding view over vital smuggling routes, military supply lines, and tribal crossings. This makes it not only a tactical asset but also a political wedge driven deep into the heart of Arab resistance geography. Al-Tanf denies the natural connection between allied forces stretching from Tehran to Beirut, fragmenting the region in accordance with Western and Zionist goals.

Total Synchronicity between the US and Zionist Agendas in Syria

It is almost impossible to separate US from Zionist strategy in Syria. They are aligned in every core aspect, despite theatrical rifts and quarrels. The only difference lies in implementation methods and political posturing.

The US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) is active in Al Dumayr, northeast of Damascus. Israeli forces are now established in Qatana, less than 20 km southwest of the City. They form a military pincer encircling the capital, and are able to move if Jolani fails to act according to Washington’s demands or loses control of the Takfiri militia under his command.

 

Recent statements from Trump’s point man Tom Barrack regarding SDF negotiations with Jolani are political doublespeak. The Pentagon has renewed the SDF budget: $130 million through 2026. CENTCOM continues to recognise them as a key regional partner in the ‘fight against ISIS’ despite ISIS also being an instrument of Washington in the war against the Resistance Axis. 

The US has invested heavily in the transformation of the Kurdish separatists into a proto-civil-state actor that allegedly champions pluralism and religious freedoms. There are multiple cases of Kurdish ethnic cleansing and discriminatory abuse of the Arab population in the northeast where the Kurds occupy Syrian agricultural and oil resources and manage the ISIS holding camps.

Jolani’s role will eventually expire, and the SDF appears to represent one of Washington’s Plan Bs. They are a disciplined military faction that would partner more easily with the US-sponsored FSA/Muslim Brotherhood factions in Syria, which are known to be in opposition to Jolani and the HTS Takfiri elements. The SDF, despite political pressure from the US, are never going to fully integrate with the Jolani regime. There is a real possibility that Washington might move to replace Jolani with the SDF chief Mazloum Abdi if another military coup in Damascus is considered expedient. This would also be a temporary stepping stone to a ‘moderate’ Sunni state. Abdi would never have the full support of the majority Sunni population and Sunni Syrian business class that, ultimately, the US prefer as a Syrian puppet government.

How Turkey would respond to such a move by Washington remains to be seen. Erdoğan has witnessed the exploitation of the Syrian Tribal factions by Jolani, and there are tribes that prefer Turkey to the Kurdish factions. Would Erdoğan attempt to weaponise them against any Kurdish bid for power, even if supported by Washington?

The Jolani Security Pact with Israel Enabled by the Massacre of Druze 

The Syria Sanctions Accountability Act of 2025 will impose major political pressure on Jolani. Reuters exposed Jolani links to coastal massacres and financial corruption. The BBC Arabic Marassi investigation exposed the Takfiri elements fighting under Jolani command in Suwayda despite denials. 

Exposing the Suwayda massacres and the use of disguised ISIS fighters—posing as tribesmen or government forces—put the White House in an awkward position. The US had been backing Jolani as a stabilising head of state. But following the brutal execution of a US citizen in Suwayda, political voices began to question this support.

Republican Congressman Michael Vincent Lawler has introduced a bill to renew and expand sanctions on Syria. This also provides Washington with plausible deniability for supporting Jolani and the atrocities committed by his militia throughout Syria. It has potential to give the Jolani administration political cover to justify a security agreement with Israel—under duress—to prevent any further collapse of the Syrian state. This narrative also protects Jolani’s fraudulent image as a supporter of Arab identity and the Palestinian cause, at least short-term.

Jolani-aligned Takfiri religious leaders have already begun sowing the seeds of normalisation to Syrian communities. The narrative is the Druze ‘betrayed the nation’ and a security pact with Israel is inevitable to preserve Syria’s unity. Druze, defending themselves against the murderous ravages of Jolani’s militia, gave Jolani no choice but to ‘accept agreements with Israel to restore order’.

A Race between Regional Players to Curtail the US-Zionist Project 

Among the Gulf Arab states, Saudi Arabia is the most alarmed by developments in Syria. This has led to a $6.4 billion investment in Syrian reconstruction and development. Syria and Saudi Arabia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the energy sector, which includes enhancing bilateral cooperation in the electricity and renewable energy sectors, regional electricity interconnection, oil and gas, and petrochemicals, in addition to developing human resources, encouraging innovation, and transferring technology. Saudi Arabia is not only trying to keep its footprint viable in Syria but is also concerned with protecting the longevity of the House of Saud.

Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) understands that the only way to counter the US/Zionist project is to offer the US an alternative. A Sunni ruler for Syria with Takfiri credentials capable of governing religious extremism and redirecting it away from Palestine towards Iran, Hezbollah, and the broader Shia-Muslim-majority Resistance Axis. 

According to Philadelphia Jewish Exponent:

Shadi Martini, a Syrian opposition activist aligned with Jolani, declared [emphasis added] before Israeli lawmakers that Syria is ready to open a new chapter. He praised Israeli strikes on Hezbollah. He called the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a ‘turning point’ that benefited the Syrian people. He described the post-Assad period as a ‘once-in-a-century opportunity’.

Saudi Arabia wants to counter this move towards security pacts with Israel and eventual normalisation with economic advances in Syria. It is necessary for the Kingdom to obtain an economic foothold in the Levant and to secure its interests in regional trade and reconstruction. 

At the same time, Riyadh is determined to block any Turkish-Qatari advancement or control over the Sunni world, which it views as a direct threat to its leadership and regional dominance. 

But there’s a catch: the Gulf/Saudi Arab project conflicts directly with the Israeli one. Saudi Arabia might tolerate a federal Syria—but not outright partition. Israel, however, wants federalism as the first step toward permanent division. Washington sees everything through an Israeli lens first and foremost, although Saudi Arabia is a long-term partner in the long war against Iran.

The Uncertain Future of Southern Syria 

There is no Druze reconciliation with Jolani’s regime on the horizon. Clashes have resumed in the north of Suwayda province, and sectarian threats from the Tribal factions have not subsided. This all gives greater latitude for Zionist intervention with the unspoken green light from Washington.

Many Druze still reject Zionist intervention, preferring ‘international protection’. The so-called international community is typically unforthcoming. Choices boil down to being slaughtered or accept Israeli protection in the short to mid-term. This was the Zionist strategy from the outset; it was a strategy that was applied even during Assad’s presidency. 

There is also evidence that ISIS is redeploying in the South and in Daraa, which provides the pretext for US intervention to ‘fight ISIS’. Israeli media has been reporting on an agreement between the US, Israel and Jolani stating that oversight of the Suwayda region will transfer to American control (the Al Tanf military base is perfectly placed) with US officials committing to ensuring the implementation of the withdrawal of HTS and Tribal militia from the region. 

To ensure the success of this agreement and to provide the pretext for US interference, ISIS elements in HTS uniform reportedly infiltrated Suwayda City to carry out an assault on the eastern countryside, just as they had attempted to do in 2018. 

ISIS was militarily defeated in 2019, but it never disappeared from Syrian territory. It restructured into sleeper cells across deserts and urban areas. With the collapse of state institutions and military checkpoints, Syria became a vacuum in which ISIS can operate without restrictions. Social fracture or the breakdown of existing tribal governance systems will also facilitate the reemergence of ISIS stronger than before, empowered by defections from HTS to ISIS by Takfiri elements frustrated with Jolani. The US knows full well that this is a consequence of chaos, and this will serve the Zionist-US agenda to weaken Resistance movements in the region. 

The Shifting Sands of the Regional Power Struggle in Syria 

The partitioning of Syria was never an end in itself. It is the first step for the Zionist bloc, towards redrawing regional borders starting with West Asia, which is the central global resource and trade hub.

Israel was planted in Palestine for this reason. It was a British-midwived colonialist project to derail any other geopolitical interloper in West Asia, and to secure control for the Zionist bloc, while destroying any Pan-Arabist development and sovereign resource control. 

The fall of Syria is intended to weaken the Arab national identity and nationalist resistance on a pan-Arab level. Initial signs of collapse include the spread of religious sectarianism and tribal fanaticism now infiltrating Syrian society. 

The recent sectarian conflict in Suwayda is unprecedented in recent Syrian history. This, while Palestinian Bedouins are being genocided by Zionists, the enemies of Arab Muslims and of humanity as a whole. As a friend in Damascus told me, “This is where we are morally and intellectually”. It is a world in which Zionism is taking hold, and where a recent Yemeni challenge to Arab Muslim States to open their borders for Yemeni fighters to go to the aid of Palestine is ignored.

Suwayda is a stage in the road map. Jolani weaponised the Tribes to enable the Zionist plan to annex the south, but this has the potential to create another enemy for Jolani in the short-term. A Damascus analyst told me:

The tribes have always thought tactically, not strategically. Hafez al-Assad once succeeded in integrating the tribes into the state and securing their loyalty—indeed, relying on them—because he led Syria through the Ba’ath Party, in the name of Arabism and moderate Islam, which won them over. But since 2011, that loyalty has fractured, even within individual tribes. Allegiance has gradually shifted from the state to the tribal leader, with the primary goal becoming survival and personal gain. That’s why we’ve seen members of the same tribe join ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian Arab Army, the Free Syrian Army, QSD, the National Army, and even fight as mercenaries abroad.

The Tribal project has not had time to mature, and the powers that devised it underestimated the complexities involved. However, extremist elements have coalesced under the Tribal umbrella, including ISIS. This could be used as a weapon against the Resistance Axis in the future.

However, the Tribes remain difficult to control without clear command and control structures in place with a central leadership dictating policy. For now, it remains a factional force that has clear potential to spiral out of control that could pose a threat to the Zionist bloc project. It is a juggernaut that, once set in motion, will be very hard to bring to a controlled stop for any of the regional strategists.

Jolani’s survival depends on Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Jordan to keep loose control of the Tribes. King Abdullah of Jordan will not allow a Tribal force of this scale to exist along the Syrian border with Jordan. The Tribes have deep ties inside Jordan; the instability could spill over and destabilise the country. Additionally, there is the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood factions in Syria uniting with their Jordanian brethren to incite unrest among communities already furious about King Abdullah’s protectionism towards Israel. 

Israel may have benefitted from the tribal atrocities against the Druze, but long-term, Israel will not tolerate any expansion of the tribal presence close to the Syrian border with Occupied Palestine. The full annexation of southern Syria will be the ‘only option’ to counter such a threat—or this is how it will be conveyed to the international community by the Israeli expansionists. 

Is Jolani preparing for his power reaching a sell-by date? Why is Jolani effectively crafting the apparatus to siphon Syrian funds away from Syria and the Syrian people? Why did Reuters expose the Jolani role in the coastal massacres and then conduct the investigation into Jolani’s crony extortion rackets plundering the country? Where is that money now? Statements from Jolani’s Al Qaeda administration have publicly stated that they consider the Reuters reports a betrayal. Did they expect Reuters to cover up their crimes because of their backers in Washington?

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar are attempting to sign vital economic deals in a volatile Syrian environment. These investments or pledges are not feasible until Syria is stabilised. Qatar and Turkey are trying to cement their role in post-Assad Syria. On 29 May, Syria signed a $7 billion memorandum of understanding with the United States, Qatar, and Turkey to construct four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants and one solar farm. 

Jolani and his Takfiri close circle know that their role is temporary. They were useful to implement the first stage of the Zionist bloc full–spectrum dominance, with Turkey and the Gulf Arab states given token slices of the Syria cake. Perhaps, for the same reason, Jolani reneged on the Syrian Constitution and delayed the draft for three years? 

Once the Syrian population is traumatised and vulnerable enough to accept whatever the US-led alliance wants; a civilian, elected authority with a preferred US-incubated figurehead will be imposed upon them. This authority will inevitably accept debt enslavement and a constitutional framework that legally transfers Syrian natural resources and borders to the control of regional and international powers. 

Jolani must know that he has a rapidly closing window of opportunity to lay the foundations for this plan. Is it an opportunity for Jolani to extricate as much wealth as possible out of Syria and into the pockets of the Jolani henchmen and sponsors? If this assessment is correct — the Syrian people will be left disenfranchised and with no control over resources or national wealth — it will be the perfect environment for the Global Capitalist complex to flourish at the expense of humanity, as always.

NOTE: Events and regional strategies are not written in stone. Much of what I have written about is in a perpetual state of flux, and multiple road maps are involved in the future of Syria. Things may take a different direction temporarily, new alliances may be formed in the short term, but the ultimate agenda of the Zionist bloc will not alter in its trajectory: to destroy the regional Resistance capability, redraw the borders in West Asia to preserve Zionist security going forward, and allow Zionist expansion and resource grab. The long war against Iran is still being waged.