Prime Minister Naftali Bennett recently stopped a regional initiative promoted by his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, to return Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the Arab League and the family of nations.
At the heart of the initiative was the idea of international reconciliation with Assad's victory in the civil war, in exchange for the powers' agreement with him that he would withdraw Iranian forces from Syria.
Israel Today has learned that Assad's money laundering plan was first raised by Israel, at a summit held three years ago in Jerusalem, between Israel, the United States and Russia's national security advisers.
In a conversation with then-Trump adviser John Bolton and with Putin's representative Nikolai Petroshev, then-National Security Council Chairman Meir Ben-Shabbat presented a multi-stage plan: Assad will call on all foreign forces that entered Syria after 2011 to leave his country, on the grounds that they are no longer needed; It will be accepted as one of the members of the Arab League; the Persian Gulf principalities, led by the United Arab Emirates, will invest in the Syrian economy instead of Iran, which also takes over the country economically;
Prime Minister Bennett, Photo: GPO
Supported by Jordan and Egypt
The plan received the blessing of then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On his mission, Ben Shabbat introduced it to all the Arab countries with which Israel maintains ties, including the Gulf states.
The one who was very interested in the plan was Jordan, with the aim of freeing itself from the heavy burden of the millions of Syrian refugees who fled to it during the war years.
Egypt also wanted the plan.
Israel, on the other hand, has not had any direct or indirect contact with Syria, nor has it directly or indirectly asked the Syrian president whether he agrees with it or not.
This is according to a senior source involved in the details.
With the end of the civil war in Syria, Israel at the time appreciated that Assad's rule was a fait accompli.
Assad, ever since, enjoys only international support in Russia.
The political system at the time believed that in the circumstances that arose, reconciling with Assad from here, and pushing Iran off its feet from here, was the best result that could be achieved.
"There is no other way"
"In principle, there was agreement among the various countries that this was the right thing to do, but as a result of the frequent election campaigns in Israel, and later due to the change of government in the United States and Israel, the move did not progress," the senior official told Israel Today.
Bashar al-Assad, Photo: AP
The senior official also said that the National Security Council was aware that Assad had no forces of his own, capable of forcing Iran to withdraw its militias from Syrian territory.
There is no other way to get the Iranians out of Syria.
Only a combination of military blows and a political move can make them retreat.
"The goal of this program was to delegitimize the Iranian presence in Syria, and for that, first and foremost, we needed support and agreement between the United States and Russia, and these were indeed achieved," the senior official said.
The current head of the National Security Council, Dr. Eyal Hulta, received an update from Ben Shabbat on the initiative upon taking office.
However, the Bennett bureau decided not to continue promoting the program.
However, the current government also does not oppose the "laundering" of Assad, insofar as Arab countries decide.
The issue arose at the tripartite summit between Bennett and Egyptian President al-Sisi and the heir to the throne of the Emirates, Muhammad bin Zayed, two weeks ago in Sinai.
Ben-Zayed gave an update to his two colleagues about the meeting he had with Assad at his palace, the day before.
Bennett presented a neutral position regarding Assad.
He did not oppose the possibility of him being returned to the Arab League, but neither did he support the idea.
The Bennett bureau believes that Assad is unable to expel the Iranians from his country, and therefore the initiative is not feasible.
"There may be a situation where we go bald on both sides, we will also be partners in training Assad and we will stay with the Iranians in Syria. The Iranians are there at his invitation, and it is difficult to see a scenario where he calls for them to leave. From him, "says a political source.
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