Israel and its allies should not aggravate the tumultuous state of affairs in Syria: China Daily editorial

Taking advantage of the downfall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Israel has lost no time in conducting air strikes against targets across Syria, carrying out significant ground operations there and seizing control of a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Such behavior is tantamount to looting a neighbor's house when it is on fire.

Israel's military said on Tuesday that it had carried out 350 air strikes targeting "most" of Syria's advanced weapons, including in Damascus, in a span of 48 hours. Though it had denied any troop movement beyond the demilitarized zone, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Israeli armored units were positioned roughly 25 kilometers from Damascus on Tuesday morning.

The purpose of Israel's offensive on Syria, as clearly stated by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, was to establish a "sterile defense zone" in southern Syria to prevent hostile forces from approaching its borders. Claiming that in order to safeguard its security, Israel has to set up a buffer zone inside its neighbor's territory is gangster logic.

No wonder the incursion immediately drew criticism from regional countries, including Iran, Iraq, Turkiye, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, and prompted calls from the international community that Syria's sovereignty be respected. Israel's reckless attacks in Syria must be condemned and brought to an end.

Israel's aggression has already played a significant, if not decisive, role in triggering what is now happening in Syria, and elsewhere in the region. Its attacks on Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, since the onset of its conflict with Hamas more than a year ago have dramatically changed the power balance in the Middle East and even broken the region's strategic equilibrium.

Given that both Israel and its close ally the United States have for years sought the end of Assad's rule in Syria, his downfall will have been greeted with glee in Tel Aviv and Washington.

Many in Washington have long lamented the waning of US clout in the Middle East following the US withdrawal from Iraq, they will be overjoyed at the downfall of Assad, which has weakened the influence of Iran in the region, another of the US' bêtes noires, helping to bolster the US' influence in the Middle East.

But for Syria and its people, it is too early to say the situation will get better, not worse. The United Nations has repeatedly raised concerns about the grave humanitarian situation in the country. Israel's incursion also points to the challenge for both Syria and the world community to maintain the territorial integrity of Syria. Not to mention that the complicated backgrounds of Syrian rebel coalition forces and some of the forces' roots in terrorism and extremism do not augur well: There is no guarantee that Syria will not become another Libya or a venue for different players to pursue selfish gains, or even worse, a hotbed for some diehard terrorists to regroup.

Hence, for the world community to prevent another Middle East country from falling into endless violence and chaos and for a peaceful future for the Syrian people, this is no time for calculating who wins or loses in Syria but the time for concerted international efforts to find a peaceful way out for Syrians.

As China has stressed, Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected, and Syria's future should be determined by the Syrian people. All influential players in the conflict should act in the best interests of the Syrian people, and any political solution to restore stability in Syria as soon as possible should be welcomed and supported.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China hopes that the relevant parties will reach a political settlement as soon as possible, bearing in mind the fundamental interest of the Syrian people.