Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/17/shooting-in-syria-could-mark-new-phase-in-israeli-campaign
Former Syrian Druze lawmaker Midhat Saleh was killed allegedly by Israeli sniper in a village along the Israeli frontier where he ran a Syrian government office. Israeli sources say that Saleh has been helping the Iranian military to fight against Israel, however, people that knew him claimed he has no connection to Iran or any militia. If Saleh was in fact killed by Israel, it would be the first time Israeli snipers had killed an Iranian ally across the border. Israel, in an attempt to squash a permanent Iranian military in Syria, have carried out a series of airstrikes on Iranian shipments and other militarial targets. Saleh was a large target for the Israeli military as he was born in an Israeli-controlled area and had been put in jail several times by Israel forces before moving to Syria, being elected to parliament, and serving an important role in the controversial area of Golan Heights. Saleh’s brother said Saleh was committed to ending Israel’s control over Golan Heights and Israeli military commentators say he was “involved in assisting the Iranians build up their capabilities along the Israeli front”.
If Israel did in fact kill Saleh through a sniper attack, it will send an extremely powerful message to Iran and Syria. It shows them what they are capable of along with warming them about the possible consequences of their ongoing actions near the Israeli border. The fight between Iran and Israel is sure to be exacerbated by even just the possibility of Israeli forces crossing state lines to assassinate an important Syrian figure. Dating back to the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, the bad blood between these two countries will continue due to the country’s leaders’ anti-Israel stance and Iran continuing to support groups that fight Israel like the Hezbollah in Lebanon and Palestinian groups.
Although this issue is primarily regional and might not necessarily involve the entire world as the shadow war has been going on for a good amount of time, it’s important to understand that globally, the assassination of Saleh by the Israeli government could be viewed a justifiable or unjustifiable act. Therefore, changing the world’s view on who is right in this ongoing conflict between Iran, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, etc.. Hezbollah and Hamas are other major actors in this conflict as they will periodically fight Israel on behalf of Iran. The message that this assasination will send to Iran and Syria could cause them to take a step back due to the capabilities and power that Israel has shown now. In a realist view, power and militarial capabilities play a huge role in a country’s success and achieving their goals, aligning with the country’s national interest.