Israeli leader: Trump withdrawal from Syria won鈥檛 affect us

AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chats to a member of the Israeli military before delivering a statement at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem December 19, 2018. (REUTERS)
  • Israel has seen the US presence in neighboring Syria as a bulwark against its main enemy Iran and a counterweight to Russia
  • 鈥淲e will continue to act against Iran鈥檚 attempt to establish a military presence in Syria,鈥� Netanyahu said

JERUSALEM: Israel鈥檚 leader says the American decision to withdraw its forces from Syria will not affect Israeli policy.
Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will 鈥渃ontinue to act against Iran鈥檚 attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria, and to the extent necessary, we will even expand our actions there.鈥�
Israel, like others, was caught off-guard by President Donald Trump鈥檚 abrupt move to withdraw all the roughly 2,000 US forces from Syria in the coming weeks. The announcement sparked the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the global coalition fighting the Daesh group. Several Republicans said leaving Syria was an abandonment of American allies, such as Israel.
Netanyahu, who flaunts a good rapport with Trump, says Sunday 鈥渃ooperation with the US will continue in full.鈥�

Topics: Benjamin Netanyahu Israel