From Daraa to Idlib: Protests Against Israel Sweep Across Syria, Raising Questions About the Risks of Its Current Policy The images emerging from Syria today should concern Israeli decision-makers. From Daraa and Quneitra to Idlib and Hasakah, and through Damascus and Homs, protests are taking place against Israel’s presence and activities in southern Syria. This is more than another expression of familiar anti-Israeli rhetoric. What stands out this time is the geographic spread of the protests and their unifying national message. The issue of Israel, until now largely confined to residents of southern Syria, is beginning to resonate across the country. 1. Nearly two years have passed since Israeli forces entered southern Syria following the fall of the Assad regime. Apart from a handful of isolated incidents, there has been no significant, sustained violent friction with the local population, nor have we seen popular anti-Israeli protests on the scale and across the geographic breadth now emerging. It is important to stress that, at this stage, the protests remain peaceful, even if the accompanying rhetoric is harsh. But we must not mistake this calm for acceptance of the status quo. 2. Israel has legitimate security concerns in southern Syria. The situation remains fragile, the new regime is far from exercising full control over the country, and hostile actors, including ISIS, Hamas, Iran and its proxies, continue to look for opportunities to undermine stability and reestablish terrorist infrastructure. After October 7, it is also clear why Israel is unwilling to take risks along its borders. 3. But it is important to understand that Israel’s presence in southern Syria is not static, and neither is its cost. Frequent raids on villages, entry into residents’ homes, arrests, disruption of daily life and livelihoods, and, more recently, deadly shooting incidents—all contribute to a reality that breeds growing frustration, anger and hostility. 4. In some cases, military operations may be operationally justified. But it is difficult to ignore recent incidents, particularly the shooting in which Muad Salameh al-Buair, a young man with Down syndrome from the village of Jamla in western Daraa, was killed yesterday. The IDF says its forces identified a threat and acted to neutralize it; the incident is under review. This is not the only recent case in which a person with a disability was reportedly harmed during Israeli operations. 5. As we have warned repeatedly, it was only a matter of time before the accumulated friction with the local population translated into broader opposition. The current protests may be the first sign of that shift. Their spread beyond southern Syria, accompanied by calls for national unity and sovereignty, suggests that Israel’s presence is gradually evolving from a local security issue into a national Syrian cause. 6. This is where the strategic risk lies: Israel may end up creating the very threat it seeks to prevent. Rather than strengthening the new regime in Damascus’s interest in maintaining a quiet border and avoiding confrontation with Israel, we may push it, under mounting public pressure, toward a more hostile and hawkish position. At the same time, we may provide extremist actors with an opportunity to rally public support in the name of resistance to Israel. 7. The use of military force, however necessary in certain cases, cannot substitute for a long-term policy. Israel must preserve and advance channels of dialogue and serious negotiations with the new authorities in Damascus, whether or not we approve of them. 8. A security arrangement, even a limited and gradual one, backed by monitoring mechanisms, guarantees and freedom of action against genuine threats, may serve Israel’s interests better than an open-ended reliance on military force. A new Israeli government will need to reassess this path before the emerging trends become a reality that is difficult to reverse