According to Middle East expert Dr. Mordechai Keidar, the latest wave of protests in Syria is only the beginning and is about to get worse.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew website on Tuesday, Keidar predicted that the protests will spread to other cities in Syria.
“The Syrian people are slowly losing their fear [of protesting], and you can see that other cities are beginning to join the protests,” he said and added that he believes that Syrian President Bashar Assad will not be quick to use weapons against demonstrators.
“Assad is now in a dilemma in light of what is happening in Libya,” Keidar noted. “There is no doubt the West's decision to attack Libya and close its air space has also affected Assad's ability to make a decision to attack the demonstrators.”
According to Keidar, Syria’s citizens no longer believe Assad’s promises for reforms in Syria. “His time is up. He had ten years to institute reforms and he did nothing.”
Keidar added that it is very difficult to say at the moment what the characteristics of a post-Assad regime would be and how it would affect the State of Israel.
“There is no way to predict this in advance,” he said. “There may be a situation where the country is falling apart, but it is difficult to predict which regime will take over.”
Protests continued on Tuesday in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, 62 miles from Damascus. The epicenter of the protests was a mosque that was transformed into a field hospital after Syrian police opened fire on protesters last Friday.
The Syrian government has arrested dozens of journalists and students throughout Syria over the past ten days, while attempting to appear conciliatory by dismissing officials who are accused of being corrupt, such as Faisal Kalthoum, who was fired from his position as governor of Daraa on Tuesday.
Last week, a “Day of Rage” took place throughout Syria, with protesters demanding free elections and a change of government. The protests took place in Damascus, Aleppo, and the northern border town of Qamishli.
In response, Syrian security troops opened fire in some areas, and beat demonstrators with clubs and sticks.