MK Zvi Hauser (Blue and White), who served as Cabinet Secretary between 2009 and 2013, published an article two years ago in which he suggested methods of action for the day when the Americans pull out of Syria and the Kurds are attacked.
Speaking Thursday in an interview with Roni Bar-On and Ben Caspit on Radio 103 FM, Hauser said, "Two years ago, I wrote an article in Haaretz proposing all kinds of methods of action. I think Israel didn't do anything. The Kurdish story should have been thought about in 2012-2013 when it was realized that the civil war in Syria was a significant event. Israel is not a global power but is a regional power that should have understood the Turkish interest in Syria.”
“Already then, Israel's geo-strategic interest should have been defined. From the Israeli perspective, Syria had to end the civil war and divide into three states: a Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish state. That was the optimal achievement. Back then the Russians were not yet on the ground. Today the question being asked is - what has Israel done about it in recent years?"
Bar-On: I didn't read the article back then. Did you think the State of Israel should intervene in the Syrian chaos? I think you were the only statesman.
"There is a gap between sitting back and doing nothing and entering the territory. On the practical level, a buffer zone should have been created that would not allow a direct land line between Tehran and Quneitra. This is a leadership that defined itself in the last election campaign as being in a ‘different league’, one that has wonderful relationships with the US and it should have worked on this for the past three or four years."
Caspit: I want to increase the resolution. Look at our strategic situation. After many years of war in Syria we are quite alone here. There are Turks and Iranians here while Trump flees.
"The high spirits that were here just a few weeks ago when they talked about a defense pact between Israel and the US have disappeared and we have returned to the basic insight: Israel will defend itself by itself. What is happening now is sharpening this. We are watching a significant change in the rules of the game in the Middle East. Turkey's invasion of Syria is not just another foreign news item. This is a country that is a member of NATO that invades a neighboring country and shapes its borders according to its security needs. We need to understand what these things mean for the Gaza front and the growing front in the north (Lebanon and Syria). These are new rules of the game."
Bar-On: It is legitimate to turn this matter into a political insult against Netanyahu. For years, there are those who have been saying that the affair with Trump will end in great tears, but we're not alone on this. Countries larger than us are troubled by this. This is not a world war, there will be no massacre there. The Kurds are not suckers and let's put it all in proportion.
"We should expect to have hundreds of thousands of refugees in the areas the Turks are entering now. The Turks are going to make a demographic change along the border and move three million Sunni refugees and settle them in Kurdish territories and the rest will move to Europe. We have already seen what happens when 3-4 million refugees arrive in Europe.”
Caspit: In conclusion, did something about Liberman's outline [for a unity government] surprise you?
"The important and crucial element is that the two major parties, which represent more than half the Knesset members, sit down to discuss the basic lines. Then the debate about other parties can be opened. Let's sit down and see how this country should continue to run."