Arab affairs analyst Zvi Yechezkeli responded to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and Israel's move to take over the Syrian Golan Heights.
"The way Israel sees the situation is very encouraging," he told i24NEWS. "Taking the Hermon and the partition areas is the proper way to see the story. I always said that the person who built a nuclear reactor in order to destroy us, who provided Hezbollah with its entire civil infrastructure and built Iranian bases - his disappearance is more important than than anyone who might replace him."
"A new game has been started here, and Israel can be a player in it. The Shiite axis has collapsed. It could be that the footsteps of this understanding leads us to Iran. Iran is what's next," he added.
Yechezkeli stressed, "Israel is not closing its eyes, like it did during the previous Syria rebellion. There is a clear statement here on Israel's part that it wants to place itself completely differently. What pushed the rebels to enter Syria is the fact that Israel eliminated and defeated Hezbollah almost entirely. When they saw the most dangerous Shiite militia in the Middle East fall as a result of war with Israel, they came and rebelled."
Regarding Syria's future, he said, "It is not yet clear who will rule Syria, but it's pretty clear that Syria will be a failed country, and it will take many years to recover from this situation. It'll be similar to Afghanistan. The question is whether someone is thinking about the Syrian citizens, and whoever is - I hope he also has a future in Syria."