"In Israel on Monday, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan was reported as saying his
country should consider working with Syrians opposed to extremist
Islamist battalions to create a “buffer zone” inside Syria to prevent
extremists from controlling border areas.
General Golan told
the Israel Hayom newspaper that Israel could work with “many hundreds”
of Syrian fighters who share “a common interest” in checking the
influence of extremists. He did not say whether Israeli troops would be
involved, but compared the buffer zone to the border area inside
southern Lebanon that Israel occupied for 15 years.
That occupation, however, bred great resentment in Lebanon and led to
the rise of the militant group Hezbollah, which fought a guerrilla war
against Israeli troops until they withdrew."
PS Notice that the Times reduced the number of years of Israeli occupation.
PS Notice that the Times reduced the number of years of Israeli occupation.