UK: Israel’s actions over the last year helped topple tyrant Assad
Pat McFadden, one of the most senior figures in Keir Starmer's government, backs Israel's right to secure its position in the Golan
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Israel has bombed Syrian suspected chemical weapons sites and fired long-range missiles into the country in an effort to “secure its position in the Golan”, a senior UK government minister has said.
Asked by Sky News about the UK government’sresponse to Israel’s military strikes, Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, also said Israeli action against Iranian proxies around the region had left Tehran weakened and is partly why the Assad regime has fallen.
McFadden, one of the most influential figures in Keir Starmer’s government, told presenter Kay Burley:“What I think Israel is doing is making sure its position in the Golan is secure.
“One of the things to note about this is, this has partly happened because of Israeli action against Iranian proxies around the region and that has left Iran weakened and that is partly why the Assad regime has fallen.
“So the action that Israel has taken over the last few days will be to make sure that its position in the Golan is secure.”
McFadden also said the UK government could remove Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from the list of banned terrorist groups after the rebels led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
His comments came as Keir Starmer arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for talks before travelling to Saudi Arabia later on Monday for discussions with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Starmer had welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s “barbaric regime” in Syria, as he called for the restoration of “peace and stability”.
He had said the Syrian people “had to put up with Assad’s brutal regime for far, far too long”.
Burley asked whether Israel’s position was “supported” by the UK and McFadden replied: “We will always support Israel’s right to defend itself and make itself secure.”
On Sunday Israeli PM Netanyahu said he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to enter the buffer zone and “commanding positions nearby” from the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan.
“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” he said.
On Sunday, the IDF told residents of five Syrian villages inside the zone to stay in their homes until further notice.
The Israeli move in the buffer zone came after Syrian rebel fighters captured the capital, Damascus, and toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Forces led by the Islamist opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered Damascus in the early hours of Sunday morning, before appearing on state television to declare Syria to now be “free”.
Netanyahu said the collapse of the Assad regime was a “historic day in the Middle East”.
“The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers,” he said.
McFadden was also asked whether the UK would end its classification of HTS – an offshoot of al Qaida – as a proscribed terrorist organisation.
He admitted HTS could be reclassified with a “relatively swift decision” if the UK Government had to hold talks with the group.
On Sunday, Starmer said:”The developments in Syria in recent hours and days are unprecedented, and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely.”
He was in the UAE and Saudia Arabia on business related matters.
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