Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said his country is “transforming the face of the Middle East” following the overthrow of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Speaking at an evening press briefing, Netanyahu said Israel was defeating its enemies “step by step” in what he called an “existential war that has been imposed upon us.”
Netanyahu referred to al-Assad’s regime as a “central element of Iran’s axis of evil,” accusing Syria of promoting hatred against Israel, attacking during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and facilitating a “weapons pipeline” between Iran and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
He said that the collapse of al-Assad’s regime was a “direct result” of Israel’s military actions against Iran and Iran-backed militias in the region, which include Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
However, he noted that Iran’s “axis of evil” has not yet disappeared. He said that Israel is “transforming the face of the Middle East” and that “the State of Israel is establishing its position as a centre of power in our region, as it has not been for decades.”
According to activists, Israel has been carrying out heavy attacks in Syria since al-Assad’s overthrow on Sunday.
