Israel Hayom: Syria should be divided into five independent states!
In an article on the Israeli newspaper, Israel Hayom (Israel Today), by Israeli writer Jason Shvili called for dismantling Syria and the complete abolition of its current existence.
He considered Syria a state that “has never succeeded and will never succeed,” and that the only solution to end decades of conflict and destruction is to divide it into five independent states along ethnic and sectarian lines, enabling Alawites, Christians, Sunni Arabs, Druze, and Kurds to exercise what he claims is their right to self-determination.
In his view, Washington and the Trump administration’s insistence on preserving Syria’s unity amounts to “stubbornness and naivety” that will prolong tyranny and bloodshed.
Shvili, a freelance writer based in Toronto, Canada, believes the origins of the Syrian crisis lie in what he calls a “historical mistake” made by colonial powers following World War I.
They drew arbitrary borders in the Middle East without any consideration for the aspirations of the various peoples living there, leading, in his view, to a century of conflict.
To end this conflict, he proposes correcting this injustice by dismantling the Syrian state entirely and replacing it with separate states for the Alawites in Latakia, the Druze in Sweida, the Christians in Wadi al Nasara (Christians valley), the Kurds in the autonomous region they control in northern and eastern Syria, and the Sunni Arabs in the rest of the existing state.
He believes that the geographical distribution of these groups makes the process of partition possible in terms of drawing borders, but the real challenge, from his point of view, lies in ensuring the survival of these new entities.
Given that some of these entities lack the resources or maritime access that would enable them to survive as newly independent states, the author proposes scenarios for external support.
He believes the new Sunni Arab state will likely receive generous support from Sunni Arab states and Türkiye, the Alawite state will receive Russian support, and the Druze and Christian states will receive direct support from Israel.
As for the Kurds, Shvili believes that Israeli support, through arming them, will be essential to confront the military force, Shvili expects Türkiye will use to prevent their independence in their autonomous regions in northern and eastern Syria.
The article concludes that the continued presence of all these components within a single state means the continuation of tyranny and bloodshed, and that dividing Syria is the only way—in its view—to achieve a more prosperous Middle East, as Trump envisions.
To achieve this goal, Shvili urges the US president to abandon the idea of a “single Syria” and “encourage the peoples of what is now known as the Syrian Arab Republic to seek self-determination in their own independent states”.
