Strategic Assessment

bashar al-assad and israel: back to the past? the coming end to the civil war in syria and the victory for bashar al-assad raises the question of which syrian president israel will now face. the likely answer is that it will be the “old, familiar” bashar, a ruler who sticks to the status quo, to what is tried and true, including – and perhaps especially – with respect to his approach toward israel. this seemingly returns israel to the point it was at with respect to bashar before the outbreak of the war in syria in the spring of 2011. israel remains positioned against a defiant ruler who alongside his continued dependence on russia, his most important patron and ally, works to strengthen relations with iran and with hezbollah, but who also exercises restraint and maintains quiet along the border and is even willing to engage in peace negotiations with israel.