Netanyahu's main goal appears to be to systematically weaken and fragment Syria, leaving it under Israeli control, depriving it of a central government, and plunging it into a spiral of sectarian conflict. An environment of "managed chaos" would hinder Syria's recovery from more than a decade of war, turn it into a failed state, and strengthen Israel under the pretext of reducing any threat that might arise from a new Syria. From an article by Ali Bakir, assistant professor of research at the Ibn Khaldun Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Israel's war against the Lebanese "Hezbollah" gives rise to views about the possibility that Syria will soon be drawn into this conflict. Its geographical proximity to Lebanon may cause the US-backed Jewish state to launch a stronger attack on the Levant.