Who did Syria side with in the Arab-Israeli Conflict?

Answer 1

Syria has historically aligned with the Arab States against Israel.

Syria has had an extensive role in the Arab-Israeli Conflict, always supporting its fellow Arab allies in wars. The first war in the Arab-Israeli Conflict that Syria committed to was the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9 where it signed an armistice and held on to five square kilometers of the former Mandate of Palestine on the southeast coast of the Sea of Galilee. During this period, many Palestinian Refugees came to Syria where they were shuttered in Refugee Camps. Most still remain in there to this day.

Between 1949 and 1967, the Syrians and Israelis were in a de jure state of non-combat, but periodically, the Syrians would rain rockets down on Israeli villages in the Eastern Galilee region of Israel. Israel was incapable of properly responding as Syria held the high ground. Syria did not participate in the Arab-Israeli War of 1956 in which the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula was invaded.

In 1967, Syria joined the Six Day War on the third day making some small gains in the Eastern Galilee. However, Israeli troops quickly reversed these gains and captured the Golan Heights, the Syrian territory bordering the Eastern Galilee Region of Israel. Syria signed UN Resolution 242 ending the skirmish, but determined with other Arab Nations not to give in to negotiating with Israel. Additional Palestinian Refugees came to Syria in this period as well as Syrian Nationals fleeing from the Israeli Army.

In the late '60s and early '70s, Syria coordinated defense with Egypt and the two jointly launched a surprise attack on Israel in 1973. While the two allies made impressive gains in the first week of the war, Israel appeared to be winning towards the end of the month and Israeli tanks were advancing to Damascus when the ceasefire was called and the antebellum situation restored.

The next confrontation between Syrian and Israeli forces would come by way of the Lebanese Civil War. The Syrians buttressed the Shiite Militant Factions and Hezbollah while the Israelis fought alongside the Maronite Christian Falangists. When it seemed the war was resolving in Syria's favor, Israeli forces withdrew to the Litani River and Syria occupied Lebanon until 2005.

Syria and Israel have had no further direct confrontations, but Syria continues to provide much of the funding for Hezbollah, which did enter a confrontation with Israel in 2006 in Lebanon again.

Syria has continued to refuse to make peace with the nation that still holds the Golan Heights, and that opposes the Palestinian independent State without a guarantee of its own security.