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<\/p>\n21 July 2025 | 12:33 CAT
\n3-minute read<\/p>\n
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Israeli airstrikes in Syria and Zuma’s shocking pivot on Western Sahara<\/strong><\/p>\n Clashes between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes in Suwayda erupted into deadly violence last week, resulting in over 300 casualties. The Syrian military, accused by some of targeting Druze communities, intervened to restore order. But it was Israel\u2019s sudden involvement\u2014via airstrikes near Suwayda and Damascus\u2014that raised both eyebrows and geopolitical alarms.<\/p>\n \u201cThe narrative of Israel has been from the time there was the overthrow of the Assad regime, there has been efforts by Israel to invade southern Syria,\u201d said Hunter. \u201cAnd it did so with the most amount of impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel claimed its intervention was to shield Druze civilians, a justification analysts call deeply flawed.<\/p>\n \u201cTo use the Druze as an excuse or as a proxy in their efforts to gain territorial mass\u201d is not new, Hunter explained. The Druze\u2014an ethnoreligious minority of around one million in southern Syria, with communities in Lebanon and Israel\u2014have long lived in tense proximity with Sunni communities. Sectarian divisions in the region have historically been weaponised by external actors for strategic gains.<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, US diplomatic circles are growing weary of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s unchecked aggression.<\/p>\n \u201cBibi was acting like a madman and that he’s bombing everything all the time,\u201d Hunter quoted a US official cited by Axios<\/em>. The quick American-brokered ceasefire\u2014reportedly pushed by Republican Senator Marco Rubio\u2014suggests a shifting posture by Washington in the Syrian theatre.<\/p>\n Netanyahu agreed to the ceasefire on condition that Syrian forces withdraw from Suwayda. But the damage had already been done.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a political development that is absolutely heartbreaking from the loss of life perspective,\u201d Hunter lamented, \u201cbut also a great window into a shift of geopolitics.\u201d<\/p>\n Zuma and the Western Sahara u-turn<\/strong><\/p>\n Former South African President Jacob Zuma travelled to Morocco, where he appeared alongside Moroccan officials and backed a controversial autonomy plan for Western Sahara\u2014directly contradicting decades of ANC policy and his own prior stance.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was not a speech that he would deliver where he wouldn\u2019t at the end\u2026 affirm the ANC and South Africa\u2019s solidarity for the people of Western Sahara,\u201d said Hunter.<\/p>\n South Africa has consistently supported the Sahrawi people in their struggle for independence from Moroccan occupation, a position rooted in its post-apartheid foreign policy. Zuma\u2019s recent about-turn, complete with a South African flag as backdrop, appeared to many as a betrayal of that legacy.<\/p>\n The autonomy plan Zuma supported would grant limited self-governance to Western Sahara while preserving Moroccan sovereignty\u2014a model critics say resembles apartheid-era Bantustans.<\/p>\n \u201cThis feels and seems very Bantustan-like,\u201d Hunter remarked, echoing the outrage of ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula, who called Zuma\u2019s actions a sellout.<\/p>\n Hunter suggested that Zuma\u2019s motives may be financial. \u201cWhat is it in for Zuma to change his position and to join this lobby?\u201d she asked. \u201cI don’t see any apparent interest beyond money.\u201d<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time Zuma has acted as a rogue diplomat. He reportedly attempted to represent South Africa in unofficial discussions with Belarus and Russia\u2014raising alarms about the blurring of lines between party, state, and personal gain.<\/p>\n \u201cThis particular man would sell out his principles\u2026 to simply now align himself with Morocco,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cIf there was ever a moment where people doubted the sincerity of Zuma\u2026 it is now.\u201d<\/p>\n