Israel’s “Corridor of David” in Syria

The Turkish public opinion debates the so-called “Corridor of David” regarding the grand strategy that Israel is pursuing in Syria – and beyond. We asked Dr. Fahri Erenel, retired general of the Turkish Armed Forces about its content and geopolitical dimensions.

The Corridor of David, it is said that Israel wants to establish such a Corridor of David. What is this Corridor of David?

The Israeli side has not made official statements about the Corridor of David. However, when we take into account what they want to do and what is expressed at a lower level, and add to that Israel’s goals, especially in terms of religion and religious ideology, there are many indications of the existence of this corridor strategy. The only thing left is to name this corridor.

Israelis do this type of naming, usually taking into account a number of religious idioms and important names that originate in their own Torah. As you know, the Prophet David is also an extremely significant figure in Israel.

This corridor has the following importance. First, it has a religious meaning. There is a goal, to achieve the expansion of Israel to an area covering the territory between the Euphrates and the Nile River. They consider it ‘Greater Israel’ or ‘the Promised Land’. This corridor plays a role to achieve that goal.

Another is a military target. This corridor reaches from northeast Syria, along the Iraqi and Jordanian border, over south Syria till Lebanon. Israel seeks to establish security by realizing this corridor, which would be a natural line of division.

Another is the corridor’s three-fold-geopolitical importance:

One of them is to cut off Iran’s relations with Lebanon and Syria. With the latest Iran-Israel war, Iran has suffered significant casualties. In fact, it was always thought that the war aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. But as I’ve always said, it was predominantly actually part of the Corridor of David.

The second is to encircle Türkiye from the south. Think of it as a corridor that starts from the south of Türkiye.

Thirdly, it will ensure that the oil that belongs to a Kurdish regional administration in Northern Iraq or will be extracted in Hasakah will flow down through this corridor and reach global markets through the Port of Haifa.

Besides, Israel has the goal to establish an autonomous democratic confederation east of the Euphrates, their actually biggest goal right now. This region has, besides oil, very rich natural gas resources in Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Hasakah. These resources will similarly be extracted and then marketed through Haifa.

The corridor also includes important water reserves, crucial in times of climate change and given Israel’s geography. It is no coincidence that the territories in the south of Syria, which Israel de facto dominates, bear the most important wetlands and lakes in Syria.

There is no such thing as a Syrian state or army anymore. And yet, it comes as close as twenty-five kilometers to the Syrian capital of Damascus. Israel forces Syria to retreat from there. That is part of the effort to establish the corridor.

How do you judge current regional circumstances in that context?

It is an ideal time for the formation of this corridor. Syria’s current al-Shara administration is not in full control of the country. Israel has prepared for this with many attacks. With constant attacks, they destroyed the air force the ground forces, everything. Therefore, Syria cannot threaten this corridor for the moment.

Lebanon itself is in the middle of negotiations regarding the status of Hezbollah, with Israel and the US pressuring for disarmament.

And Türkiye is constantly kept busy with the issue of terrorism, the internal process towards a terror-free country.

How do you judge the role of the US regarding that corridor?

Of course, Israel does not construct that Corridor of David alone by itself. There is a base that the Americans call al-Tanf, right at the junction of the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border. This base is very important for America. A place like an oasis in a deserted desert. Here, the Americans are also training Syrian forces, three thousand people so far, according to their own goals.

If we sum it up: The corridor starts with the Druze, goes through the Golan Heights and passes through Al-Tanf. As you see, there are military elements all the way to ensure the security of this corridor. There are Americans in Al-Tanf, there are Israeli soldiers in the Golan. And in the northeast, there are the US-supported Kurdish forces.

Though the US made some statements and promises regarding their disarmament, nothing happened yet. And in the meantime, Israeli intelligence officers are frequently travelling to that region.

How does Türkiye react to this development?

The establishment of a Kurdish entity in the northeast is Türkiye’s nightmare. The way to interrupt the corridor would be a military operation. But the Americans lifted some sanctions on al-Sharaa, made some promises to Ankara, and for the time being, Türkiye seems patient with the situation.

But now we see that the PKK in Syria rejects the integration into the Syrian army, refused to take part in the Paris Meeting to apply the March-10 agreement.

I am afraid we are witnessing how the Syrian people are left to imperialist mercy without any political authority or army to protect them.