The Syrian leadership is Alawi -- a heretical branch of Islam reviled by Sunnis. They keep the majority Sunnis in check and protect the 10-20% of the Syrian population who are Christians
If Assad falls, the Christians get massacred and a Sunni jihadi group comes to power, like in Egypt
THAT would be worse for Israel
And the Palestinian problem is Hamas -- Sunni, more than Hiz-b-allah -- Shia.
In my post #15, the phrase “taken out” was in quotes as a restate to post #12 made by others.
I used only the word “neutralized” to describe the end result of the Syrian civil war.
I am familiar with the Alewites and their minority control over the Syrian military.
Of Syrians: 74% are Sunni/Sufi, 13% are Alawites/Ismailis/Twelvers, 10% are Christians,and 3% are Druze.
After a civil war, in a national power vacuum, minorities always have the threat of abuse. Christians are not going to be massacred, the Alewites have a much larger chance of retribution as they have been oppressing and murdering the Sunni majority for years.
Egypt does not have jihadists coming to power, your statements border on the hysterical. Of course, Islamists may come to power and they may contain some jihadists, as all Arab populations do.
Bottom line, Muslims have learned that jihadists are bad for government and bad for business.
Israel would greatly profit from a Syria without overt Iranian influence. All the Palestinians are a problem for Israel. A more neutral Syria might come to the peace table with Israel like Jordan and Egypt have done. The difficult negotiations would still be difficult, but they would be less complex.