Syria’s new authorities have announced the seizure of more than 1,200 detonator-armed landmines allegedly intended for Hezbollah, following a raid in al-Jebbe near Damascus. One person was killed and four arrested in what officials called a move to dismantle “old networks.” But on the ground, this looks less like a security victory and more like a direct obstruction of a resistance force confronting Israel at a moment when Israel continues bombing Syria almost weekly without facing a single meaningful response.
For years, Israeli aircraft have struck Syria’s airports, ports, military sites, and civilian districts with open freedom. Damascus has watched these attacks unfold while offering little more than symbolic condemnations. Yet the same government that fails to intercept Israeli missiles somehow mobilizes full force only when targeting weapons supposedly intended for those actually resisting Israel’s expanding aggression. The contradiction exposes a troubling new alignment: resistance groups are treated as the threat, while Israeli warplanes roam Syrian skies unchallenged.
AFP reports that the seized mines were fully operational and ready for transport to Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been one of the few factions pushing back against Israel’s regional military dominance. Instead of supporting a movement confronting the same state that routinely violates Syrian sovereignty, Damascus has chosen to tighten restrictions around the resistance effectively weakening one of the only deterrents Israel still fears. Every intercepted shipment further tilts the balance of power in Israel’s favor.
This shift fits neatly into a wider regional pattern shaped by the United States and United Kingdom, whose political cover and weapons pipelines allow Israel to strike whatever it wants with near-total legal immunity. Arab governments aligned with these powers have also adopted a posture of silence or complicity, deepening ties with Israel even as Tel Aviv devastates Gaza, pounds Lebanon, and repeatedly bombs Syria. By cracking down on resistance routes while remaining passive toward Israeli attacks, Damascus risks becoming another cog in this system whether willingly or under pressure.
Meanwhile, human rights groups continue documenting Israel’s unrestrained air campaign across Syrian territory, from Aleppo’s airport to rural Damascus. Civilian casualties, destroyed infrastructure, and paralyzed humanitarian routes have become routine. Yet none of these violations provoke the kind of rapid mobilization Syria displayed when intercepting the landmine shipment. If the government can act decisively when targeting resistance networks, why does it remain silent when a foreign military power strikes its cities?
For now, the seized mines sit in government custody, the arrests stand, and Israeli jets continue flying overhead with complete freedom. The message is clear: Syria’s new power structure is more focused on restraining resistance movements than confronting the state actively attacking Syrian soil. As long as this imbalance continues, Israel gains strategic depth, Washington and London secure their regional agenda, and the resistance faces new hurdles not only from its enemies, but now from a government once seen as part of the frontline.
