A well-known Lebanese journalist has made the shocking admission that he wishes Israel would “annex” Aleppo.  Naidm Koteich, a political analyst, wrote “If Israel would have annexed Aleppo, it would have been safe today, like the Golan. Aleppo’s citizens would have been better off living under occupation than living under ruins.”

Koteich’s Twitter feed in subsequent days has featured the descent of Aleppo back into the worst sort of all-out war.  He is retweeting remarks severely critical of US President Barack Obama for “deliberately enabling the onslaught in Aleppo.”  The Obama administration accepted a Russian proposal to exclude Aleppo from a renewed ceasefire.  As a consequence, the descent of the city into a new cycle of bloodshed is licensed by international diplomacy.  Nine days of deadly bombardment have followed.

The anguish is understandable given the events of the last days.  Dozens of civilians were killed in the attacks.  Government-backed forces destroyed a hospital in order to deny its aid to the rebels.  Destroying medical aid centers is forbidden by the Geneva Conventions, but the Assad government persists in its war crimes with Russian air support.

Russia and the United States both have permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.  Though they have not only failed to stop the war in Syria but are plausibly accused of “deliberately enabling” the slaughter in Aleppo, they do not share Koteich’s opinion of the value of Israeli occupation.  The UN Security Council agreed to reject the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Security Council finally endorse Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.  The safety of the region under the guard of the Israeli Defense Force, at a time when much of the rest of the region is falling into war, is of less interest to the UN than maintaining a fictional line drawn by British and French diplomats in an earlier era.

Needless to say, Koteich came under sharp criticism from anti-Israeli factions in Lebanon wishing to silence him.

Koteich’s comment came shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel would never renounce the Golan, infuriating Syrian politicians. Thus, many Syrian social media activists began wrangling with Koteich for voicing pro-Israel opinion.

A Twitter user affiliated with the Syrian opposition said: “the carnage in Aleppo increases our hatred for Zionists, because without Israel, Assad would have gone.”

Many other users cursed Koteich, claiming that he should be incarcerated for being an Israeli agent.

Lebanon is to be praised for not incarcerating a journalist with an unpopular opinion.  The rest of the region would be well served by the example.  Koteich is raising what may be an uncomfortable truth about Israel’s relationship to the region, but it is nevertheless a truth.  The Golan Heights are secure though they border a region that has long fallen into chaos.