DAMASCUS (Dispatches) –
 Zionist regime ministers have reportedly met this week to discuss classified plans to promote the division of Syria into provincial regions.
The news outlet Israel Hayom reported that war minister Israel Katz chaired a ministerial meeting focused on Turkish involvement in Syria and concerns about the intentions of Syria’s de facto leader, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) commander Ahmed al-Sharaa (also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Jolani). 
During the meeting, which was held before an upcoming discussion with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ministers also reportedly discussed an Israeli plan first revealed by Middle East Eye in December. 
Under this plan, Syria would be divided into provincial regions, or cantons, which Israel Hayom described as a way to “safeguard the security and rights of all Syrian ethnic groups”, including the Druze and Kurdish populations. 
Eli Cohen, the Zionist regime’s energy and infrastructure minister, reportedly suggested that this proposal should be examined at an international conference convened by the Zionist regime, though Israeli politicians know that any initiative associated with the regime is likely to face significant resistance within Syria.
In December, regional security sources briefed on the plot told MEE that the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government had thwarted an already-existing Israeli plan to divide Syria into three blocks in order to sever its ties with Iran and Hezbollah, which were supporting Assad.
The occupying regime planned to establish military and strategic ties with the Kurds in Syria’s northeast and the Druze in the south, leaving Assad in power in Damascus under Emirati funding and control.
This would have also served to limit Turkey’s influence in Syria to the northwest, which was the stronghold of HTS and Turkish-backed groups whose lightning offensive led to Assad’s downfall.
The plot, which appears the same as the one discussed on Tuesday, was alluded to in a speech by Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar last November.
The United Nations cautioned about “very real threats” to Syria’s sovereignty after the fall of the government of Bashar Al-Assad.
“Syria seeks to chart a new course following the fall of the former government just one month ago. Decisions taken now will determine the future for a long time to come. There are great opportunities and real dangers,” UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council.