Why could Israel kill Syrian businessman as ‘warning’ to Assad?

The alleged Israeli killing of prominent Syrian businessman Mohammed Bara Caterji is one of the most high-profile killings on Syrian territory since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7.

An official with the Iran-backed team told the Financial Times that Caterji, 48, was killed when a drone hit his car in Saboura, a part of Syria just kilometers from the border with Lebanon.

Decline to share additional information regarding the murder at this stage.

Caterji, who, along with his brother Hussam, has very close ties to the Syrian government, is known as one of the country’s biggest war profiteers, running a steady business amid enemy tensions in the Syrian civil war.

“(Katarji) rose to prominence in the (Syrian) conflict over a few years, particularly because of his and his brother’s connections and influence in eastern Syria,” Benjamin Fave, a research analyst at the Beirut-based think tank Triangle, told Hart. East view.

“They both acted as brokers between the government and Islamic State (IS) in relation to the oil trade.”

Buying and selling across the battlefield

Katarji is from Raqqa in eastern Syria, which IS held as its capital before its territorial defeat.

The businessman financially supported pro-government and Iran-backed teams in Syria, many of which have fought fiercely against IS.

According to a reputable Israeli representative to the Financial Times, those teams integrated Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Power, a sector of Iran’s Progressive Guards that is responsible for the country’s international operations.

Fave says Caterjee nevertheless managed to play a harmful game of buying and selling oil around the battlefields.

“Even if factions are fighting each other, they still have an incentive to cooperate,” he said.

“The Islamic State controlled most of the oil reserves, but they had no refineries. The refineries were under (government) control.

Following the defeat of IS, Caterji supported trade between the federal government and the Kurdish-backed authority in northeastern Syria.

The Katarji brothers managed to gain a monopoly on the oil field, which was historically controlled by the Syrian government.

Along with the oil business, his empire will sooner or later encompass banking, development, logistics, shipping.

According to a United States Treasury site, he, along with his companies, have been sanctioned by the United States for “facilitating petroleum shipments and financing to the Syrian regime.”

mass destruction

Katerji’s assassination raised many questions, particularly regarding the explanation as to why Israel would assassinate him.

Syrian researcher Haid Haid told MEE that although the motives are not transparent, it may be similar to Katarji’s alleged financial and military support for Hezbollah.

Fave said there is doubt about Israel’s culpability, especially in a situation where prominent Syrian government figures are being killed, with prominent aide Luna al-Shibal killed in a car skirmish in July, the latest. It is a matter.

Furthermore, Israel is no longer targeting Syrian businessmen in general nor participants in Assad’s inner circle.

On the other hand, Fave and Haidt definitively stated that the nature of the attack was more in line with Israeli assassination methods.

Israel has yet to comment on the killing, but an unnamed Israeli official told the Financial Times that Israel had indeed blown up Katerji because of his funding of Hezbollah during the war in Gaza.

They are saying the attack was carried out to deter others from taking similar actions.

“There is a lot of heightened tension with Hezbollah in Lebanon… This could be a message sent to the Syrian (government) and its related entities,” Haidt said. He said Israel would likely have to inform Syrian authorities that it would pay. Supporting Hezbollah and alternative Iran-backed teams in a potentially wider conflict would be a high price to pay.

“What we are seeing in the targeting of Hezbollah commanders is that they are targeting people who play a significant role in supporting Hezbollah or its operations.”

Israel has been engaged in almost daily hostilities with Hezbollah since the war on Gaza began, and has killed several high-ranking commanders from the mob.

Fave says that Katterjee’s murder will not affect her work, as her brother and businessman husband are capable of handling work problems.