Israel is preparing to receive Syrian Alawite refugees on the occupied Golan Heights when the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad collapses, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said Tuesday.

Israel is preparing to receive Syrian Alawite refugees on the occupied Golan Heights when the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad collapses, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said Tuesday.

Speaking at a Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs committee meeting, Gantz expected a possible military confrontation between Syria and the Israeli enemy, and pointed out that "Assad and the Syrian regime may have a hard time acting against us in the short-term, but we also need to take into account that Syria has advanced weapons systems."

The Israeli army chief of staff also considered that the Syrian regime will fall soon.”

On the Lebanese level, Gantz stated that “the threat from Lebanon toward Israel has grown on every parameter in the last few years.”

“The threats have grown to five times what they were before…” he added.