Early this weekend President Barack Obama explicitly defended Israel’s efforts to enforce its “no trasnfer” red line regarding the Syrian conflict. The president emphasized that “the Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah.”

An article published this morning in the Daily Beast provides context for tacit understandings between the U.S. and Israel regarding those red lines. Senior officials from both countries emphasized the close cooperation and information sharing between the two allies.

“In general they told us in every possible way that this kind of strike would be coming,” said a U.S. intelligence official. Another U.S. official said, “Israel shares its intelligence on Syria with us almost in real time. These latest strikes were an example of Israel enforcing its own red lines.”

The Syrian conflict has seen Israel bolster security cooperation not just with the United States, but also with regional nations struggling to deal with the spillover from the violence. Israel has bolstered security ties with Jordan, and the need for coordination on Syria was cited as a central driving force between Turkish-Israel reconciliation.

Nonetheless U.S. support for Israel remains a critical consideration for Israelis. The president’s statement of support amid the Friday and Sunday air strikes was watched closely in Jerusalem. Israelis in recent months have come to feel more confident of White House support. Obama’s visit to the country moved Israeli public opinion in his direction as well. The survey ­– conducted by Chicago’s Smith Research on behalf of the Post – found that the proportion of Israelis seeing the president as pro-Israel is the highest since May 2009, just a few months after he first took office.

[Photo: White House / Wiki Commons]