ALWAGHT- The Israeli Minister of Military Affairs stated that the regime’s troops, who took control of a "buffer zone" in the strategic Syrian Golan Heights following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, will remain stationed there indefinitely.
Israeli Minister of Military Affairs, Israel Katz, announced on Tuesday that Israeli military forces will remain stationed at the summit of Mount Hermon and within the security zone in the Golan Heights indefinitely. Katz emphasized that this deployment is necessary to ensure the safety of the communities in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the surrounding northern areas. He also stated that Israel would not allow hostile forces to establish a presence in southern Syria.
Mount Hermon, located on the Syria-Lebanon border, overlooks both the Damascus countryside and the Golan Heights, which Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day War. Katz’s statements came after Israeli forces seized control of the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which had been established following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. This move occurred shortly after armed groups took control of Damascus on December 8, during the instability caused by the Syrian civil war. Israel’s actions have drawn international condemnation for violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria and exploiting the chaos in the region.
The United Nations, particularly through spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, has criticized Israel’s military presence in the buffer zone, calling it a violation of the agreement that established the zone. The UN has stressed that occupation is still considered occupation, regardless of its duration, and called for the agreement to be upheld.
