Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu introduced Tuesday that Israeli forces will stay within the Syrian border buffer zone, invaded after Bashar Assad’s ouster, till a brand new association that ensures Israel’s safety.
Netanyahu made the feedback from the summit of Jabal al-Shaykh, also referred to as, Mount Hermon – the best peak within the space – inside Syria, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with the Israel-held Golan Heights.
It seemed to be the primary time a sitting Israeli chief had set foot that far into Syria. Netanyahu mentioned he had been on the identical mountaintop 53 years in the past as a soldier, however the summit’s significance to Israel’s safety has solely elevated given latest occasions.
Israel invaded a swath of southern Syria alongside the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights days after Assad was ousted by anti-regime forces final week.
Israel’s seize of the buffer zone, a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized space in Syrian territory, has sparked worldwide condemnation, accusing Israel of violating a 1974 cease-fire and probably exploiting the chaos in Syria within the wake of Assad’s ouster to make a land seize.
“We will stay … until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security,” mentioned Netanyahu who had traveled to the buffer zone Tuesday with Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Katz mentioned he instructed the Israeli navy to shortly set up a presence, together with fortifications, in anticipation of what may very well be an prolonged keep within the space.
“The summit of the Hermon is the eyes of the state of Israel to identify our enemies who are nearby and far away,” he mentioned.
An Israeli navy official, who spoke on situation of anonymity according to navy rules, mentioned there isn’t a plan to evacuate the Syrians residing in villages throughout the buffer zone.
The buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights was created by the U.N. after the 1973 Mideast battle. A U.N. pressure of about 1,100 troops had patrolled the realm since then.
A U.N. spokesman mentioned Tuesday that the advance of Israeli troops, nonetheless lengthy it lasts, violates the deal that arrange the buffer zone.
That settlement “needs to be respected, and occupation is occupation, whether it lasts a week, a month or a year, it remains occupation,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric mentioned.
There was no rapid remark from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that led the ouster of Assad, or from Arab states.
Israel nonetheless controls the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in the course of the 1967 Mideast battle and later annexed – a transfer not acknowledged by many of the worldwide neighborhood.
Jabal al-Shaykh or Mount Hermon’s summit is split between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Lebanon and Syria. Only the United States acknowledges Israel’s management of the Golan Heights.
Source: www.dailysabah.com