Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would remain in a buffer zone on the Syrian border, seized after the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad, until another agreement is reached “that ensures Israel’s security.”
Netanyahu made the remarks on Mount Hermon — the highest peak in the area — inside Syria, about 10 kilometers from the border with the Israeli-held Golan Heights.
It appeared to be the first time an Israeli leader had set foot so far into Syria. Netanyahu said he had been to the same mountain peak 53 years ago as a soldier, but the importance of the peak to Israel’s security has only grown in light of recent events.
Israel has occupied a part of southern Syria along the border with the Golan Heights, which it annexed days after Assad was ousted by rebels last week.
Israel’s occupation of the buffer zone, a demilitarized area of roughly 400 square kilometers in Syrian territory, has drawn condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating a 1974 ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in Syria that followed Assad’s ouster to seize another country.
“We will stay until another agreement is found that ensures Israel’s security,” said Netanyahu, who traveled to the buffer zone on Tuesday with Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Katz said he had instructed the Israeli military to quickly establish a presence there, including fortifications, in anticipation of what could be an extended stay in the area.
“The Hermon peak is the eyes of the state of Israel for recognizing our enemies near and far,” he said.
An Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations, said there was no plan to evacuate Syrians living in villages inside the buffer zone.
The buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights was created by the UN after the 1973 Middle East War. A UN force of about 1,100 troops has patrolled the region since then.
“That agreement must be respected, and an occupation is an occupation, whether it lasts a week, a month or a year, it remains an occupation,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
There was no immediate comment from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group that led the ouster of Assad, or from Arab states, the AP reported.
Israel still controls the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria during the 1967 Middle East War and later annexed – a move not recognized by most of the international community. The peak of Mount Hermon is shared between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Lebanon and Syria. Only the United States recognizes Israeli control of the Golan Heights.
