Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz delivered an address from Syrian territory in the Golan Heights to declare that Israeli forces will remain in the region “indefinitely,” as reported by Middle East Eye. Following the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Israeli troops quickly moved to occupy the area between the two countries.
Katz and other Israeli leaders argue that the move was a necessary step to prevent rebel groups or Iranian proxies from coalescing on the Israeli border. During his visit to the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, Katz said that “the IDF will remain at the summit of the Hermon and the security zone indefinitely to ensure the security of the communities of the Golan Heights and the north, and all the residents of Israel,” reports the Times of Israel. In December, when troops first moved into the territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that “the Golan Heights will forever be an inseparable part of the State of Israel,” according to Middle East Monitor.
Regional sources report on the developments:
The Golan Heights is a 460-square mile plateau that overlooks the intersections of Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Mount Hermon, the peak of which straddles the Syria-Lebanon border, has value as a strategic point, but also religious and political significance. During the Six-Day War in 1967, the Golan Heights were annexed by Israel, who decisively defeated the coalition of Arab states. Israel maintains that the Golan Heights are an important defensive buffer that shelters its north, while also serving as a political marker of the victory and its status as a pariah state in the region.
In 1974, a United Nations agreement established a 90-square mile demilitarized zone as a resolution to the 1967 war. The buffer zone is manned by UN peacekeepers, and Israeli troops were required to vacate the area to allow displaced Syrians to return to their homes.
Many critics view Israel’s incursion into the area as an opportunistic land grab, and that Katz’s announcement is confirmation of the expansionist visions of Netanyahu and the Israeli right, which stand in violation of international law. The Arab Weekly reports that the United Nations and a number of its member states have called for the troops to withdraw and respect the agreement of the 1974 demilitarized zone. Other regional actors, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, have also criticised the Israeli advance as a “flagrant violation” that could “ruin Syria’s chance of restoring its security.”
When Israeli troops first entered the Golan Heights in December, Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, stated that the operation was “limited and temporary,” while Netanyahu called the action a “temporary defensive position” during a visit to Mount Hermon. Leading Israeli news organization Haaretz has noted that the Golan Heights is a point of personal significance for Netanyahu, who hopes to recoup the political capital he has lost since the October 7 attack by flying the Israeli flag on Mount Hermon, regardless of humanitarian or international concerns.
French-language Lebanese newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour reported that Assaad al-Caibani and Mourhaf Abou Qasra, the foreign affairs and defense ministers of the new Syrian regime, emphasized that the transitional government plans to “fully cooperate” with the UN and were prepared to redeploy forces to the border. Syria’s new leaders met with the UN peacekeeping chief at the end of January and have followed the UN in urging Israeli troops to leave the Golan.
NPR and Haaretz conducted interviews of residents of the Golan Heights, who have reported forcible displacements, infrastructure damage, and non-consensual searches performed by Israeli troops. Villagers are also concerned that the measure will turn into a prolonged or permanent occupation. Al Jazeera reported on December 18 that hundreds of Syrians had been displaced and some had been fired upon by IDF troops, signaling Israel’s commitment to maintaining its occupation.
(Banner image: IDF)
