After Rebels Freed Syria, Netanyahu Said Israel Had "Temporarily Seized" A Buffer Zone At The Border For Its Safety
Netanyahu said Israel “needed to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel.”
After Syrian rebels freed the country for Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli forces have “temporarily” seized control of a buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, declaring Syria its fourth war front, along with Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.
Speaking near the border between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, Dec. 8, Netanyahu said the country “needed to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel.”
He said that he gave orders to the Israeli army to take over the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, adding that a1974 separation of forces agreement between Israel and Syria has ended along with the al-Assad regime.
The two countries had signed the agreement to establish a buffer zone to separate their forces at their border after a ceasefire in 1974.
This came after Israel took the Golan Heights in southwest Syria during a war in 1967 because of its strategic location bordering Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.
Netanyahu described the fall of al-Assad’s regime as a “historic day” and credited it to Israel’s strong action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad’s allies.
He said he extended a “hand of peace” to Syrians, including “the Druze, to the Kurds, to the Christians, and to the Muslims” who wish to live peacefully with Israel.
Netanyahu also said he was interested in forming “neighborly and peaceful” relations “with the new forces emerging in Syria”, but warned that Israel “will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel”.
Following his remarks, the Israeli military issued an “urgent warning” to Syrian residents in villages near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, advising them to stay indoors, Al Jazeera reported.
The Israeli army said that the fighting in the area was “forcing” the Israeli military to act and it does not intend to harm civilians.
The Israeli army also declared agricultural areas in Israel’s occupied Golan Heights as closed military zones, and many schools switched to online.
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
