The Israeli PM delivered a speech from the summit of Mount Hermon, promising to “keep on this essential place”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Tuesday that Israeli forces will stay in a buffer zone throughout the newly seized Syrian territory till an association with Damascus is established “that ensures Israel’s safety.”
Accompanied by Protection Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Employees Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, and different prime army officers, Netanyahu toured the strategic mountain peak in Syria, simply north of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel deployed troops to grab management of the realm amid chaos following the collapse of Assad’s authorities earlier this month.
”I’m right here on the summit of Mount Hermon with senior commanders to evaluate the state of affairs and decide one of the best association that ensures our safety,” Netanyahu acknowledged in a video deal with shared throughout all his social media accounts in a number of languages.
Standing on the highest peak within the space, the Israeli chief mirrored on his previous, saying, “I used to be right here 53 years in the past as a soldier. The place hasn’t modified, however its significance to our safety has grown considerably.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an evaluation right this moment, on the summit of Mt. Hermon, along with Protection Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief-of-Employees Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, Head of Northern Command Ori Gordin and ISA Director Ronen Bar.Full remarks >>https://t.co/NRjHIULl6ypic.twitter.com/EU3ltNl4yK
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) December 17, 2024
Katz emphasised Mount Hermon’s strategic significance, noting it supplies essential surveillance capabilities for monitoring Hezbollah actions in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
The Golan Heights, beforehand a part of Syria’s Quneitra Province, have been seized by Israel in the course of the 1967 Six-Day Warfare and unilaterally annexed in 1981. West Jerusalem’s declare to the area is rejected by the worldwide group, apart from the US, which formally acknowledged Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019 underneath President Donald Trump.
The United Nations and several other Arab states have condemned Israel’s newest incursion deeper into Syrian territory, with a UN spokesman stating that occupation stays occupation, no matter its length.
Russia has additionally expressed concern over Israel’s actions. Deputy Overseas Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned on Monday towards “hotheads” in West Jerusalem being “intoxicated by alternatives” introduced by the disaster in Syria. He confused that the annexation of the Golan Heights is “completely unacceptable” and referred to as on Israel to completely implement the 1974 disengagement settlement.
The autumn of Assad’s authorities has created an influence vacuum in Syria, with the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) gaining management. HTS leaders have criticized Israel’s expanded army presence however acknowledged they aren’t in search of battle with West Jerusalem.
Israel “isn’t intervening in what is going on in Syria” and has “no intention of administering Syria,” IDF Chief of Employees Herzi Halevi beforehand stated. Nonetheless, he insisted that after the Syrian Military collapsed, Israel had to make sure that “excessive terror parts gained’t settle near our border.”
Along with advancing within the Golan Heights, the IDF has bombed airfields, anti-aircraft batteries, and arms depots throughout Syria to stop weapons from falling into the fingers of HTS and different armed teams, a few of that are backed by Türkiye.
