Netanyahu says Israeli troops will occupy a buffer zone inside Syria for the foreseeable future
JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces will stay in a buffer zone on the Syrian border, and specifically on the summit of Mount Hermon, “until another arrangement is found that will ensure Israel’s security.”
Netanyahu made the comments Tuesday from the mountain’s summit, the highest peak in the area, which is located on the Syrian side of the border.
He added that he had been on the summit of Mount Hermon 53 years ago as a soldier, but the summit’s importance to Israel’s security has only increased, especially given recent events.
Israel’s capture of the buffer zone has sparked condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating a 1974 ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in Syria for a land grab.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered Syrian territory on Tuesday during a security tour of the buffer zone seized by Israel in the days since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
It was apparently the first time a sitting Israeli leader entered Syrian territory. Israel seized a swath of southern Syria along the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, calling it a buffer zone, in the days after Assad was ousted by rebels.
Israel still controls the Golan Heights that it captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed — a move not recognized by most of the international community.
Netanyau and Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the snow-dusted summit of Mount Hermon, the highest peak in the area, which is located inside Syrian territory.
Katz added that Israel will maintain a presence in the Syrian buffer zone “for as long as is required” and had instructed the Israeli military to quickly establish a presence including fortifications, in anticipation of what could be an extended stay in the area.
“The summit of the Hermon is the eyes of the state of Israel to identify our enemies who are nearby and far away,” Katz said.
Israeli forces were moving to control a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized buffer zone in Syrian territory. The buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights was created by the U.N. after the 1973 Mideast war. A U.N. force of about 1,100 troops has patrolled the area since then.
Mount Hermon is divided between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Lebanon, and Syria. Only the United States recognizes Israel’s control of the Golan Heights.
