Israel PM orders army to ‘seize’ Syria buffer zone

Israeli troopers stroll close to armored autos parked alongside the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights from Syria, on December 8, 2024.
| Photograph Credit score: AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday (December 8, 2024) he had ordered the Israeli army to “seize” a demilitarised buffer zone on the border with Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

The Israeli premier stated a 50-year-old “disengagement settlement” between the 2 international locations had collapsed and “Syrian forces have deserted their positions”.

Syria warfare updates: December 8, 2024

In consequence, he stated, “I directed the IDF [military] yesterday to grab the buffer zone and the commanding positions close by. We won’t permit any hostile drive to ascertain itself on our border.”

The announcement, which Mr. Netanyahu made whereas visiting the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights which abut the buffer zone, got here after the army stated it had deployed forces to the world.

Israel had already stated the day earlier than, because the Islamist-led rebels swiftly superior throughout Syria, that its troopers entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone to help peacekeepers in repelling an assault.

On Sunday, the Military introduced a troop deployment there, citing “the potential entry of armed people into the buffer zone”.

“Following the current occasions in Syria… the IDF (army) has deployed forces within the buffer zone and in a number of different locations mandatory for its defence, to make sure the security of the communities of the Golan Heights and the residents of Israel,” a army assertion stated.

Israeli forces “will proceed to function so long as mandatory in an effort to protect the buffer zone and defend Israel”, it added.

The assertion careworn that the Israeli army “shouldn’t be interfering with the inner occasions in Syria”.

Because the insurgent coalition, led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, started its renewed offensive towards authorities forces on November 27, Syrian authorities forces have left positions close to the Israeli-held Golan, based on a warfare monitor.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, stated on Saturday that Syrian military forces had withdrawn from positions in Quneitra province, which incorporates a part of the Golan Heights.

Many of the plateau has been occupied since 1967 by Israel, which later annexed it in a transfer not recognised by many of the worldwide group.

In 1974, the buffer zone was established, separating the Israeli-held and Syrian territories, with UN peacekeepers stationed there since.

A UN Peacekeeping spokesperson stated on Saturday that UNDOF personnel had noticed “unidentified armed people within the space of separation, together with roughly 20 who went into one of many mission’s positions within the northern a part of the world of separation”.

The Israeli military stated it was “aiding the UN forces in repelling the assault”.

The UN spokesperson stated that “peacekeepers proceed to hold out their mandated actions on the Golan”.

On Sunday, Lebanese media shops reported an Israeli strike on Quneitra concentrating on an arms depot. The Israeli army declined to remark.

In a separate assertion, the Israeli army stated colleges within the northern Golan Heights, in an space protecting 4 Druze cities, would transfer to on-line educating, additionally declaring a “closed army zone” in agricultural lands within the space.

Early in Syria’s warfare, which started in 2011 following the repression of anti-government protests, insurgent forces and jihadist teams had taken over elements of Quneitra province.

In August 2014, Islamist rebels attacked UNDOF and took greater than 40 Fijian peacekeepers hostage, holding them captive for nearly two weeks.