Israel on Friday ordered its troops to prepare to remain on Mount Hermon for the winter. Mount Hermon is a strategic mountain within the decades-old buffer zone with Syria, which was occupied by Israeli forces following the fall of the Assad regime.
“Due to what is happening in Syria, securing the Hermon Mountains is of critical security importance, and Israel Defense Forces preparations in the area are in place to allow troops to remain on the ground even under difficult weather conditions. We must do everything we can to ensure that,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Israel insists its deployment in the buffer zone is temporary and defensive, but on Thursday UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged Israeli forces to withdraw from the buffer zone, saying, “Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are Concerns have been raised over what he called “widespread violations of the law.”
He also expressed concern about hundreds of Israeli attacks across Syria since the overthrow of Assad, which Israel says are aimed at preventing regime weapons from falling into the hands of militants.
On Friday, Katz shared with X a photo of him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking through binoculars over Syria’s Mount Hermon, saying the area was “back under Israeli control for the first time in 51 years.” .
“An exciting historical moment,” he wrote.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the fall of Assad’s regime “created a vacuum in Israel’s borders and buffer zone,” which was established as part of a ceasefire between the two countries after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. .
“Israel will not allow jihadist groups to fill the vacuum and threaten Israeli communities in the Golan Heights with attacks like the one on October 7,” the prime minister’s office said.
Israel occupied the Golan Heights after the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it, a move that is not recognized by most of the international community.
At over 9,000 feet above sea level, Mount Hermon is the highest mountain on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Israel has sparked a sharp backlash over its occupation of the region over the past week, with critics accusing it of exploiting developments in Syria to seize land.
Syria announced the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday as worshipers gathered for the first Friday prayers since the brutal 50-year rule of his family ended with a stunning advance by rebel forces. Crowds from all over the country gathered for large gatherings to celebrate.
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, leader of the main opposition group that ousted President Bashar al-Assad, called on Syrians in a video message to “gather in the squares to celebrate victory.”
But he urged revelers to celebrate without firing shots or causing a disturbance so that “we can move on to building this country.”
