Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli troops will occupy a recently seized buffer zone in Syria for the foreseeable future, as intense efforts continued to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister made the remarks on Tuesday night while touring Mount Hermon – known to Syrians as Jabel Sheikh – as a report in Israel suggested the Israel Defense Forces had been ordered to hold positions there until the end of 2025.
Israeli troops occupied the positions on the mountain when they moved into a demilitarised zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after the collapse earlier this month of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria.
Israel has faced mounting calls to move its troops from the buffer zone, most recently from the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, who called the occupation of the Golan Heights a violation of international law.
While Israeli officials have previously described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel’s borders, they have given no indication of when their troops might be withdrawn.
Netanyahu, in a statement issued by his office, said: “We are holding this assessment in order to decide on the deployment of the IDF in this important place until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security.”
“It makes me nostalgic,” he added. “I was here 53 years ago with my soldiers in a patrol of the Israel Defense Forces. The place hasn’t changed, it’s the same place, but its importance to Israel’s security has only grown in recent years, and especially in recent weeks with the dramatic events that are happening here below us in Syria.”
Israel captured a significant part of Syria’s Golan Heights during the six day war in 1967, with that territory being regarded as being occupied by most countries.
