Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel for almost 60 years, will remain part of Israel “for eternity”, amid growing criticism of an Israeli takeover of a previously demilitarised buffer zone in Syrian-controlled territory.
Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, the Israeli prime minister said Israeli control of the high ground “ensures our security and sovereignty” adding “the Golan will be part of the State of Israel for eternity”.
Over the weekend, Netanyahu ordered troops to move into a UN-patrolled buffer zone and attacked what it said were regime weapons depots with airstrikes, as the shock victory of Syrian rebels over Bashar al-Assad reshapes the region’s frontlines.
The UN said on Monday that the move constituted a violation of a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria.
“There should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation. And Israel and Syria must continue to uphold the terms of that 1974 agreement, and preserve stability in the Golan,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general, António Guterres.
Most of the Golan Heights plateau has been occupied by Israel since 1967. It was fully annexed in 1981, a move not recognised by most of the international community.
The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said the airstrikes were to stop arms falling into the hands of those who may want to harm Israel and its citizens.
“That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets so that they will not fall in the hands of extremists,” he said. Assad is widely believed to have still possessed large amounts of chemical weapons.
The Israeli deployment to Syrian territory was immediately met with concern among Syrians and others that Israel would seek to permanently occupy or annex the area. Jordan, which neighbours the Golan and is a key Israeli partner in the region, described the Israeli deployment as a violation of international law.
“We condemn the fact that Israel has entered Syrian territory and taken control of the buffer zone,” the Jordanian foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told parliament.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned the move as an act of “sabotage”, saying: “The seizure of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights … confirms Israel’s continued violation of the rules of international law, and its determination to sabotage Syria’s chances of restoring its security, stability and territorial integrity.”
A spokesperson for the US state department said the incursion must be only “temporary”, but gave no timetable for a withdrawal.
Syrian army sources told Reuters that overnight, Israel struck a Hezbollah convoy of 150 armoured vehicles on a route well known for taking arms and materiel from Syria to Lebanon, where the Shia group is based.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel had also targeted several locations in coastal and southern Syria the night before. Verified pictures of Mezzeh military airport, on the outskirts of Damascus, showed destroyed helicopters and jets.
Since Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in the country, mainly targeting the Syrian army and allied Iran-backed groups. It rarely comments on actions in Syria but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to maintain a foothold there.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel has fought on two fronts: the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon. It has managed to decimate both the Palestinian group and Hezbollah, Iran’s major ally, but security sources quoted in Israeli media on Monday said the country’s intelligence services were unprepared for the dramatic developments in Syria over the last two weeks. Israel had reportedly been considering making overtures towards the regime in Damascus.
On Sunday, Israel also strengthened its air defences in the Golan and moved ground troops into Syrian territory for the first time in 50 years to help UN forces repel an assault by rebels on a UN post near the Druze village of Khader.
Two extra brigades had now been deployed and troops sent into the buffer zone to keep armed actors and potential refugee flows away, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
IDF soldiers took control of Syrian army positions on Mount Hermon and in Quneitra province after the Assad troops abandoned their posts on Saturday. The Israeli military also said that orders had been issued for deterrent fire to be used against any attempts to breach the border fence, ordering residents of five Druze Syrian villages to stay at home until further notice.
A day earlier, Netanyahu said he had ordered the IDF to deploy to the buffer zone, which was demilitarised in 1974 in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur war.
In a video address in English, he described the move as a “temporary and limited step” in response to the dramatic events in Syria of the last two weeks, which culminated in Assad fleeing to Russia on Sunday.
“This agreement has collapsed … Syrian soldiers abandoned their positions,” he said of the 1974 disengagement pact. “We will not allow any hostile forces to establish themselves at our border.”
While Assad’s downfall has been widely celebrated across the world after 13 years of brutal civil war and more than 60 of Ba’athist rule, his sudden departure has left Syria’s future uncertain.
Regional actors have already scrambled to protect their interests in the fractured country: as well as the Israeli action, Turkish-backed rebels have launched an offensive against US-backed Kurdish-led forces on the northern border with Turkey, and the US has carried out dozens of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in the vast Syrian desert.
US Central Command said late on Sunday that the strikes were intended to “disrupt, degrade, and defeat Isis [Islamic State], in order to prevent the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that Isis does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria”.
