“Israeli” War Minister Confirms Troops Will Remain in Syrian Golan Heights Indefinitely

By Staff, Agencies

In a recent statement, the "Israeli" War Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the entity's troops, who seized territory in a so-called "buffer zone" within the strategic Syrian Golan Heights following the fall of Bashar Assad’s government, will remain stationed there indefinitely.

Katz emphasized that "Israeli" military forces will stay at the summit of Jabal Al-Sheikh [“Mount Hermon”] and within the security zone to ensure the safety of communities in the occupied Golan Heights and northern regions, as well as the residents of the "Israeli"-occupied territories.

Jabal Al-Sheikh is a prominent range of snowcapped peaks situated above the Syria-Lebanon border, offering a strategic vantage point over both the Damascus countryside and the "Israeli"-occupied Golan Heights, which were captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Katz also warned that "Israeli" forces would not allow what he termed "hostile forces" to establish a presence in southern Syria.

The "Israeli" military had taken control of the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights shortly after armed groups overtook Damascus on December 8.

The move has drawn widespread condemnation, with critics accusing the entity of exploiting the chaos following Assad’s downfall to make territorial gains.

The UN-established buffer zone, which was created after the 1973 Arab-“Israeli” War, has been monitored by a peacekeeping force of roughly 1,100 UN troops since its establishment.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has stressed that the ongoing "Israeli" military presence violates the terms of the 1974 ceasefire agreement, stating that "occupation is occupation, whether it lasts a week, a month, or a year."