TEL AVIV, December 12. /TASS/. Israel intends to maintain its military presence in a buffer zone in the Golan Heights until it receives security guarantees, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
"This deployment is a temporary measure until forces committed to the 1974 agreement (on disengagement between Israel and Syria - TASS) are formed and security on our border is guaranteed," the statement reads.
The prime minister’s office stressed that Israel’s actions in the Golan Heights area were defensive in nature and stemmed from a government change in Syria. "The collapse of the Syrian regime has created a vacuum on the Israeli border and in the buffer zone established based on the 1974 disengagement agreement. Israel will not allow Jihadist groups to fill the vacuum and threaten to carry out October 7-like attacks on Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights. This is why Israeli forces have entered the buffer zone and taken control of strategic facilities near the Israeli border," the statement added.
Golan Heights situation
The Golan Heights, which had belonged to Syria since 1944, were seized by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1981, the Israeli parliament passed a law unilaterally declaring sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The UN Security Council declared the annexation null and void in its Resolution 497 on December 17, 1981.
The 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria put an end to military activities. UN forces were deployed to the region to monitor a ceasefire. Under international accords, peacekeepers are the only armed force authorized to be stationed in the buffer zone.
Syria’s armed opposition units started a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates on November 27. By the evening of December 7, they seized several large cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, and Homs. On December 8, they entered Damascus, while government troops withdrew from the city. Bashar Assad stepped down as Syrian president and left the country.
On December 8, the Israeli army announced that it had taken positions in a buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that it was a temporary defensive measure aimed at countering potential threats from Syria.