TEL AVIV, December 18. /TASS/. Israel plans to maintain control over some areas in the Golan Heights, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, until it receives security guarantees, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
He made the statement at a meeting with the country's military leadership at the top of the mountain.
"We are here for an operational meeting and to decide on the deployment of Israeli forces in this important location until another solution is found that will ensure Israel's security," the prime minister said in remarks released by his office.
Netanyahu, who said he had been to the mountain ridge 53 years ago as a member of an Israeli military unit, expressed the view that the importance of the Golan for Israel's security has become "even more important in recent years and especially in recent weeks, amid the dramatic events taking place <...> in Syria."
"We will determine the best arrangement that will ensure our security," he stated.
According to Netanyahu's office, the meeting was also attended by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Northern Command chief Ori Gordin and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
Controlled by Syria since 1944, the Golan Heights were captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. The Israeli legislature passed a bill in 1981 that unilaterally declared Israeli sovereignty over the territory. UN Security Council Resolution No. 497 of December 17, 1981, designated the annexation invalid.
On December 8, the Israeli military announced that it had taken up positions in the Golan Heights buffer zone, which separated Israeli and Syrian controlled territories since 1974. Netanyahu immediately stated that this was a temporary defensive measure aimed at curbing potential threats to his country amid the instability in Syria that followed the change of power there. However, he said Israeli troops will remain in the Golan Heights until Israel receives guarantees that the border will be secure.