The Israeli military has entered the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, taking control of the Jabal al-Sheikh outpost on Mount Hermon after Syrian forces withdrew. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday that the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria was a “direct result” of Israel’s military actions against Iran and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah.
To justify the occupation of new areas in the Syrian Golan Heights, Netanyahu explained that he had ordered the military to seize the buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria.
This marks the first time since the 1974 agreement that Israeli troops have been stationed in the buffer zone, although they have occasionally entered the no-man’s land in the past. The buffer zone has been monitored by UN peacekeepers since 1974, and Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after occupying it in 1967.
Reports from Ynet and CNN indicate that Israeli elite Shaldag Unit forces secured the strategic Jabal al-Sheikh peak, which offers a significant vantage point for observation and defense. Additionally, Israeli forces have reportedly taken control of sites within the demilitarized zone along the 1974 disengagement line between Israel and Syria.
