Israel's prime minister has used the regime change in Syria as reason to approve a plan to double the Israeli population living in the occupied Golan Heights.
Benjamin Netanyahu said events over the border in Syria showed there was more reason than ever to bolster the number of settlements in the territory. No countries apart from Israel and the US recognise the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
"Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the state of Israel, and it is especially important at this time," he said in a statement on Sunday.
"We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it."
Why the Golan Heights matters in the Middle East Photo shows Military vehicles driving up a dirt road along an area separated by barbed wire Shortly after Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's overthrow by rebel forces, Israel ordered its troops to enter a demilitarised buffer zone situated along the east of Syria's Golan Heights plateau it controls.
Israel seized control of the Golan Heights during the Six Day War in 1967, and unilaterally annexed it in 1981.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights to be illegal — a position Israel rejects.
More than 20,000 Israeli settlers already live in the Golan Heights, along with Druze communities — many of whom identify as Syrian.
US president-elect Donald Trump formally recognised it as Israeli territory during his first term in the White House, but countries such as Australia classify it as Israeli controlled and administered.
Mr Netanyahu's office said the plan was being pushed "in light of the war and the new front against Syria", with the Israeli government committing 40 million shekels ($17.4 million) to the cause.
Syria 'an active enemy state', Netanyahu says
Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli had ramped up military operations in Syria in recent days to "thwart potential threats". (Reuters:Amir Cohen/File Photo)
It is the latest provocative move by the Israeli government in the wake of rebel forces taking control of Syria, after more than five decades of the Assad family dictatorship.
Hundreds of air strikes have been launched into Syria, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claiming it was targeting weapons stockpiles and military infrastructure abandoned by the former Syrian government's forces to ensure they did not fall into rebel hands.
Syria's key players explained in a single map Photo shows People wave the flag of the Syrian rebels. The collapse of the Assad regime has fragmented Syria's territory, with several armed groups now jostling for control and international players anxious to preserve their regional interests.
Israel has also deployed troops and tanks across the border of the Golan Heights into Syria, positioning them in an area that had been considered a demilitarised buffer zone since the 1970s.
IDF personnel are being told to prepare to stay there for the winter, as the government monitors developments in Syria.
The deployment has been criticised as an opportunistic land grab by Arab countries, and France has joined calls for Israel to withdraw.
On Saturday, the leader of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the campaign to topple Bashar al-Assad, criticised the Israeli air strikes and deployment into the buffer zone.
But he stopped short of threatening Israel with any form of retaliation.
"Syria's war-weary condition, after years of conflict and war, does not allow for new confrontations," Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously went by Abu Mohammed al-Golani, said in an interview with Syrian media.
"The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction."
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria said the reconstruction effort would be hampered by economic sanctions on the Syrian government, dating back to the Assad regime.
The Golan Heights look over Quneitra, in Syria. (Reuters: Shir Torem)
Geir Pedersen urged countries such as the United States and the members of the European Union to lift those measures to aid the new administration.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel had "no interest in a conflict with Syria" in a video address shortly after he spoke with US president-elect Donald Trump.
"We will determine Israel's policy toward Syria according to the emerging reality on the ground," he said.
"I recall that for decades, Syria has been an active enemy state of Israel.
"It has attacked us repeatedly, it has allowed others to attack us from its territory, it has allowed Iran to arm Hezbollah through its territory."
He said Israeli actions in recent days were to "thwart potential threats".
One_Distribution5278 on December 16th, 2024 at 01:51 UTC »
I don’t understand. The whole point of buffer zones is so if there is any fighting, it’s going on in lands not inhabited by your citizens, minimizing disruption and civilian casualties. This move just puts their own civilians on the frontlines.
yasinburak15 on December 16th, 2024 at 01:27 UTC »
They annexed it and soon after will say they will need another buffer zone and another one after that, there comes a point you need to slap Netanyahu and his party. I can say it, the current territories they captured in Syria will be declared as a new buffer zone with the upcoming Trump administration.
There’s only one way to stop it, and it could be intriguing. What if Turkey deployed troops to patrol the region? It would undoubtedly be costly, but I don’t see any other viable option unless the UN does it job. The new Syria is still in its infancy, and the various factions haven’t yet formed a new government.
Shinnobiwan on December 16th, 2024 at 00:51 UTC »
Everyone saw this coming. In a couple of years, they will need more buffer zone.