Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the army to prepare to spend the winter in the UN-patrolled ‘buffer zone’ on the Golan Heights.
According to a report by the French news agency ‘AFP’, the Israeli army occupied the demilitarized zone on the strategically important plateau last Sunday, hours after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s power ended.
Israel’s move was condemned internationally, including by the United Nations, but Israel’s close ally the United States said on Thursday that it was ‘fully consistent’ with Israel’s right to defend itself.
The UN peacekeeping force (UNDOF) informed Israel in a statement on Friday that it was violating the 1974 disengagement agreement, which established a buffer zone during a ceasefire between Syria and Israel.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli military has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syrian military installations, targeting everything from chemical weapons storage facilities to air defenses to prevent them from falling into the hands of rebels.
The Israeli deployment in the buffer zone comes as Israeli forces are withdrawing from southern Lebanon and continuing their attacks on Gaza.
A spokesman for the Israeli defense ministry said in a statement that maintaining a presence on the summit of Mount Hermon is of utmost importance and security importance given the tense situation in Syria. Every effort must be made to ensure readiness to enable our fighters (Israeli soldiers) to remain there despite difficult weather conditions.
