Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF on Sunday to take control over the demilitarized zone that serves as a buffer between Israel and Syria.
The Syrian side of Mount Hermon was captured by the Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag Unit, which faced no resistance during the operation.
The move came in the wake of the fall of Damascus to the rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, and the end of the regime of now-former President Bashar al-Assad — momentous events this weekend that prompted Israel to deploy its forces to the Syrian side of the Mount Hermon as Assad regime soldiers abandoned their posts.
Netanyahu said in a statement Sunday during a visit to Israel’s border with Syria that the IDF occupation of the buffer zone is temporary, and reached out a “hand of peace” to Israel’s new northern neighbor.
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The prime minister’s remarks came during a visit with Katz and Golan Heights Regional Council Chairman Uri Kellner to an observation point on Mt. Bental on the Golan Heights, where they were briefed by the head of IDF Northern Command, Maj.-Gen. Ori Gordin and 210th Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Yair Peli on developments in Syria, the reinforcement of IDF units on the Syrian border and the combat readiness for future operations.
“This is a historic day for the Middle East,” Netanyahu commented. “The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers,” he warned.
Netanyahu said the rebels’ victory was a “direct result” of Israel’s forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad’s main supporters, which set off a chain reaction.
“It also means that we have to take action against possible threats,” he said. “One of them is the collapse of the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria. This agreement held for 50 years. Last night, it collapsed. The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.
“Equally, we send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria: to the Druze, to the Kurds, to the Christians, and to the Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel,” Netanyahu said.
“We’re going to follow events very carefully. If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that’s our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel.”
