Israel seizes more Syria territory after rebel takeover, citing potential security threats

Israel has seized more Syrian territory close to the occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of the Assad regime, citing potential threats Tel Aviv may face from the former rebels.

On Sunday, Syrian rebels conquered the capital, Damascus, concluding a rapid new offensive which saw the Syrian opposition capture numerous towns and major cities from Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, effectively ending almost 14 years of civil war and over five decades of the Assad dynasty’s rule.

Amid mixed messages and reactions from much of the international community, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated in a video that the collapse of the Assad regime and “the tyranny in Damascus” was a “historic day in the Middle East” which “offers great opportunity”, but claimed that it is also “fraught with significant dangers”.

Emphasising that the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria over Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights had “collapsed” due to the rebel takeover of the country, Netanyahu announced the Israeli military’s entering of the buffer zone and seizure of “commanding positions nearby”, calling the move a “temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found”.

Warning that Tel Aviv “will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border”, Netanyahu claimed that “if we can establish neighbourly 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.”

Israeli troops enter Syria to occupy Golan Heights ‘buffer zone’

Israeli forces are now at least 14km inside Syria to establish a buffer zone around the occupied Golan Heights, in the wake of Syria’s take over by rebel forces. The Israeli army’s chief of staff announced that… pic.twitter.com/4l0sDtRvAN

— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) December 9, 2024

READ: Israel army chief declares Syria a fourth ‘fighting front’