JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a rare visit to Syrian territory on Tuesday as part of a security inspection of the buffer zone occupied by Israel in recent days following the downfall of Bashar Assad.
Netanyahu’s visit marked the first time a sitting Israeli leader has set foot on Syrian soil. The area in southern Syria, adjacent to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, was taken over by Israel and designated as a buffer zone after the Syrian President Bashar Assad was overthrown by rebels.
Israel currently maintains control over the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria during the 1967 Middle East conflict and later incorporated into its territory through annexation – a move that is not widely recognized by the global community.
Netanyau and Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the snow-dusted summit of Mount Hermon, the highest peak in the area, which is located inside Syrian territory.
Katz added that Israel will maintain a presence in the Syrian buffer zone “for as long as is required” and had instructed the Israeli military to quickly establish a presence including fortifications, in anticipation of what could be an extended stay in the area.
“The summit of the Hermon is the eyes of the state of Israel to identify our enemies who are nearby and far away,” Katz said.
Israeli forces were moving to control a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized buffer zone in Syrian territory. The buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights was created by the U.N. after the 1973 Mideast war. A U.N. force of about 1,100 troops has patrolled the area since then.
Mount Hermon is divided between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Lebanon, and Syria. Only the United States recognizes Israel’s control of the Golan Heights.
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