Israel pushes case to control security in Syrian buffer zone, Gaza
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. TEL AVIV—Israel’s defense minister signaled the country is planning to keep tighter and longer-term security control over territory just across its border in Syria and in Gaza, taking advantage of its weakened neighbors to better insulate itself from possible threats. Israel seized control of the 155-square-mile buffer zone separating it from Syria after the Assad regime that had ruled the country for more than half a century collapsed just over a week ago.
It also put troops on the peak of Mt. Hermon, high ground in the buffer zone that offers a commanding view of strategically sensitive territory. Visiting the buffer zone and peak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz told soldiers on Tuesday to set up fortifications and prepare for an extended stay.
He called the peak “the eyes of the state of Israel." Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the rebel leader who led the assault that ousted the Assad regime, said in an interview Monday that there was no justification for Israel’s military to have troops inside Syria. Katz called the rebels extremists and said they needed to be deterred. Israel’s move into the buffer zone—created by a 1974 agreement between Israel and Syria that designated United Nations peacekeepers to be stationed there—was condemned by the U.N.
and other countries including France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and Jordan, who called it a violation of international law that threatened Syria’s territorial integrity. Israel has said the agreement was void after Syrian soldiers abandoned their posts as the regime collapsed. Meanwhile, signs that Israel is preparing for an indefinite presence in the Gaza Strip continued to grow, with Katz saying
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