Netanyahu Says Israeli Forces Secured Buffer Zone in Golan Heights After Syria’s Assad Toppled - Global Research
Global ResearchDec 11
Katz: Israeli Troops to Remain on Syrian Side of Mount Hermon Through Winter
Above: An Israeli tank on the Syrian side of the border fence along the buffer zone seen from the Golan Heights, on Dec. 11, 2024. Image copyright: Kobi Wolf/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Facts
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that he had ordered Israel's military to prepare to stay atop the Syrian side of Mount Hermon during the coming winter months to prevent the region from falling into the "wrong hands."
Following the capture of Damascus by anti-government forces on Sunday, Israel moved to seize Syrian territory, arguing that the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, under which the regions recently captured by Israel became a demilitarized zone, had collapsed.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Israel has assured the US that its recent moves in the Golan Heights will be temporary, as Israel is responding to legitimate security concerns in Syria. Neither Israel nor the US want to see Assad's chemical weapons fall into the hands of extremists, and Israel's actions will help ensure stability and security for the entire region.
Pro-Israel narrative
Israel's presence in the Golan Heights is not just a security imperative but a moral concern. Thousands of Druze live in the area and many have expressed their openness to Israel's presence to defend them from the possibility of sectarian persecution at the hands of the new Islamist government in Damascus.
Pro-Palestine narrative
The US, as always, is backing Israeli expansionism at the expense of the local population. The new government in Damascus has not done anything to elicit Israel's violent and aggressive military actions in the last week. Indeed, though Israeli media might focus on the comments of a small minority of Syrian Druze, the community as a whole is firmly Syrian and clearly does not desire Israeli occupation.