JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israeli forces will remain in a demilitarized buffer zone on the Syrian border, and specifically at the top of Mount Hermon, “until another solution is found that guarantees Israel’s security.”
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Netanyahu made these comments from the snowy summit of the mountain — the highest peak in the area — which is located in Syrian territory. Apparently, it was the first time that a sitting Israeli leader entered Syria.
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The premier said he was at the summit of Hermon 53 years ago as a soldier, but the importance of the summit for Israel's security has increased given recent events.
What is the containment zone that Israel took over?
Israel seized a strip in southern Syria, on the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, designating it as a buffer zone, days after Syrian President Bashar Assad was overthrown by rebels on December 8.
The designation of this containment zone has provoked condemnations, and critics accuse Israel of violating the 1974 ceasefire and possibly taking advantage of the chaos in Syria to seize land.
Netanyahu was accompanied by his Defense Minister, Israel Katz, who said that Israel will maintain a presence in the Syrian buffer zone “as long as necessary” and instructed the Israeli army to quickly establish a presence including fortifications, in anticipation of what could be an extended stay in the area.
“The summit of Hermon is the eyes of the State of Israel to identify our enemies who are near and far”, said Katz.
The Israeli forces were mobilizing to control a demilitarized zone of approximately 400 square kilometers (155 square miles) in Syrian territory. The buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights was created by the United Nations after the Middle East war of 1973. About 1,100 UN soldiers have been patrolling the area since then.
Mount Hermon is divided among the Golan Heights, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. Only the United States recognizes Israel's control over the Golan Heights.
Israel controls the Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed, a move not recognized by most of the international community.