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Israel orders military to create 'weapons-free zone' in Syria

Tuesday, 10 December 2024 6:18 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 10 December 2024 10:45 PM ]

A picture taken from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights shows an Israeli army armored vehicle near Quneitra in southwest Syria on December 8, 2024 (A photo by AFP)

Israeli war minister Israel Katz says together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he instructed the military to create a "weapons-free zone" in southern Syria following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

“Together with the prime minister, I have instructed the [Israeli military to establish a sterile defense zone free of weapons and terrorist threats in southern Syria, without a permanent Israeli presence,” Katz said during a visit to a naval base in the occupied city of Haifa.

The Israeli prime minister issued the order after alleging that a 1974 disengagement agreement that had set up the area to separate the Israeli-occupied part of the territory from Syrian land, had collapsed.

An Israeli military spokesperson said on Tuesday that Israeli troops remained in the demilitarized buffer zone in Syrian territory created after the 1973 war as well as “a few additional points” outside the separation area.

He denied that forces had penetrated Syrian territory significantly beyond the zone.

But Syrian sources confirmed the incursion had extended to within 25 km of the capital Damascus.

Israeli warplanes have carried out hundreds of attacks across the country, including in the capital Damascus since the government fell to militants on Sunday. Israeli media also confirmed that the air force had carried out as many as 250 strikes over the past few hours.

As part of the wave of strikes, Katz said Israeli missile ships had destroyed the Syrian military fleet in an operation on Monday.

Condemnations are pouring in from across the world over the Israeli violation of Syria’s sovereignty.

Iran strongly denounces Israel’s repeated attacks on Syria, its expanding occupation of Golan Heights

Iran strongly denounces the Israeli regime’s repeated attacks on Syria’s infrastructures, and its expanding its occupation of the Arab country’s Golan Heights.

The UN special envoy for Syria has called the Israeli attacks a deeply troubling development, describing the current situation in the Arab country as highly fluid.

Geir Pedersen said tensions remain unresolved and urged other countries to avoid actions that could impede the ongoing transformation.

Iran has criticized Western nations for their support of the Israeli regime and silence on such blatant violations.

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Cuba, and Venezuela have all condemned Israel’s land grab near the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

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