Netanyahu Enters Syria for First Time, Vows Israeli Forces Will Stay on Mount Hermon for Security

Dec 17, 2024, 05:34 PM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on Tuesday, marking the first time a sitting Israeli leader has entered Syrian territory. Netanyahu, who had been on the summit 53 years ago as a soldier, was accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, Head of Northern Command Ori Gordin, and ISA Director Ronen Bar, conducted a security briefing at the summit. This visit comes after Israeli forces seized a roughly 400-square-kilometer buffer zone in southern Syria along the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights following the ousting of Syrian President Bashar Assad by rebels. The buffer zone, created by the UN after the 1973 Mideast war and patrolled by about 1,100 UN troops, has been a point of contention. Netanyahu stated that Israeli troops would remain in the area, specifically on the summit of Mount Hermon, 'until another arrangement is found that will ensure Israel's security.' Defense Minister Katz emphasized the strategic importance of the Hermon summit, describing it as 'the eyes of the state of Israel to identify our enemies who are nearby and far away.'