Egypt condemns Israel's grab of buffer zone in Syria’s Golan Heights

CAIRO, Egypt

Egypt on Monday strongly condemned Israel’s seizure of a demilitarized buffer zone in Syria's Golan Heights following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

A Foreign Ministry statement described the Israeli grab of the Syrian land as "an occupation of Syrian territories and a flagrant violation to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement."

The 1974 Disengagement Agreement led to Israel’s withdrawal from some Syrian territories but left the Golan Heights under Israeli control.

Egypt called the Israeli practices a breach of international law and a violation of Syria’s territorial integrity.

It called on the UN Security Council and world powers to assume their responsibilities and take "a firm position" against Israel's assault on Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army on Sunday to capture the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, an area under Tel Aviv's occupation for decades.

Images released by the Israeli military showed soldiers and armored vehicles in the buffer zone, further consolidating Israel’s hold on the region.

Assad fled Syria to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of the capital Damascus early Sunday, marking the collapse of the Baath Party regime, which had been in power in Syria since 1963.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar