Netanyahu orders Israeli army to keep control of Syria's demilitarized buffer zone until end of 2025

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to keep control of Syria’s demilitarized buffer zone until the end of next year, Israeli media said on Wednesday.

According to Israeli Channel 12, the army was asked to remain in the Hermon Mount (Jabal al-Sheikh) area on the Syrian side of the border at least until the end of 2025.

The broadcaster said that the Israeli government assesses that the security situation in Syria will stabilize by this time.

Israel has intensified airstrikes across Syria in recent days, targeting military sites, following the Dec. 8 ousting of the Bashar Assad regime by anti-regime groups, in a clear violation of Syrian sovereignty.

The Israeli government also declared the collapse of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria, which had established a demilitarized buffer zone in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli military has since deployed forces into the buffer zone, a move condemned by the UN and several Arab nations.

On Sunday, the government unanimously approved a plan proposed by Netanyahu to enhance Israeli settlement building in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, with a budget exceeding 40 million shekels ($11.13 million).

The Golan Heights is Syrian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar