Netanyahu says Israel to stay in Syrian territory for foreseeable future

Israel claims troop deployment necessary for security after fall of Assad regime, but some fear it is start of land grab

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Israeli forces inside Syria. AP

Israel appears to be gearing up for an open-ended occupation of Syrian territory it invaded after the fall of former president Bashar Al Assad, with senior officials hinting that long-term military control of the area is vital for national security.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday his country would remain inside the UN-patrolled buffer zone, which was established in 1974, “until another arrangement can be found that guarantees Israel’s security”. The zone separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syrian-controlled territory.

Despite early insistence that the move would be temporary, more recent comments from Israeli leaders about the strategic importance of the area and the duration of the military operation there have led to fears that Israel could be preparing to seize the area.

Mr Netanyahu made his announcement from on top of Mount Hermon – Jebel Al Sheikh in Arabic – strategic high ground that has become a symbol of decades of Israeli tensions with Syria. He said the area’s “importance to Israel’s security has only been reinforced in recent years, and especially in recent weeks, with the dramatic events taking place below us here in Syria”. His trip made him the first sitting Israeli premier to enter Syrian territory.

Women walk near the line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. The village was captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. AP

Defence Minister Israel Katz, who joined Mr Netanyahu, said Mount Hermon was “the eyes of the state of Israel to detect near and far threats”.

“We will remain here for as long as it is needed,” added Mr Katz.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel described Hayat Tahrir Al Sham leader Ahmad Al Shara, whose forces led the overthrow of Mr Al Assad on December 8, as “a wolf in [sheep’s] clothing”, in the some of the most direct comments yet from the Israeli government about Syria’s new leadership.

HTS was formerly affiliated with Al Qaeda and is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN and many governments. Despite a number of statements from its leadership suggesting the group does not want to fight Israeli forces, concerns are nonetheless high in Israel that post-Assad chaos in Syria could lead to the emergence of a destabilising, extreme Sunni government on its borders.

Last week, as Israeli troops entered the buffer zone amid condemnation from the international community, particularly Arab states, Mr Netanyahu said the occupied Golan Heights would be Israeli “for eternity”. However, he did not clarify whether he was referring solely to areas occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or to the buffer zone as well.

Hayat Tahrir Al Sham leader Ahmad Al Shara meets Germany's Middle East envoy Tobias Tunkel in Damascus. AFP

Israel’s military strongly denied intentions to occupy the zone in the long-term, but some officials, including government ministers, made the case early on for a land grab.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, a member of Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party, said Israel should “establish a new defensive frontier based on the 1974 disengagement line” and “renew its control of the peak of [Mount] Hermon”.

The UN on Tuesday condemned Israel’s capture of the buffer zone, saying it violated the 1974 agreement which needs to be “respected”.

“Occupation is occupation – whether it lasts a week, a month or a year – it remains occupation,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Israel’s moves into Syria have been accompanied by heavy bombing of Syrian military infrastructure and assets, which the Israeli military says have now been mostly destroyed.