Following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, Israel said it entered its border with Syria in order to secure a buffer zone, Washington Examiner reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the collapse of Assad’s regime in Syria was a “direct result” of Israel’s military campaign against Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday that they had “deployed forces in the buffer zone and in several other places necessary for its defense, to ensure the safety of the communities of the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel.”
“We emphasize that the IDF is not interfering with the internal events in Syria,” the IDF said. “The IDF will continue to operate as long as necessary in order to preserve the buffer zone and defend Israel and its civilians.”
There have been moments when Israel entered the zone. It captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and annexed the area in 1981. Most countries have not recognized the annexation of the Golan Heights, but in 2019, during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, he said the United States would recognize Israel’s sovereignty in the area.
