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Israel Penetrates 9 Kilometers into Syrian Daraa Countryside
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Israeli incursion into Syrian territory represents a radical shift in Israel's military policy toward Syria after Assad regime's fall
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed that Israeli forces penetrated nine kilometers into the Daraa countryside in southern Syria, noting their entry into Koya village and the historic Unity Dam near the Syrian-Jordanian border.
The Observatory reported in a press statement that Israeli forces established strategic positions in the area after warning local residents to surrender their weapons, and also took control of Battalion 74 in the vicinity of Saida village on the administrative border between Quneitra and Daraa governorates.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced from Mount Hermon summit the continued presence of his forces in the buffer zone on the Syrian border "until another arrangement ensuring Israel's security is reached," recalling his presence on the summit 53 years ago as a soldier.
Netanyahu held a security meeting on Mount Hermon with senior military and security officials, following Israel's control of the buffer zone previously monitored by the United Nations between the two sides.
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz stated: "We will stay here as long as necessary... Our presence here at Mount Hermon summit enhances security and also adds a dimension of surveillance and deterrence to Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, as well as deterrence against opponents in Damascus."
Mount Hermon represents a strategic location extending between Syria and Lebanon and overlooking the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967 and annexed in 1981, a move that received no international recognition except from the United States.
Levant-Agencies
