Israel will remain in Syria buffer zone 'until security can be guaranteed,' says Netanyahu

Amid ongoing criticism of Israel’s actions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday reiterated Israel’s reasons for taking over the demilitarized zone between Syria and Israel on the Golan Heights last weekend.

“The collapse of the Syrian regime created a vacuum on Israel’s border and in the buffer zone established by the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The agreement was signed by Israel and Syria after the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Since then, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has been monitored by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), a peacekeeping mission established by the UN in 1974.

Amid the fall of the Assad regime last Sunday, the regime’s army abandoned its border posts, enabling Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to quickly take over the DMZ, as well as some strategic points, such as the Syrian side of the peak of Mount Hermon.

“Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th-style attacks. That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border,” the PMO said.

“This deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed.”

According to the IDF, the new rulers in Damascus, most of them members of the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have so far not sent any troops to the southern part of the country, which was freed by armed rebels under the umbrella of the “Southern Operations Room.”

However, on Wednesday, several Israel-based journalists visited the new IDF post on Tell Kudneh, a hill that lies to the east of the DMZ in fully sovereign Syrian territory, and said the Israeli soldiers had not seen or encountered any armed rebel groups.

The Israeli army also told The Jerusalem Post (JPost) they were in contact with HTS representatives, in order to, for example, coordinate the return of stolen items from a UNDOF base after rebels broke in and stole weapons and ammunition.

The IDF helped UNDOF repel the attack, and shortly after entered the DMZ. Journalists who visited the former Syrian army outpost on Tell Kudneh reported that it appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry, with weapons and personal items being left behind.

IDF soldiers found anti-tank missiles, rifles, and old tanks, and were shocked at the dilapidated living conditions of their Syrian counterparts. Sources told the JPost that the base and its weaponry were in worse condition than the terror outposts of Hamas and Hezbollah, which many of the soldiers who had been rushed to the Syrian border had captured during the past months of fighting.

“When you look at these outposts, it is evident that Assad's army was more afraid of the rebels than of the IDF forces, and did not bother to invest considerable resources in them,” wrote Walla News’ Amir Bohbot.

“You can see that most of the manned positions were directed towards the Syrian territory. They were very afraid of the rebels and not the IDF. They defined the rebels as the enemy,” an IDF officer told Bohbot.

“The IDF is now controlling several points in this buffer zone to make sure that the Israeli border on that side [gesturing with his hand] is safe. This is the only reason we are here,” IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari told the JPost.

“There have been rumors yesterday that our tanks are heading to Damascus. This is fake. We are only in the buffer zone, making sure that the Israeli border is safe, and we will keep on doing this [in] this time. This area of Syria is not stable. We need make sure that our border is safe,” he stressed.

However, many journalists commented that the IDF had begun to create a logistical framework indicating it was preparing to stay in Syria at least throughout the winter.

“The thing that stood out to me the most in the outpost is the logistical infrastructure that the IDF has already placed there: they have already brought there containers with toilets, showers, a kitchenette. The commander of the paratroopers battalion that occupies the post already has an office,” wrote Doron Kadosh, military correspondent for Army Radio.

“[It] Reminded me very much of what is happening in the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza – the next step is: cell reception antennas and snooker tables.”

Kadosh reported that the soldiers have come into contact with residents of several Syrian villages in the buffer zone, and said they have been friendly so far.

“Driving through the village you could see IDF checkpoints at the intersections, a bit reminiscent of Judea and Samaria. But apart from that – the rebels are nowhere to be seen, and the citizens are living their lives,” said Kadosh.

“Four brigade battlegroups from the Paratroopers, the Commando Brigade and the 188th Armored Brigade, operate here in what the IDF calls ‘frontal defense’,” explained Yoav Zitun of Ynet News.

“This is a contingency plan that has existed in every regional division for years, and has also been implemented in past wars and operations: In a military emergency, you rush to key positions in enemy territory near the border first, to thwart and remove any threat to the [Israeli] residents in advance.”