The same day al-Assad was ousted, Israel announced that its troops were entering a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974.
Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in a war in 1967, later annexing the area in a move largely unrecognized by the international community.
Netanyahu said that Israeli forces will remain in the buffer zone “for an indefinite period to protect our communities and thwart any threat.”
The military operation’s scale and focus raise pressing questions about Israel’s intentions and its long-term impact on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Analysts have drawn comparisons to the chaos seen in Iraq after the US-led invasion and Libya’s fragmented post-Gaddafi reality.
Israel’s occupation of additional Syrian territories near the Golan Heights compounds this uncertainty.
The final outcome in Syria appears stark: Assad’s regime has fallen, and the Syrian army has been entirely dismantled—an unprecedented event even compared to the 1967 war. Israel now firmly controls the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. Turkish forces have seized more than 13 cities, cementing their influence. The United States has solidified its presence in oil-rich regions while extending legal protection to the Kurds and the SDF.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the opening of a front in Syria. Israeli forces occupied Mount Hermon from the Syrian side in the Golan Heights, from where the Syrian army withdrew, Israeli and Arab media reported. N12 TV channel noted that „in fact, this is the first IDF presence in the area after the Yom Kippur War.“
„In light of the current developments in Syria, the impact of which on this country and the entire region is yet to be realized, Russia has requested urgent closed-door consultations of the UN Security Council. In particular, it is important to know what is going on in this environment around the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights. We expect that these consultations will ne held in the second half of the day on Monday, December 9,“ he wrote on his Telegram channel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was a „historic day in the… Middle East“ and the fall of a „central link in Iran‘s axis of evil“.
Netanyahu said the events are „a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, Assad‘s main supporters. It has triggered a chain reaction across the Middle East, empowering those seeking to break free from this oppressive regime.“
He spoke on a visit to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Daraa and Quneitra are near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, where Israel said it was boosting its troop presence, and Jordan, which late Friday urged its citizens to leave Syria „as soon as possible.“
Iraq allowed hundreds of troops from the Syrian army in, some of them wounded, amid the offensive, according to two Iraqi security sources speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The soldiers from President Bashar al-Assad‘s forces „have fled the front lines“ and entered Iraq through the Al-Qaim border crossing, said one senior security official, adding that „the wounded have been hospitalized“ in the area.
According to Israel, a UN post on the edge of the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights came under attack.
„The [Israeli army] is currently assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack,“ Israel said.
On Friday, the military completed a General Staff exercise in the northern Jordan Valley and the southern Golan Heights.
During the exercise, General Staff readiness was drilled by the Operations Directorate, by both air and land, to assess response time and reaction to an emerging incident in real time.
(01.12.2014)
5. In view of the heavy fighting, which was approaching close to the UNDOF headquarters at Camp Faouar and the mission’s positions in the central part of the area of separation, the Force Commander briefed both parties early in September on the Force’s plans to relocate its personnel and assets should the Nusra Front or other extremist fighters who posed a clear threat to the mission endanger the safety and security of the United Nations personnel. It should be noted here that from information posted on social media as well as in the course of its efforts to secure the release of the peacekeepers, the United Nations learned that its personnel had been taken and held by members of the Nusra Front. There were indications that the Nusra Front intended to detain additional UNDOF personnel and take from UNDOF more weapons and vehicles as opportunities arose. (…)
12. Crossing of the ceasefire line by civilians, primarily shepherds, was observed on an almost daily basis. On 24 October, United Nations observation post 73 observed 12 IDF soldiers who detained one civilian between the Alpha line and the Israeli technical fence south-east of the observation post and subsequently took him away. IDF informed UNDOF that they released the person within one hour at the same location. On 27 October, position 80 observed two IDF soldiers east of the technical fence returning from the direction of the Alpha line towards the technical fence. UNDOF observed IDF opening the technical fence gate and letting two individuals pass from the Bravo to the Alpha side. Following the evacuation of UNDOF personnel from position 85 on 28 August, UNDOF sporadically observed armed members of the opposition interacting with IDF across the ceasefire line in the vicinity of United Nations position 85.
(4.12.2014)
UN troops monitoring the 1974 ceasefire between Israel and Syria have witnessed interactions between members of the Israeli Defence Forces and the Al Nusra Front who have taken over a large part of the Golan Heights.
“Since October of last year, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has carried out more than 160 operations targeting the Israeli interior and the occupied areas in the Golan Heights, most of which Israel has not acknowledged for various reasons,” Kadhim al-Fartousi, a leader of Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhadaa and the group’s spokesman, told MEE.
“The resistance announces the operations it carries out as soon as they happen. The resistance did not announce this operation or claim responsibility for it as was reported,” he added.
“If we had carried it out, we would have announced it.”
(12.05.2018)
Ein Abzug der iranischen und libanesischen Einheiten aus dem Syrien-Krieg wäre für Netanjahu, der dringend einen Krieg und eine fiktive oder tatsächliche äußere Bedrohung Israels braucht um dort an der Macht zu bleiben, ein echtes Problem.
Nach der von den Staatsführungen Russland und Syriens orchestrierten Einladung an Israels Regierungs-Gang Syrien zu bombardieren, was unmittelbar dem Besuch von Benjamin Netanjahu in Moskau folgte, gab die syrische Armee schließlich zu, selbst den Golan angegriffen zu haben und nicht iranische Einheiten. Radio Utopie empfahl diesbezüglich gestern:
“Die Hisbollah und die Staatsführung des Iran sollten ihre Truppen aus Syrien zurückziehen und Assad zum Teufel und / oder Putin gehen lassen.”
(01.12.2014)
5. In view of the heavy fighting, which was approaching close to the UNDOF headquarters at Camp Faouar and the mission’s positions in the central part of the area of separation, the Force Commander briefed both parties early in September on the Force’s plans to relocate its personnel and assets should the Nusra Front or other extremist fighters who posed a clear threat to the mission endanger the safety and security of the United Nations personnel. It should be noted here that from information posted on social media as well as in the course of its efforts to secure the release of the peacekeepers, the United Nations learned that its personnel had been taken and held by members of the Nusra Front. There were indications that the Nusra Front intended to detain additional UNDOF personnel and take from UNDOF more weapons and vehicles as opportunities arose. (…)
12. Crossing of the ceasefire line by civilians, primarily shepherds, was observed on an almost daily basis. On 24 October, United Nations observation post 73 observed 12 IDF soldiers who detained one civilian between the Alpha line and the Israeli technical fence south-east of the observation post and subsequently took him away. IDF informed UNDOF that they released the person within one hour at the same location. On 27 October, position 80 observed two IDF soldiers east of the technical fence returning from the direction of the Alpha line towards the technical fence. UNDOF observed IDF opening the technical fence gate and letting two individuals pass from the Bravo to the Alpha side. Following the evacuation of UNDOF personnel from position 85 on 28 August, UNDOF sporadically observed armed members of the opposition interacting with IDF across the ceasefire line in the vicinity of United Nations position 85.
(4.12.2014)
UN troops monitoring the 1974 ceasefire between Israel and Syria have witnessed interactions between members of the Israeli Defence Forces and the Al Nusra Front who have taken over a large part of the Golan Heights.
Jordan‘s parliament has voted in favor of a motion to ban natural gas imports from the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the wake of mass protests against the government’s multi-billion-dollar agreement with the Tel Aviv regime.
The request was made after the resolution was adopted after 91 UN member states voted in favour, nine rejected and 65 abstained.
On 15 November 2018, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution asking Israel to stop exploiting the natural resources in the Palestinian territories, including the occupied East Jerusalem and Syrian Golan Heights.
(1.12.2014)
5. In view of the heavy fighting, which was approaching close to the UNDOF headquarters at Camp Faouar and the mission’s positions in the central part of the area of separation, the Force Commander briefed both parties early in September on the Force’s plans to relocate its personnel and assets should the Nusra Front or other extremist fighters who posed a clear threat to the mission endanger the safety and security of the United Nations personnel. It should be noted here that from information posted on social media as well as in the course of its efforts to secure the release of the peacekeepers, the United Nations learned that its personnel had been taken and held by members of the Nusra Front. There were indications that the Nusra Front intended to detain additional UNDOF personnel and take from UNDOF more weapons and vehicles as opportunities arose. (…)
12. Crossing of the ceasefire line by civilians, primarily shepherds, was observed on an almost daily basis. On 24 October, United Nations observation post 73 observed 12 IDF soldiers who detained one civilian between the Alpha line and the Israeli technical fence south-east of the observation post and subsequently took him away. IDF informed UNDOF that they released the person within one hour at the same location. On 27 October, position 80 observed two IDF soldiers east of the technical fence returning from the direction of the Alpha line towards the technical fence. UNDOF observed IDF opening the technical fence gate and letting two individuals pass from the Bravo to the Alpha side. Following the evacuation of UNDOF personnel from position 85 on 28 August, UNDOF sporadically observed armed members of the opposition interacting with IDF across the ceasefire line in the vicinity of United Nations position 85.
(4.12.2014)
UN troops monitoring the 1974 ceasefire between Israel and Syria have witnessed interactions between members of the Israeli Defence Forces and the Al Nusra Front who have taken over a large part of the Golan Heights.
(10.11.2015)
Netanyahu‘s general, implied statement on the Golan Heights draws from political ideas developed by various right-wing figures over the past year, who argue that the situation in Syria and the takeover of ISIS and other Al-Qaida-affiliated groups of large portions of the country may allow Israel to receive international recognition of 1981 the annexation of the Golan Heights.
(03.07.2015)
Syria used to exist, but soon will no longer exist. The validity of the arrangements that defined the borders and the countries in the Middle East after World War I has expired, and the region can now expect many years of instability. In such a situation, Israel must reformulate its geostrategic interests – not only on the Syrian front – by looking far into the future, rather than deep into the past.
#Syria #Israel #IDF #IAF #Russia #Iran #IRGC
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor affiliated with the Syrian opposition, reported that three explosions were heard in southern and southwestern Damascus. According to the report, the areas that were targeted have an Iranian military and Hezbollah presence.
Several explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday night as the country’s air defenses opened fire on “objects” coming from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, state media reported.
Der israelische Regierungschef Netanyahu will eine neue Siedlung auf den Golanhöhen nach US-Präsident Trump benennen – aus Dankbarkeit. Trump hatte zuvor Israels Souveränität über das annektierte Gebiet anerkannt.
Four U.S. lawmakers who have long proved staunch supporters of Israel express concern over the prime minister‘s campaign promise ■ Other lawmakers single out Netanyahu‘s ‚full-throated embrace of the far right’s extreme agenda‘
Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition gathering in Las Vegas, Trump said he made the snap decision during a discussion with his top Middle East peace advisers, including the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“I said, ‘Fellows, do me a favor. Give me a little history, quick. Want to go fast. I got a lot of things I’m working on: China, North Korea. Give me a quickie,” Trump said to laughter from the Las Vegas crowd.
(27.3.19) A majority of Security Council members on Wednesday stressed the importance of upholding international law regarding the occupied Golan Heights, in the face of the unilateral move by the United States to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over them.
The decision was denounced by Syria and many other world powers that still recognize the Golan Heights as Syrian territory. Jaafari told the U.N. the territory would not “be part of some damned and wicked deal, or a pawn to be exchanged for support in your electoral games,” Newsweek reported.
President Trump’s recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights has been widely celebrated by Israelis. But do those same Israelis know of the hundreds of thousands of people expelled from the territory during the 1967 war?
Die überwiegende Mehrheit der Israelis weiss immer noch nicht, dass über 130.000 Einwohner der Golanhöhen während des Krieges von 1967 aus ihren Dörfern, Städten und Gemeinden vertrieben wurden. Tatsächlich ist das Gebiet in den letzten Jahrzehnten für die meisten Israelis zu einem „Konsens“-Thema geworden, so dass viele keinen Grund sehen, es zurückzugeben. Während also Präsident Trump letzte Woche die Welt vor den Kopf stieß, indem er die Annexion des Golan durch Israel anerkannte, feierte in Israel fast jeder diesen Schritt.
Furthermore, the most widely believed reason why on June 8, several days after starting the 1967 war, Israel tried to sink the American spy ship USS Liberty, killing 34 Americans and wounding 171, was that Israel suspected that the ship might be overhearing Israel’s communications about its plans to attack Syria, which could have led the U.S. government to lean on Israel not to attack Syria. Israel took the Golan on June 9-10.
The Times has been showing some encouraging progress of late on Israel/Palestine, but this article is a reversion to the worst days of propaganda and disinformation.
Benny Gantz and the other leaders of the Blue and White party have already declared they will not join a government if Netanyahu heads it, because the attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, has declared his intent to indict Netanyahu.
“There is a very important principle in international life,” Mr. Netanyahu said late Monday after attending the Golan signing ceremony at the White House. “When you start wars of aggression, you lose territory, do not come and claim it afterwards. It belongs to us.”
In der UN-Resolution wird die Annexion des Gebietes durch Israel für unwirksam erklärt und rechtliche Folgen werden ausgeschlossen
Netanyahu had pressed the matter with visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just a day earlier.
President Donald Trump overturned longstanding US policy regarding the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, announcing „it is time“ for the US to „fully recognize Israel‘s sovereignty“ over the region.
Botschafterin Nikki Haley sagte, dass die Gegenstimme darauf zurückzuführen sei, dass man die Resolution als antiisraelisch eingestuft habe. Die Resolution erscheint jedoch identisch mit dem zu sein, was sie immer schon beinhaltet hat. Die Veränderung scheint vollständig innerhalb der US-Administration zu liegen.