JERUSALEM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he had ordered the Israeli military to “seize” a demilitarised buffer zone on the border with Syria after the overthrow of Bashar Assad in Damascus.
The Israeli premier said a 50-year-old “disengagement agreement” between the two countries had collapsed and “Syrian forces have abandoned their positions.”
As a result, he said, “I directed the IDF (military) yesterday to seize the buffer zone and the commanding positions nearby. We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border.” The announcement, which Netanyahu made while visiting the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights which abut the buffer zone, came after the military said it had deployed forces to the area.
Israel had already said that its soldiers entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone to assist peacekeepers in repelling an attack.
