The Israeli military has seized an internationally-recognized buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights as the Assad government falls in Damascus.
The Golan Heights was partly occupied by Israel in 1967, with a buffer zone separating territory they control and territory still held by Syria created in 1974.
Following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the end of his rule meant that the 50-year-old ‘disengagement agreement’ between the two countries had collapsed and ‘Syrian forces have abandoned their positions’.
‘I directed the Israeli 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,’ he said.
He made the announcement during a visit to the Golan Heights, which is recognised by the vast majority of the world as occupied, with the notable exception of the US.
Until 2011, the territory was relatively peaceful despite repeated promises by the Syrian government that they would retake it.
After the outbreak of war in Syria, however, there were a number of clashes involving a range of armed groups.
The Israeli army on Sunday announced a troop deployment to the Golan Heights, citing ‘the possible entry of armed individuals into the buffer zone’.
‘Following the recent events in Syria … the [military] has deployed forces in the buffer zone and in several other places necessary for its defence, to ensure the safety of the communities of the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel,’ it said in a statement, adding that it would ‘continue to operate as long as necessary in order to preserve the buffer zone and defend Israel’.
It added that Israel was ‘not interfering with the internal events in Syria’.
On Sunday, Israeli jets reportedly bombed Syrian military bases that have now fallen into rebel hands.
According to media reports, Israeli jets have struck Mezzah air base near Damascus, ammunition and weapons depots at the Khalkhalah airbase in Sweida and other areas of Daraa province.
Syrian rebels seized Damascus early on Sunday, and announced that Assad had fled to an unknown destination, ending more than five decades of brutal dynastic rule.
Opposition fighters entered Damascus around 5am local time without resistance, quickly capturing the airport, the state TV building and many other strategic government facilities.
Assad had reportedly boarded a plane before the rebels reached the capital and fled to an unknown destination. His current whereabouts are unclear.
Syria had been wracked with conflict since 2011, when Assad’s troops opened fire on anti-government protesters.
More than 500,000 people have been killed since then, while 12 million remain displaced internally and externally.
Following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the end of his rule meant that the 50-year-old ‘disengagement agreement’ between the two countries had collapsed and ‘Syrian forces have abandoned their positions’.
‘I directed the Israeli 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,’ he said. (How very convenient!!)
Anyone who buys that this HTS group (formerly Al-Nusra, formerly Al-Quaeda, formerly the Stern gang, formerly Haganah, etc., etc.) is actually hostile to IsisRaEl needs their head examined to determine whether there are any synapses firing. BTW, this dude: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Mohammad_al-Julani looks suspiciously like Julian the Apostate.
Here’s an interesting bit about Julian the Apostate from NewAdvent.org:
Julian advanced in triumph to Constantinople. Hitherto outwardly a Christian, he now let himself be portrayed as under the protection of Zeus, who in his opinion possessed with Helius the same undivided creative power. He commanded all towns to reopen the temples for pagan worship, restored animal sacrifices, and assumed the duties of a Pontifex Maximus. The Christians were united in fighting their enemy. Julian issued a decree that all titles to lands, rights and immunities bestowed since the reign of Constantine upon the Galileans, as he contemptuously called the Christians, were abrogated, and that the moneys granted to the Church from the revenues of the State must be repaid. He forbade the appointment of Christians as teachers of rhetoric and grammar. Still, he copied the organization of the Christian Church; he created, for example, a form of hierarchy, the head of which was the imperial Pontifex Maximus, and urged pagans to imitate such Christian virtues as charity and mercy. Yet Julian’s changes failed to bring him any appreciable success. His attempt to defy the Gospel and rebuild the temple at Jerusalem was brought to nothing by fire and earthquake.
In May, 362, Julian left Constantinople for Asia and made active preparations at Antioch for a great war with Persia. While at Antioch in the winter of 362-63, he wrote his books against the Christians. In March, 363, he advanced from Antioch into Mesopotamia, successfully crossed the Tigris, and fought a successful battle with the Persians. Burning his supply fleet, he now marched into the interior of Persia, but soon found himself obliged by lack of provisions to begin a retreat, during which he was beset by the Persian cavalry. On 26 June, 363, he was wounded in the side by an arrow in a small cavalry skirmish, and died during the night. Various reports concerning the circumstances of his death have come down to us. Both Christians and pagans believed the rumor that he cried out when dying: Nenikekas Galilaie (Thou hast conquered, O Galilean).