Troops of the IAF’s elite Shaldag unit on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon<\/p><\/div>\n

Tuesday, 10 December 2024 | Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] to create a secure area free of \u201cheavy strategic weapons and terror infrastructure\u201d beyond the buffer zone with Syria, the Defense Ministry announced Monday.<\/p>\n

Katz said he had instructed the IDF to establish full control over the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which was established by the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem and ended the 1973 Yom Kippur<\/em> War.<\/p>\n

The defense minister also ordered the continued destruction of strategic weapons that were previously held by the regime and Iranian-backed militias to prevent their falling into the hands of terrorist forces. Among these weapons are \u201csurface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, long-range rockets and coast-to-sea missiles,\u201d according to the ministry.<\/p>\n

He has also instructed the army to \u201cprevent and thwart the renewal of the arms smuggling route from Iran to Lebanon through Syria, in Syrian territory and at border crossing points.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lastly, Katz said he had asked the military to attempt to establish contacts with Syria\u2019s Druze community and other local populations.<\/p>\n

Former Syrian President Bashar Assad fled Damascus on Sunday after rebel groups stormed the capital, ending his family\u2019s five-decade rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tyrant Bashar Assad has been overthrown,\u201d a rebel spokesperson declared in a statement carried on state television on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

Following the events in Syria, the IDF was deployed to the buffer zone and \u201cseveral other places necessary for its defense.\u201d The army said the move, which followed a situational assessment, was taken to \u201censure the safety of the communities of the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intelligence chiefs have warned that the collapse of the regime has the potential to create turmoil in which threats against Israel could develop.<\/p>\n

The IDF said late on Sunday night that it was continuing to operate along the new border line with Syria, \u201cfocusing on intelligence gathering and defending the residents of Israel, particularly the Golan Heights.\u201d The Syrian side of Mount Hermon was captured on Sunday by Israeli special forces, who reportedly did not encounter any resistance during the operation.<\/p>\n

Israeli forces were also said to have been working to accelerate the construction of a fortified barrier along the border between the two countries, dubbed \u201cNew East.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, two \u201cMiddle Eastern security sources\u201d told Reuters<\/em> that the IDF had targeted a research facility in Damascus believed to have been used by Iran to develop long-range guided missiles.<\/p>\n

The Israel Air Force [IAF] carried out numerous strikes in Syria overnight Sunday, taking out weaponry that Jerusalem fears could fall into the hands of hostiles. The strikes have reportedly targeted arms storage facilities, air defense systems and weapons production capabilities.<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting the Syrian border on Sunday, hailed the collapse of the Assad regime, \u201ca central link in Iran\u2019s axis of evil,\u201d calling it a \u201chistoric day in the history of the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he said Israel would first and foremost protect its border. \u201cThis area was controlled for nearly 50 years by a buffer zone,\u201d he noted while visiting Mount Bental, a dormant volcano in the Golan Heights.<\/p>\n

\u201cI instructed the IDF yesterday to take over the buffer zone and the adjacent control positions. We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our borders,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n

Former Israeli lawmaker IDF Lt. Col. (ret.) Dr. Anat Berko told JNS<\/em> on Sunday that while the collapse of Assad\u2019s rule could benefit Israel in the short term, \u201cSyria could become a no man\u2019s land similar to, as I call it, the era of Islamic State and jihadi<\/em> tourism.\u201d When the Syrian Civil War began, Dr. Berko noted, over 70 countries saw citizens travel to Syria to join Islamic State, including Christian converts to Islam and Israeli Arabs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope the Israelis studied lessons from October 7,\u201d the former Likud party lawmaker said. \u201cWe need to assume that there are tunnels at the Syrian border with Israel and we need to be prepared for that and scrutinize the situation in a very deep way. We are not dealing here with the enemy of our enemy. They are both enemies; the Sunni and Shi\u2019ite hate the Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff, who served as the vice director-general of Jerusalem\u2019s Foreign Ministry and headed the Directorate for Multilateral and Strategic Affairs, noted that while there are \u201celements of danger, lots of uncertainty in terms of what will happen and who will be in control,\u201d Assad\u2019s demise is \u201can opportunity, given the fact that there are lots of downsides for Israel\u2019s enemies in what\u2019s happening here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Syrian people are intelligent; they will see that, after so many years of rule by the Assad family, there may be an opportunity to restabilize the state, rebuild institutions and reunify the country; it might be difficult as there are many areas to bring together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hopeful that a leadership in Syria could emerge that could create more opportunities for Israel,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Jerusalem is \u201calways following what is happening in Syria, we are always concerned regarding how Iran uses Syria to transfer weapons to Hezbollah,\u201d the former Israeli diplomat stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is a very clear incentive for Syrians today to look for moderate middle ground instead of painting themselves as extreme Islamist j<\/em>ihadists<\/em>,\u201d concluded Issacharoff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday, 10 December 2024 | Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] to create a secure area free of \u201cheavy strategic weapons and terror infrastructure\u201d beyond the buffer zone with Syria, the Defense Ministry announced Monday. Katz said he had instructed the IDF to establish full control over the demilitarized buffer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9632,"featured_media":233092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n