An Israeli soldier during the deployment of Israeli forces on the Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, on Dec. 7, 2024. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
The first developments came as millions of Syrians were celebrating the fall of a family that had ruled the country for over five decades. While all eyes were on the new forces in power, underscoring the end of the Assad era, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to “take control” of the Golan Heights demilitarized buffer zone, expanding his control beyond what Israel had occupied in 1967 and annexed in 1981.Overlooking vast areas of land, the buffer zone demarcated by the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Tel Aviv and Damascus is home to U.N. peacekeepers mandated under the deal’s terms.Israel’s deployment in the buffer zone on the same day Assad fell, Dec. 8, was initially presented as limited and temporary, but has since expanded significantly, raising fears of a long-term occupation. “There is the question...
The first developments came as millions of Syrians were celebrating the fall of a family that had ruled the country for over five decades. While all eyes were on the new forces in power, underscoring the end of the Assad era, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to “take control” of the Golan Heights demilitarized buffer zone, expanding his control beyond what Israel had occupied in 1967 and annexed in 1981.Overlooking vast areas of land, the buffer zone demarcated by the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Tel Aviv and Damascus is home to U.N. peacekeepers mandated under the deal’s terms.Israel’s deployment in the buffer zone on the same day Assad fell, Dec. 8, was initially presented as limited and temporary, but has since expanded significantly, raising fears of a long-term occupation. “There is...