Israel has received the "green light" from the U.S. to remain in the "buffer zones" in Lebanon and Syria "without a time limit, depending on the situation," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday during a conference with municipal leaders in the region, as reported by the Israeli site Ynet news.

Katz explained that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is currently leading a plan for "border protection and the defense of localities," according to the Israeli newspaper. The Defense Minister concluded, within this framework, that "the conclusion after Oct. 7" is "to prevent extremist organizations of this type [Hamas] from settling near Israel's borders — whether in Gaza, in the north [border with Lebanon], in Syria, or near Judea-Samaria [occupied West Bank] localities and elsewhere — which is our policy."

"In the buffer zone in Lebanon, we remain without a time limit; it will depend on the situation, not on time," a decision to which the U.S. has given their "green light," said Katz. The Israeli army remains positioned at least in five strategic points due to its height in Lebanese territory, despite its full withdrawal from southern Lebanon being postponed until Feb. 18 by a cease-fire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, which came into effect on Nov. 27.

Regarding the situation at the border with Syria, he explained that it was "obvious for [him] and for Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] that [they had] to take control of the buffer zone — and [their] policy is to stay there at the top of Mount Hermon and in the strategic points, for an indefinite period." The Israeli army was deployed on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon following Bashar al-Assad's fall on Dec. 8, 2024, building at least seven military positions there. On Feb. 23, Netanyahu demanded "the total demilitarization of southern Syria, including the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida," while the Israeli army bombed this area on Tuesday night, killing at least two people according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

"We will not allow the violation of the demilitarization of southern Syria, and we will not allow the creation of a threat," insisted Katz, a day after mentioning a "new policy" to prevent any military establishment in southern Syria.

'Iranian airplanes turned back'

Returning to Bashar al-Assad's fall on Dec. 8, the Defense Minister explained having "decided in real-time to prevent Iran from saving the Syrian regime and introducing its militias." He added, "We sent messages to everyone necessary, indicating that if they came, we would strike. We sent the Israeli air force, and the Iranian airplanes turned back," reported the Yediot Aharonot site.

Regarding Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Syrian rebels who toppled the Assad regime and became interim president, Katz said: "He traded his tunics for suits and he speaks well. But we do not trust him — we only trust the Israeli army."

According to him, Israel seeks to maintain ties with the Syrian Druze community and is considering allowing those living nearby to work daily on the Golan Heights, Ynet news reports.

As for Gaza, the minister emphasized that the Israeli army "preserves Israel's strategic interests even during the cease-fire," and the Israeli forces remain deployed in the buffer zone along the Gaza Strip's border, including inside the territory. He also mentioned the persistent existence of smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border.

Regarding the occupied West Bank, Katz described Jewish settlements as "Israel's protective shield" and said they must be defended. He added that over the past two years, Iran has worked to transfer weapons and financing to refugee camps in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.