Israel to strengthen its presence, but Netanyahu says he does not want war with Syria

INTERNATIONAL – A decision that will not appease the Middle East. The Israeli government approved this Sunday, December 15, a project aimed at doubling the population in the part of the Syrian Golan annexed by Israel, but says it has no interest in entering into conflict with Syria, after taking control of the buffer zone. monitored by the UN.

Just a few hours after the fall on December 8 of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, driven from power by rebels, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to seize this buffer zone controlled by the UN separating the two countries on the Golan Heights.

On Sunday, the Israeli government approved “unanimously” Benjamin Netanyahu’s project to “demographic development of the localities of the Golan and (the town of) Katzrin for a sum of 40 million shekels (10.6 million euros), in light of the war and the new front in Syria and the desire to double the population of the Golan »according to a press release from his office. “This is a decision that strengthens the localities of the Golan and the State of Israel”adds the press release.

From 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants

At the same time, Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that his country did not want to enter into conflict with Syria. “We have no interest in confronting Syria, we will define Israel’s policy towards Syria based on the reality on the ground”he said in a video released by his office.

“Today, everyone understands the capital importance of our presence on the Golan, and not at the foot of the Golan”which overlooks the hills of Galilee and Lake Tiberias in northern Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said. Around 30,000 Israeli citizens live in 34 localities in the Golan annexed by Israel, to which are added 23,000 Druze, a community whose religion comes from Islam, who mostly claim to be Syrian while having the status of residents in Israel.

Later in the night from Sunday to Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, however, reported Israeli strikes against Syrian military sites. The NGO describes it as “heaviest strikes since 2012” in this coastal region of Tartous, which is home to a Russian naval base.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemn

Israel had conquered part of the Golan Heights from Syria during the Arab-Israeli War of 1967. The demilitarized buffer zone under UN control was then created following an agreement to disengage Israeli forces and Syrians in 1974, after the Arab-Israeli war of 1973. Israel finally annexed the part of the Golan under its control in 1981. Only the United States, under the administration of Donald Trump, recognized this annexation in 2019.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned the Israeli government’s plan to double the population in the part of the Syrian Golan occupied by Israel, denouncing a “continued sabotage of opportunities to restore security and stability in Syria” after the fall of Assad. For its part, Qatar deplored “a new episode in the series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories and a flagrant violation of international law”.

Last week, Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the annexed Golan would be Israeli “for eternity”. The Israeli army also seized areas beyond the buffer zone. Israel presented the action, which drew international condemnation, as a temporary and defensive measure.

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