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Israel says won't withdraw from Syria's demilitarized zone

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 15 July 2025 6:45 PM

Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich says Tel Aviv will not withdraw from the demilitarized buffer zone in Syria's occupied Golan Heights.

In a post on X, Smotrich said the military's presence in the area is "essential for the defense of the Golan Heights settlements."

There are more than 30 Israeli settlements in Syria's occupied Golan Heights, which are home to an estimated 20,000 settlers. The settlements are considered illegal under international law.

Smotrich said Israel "cannot afford to retreat under any circumstances from the buffer zone and the Hermon peak."

He also claimed that Tel Aviv "will continue to protect the Druze in southern Syria to the best of its ability."

The Israeli minister said the Syrian military's recent attack in the Druze-majority city of Suwayda is clear evidence that "the interim government is composed of violent and cruel extremist Islamists."

Smotrich said the West should be wary of being "deceived by their suits and ties."

On Monday, armed forces affiliated with Syria's ruling Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group carried out violent attacks on the Druze minority in the Syrian southwestern provinces of Sweida and Dara'a.

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he was committed to preventing harm to the Druze— seen by Tel Aviv as a strategic ally due to their deep ties to those living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's government on December 8, Netanyahu ordered his forces to launch an incursion deep into Syrian territory and seize control of key strategic areas.

He said that his forces will remain in the buffer zone separating the occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria "until border security is guaranteed."

The Israeli military has since expanded its presence in the Golan Heights, seizing areas inside the UN-monitored demilitarized zone. Satellite imagery from January shows new Israeli military installations inside the buffer area.

Under the 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria, Israeli forces are barred from crossing the so-called Alpha Line into the Area of Separation (AoS).

However, analysts say recent construction points to Israel's intent to maintain a military foothold in southwestern Syria.