The Israeli army is preparing to build temporary military outposts in the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which is Syrian territory. Israeli Defense Minister Katz has ordered the army to “prepare to stay” through the winter. Israel, which took over the buffer zone under the supervision of the United Nations with the fall of Assad, may cause a new crisis there.
It was stated that the outposts were built to secure the operations of Israeli forces during the winter months.
This move has drawn international criticism.
The UN recently condemned Israel’s occupation of the buffer zone and stated that “the United Nations continues to view the Golan Heights as occupied territory of Syria.” But shortly after the occupation of the buffer zone, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz ordered the army to “prepare to stay” through the winter.
The Israeli army noted that its forces were “operating in strategic locations within the buffer zone in southern Syria and to protect the residents of northern Israel.”
The army said it was investigating the incident and would continue to deploy in the region.
A portion of the strategically important rocky plateau was captured by Israel in 1967 and annexed in 1981 in an internationally unrecognized move.
UN Security Council Resolution 497, adopted in 1981, clearly states that Israel’s decision to impose its own laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian territory of the Golan Heights is “null and void and has no international legal effect.”
