Israel Occupies Buffer Zone As Syria Falls Into Chaos, Netanyahu Warns Of ‘Significant Dangers’

Israel’s military has taken up positions in a buffer zone between the Jewish state and Syria for the first time in roughly half a century after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime to Turkish-backed terrorist rebels.

Israel moved to take up positions around the Golan Heights as it monitors developments in Syria, according to The Times Of Israel. Rebel forces led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), designated a terror group by the Trump administration in 2018, ousted Assad and toppled Syria’s government in under two weeks in a shocking blitz offensive.

“The IDF has deployed troops in the buffer zone and in a number of areas that are necessary to defend, in order to ensure the security of the communities in the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. The military emphasized that Israel’s occupation of the region was temporary and defensive against the chaos that has erupted in Syria.

Israel’s move into the United Nations-occupied zone marks the first time since 1974 that Israel has held positions in the area, though the IDF has made brief excursions into the buffer zone over the decades. Israel made the move in part because the UN requested help repelling rebel attacks in the area.

Israel has reportedly conducted airstrikes in Syria as HTS-led terrorist rebels seized Syria’s capital of Damascus. The strikes targeted weapons and ammunition depots and other military assets left by the Assad military. The assets were targeted in an apparent attempt to keep them from falling into terrorists’ hands, according to Reuters.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the fall of the Assad regime in a public address on Sunday while cautioning that the chaos in Syria and the rise of HTS carries its own dangers.

“This is a historic day for the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers,” Netnayhau said, according to Fox News.

The effective war Israel has waged against Iran and its terror network, especially Hezbollah, is directly responsible for Assad’s downfall, according to the prime minister.

“This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad’s main supporters. It set off a chain reaction of all those who want to free themselves from this tyranny and its oppression,” he said.

“But it also means that we have to take action against possible threats. One of them is the collapse of the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria. This agreement held for 50 years. Last night, it collapsed,” Netanyahu continued. “The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”