The Israeli Defense Minister announced that the occupation in Syria will continue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the buffer zone on Mount Hermon, which Israel occupied after December 7 in Syria. In a written statement from the Prime Minister's Press Office, it was noted that Netanyahu conducted a "situation assessment" on Mount Hermon, located in the buffer zone occupied in Syria after December 7. It was recorded that Prime Minister Netanyahu reviewed the deployment of the Israeli army in the occupied area.

KATZ STATED THAT THE OCCUPATION WILL CONTINUE

Meanwhile, it was expressed that some officials, including Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, accompanied Netanyahu. Defense Minister Katz defended the occupation by claiming that Israeli soldiers were present to protect the illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied Syrian territory of the Golan Heights on Mount Hermon. Katz asserted that the occupation "strengthens Israel's security" and is "deterrent" against groups that overthrew the Baath regime in Syria, stating, "We will stay here as long as needed."

ISRAEL'S ATTACKS AND OCCUPATION OF SYRIA

Following the intensifying clashes in Syria on November 27, coinciding with the collapse of the 61-year-old Baath regime on December 8, the Israeli army increased its attacks on Syria. The Israeli army, which began to destroy the military infrastructure and capabilities left by the regime army, expanded its occupation in the Golan Heights, which is Syrian territory. The Israeli army, which entered the buffer zone around the Golan Heights, advanced the occupation further, reaching as close as 25 kilometers to the capital Damascus. Israel has been occupying the Golan Heights, which belong to Syria, since 1967. The borders of the buffer zone and the demilitarized zone were determined by the Forces Withdrawal Agreement signed between Israel and Syria in 1974.