The Israeli Government Press Office said in a statement that Netanyahu “visited the buffer zone in Syria, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, [head of the Shin Bet] Director David Zini, National Security Council Acting Director Gil Reich, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, head of IDF Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Rafi Milo, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, and IDF 210th Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Yair Pelai.” The event appears to be the largest public visit by Israeli officials since the IDF took over areas of the buffer zone. The Times of Israel reported that “Israel is reportedly insisting on remaining deployed to the nine posts it seized after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, unless the new ruling government agrees to a full peace deal and normalization.” Sharaa had said in Washington on November 12 that Israel should withdraw to the December 8 line, which is the 1974 ceasefire boundary. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that “Syria strongly condemned the illegal visit made by the Israeli occupation’s Prime Minister, along with Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs and a number of occupation officials to the southern region of the Syrian Arab Republic.” The Syrian Foreign Ministry stated, “We affirm that the visit represents a new attempt to impose a de facto situation that contradicts relevant UN Security Council resolutions and falls within the occupation’s policies aimed at consolidating its aggression and continuing its violations of Syrian territory.”
Author: Seth Frantzman
Published at: 2025-11-19 22:03:08
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