Israel Intensifies Hold on Golan Heights
The Israeli government has greenlighted a proposal to enlarge the illegal settlement in the Golan Heights. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The Israeli government has greenlit a plan to double the Jewish population in the Golan Heights, a territory that is illegally occupied. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that establishing settlements in the area is essential for Israel's security.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office on Sunday, the decision to expand Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights was made “in light of the war and the new front facing Syria.”
“Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the state of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it,” the Israeli Prime Minister expressed.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed the territory in 1981. The global consensus, with the exception of the United States, deems Israel's claim to the area invalid. Approximately 20,000 Jewish settlers inhabit the Golan Heights, which is also home to a similar number of Syrian Druze. The 30 or so Jewish settlements in the region are classified as illegal under international law.
From the 1970s until recently, a buffer zone had separated Israeli forces in the Golan Heights from their Syrian counterparts. Following the weakening of Bashar Assad’s government earlier this month, Israel deployed troops within the buffer zone and beyond, a move that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described as aimed at establishing a new “security area” devoid of “heavy strategic weapons and terrorist infrastructure.”
Facing significant criticism from the UN and neighboring Arab countries, Katz stated on Friday that he had ordered Israeli forces to remain on the eastern side of Mount Hermon, which lies on the border between the Golan Heights and the rest of Syria, throughout the winter. Katz defended the occupation, asserting that controlling the mountain is of “enormous security importance” to Israel.
While the decline of Assad's regime has historically aligned with Israeli strategic interests, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have acted quickly to prevent the newly empowered government, led by the Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham jihadist group, from accessing Assad’s military stockpiles. Over the past week, the IDF has conducted hundreds of airstrikes targeting Syrian ports, airfields, and arms depots, resulting in the destruction of billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment.
Netanyahu's office noted that the collapse of Assad’s government “created a vacuum on Israel’s border and in the buffer zone.”
“Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights,” the Prime Minister's office asserted.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office on Sunday, the decision to expand Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights was made “in light of the war and the new front facing Syria.”
“Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the state of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it,” the Israeli Prime Minister expressed.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed the territory in 1981. The global consensus, with the exception of the United States, deems Israel's claim to the area invalid. Approximately 20,000 Jewish settlers inhabit the Golan Heights, which is also home to a similar number of Syrian Druze. The 30 or so Jewish settlements in the region are classified as illegal under international law.
From the 1970s until recently, a buffer zone had separated Israeli forces in the Golan Heights from their Syrian counterparts. Following the weakening of Bashar Assad’s government earlier this month, Israel deployed troops within the buffer zone and beyond, a move that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described as aimed at establishing a new “security area” devoid of “heavy strategic weapons and terrorist infrastructure.”
Facing significant criticism from the UN and neighboring Arab countries, Katz stated on Friday that he had ordered Israeli forces to remain on the eastern side of Mount Hermon, which lies on the border between the Golan Heights and the rest of Syria, throughout the winter. Katz defended the occupation, asserting that controlling the mountain is of “enormous security importance” to Israel.
While the decline of Assad's regime has historically aligned with Israeli strategic interests, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have acted quickly to prevent the newly empowered government, led by the Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham jihadist group, from accessing Assad’s military stockpiles. Over the past week, the IDF has conducted hundreds of airstrikes targeting Syrian ports, airfields, and arms depots, resulting in the destruction of billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment.
Netanyahu's office noted that the collapse of Assad’s government “created a vacuum on Israel’s border and in the buffer zone.”
“Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights,” the Prime Minister's office asserted.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
