Middle Eastern Nations Denounce Israel's Military Incursion into Syria
Israel stands accused of taking advantage of the power vacuum in Damascus to extend its territorial claims beyond the Golan Heights. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
The advance of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) into the Golan Heights has been denounced by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry as a “flagrant violation of international law.”
Israel’s military actions in Syria have drawn criticism from neighboring countries, including Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar, which accuse Israel of taking advantage of the situation following the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to claim territory unlawfully.
On Sunday, Israeli troops entered a demilitarized buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights after opposition forces captured Damascus and Assad sought refuge in Russia. In a video address from the area, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel’s 1974 agreement with Syria, which established the demilitarized zone, had effectively “collapsed” after Syrian troops “abandoned their positions.”
The following day, Israeli forces crossed into Syria, with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stating that the operation is aimed at creating a new “security area” free from “heavy strategic weapons and terrorist infrastructure.”
This action has sparked widespread condemnation across the Arab world. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry described it as “a dangerous development and a blatant attack on Syria’s sovereignty and unity, as well as a flagrant violation of international law.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi echoed this sentiment, as did the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which remarked that Israel had “exploited the…vacuum in Syria in order to occupy more Syrian land and to impose a new reality on the ground in contravention of international law.”
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed the area in 1981. Under the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, both nations agreed to the presence of UN peacekeepers in the buffer zone that had segregated Israeli and Syrian troops until recent events.
As IDF personnel crossed the buffer zone for the first time in five decades, Israeli Air Force jets targeted positions deeper within Syria. Among the locations struck were Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus, Khalkhala Air Base located 50 kilometers south of the capital, and cities in the south, including Dara’a and Suweidah.
Katz announced on Monday that he had ordered the IDF to carry out strikes “throughout Syria” aimed at dismantling Syrian Army arms and infrastructure. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar indicated that these operations were focused on “strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they will not fall in the hands of extremists.”
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
Israel’s military actions in Syria have drawn criticism from neighboring countries, including Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar, which accuse Israel of taking advantage of the situation following the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to claim territory unlawfully.
On Sunday, Israeli troops entered a demilitarized buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights after opposition forces captured Damascus and Assad sought refuge in Russia. In a video address from the area, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel’s 1974 agreement with Syria, which established the demilitarized zone, had effectively “collapsed” after Syrian troops “abandoned their positions.”
The following day, Israeli forces crossed into Syria, with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stating that the operation is aimed at creating a new “security area” free from “heavy strategic weapons and terrorist infrastructure.”
This action has sparked widespread condemnation across the Arab world. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry described it as “a dangerous development and a blatant attack on Syria’s sovereignty and unity, as well as a flagrant violation of international law.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi echoed this sentiment, as did the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which remarked that Israel had “exploited the…vacuum in Syria in order to occupy more Syrian land and to impose a new reality on the ground in contravention of international law.”
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed the area in 1981. Under the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, both nations agreed to the presence of UN peacekeepers in the buffer zone that had segregated Israeli and Syrian troops until recent events.
As IDF personnel crossed the buffer zone for the first time in five decades, Israeli Air Force jets targeted positions deeper within Syria. Among the locations struck were Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus, Khalkhala Air Base located 50 kilometers south of the capital, and cities in the south, including Dara’a and Suweidah.
Katz announced on Monday that he had ordered the IDF to carry out strikes “throughout Syria” aimed at dismantling Syrian Army arms and infrastructure. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar indicated that these operations were focused on “strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they will not fall in the hands of extremists.”
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
