IDF to stay in Syrian Golan ‘indefinitely,’ Israeli DM Katz says as new Syrian gov’t struggles to impose order

The Israeli troops holding the buffer zone on the Golan Heights border with Syria will stay there “indefinitely,” Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz declared during a visit to the IDF base on the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon.

In earlier statements, Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli troops would stay there until new arrangements with the new Syrian government can be found, and instructed the army to prepare to stay in the mountainous region through the winter.

“I came here to ensure the IDF is well prepared for a prolonged stay at the Hermon posts, both defensively and offensively,” Katz said.

“The IDF will remain on the Hermon peak and in the security zone indefinitely to ensure the security of the Golan Heights and the northern settlements and all residents of the State of Israel.”

The former demilitarized zone separating Syria and Israel was abandoned by the army of the Assad regime when it collapsed under the onslaught of a rebel alliance led by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which now dominates the new Syrian government.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday published footage showing the construction of several IDF outposts in the area, with an emphasis on providing the soldiers with equipment to brave the harsh winter conditions in the Golan Heights.

Katz vowed that Israel would not be dependent on others for its defense, adding: “We trust only in the IDF commanders and soldiers, both regular and reserve, to provide security for the residents of Israel. We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria – from here to the Sweida-Damascus axis – and we will act against any threat.”

Katz’s comments suggest the IDF could operate throughout the whole of southwestern Syria to ensure Israel’s security. The highway connecting the Syrian capital to Sweida, capital of the southern province mainly populated by the Druze, is up to 70 km (40 miles) from the Israeli border.

Until now, official Israeli statements had only referred to a “buffer zone” made up of the former DMZ and several strategic positions just outside of it, like the peak of Mt. Hermon.

Katz continued: “We will establish contact with friendly populations in the zone for good neighborly relations, with an emphasis on the large Druze population, which has a close historical and family connection with our Druze brothers who are citizens of Israel – to whom the State of Israel is committed first and foremost.”

Meanwhile, the new Syrian government continues to strive to establish its control over the country and to reestablish damaged relations with actors both regional and international.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based monitor aligned with the former opposition to the Assad regime, reported that troops ostensibly aligned with the HTS government summarily executed 35 former regime officers last week.

The official news agency SANA said that HTS authorities later arrested several members of a “criminal group”, which it said abused residents under the guise of security operations on behalf of the new regime.

Local armed groups had “carried out reprisals and settled old scores with members of the Alawite minority to which Bashar al-Assad belongs, taking advantage of the state of chaos, the proliferation of arms, and their ties to the new authorities,” according to SOHR.

On the diplomatic front, the HTS government continued talks with Russia over the fate of the remaining Russian military bases in the country, receiving a Russian delegation in Damascus for the first time.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said the “issue requires additional negotiations” after talks with Syrian officials, the Russian TASS agency reported.

In another first in almost 20 years, a delegation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by its Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa visited Damascus and met with Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmad al-Shara on Tuesday.

Mustafa’s office said he “conveyed the greetings of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian people to the leadership and people of Syria.”

“For us, Syria is a pivotal state, supportive and backing our cause,” he stated, calling for the lifting of international sanctions and affirming the unity of Syria, in a likely nod to the Israeli presence in the Syrian Golan and continuing conflict with the Kurdish regions in the northwest.

“While we affirm the unity of Syria, we also reaffirm the unity of Palestinian territories and our people’s right to establish their independent and sovereign state based on international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, under a single legitimate leadership represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),” Mustafa added.