Middle Eastern nations do not justify Israel’s invasion of Syria

(MENAFN) Israel’s recent military incursion into Syria has drawn sharp condemnation from neighboring Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar. These countries accuse Israel of exploiting the power vacuum created by the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to seize more land, a move they describe as a violation of international law.

Israeli forces entered the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights on Sunday, following Assad’s ouster and his flight to Russia. In a video statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that Syria’s abandonment of its positions had effectively ended the 1974 agreement establishing the buffer zone. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Monday that Israeli troops and tanks had crossed into Syria proper, with the goal of creating a new "security area" free of "heavy strategic weapons and terrorist infrastructure."

The action has sparked outrage across the Arab world. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called the incursion a “dangerous development” and a “blatant attack” on Syria’s sovereignty, while Jordan and Egypt echoed similar statements. They accused Israel of taking advantage of the situation in Syria to expand its territory and impose a new reality in violation of international law.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and formally annexed the region in 1981. Under the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, Israel and Syria had agreed to allow UN peacekeepers to monitor the buffer zone between their forces. However, Israeli troops crossed this line for the first time in 50 years on Sunday, and Israeli warplanes carried out strikes on various targets within Syria, including military bases in Damascus and southern Syria.

Israeli officials, including Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, stated that the airstrikes aimed to destroy Syria's remaining strategic weapons, including chemical weapons and long-range missiles, to prevent them from falling into the hands of extremists.

MENAFN12122024000045015687ID1108985708