Syria demands Israeli withdrawal from Golan

Syriaโ€™s newly installed government demanded that Israel withdraw its presence in Golan Heights, a region it occupies for decades, in a move following its ally Bashar al-Assadโ€™s fall. The demand during negotiations with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, head of U.N.โ€™s peacekeeping, according to Syrian state media reports.

The countryโ€™s willingness to cooperate with U.N. in full, according to its representatives, during Lacroixโ€™s negotiations with its ministries of foreign affairs and defense, was reiterated during its negotiations with Lacroix. According to SANA, a state-owned television channel, Syria is ready to withdraw its soldiers to Golan Heights in compliance with a 1974 agreement creating a buffer zone, but only in case Israeli soldiers withdraw at a single move.

The Israeli soldiers invaded the demilitarized buffer zone on December 8, when its ally Bashar al-Assad was overthrown, and took over its administration in a move seen in a similar form in 1981 when it annexed Golan Heights, a region it captured in 1967 during an Arab-Israeli war with its ally, Syria. According to terms in a 1974 disengagement agreement, a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian soldiers was drawn to divide them.

Prior to even moving towards Damascus, loyalists of its administration long fled southern parts of Syria, a move that prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refer to it as a โ€œvacuum at Israelโ€™s doorstep.โ€

The U.N. regards Israeliโ€™s presence in the buffer zone a break in compliance with a 1974 disengagement agreement, and Lacroixโ€™s tour included a sitdown with U.N.โ€™s representatives in its Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), responsible for checking compliance with an agreement.

In December, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the army to make preparations for a prolonged presence in the security zone during winter. On Tuesday, he reiterated that Israeli forces will maintain a presence at sensitive locations, such as Mount Hermon and security zone, for a prolonged duration in a move to secure communities in the Golan Heights, in northern Israel, and in general in the region.

Mount Hermon, shared between Syria and Lebanon, overlooks the Golan Heights and is a location of high strategic value. Katz reiterated that no hostile powers will maintain a presence in southern Syriaโ€™s security zone.

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