TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / December 8, 2024
Netanyahu stated that the buffer zone established by the Separation of Forces Agreement in 1974 is no longer operational.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that the 1974 UN-monitored Disengagement Agreement, which established a demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria, has “collapsed.”
Speaking during a visit to Mount Bental in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Netanyahu declared: “This is a historic day in the history of the Middle East. The Assad regime is a central link in Iran’s axis of evil — this regime has fallen.”
According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli prime minister attributed the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government to the blows inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, which he described as the regime’s main supporters.
“This is a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, the main supporters of the Assad regime,” Netanyahu reportedly stated, referring to the 14 months of conflict with the Iranian allies in the region since October 7 of last year.
Netanyahu stated that the buffer zone established by the Separation of Forces Agreement in 1974 is no longer operational as “Syrian soldiers have abandoned their positions.”
He also revealed that, along with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, he instructed the Israeli army to seize the buffer zone to prevent hostile forces from establishing a presence on Israel’s border.
Airstrike on Damascus
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes have intensified across Syria.
According to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN), Israel targeted on Sunday the Scientific Research Center in Damascus’s security square, a facility reportedly managing chemical weapons and ballistic missile programs.
Additional airstrikes hit the Mezzeh neighbourhood in the Syrian capital, while Al-Jazeera reported fires breaking out near the former General Staff buildings after explosions in the security square.
Sources indicated that at least six strikes targeted the main airbase north of Sweida, which housed a significant stockpile of missiles and shells abandoned by Syrian forces.
KAN, quoting a security source, confirmed attacks on weapons depots in southern Syria and near Damascus airport, citing concerns over the arms falling into the hands of militants.
The current conflict in Syria, led by HTS and other Turkish-backed militants, began on November 27, targeting Aleppo in the north. Militants subsequently captured Hama, then Homs, before advancing on Damascus.
Israel illegally occupied most of the Golan Heights during the 1967 June War and later annexed the territory, in a move that was never recognized by the international community.
The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has patrolled the buffer zone between Israeli- and Syrian-controlled areas since 1974.
