TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Presence of Israeli forces in Syrian territory 'temporary', says Israeli FM
“The only interest we have is the security of Israel,” he told a news conference in Jerusalem.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his Czech counterpart (not in picture) give a joint press conference on November 28, 2024, in Prague, Czech Republic. (AFP/Michal Cizek)
T
he presence of Israeli forces in Syrian territory is a “limited, temporary” step meant to ensure Israel’s security during the confusion after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
“The only interest we have is the security of Israel,” he told a news conference in Jerusalem.
Saar also spoke about deadlocked negotiations with Hamas on a release of hostages in Gaza, saying indirect talks were ongoing, without elaborating. He said Israel could be more optimistic about an eventual breakthrough but was not there yet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he had ordered the army to "take control" of the zone after the fall of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad.
Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli army said its troops were assisting UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights in repelling an attack "by armed individuals", while the foreign minister said "armed forces" had entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone.
The UN force, UNDOF, confirmed its personnel observed "unidentified armed individuals in the area of separation, including approximately 20 who went into one of the mission's positions in the northern part of the area of separation", a spokesperson for UN Peacekeeping told AFP.
"The inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times."
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said "an attack was carried out by armed individuals at a UN post in the Hader area in Syria," the army said in a statement, referring to a Syrian town on the edge of the buffer zone.
"The (Israeli army) is currently assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack."
