Days after Assad’s government was overthrown Israel invaded Syria in a surprise move to occupy the U.N. administered buffer zone between Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria.
Most of the Golan Heights region has been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day (third Arab-Israeli war) war which was fought between Israel and Arab powers including Syria in 1967. In 1973 after the Yom Kippur war (Fourth Arab-Israeli war) Israel and Syria agreed to a ceasefire which led to the establishment of U.N. disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to act as a peacekeeping force in a designated buffer zone between Syria and Israel.
Years later in 1983 Israel enforced the Golan Heights Law which implemented Israeli law’s in that region, by doing so Israel fully annexed Golan Heights. This action was strongly condemned by the U.N. and was unrecognised by all nations around the world. In 2019 and during Trump’s administration the United States became the first nation to officially recognise Golan Heights as Israel’s sovereign territory.
Since its annexation, Israel has severely violated international laws by crossing the border of the Golan Heights into the buffer zone. The last instance of these violations was in November of this year when the U.N. accused Israel of conducting engineering works and having a presence of tanks inside the demilitarised zone, an accusation that was later denied by Israeli officials.
The new series of offences under an operation codenamed Arrow of Bashan were initiated by large-scale aerial attacks jointed by the Israeli naby that led to the total destruction of the Syrian navy. Online footage indicates the devastating extent of the attacks in the Mediterranean port city of Latakia where the Syrian navy is seemingly crippled. According to Israeli officials this series of strikes were the biggest aerial offensive in their country’s history involving more than 350 strikes in the first 48 hours after the attacks started on 8 December. The air strikes also targeted strategic ammo depots around Syria to stop the weaponry from falling into the hands of “extremist” forces. The IDF also striked the Intelligence and Customs headquarters in Damascus and several airports targeting Syrian air force assets.
The ground invasion started after an official statement by the Israel Army Radio on 8 December and soon expanded into Quneitra governorate in southwest of Syria. IDF forces declared curfews at different villages in the region and swiftly entered the city centre of key towns and villages. Benjamin Netanyahu, along with other Israeli officials, held a security briefing on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on 17 December and stated that “Israel will remain in Syria until a new solution is found to ensure the security of Israel.”
A Turkish newspaper claimed that Bashar al-Assad exchanged military secrets with Israel for a safe passage out of the country.
A day after the attacks started, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz issued orders for the Israeli military, determining their main objectives:
the full occupation of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone, the establishment of a security zone free from heavy weaponry and military infrastructure, and the prevention of Iranian arms smuggling routes through Syria to Lebanon.
Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmad Al-Sharaa (Jolani), said that they are committed to the 1974 agreement. He also added that Syria neither wants to be drawn into a new conflict nor is in a position for a new conflict. People in different cities across the Quneitra governorate also protested against Israel’s incursion, with some demanding an end to the illegal occupation.
Written by Mohammad Amin
