International Desk //

Israel began to dominate Syria immediately after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) took control of the Syrian part of Mount Hermon after capturing the buffer zone on the border last week. Israeli officials said they would not permanently occupy the mountain. However, there are fears that this will not happen.

This information emerged in a CNN analysis on Saturday. It said that Mount Hermon is strategically important. It is the highest point in the region, with an altitude of 2,814 meters. The mountain is considered the most important natural fortress in the region. The distance from the mountain’s peak to the Syrian capital is only 35 kilometers. This means that the mountain’s location brings Damascus within the range of Israeli artillery fire.

Ephraim Inbar, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said, “When you look at Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, it is the highest point in the region. For this reason, Mount Hermon is strategically important. Israel occupied the Syrian Golan Heights in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. After that, an agreement was signed in 1974 to establish a control line between Syria and Israel. After this agreement, Israel has not crossed the line except for limited operations in the last 50 years. But after Assad fled on December 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the 1974 agreement with Syria was no longer valid.

After his announcement, the IDF took full control of the Syrian part of the buffer zone. On the same day, they also captured Mount Hermon, which is located on the Syrian-Lebanese border. Netanyahu also stressed that this occupation is temporary. He said, “We cannot put the Israeli community in the Golan Heights under threat, as in the October 7 attack.” A commitment to the 1974 agreement could lead to the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

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