Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered Syrian territory on Tuesday and met with Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) forces that have occupied a former Syrian military post on Mount Hermon, the region's highest mountain.
update: Prime Minister Netanyahu released a video from the summit in which he recalled the last time he climbed to the top 53 years ago, when he was with Israeli special forces.
“We will decide on the best arrangement that guarantees our safety,” he said.
As Breitbart News reported, Israel has long had a base on the slopes of Mount Hermon, while the Syrian army has a base on the mountaintop, and the two countries' border runs along the mountain itself. The most mountainous part of the border between Israel and Syria is unfenced, so the IDF began early this year to deal with possible border incursions across Mount Hermon and nearby Mount Haar Dov. Therefore, the Takayama (Mountain) Brigade was established.
The Israel Defense Forces captured the summit of Mount Hermon and positions in Syria last week after the Syrian army abandoned the summit following the fall of Assad's regime to rebel forces. Israel said it would station troops in strategic locations during the winter.
Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived at the mountaintop by helicopter. His office issued the following statement (translated from Hebrew):
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an assessment today (Tuesday, December 17, 2024) on Hermon Ridge with the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff of the IDF, the Commander of the Northern Command, and the Director of the ISA.
The Prime Minister reviewed IDF deployment in the region and set future guidelines.
Syrian opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said On Monday, the prime minister said he had no intention of using Syrian territory to attack Israel, but wanted Israel to leave Syrian territory and abide by the 1974 armistice agreement that established a demilitarized zone between the two countries. (Israel has occupied the Demilitarized Zone since last week and has been moving across its territory in both the eastern Golan Heights and the slopes of Mount Hermon.)
Israel insists that weapons must be prevented from being transferred through Syria to Lebanon's Hezbollah, and while it desires peaceful relations with Syria, It also claims to reserve the right to remove any threats.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a recently published e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. his recent book, red novembertells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
