Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday Israeli troops will continue to occupy Mount Hermon in Syria for the foreseeable future. After Bashar Assad’s regime collapsed at the hands of Syrian rebels two weeks ago, Israel took the opportunity to decimate their neighbor’s military infrastructure and take control of the strategically important peak.
Although the mountain overlooks the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, with — believe it or not — an Israeli-operated ski resort further down its slopes, its summit was a demilitarized buffer zone separating Israel and Syria until two weeks ago.
Why does Israel want Mount Hermon? The Israeli government originally justified the encroachment to secure their own borders, but they may be tempted to stay on Syria’s highest peak because of its vantage point over Syria and Lebanon. Placing a radar on the high point would greatly strengthen Tel Aviv’s surveillance capabilities and early-warning capacities.
Netanyahu’s announcement follows his approval of a plan to expand Golan Heights settlements, a move that could double the area’s population and, Tel Aviv hopes, improve its defensive posture. Approximately 20,000 Druze, a small ethno-religious group, live on the Israeli-occupied portion of the heights. They have a history of strong support for Israel, and have advocated for the outright annexation of the area into Israel. We have our eye on how Syrian Druze react to the new government forming in Damascus.
However, the rest of Syria and the Middle East are not keen on Tel Aviv keeping command of the mountain. We will be watching to see whether Israel’s adversaries in the region take action — but at present the occupation seems a fait accompli
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