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UN chief calls for Israel’s withdrawal from Golan buffer zone
Guterres said in a statement on Thursday that he was “deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The Secretary-General is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria,” the statement added, calling for urgent de-escalation “on all fronts, throughout Syria.”
On Sunday, Israel troops seized land inside Syria’s Golan Heights, adjacent to the territory it already illegally occupies there, just hours after militants swept president Bashar al-Assad from power.
Since then, the Israeli military has also launched hundreds of air and naval strikes against Syrian military assets, targeting everything to prevent them from falling into the hands of militants.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to “prepare to remain” throughout the winter in the UN-patrolled buffer zone that is supposed to separate Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights.
“Due to the situation in Syria, it is of critical security importance to maintain our presence at the summit of Mount Hermon, and everything must be done to ensure the (army’s) readiness on-site to enable the fighters to stay there despite the challenging weather conditions,” Katz’s spokesman said in a statement on Friday.
Israel’s measures in Syria have drawn reactions from many regional countries.
Iran, Qatar and the UAE on Thursday called for safeguarding Syria’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and stopping Israel aggression against the country.
They also stressed the need for serious efforts and action to bring an end to Israel’s attacks on Syria’s infrastructure.
It came after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held separate phone calls with his Emirati and Qatari counterparts to discuss the issue.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps also said in a statement that the US and Israel are using Syria’s instability to destroy its infrastructure.
The Arab League also condemned Israel’s “illegal actions” in Syria.