- Sputnik International, 1920
Analysis
Enjoy in-depth, acute analysis of the most pressing local, regional and global trends at Sputnik!

What's Behind Israel's Land Grab in Golan?

© AP Photo / Ariel SchalitAn Israeli soldier walks in an old military outpost, used for visitors to view the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, Thursday, May 10, 2018
An Israeli soldier walks in an old military outpost, used for visitors to view the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, near the border with Syria, Thursday, May 10, 2018 - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.12.2024
Subscribe
The Israeli military expanded their control over the Golan Heights on December 8 by seizing Syrian-controlled areas. The region has been partially occupied by Israel since the Six Day War of 1967.
"Israel continues to show its true character as a colonial power that will not hesitate to continue occupying land when the chance is there," Bader Al-Saif, founding president at Al-Saif Consulting and assistant professor at Kuwait University, told Sputnik."So this is a very alarming development."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the same day that Israel would expand attacks inside Syria in the coming days to destroy arms caches.
Al-Saif warned that Tel Aviv's hasty land grab is fraught with long term security risks for Israel, especially given that it unilaterally tore up the 1974 disengagement treaty with Syria.
The new occupation "will complicate any future negotiation positions" of Israel, Dr Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor in the Public Policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Sputnik, stressing that the Golan Heights belong to Syria under the international law.
Tel Aviv is destroying Syria's military infrastructure to undermine the nation's new government and its defensive capabilities, the pundit added.
"The Israelis have already been striking Syria left and right, dismantling military infrastructure and other facilities and sites," Qarmout said. "So the Israelis want to make sure that the next Syrian government or the new Syrian regime will start from scratch."
Israel's invasion of Syria could also be part of its long-standing attempts to deal a blow to Iran's Axis of Resistance, according to political and security analyst Ali Rizk.
"They're trying now in Syria to further weaken Hezbollah" said the expert and to "minimize Iranian influence in Syria and also in the region more broadly."
FILE - In this July 16, 2013, file photo, Israeli soldiers sit in a position on the border with Syria on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights as smoke rises following explosions of mortar shells - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.12.2024
World
Netanyahu Says Golan Heights to Forever Remain Integral Part of Israel
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала