Earlier, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unanimously approved a plan for the development of the Golan Heights, which includes strengthening local settlements and doubling the number of settlers in the region.
"Egypt considers Israeli plans to expand settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan a violation of international law, imposing a policy of fait accompli. They reflect Israel's lack of desire to achieve a just peace in the region," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is currently actively strengthening its defenses in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights amid the change of power in Syria.
Earlier in December, Netanyahu said that the agreement on the disengagement of forces with Syria in the Golan Heights, reached shortly after the Yom Kippur War of 1973, was no longer valid, as the Syrian military had abandoned its positions. The prime minister stressed that together with the defense minister and with the full support of the cabinet, he had given the order to the Israeli army to occupy the demarcation zone and the positions that control it. Defense Minister Israel Katz, in turn, gave the order to army units to prepare for wintering in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.
In parallel with taking control of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, the Israeli Air Force carried out a large-scale air operation last week to eliminate the military potential of the Syrian armed forces. The Israeli army reported the almost complete elimination of the Syrian air defense system, the Syrian fleet, the destruction of dozens of military facilities, including weapons factories, air bases, underground complexes and strategic missile reserves. The leadership of the Jewish state stated that this was done in order to prevent these weapons from falling into the hands of those who could use them against Israel.
The Golan Heights were part of Syria until 1967. During the Six-Day War, Israeli troops occupied this territory, and following the Yom Kippur War (1973), the parties concluded an agreement on a truce and the separation of forces. In 1974, UN peacekeeping posts appeared on the Golan Heights.