Hezbollah condemns Israeli incursion into Golan Heights

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Hezbollah on Monday denounced Israel’s occupation of the buffer zone in the Syrian Golan Heights and its subsequent airstrikes across Syria, calling the actions an "insolent violation."

In a written statement, the Lebanese group criticized Israel’s military operations following the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime, describing them as "a blatant aggression and an insolent violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian state and people" and said they "constitute an attempt to destabilize this brotherly country."

"We also call on the world, especially the Arab and Islamic worlds, to take firm positions against these crimes and to exert pressure in all political and legal fields to stop this series of attacks,” the statement added.

Israeli forces entered the buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights under directives from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967. The 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria defined the boundaries of the buffer and demilitarized zones.

Netanyahu, speaking from the Golan Heights, previously alleged the occupation is "temporary."