Israel views Syria developments as opportunity for occupation

By Selen Valente Rasquinho

BRUSSELS (AA) - Danilo Della Valle, an Italian member of the European Parliament (EP), criticized Israel’s view of the situation in Syria, claiming that the country sees it as an opportunity to further its occupation. He also urged the European Union to take a stronger stance in calling for an end to these actions.

During an interview with Anadolu, Della Valle described the ongoing situation in Syria as highly "complicated," and expressed his astonishment at Israel's actions in the country amidst the turmoil.

"Maybe Israel thinks that in this moment, it can have advantage of course. But for us, it's very absurd because at this moment, we risk another problem," he remarked.

He pointed out that Israel is taking advantage of Syria's instability to expand its control over the Golan Heights. Della Valle mentioned that during an emergency session of the EP, he questioned EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas about how the EU planned to respond to the ongoing violations of international law by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, he noted that Kallas did not provide a direct answer to his query and only stated that she was in communication with the United Nations.

"It is not enough. We were waiting. We will wait for it, but the European Union didn’t ask for cease-fire in Gaza for so long. We work to push European Union to make that," Della Valle added.

- She protested against Israel with QR code in her first speech at EP

Della Valle, who began her tenure as an MEP in June, made a bold statement during her first speech at the European Parliament by wearing a T-shirt featuring a QR code.

This code links to a website that displays the names, ages, and numbers of Palestinians killed in what Della Valle described as Israel's genocide in Gaza.

- Israel's attacks in Syria

On Dec. 7, the Baathist regime in Syria lost control of Damascus and several other regions as opposition groups gained significant ground in the capital. With the collapse of the Baath Party’s 61-year rule, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled the capital.

Amid these developments, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.

The Israeli military entered the buffer zone in the Golan Heights under the directives of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Since 1967, Israel has occupied the Golan Heights. In 1974, a disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria was signed, which defined the borders of the buffer zone and established a demilitarized area.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel​​​​​​​