Israeli army establishes 2 military posts atop occupied Syrian Jabal al-Sheikh

By Khaled Yousef and Ahmed Asmar

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army has established two military posts on the top of Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Israeli media said on Wednesday.

According to Israel’s Army Radio, one of the posts was an abandoned Syrian site that Israel had occupied.

“Israel will not leave the Syrian Mount Hermon until further notice,” the radio said.

A United Nations post manned by a force from Nepal is erected near the two Israeli military posts, but the UN force does not engage with the Israeli army, the broadcaster said.

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, a move that violated the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.

Israel also took advantage of the Syrian regime's fall to launch hundreds of airstrikes that targeted military sites across Syria, including fighter jets, missile systems and air defense installations, according to reports.

The radio said the Israeli army holds an area up to 15 kilometers deep into Syria, where some 40,000 Syrian residents live in the demilitarized area.

On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Tel Aviv will soon allow Syrians from the Druze community to enter Israel for work.

During the June 5, 1967 Middle East War, Israel occupied most of the Golan Heights in southwestern Syria, including parts of the slopes of Jabal al-Sheikh. In 1981, Israel unilaterally annexed the territory, a move not recognized by the UN.