Israel intends to stay in the buffer zone in southern Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a meeting with Israeli ambassadors, DPA reported, citing local media.
Netanyahu said that Israel hopes to reach an agreement to demilitarize southern Syria, but also wants to maintain its military presence in these areas.
On Saturday, Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of fighting "ghosts" and exporting the crisis to other countries. Sharaa told the international conference "Doha Forum" in the Qatari capital Doha that since he took power a year ago in Syria, he has been sending "positive messages regarding regional peace and stability".
The Syrian leader added that Israel had rejected his proposals, drawing conclusions about Syria based on the conclusions it had drawn from its conflict with the radical Palestinian group "Hamas" in the Gaza Strip and justifying "aggression in the name of security". Sharaa promised that Syria would not behave in this way. "We have no interest in being a country that exports conflicts, including to Israel", the leader of the "Doha Forum" announced.
Sharaa, who was once arrested by the US for his affiliation with the terrorist organization "Al Qaeda" in Iraq, called on Israel to withdraw its troops from its side under the 1974 separation of forces agreement.
Last week, Netanyahu said he expected Syria to establish a "demilitarized buffer zone" stretching from the capital Damascus to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
At the "Doha Forum", Sharaa said that Israel's demand for a demilitarized zone in the south of the country puts Syria in a "dangerous position". Syria has always insisted on respecting the 1974 separation of forces agreement with Israel, which is "useful" and "attempts at other agreements, such as the creation of a demilitarized zone, would put us in a serious and dangerous position," Sharaa said.
After the overthrow of the regime of long-time Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Israel deployed soldiers in the buffer zone between the Golan Heights and territory controlled by Syria, including on the Syrian side of the Hermon mountain range, DPA noted.
According to Netanyahu, the Israeli military presence in the region is necessary to guarantee the security of the Israeli population and to prevent attacks from areas along the border. Israel also claims it wants to do this to protect members of a Druze ethno-religious community in Syria, which is considered close to Israel.
Israeli army chief of staff Eyal Zamir said that the so-called "yellow line" behind which Israeli forces have withdrawn in the Gaza Strip represents the "new border" between Israel and the Palestinian territory, Agence France-Presse reported.
"The yellow line represents a new border - a front line of defense for (Israeli) settlements and also a line of attack", Zamir told Israeli soldiers stationed in northern Gaza.
According to the ceasefire agreement with "Hamas", Israeli troops are to withdraw from the Palestinian territory in stages. At first, they were supposed to withdraw behind the yellow line.
"We will respond with full force to any attempts to threaten our forces," said Zamir, emphasizing that Israel will not allow the revival of "Hamas" in Gaza.
/СТ/
Source: www.bta.bg