DM Katz responds to Syrian president’s UN speech: ‘The Golan Heights are an inseparable part of Israel’
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz responded to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s remarks at the UN General Assembly claiming that the Golan Heights belong to Syria.
“The Golan Heights under Israeli sovereignty are an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever,” Katz said. “We will not withdraw from Mount Hermon or the security zone, which were captured in heroic battles during the defensive war of 1973 and handed over to Syria under the 1974 disengagement agreement, under clear conditions that were violated when Syria became an Iranian base and a threat to the State of Israel and its borders.”
“With the fall of Assad, the IDF entered the summit of Mount Hermon and the security zone in Syria to prevent jihadist threats from you and your supporters against the State of Israel,” Katz continued. “It will remain on the summit of Mount Hermon and in the security zone as long as there is a jihadist threat to the border and Israeli communities – whether from your security forces or from other jihadist groups and organizations in Syria.”
Katz added: “If our forces or the territory of the State of Israel are attacked from Syria, we will be forced to act and respond, and any territory we take this time will remain ours forever, in accordance with the laws of war. We will not allow Syria to become a threat to the State of Israel, and we will act to prevent that for as long as necessary.”
