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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) published on January 28 footage showing the construction of what it described as “a temporary army posts” atop the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, which were occupied by Israeli troops after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last month.
In a statement, the military said that the Technological and Logistics Directorate provided troops with insulated structures and equipment to reside atop the mountain during the harsh winter weather.
Among the structures erected in the army posts is a medical building that is equipped to treat cold weather injuries.
The IDF provided the forces deployed there with generators, heating devices, and clothing and shoes for snow.
Just a few hours after the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, the IDF invaded the Golan Heights buffer zone in southern Syria and launched a wave of strikes against key bases and equipment of the now dissolved Syrian Arab Army across the country.
Mount Hermon, which oversees much of southern and central Syria, was the most important point occupied by Israeli troops.
Speaking to TASS earlier this week, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Simona Halperin said that Israel has no territorial claims in Syria and is present in the buffer zone temporarily.
When asked by the Russian news agency whether Israel is ready to refuse from the recent territorial advances on the border with Syria, she said, “Israel has no territorial ambitions in Syria.”
“When at the beginning of the current developments, Islamists, jihadists attacked the buffer zone UN [United Nations] posts, Israel entered the area to ensure security. Israel is present in this buffer zone. It is important to understand that we are in a very limited territory, we are present there temporarily, and we are present there for one thing – to ensure security,” she stressed.
According to the Israeli diplomat, Israel will see to it that Syria’s new authorities “don’t let Syria’s territory be used as a springboard for aggression against Israel.”
“We cannot tolerate threats to Israel coming from this territory, we cannot allow Iran to return there and use Syria’s territory to attack Israel or deliver strategic or other weapons to Hezbollah,” Halpern said.
Overall, the IDF appears to be planning to stay in Mount Hermon and other parts of the buffer zone for the long term. According to a recent report by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israeli troops are building at least seven posts in newly-occupied territories.
The new Syrian government, which is led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, condemned Israel’s hostile moves. However, it stopped short from taking action due to the fragile situation of the country which went through more than 13 years of war.
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