Antiwar.com – Netanyahu Takes Credit For Assad’s Overthrow, Israel Seizes Golan Heights ‘Buffer Zone’
Israel has taken control of a strip of land in Syria that separated the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday celebrated the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by al-Qaeda-linked militants and confirmed that Israel has seized a buffer zone inside Syria that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria’s territory.
“This is a historic day in the history of the Middle East,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the Golan Heights. “The Assad regime is a central link in Iran’s axis of evil — this regime has fallen.”
Netanyahu credited Israel with setting off the process that led to the downfall of Assad. In the months leading up to the offensive launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Israel was waging a war against Hezbollah and ramped up airstrikes in Syria.
“This is a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, the main supporters of the Assad regime,” Netanyahu said. “This has created a chain reaction throughout the Middle East of all those who want to be free from this oppressive and tyrannical regime.”
The Israeli leader also said he directed the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to capture the buffer zone in Syria . “Together with the Defense Minister, and with full backing from the Cabinet, I directed the IDF yesterday to take control of the buffer zone and the dominant positions near it,” he said. “We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border.”
