Israeli soldiers at a lookout point next to the boundary fence delineating the UN-patrolled buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights, on Dec. 15, 2024. (Photo by Mati Milstein/NurPhoto)
Syria’s new apparent leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), declared last Monday that the nation would continue to honor the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Israel, following a warning from Israel, according to a Ynet News report.
“We will not accept any attempt by jihadists to enter southern Syria,” Israel reportedly warned. The message included the clarification that if a “responsible party” would take control, Israel would consider transferring the buffer zone. However, as long as no such party exists, Israel will continue to take care of its own security.
According to the report, this message prompted al-Sharaa to tell The New York Times that the new government, led by his Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), would honor the 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria.
Addressing Israel’s justification for capturing the zone, al-Sharaa vowed that Syria would not be used as a base to attack other countries.
Israeli officials reportedly also told the HTS government that one of the reasons for taking control of the buffer zone was to prevent any terror group from entrenching itself on the border and or making preparations for an Oct.7-style invasion and attack.
“We will not let this happen,” Israeli officials emphasized, according to Ynet.
Amid the fall of the Assad regime two weeks ago, the Syrian Armed Forces abandoned its border posts, enabling Israel Defense Forces to quickly take over the demilitarized zone, as well as some strategic points, such as the Syrian side of the peak of Mount Hermon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated: “Israel will not permit jihadist groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th-style attacks. That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border,”
Ironically, the Iranian regime on Monday sent a similar message, with new Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei declaring that Syria should not become “a haven for terrorism.”
“Our principled position on Syria is very clear: preserving the sovereignty and integrity of Syria and for the people of Syria to decide on its future without destructive foreign interference,” he said, adding, “We have no direct contact with the [new] ruling authority in Syria.”
HTS and allied militias, many of them designated terror groups by the U.S. and other Western nations, fought for years against Iranian and Hezbollah forces, who backed the Assad regime.
Approximately two weeks ago, HTS led an assault from northern Syria which captured several of Syria’s main cities, including Aleppo, Hama and Homs.
Meanwhile, another alliance of rebel militias, called the “Southern Operations Room (SOR),” expelled the regime’s forces in southern Syria, including the border with the Israeli Golan Heights.
According to the Alma Research Center, an Israeli think tank focusing on the northern front, the SOR “now controls key areas in Syria’s southern districts, including the border region with Israel in the Golan Heights.”
“The vast majority of rebel forces that have taken over southern Syria are Druze and Sunnis who previously fought against the Assad regime and the Shiite axis. Most of them do not hold extreme Islamist views, and their main activities focused on ensuring the safety of communities and civilians in the areas under their control,” the Alma Center wrote.
However, it warned that the HTS-led transitional government has begun to appoint new ministers and provincial governors, including some who were leading members of radical jihadist and salafist movements.
“The appointment of new government officials… may hint at the direction the new government in Syria is choosing to take. This might allow us to assess the risk that will be reflected to Israel, especially along the border in the Golan Heights,” according to Alma.
