IDF says Assad troops found in buffer zone will be targeted – report

Defense officials told Israel TV that Israel would not tolerate Assad troops’ presence along the northern border

By: World Israel News Staff

Israel considers Syrian regime forces that enter the demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries a legitimate target, according to reports by Israel TV news Wednesday night.

“Any entry into the demilitarized zone, even a single tank, will be fair game for the IDF,” a Kan TV defense reporter quoted a defense official as saying.

Meanwhile, Channel 10 reported that the military has deployed units from IDF intelligence corps near the border to track Syrian forces returning to the area as part of the regime offensive to retake rebel-held territory in southern Syria.

The IDF estimates that Assad’s forces, which enjoy the backing of Russian troops and air cover, will reconquer the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.

There is a Disengagement of Forces agreement dating from 1974 after the Yom Kippur War that determined the conditions of the ceasefire agreement with Syria that governed the separation of Israeli and Syrian forces.

Before the 2011 civil war broke in Syria, there was relative calm on the northern border.

The agreement is seen as the basis for any future security reality after Assad consolidates its control over the Syrian Golan Heights.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called for upholding the 1974 UN ceasefire agreement, which established the buffer zones between the two countries.

Bashar al-AssadGadi EisenkotSyrian refugees