France on Wednesday called on Israel to respect the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of neighboring Syria and to withdraw its forces from the Golan demilitarized zone between the two countries.
"As stated by the U.N., any military deployment in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria is a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement which must be respected by its signatories, Israel and Syria," said a French foreign ministry spokesman at a press briefing.
"France calls on Israel to withdraw from this area."
The United Nations has also criticized Israel for violating the 1974 agreement.
On Sunday, as Damascus fell to rebel groups and Syrian dictator President Bashar Assad fled to Moscow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that troops from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had crossed into a buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the Golan Heights. He explained that the aim of the incursion was to counter any possible threats from the disorder in Syria.
“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” he declared.
In the ensuing 48 hours, Israel conducted hundreds of sorties on military and naval installations in Syria, focusing especially on chemical weapons stockpiles and missile sites.
The IDF incursion into the buffer zone was criticized by Russia and Saudi Arabia but defended by the United States State Department through its spokesperson, Matthew Miller, who said at a press briefing that "the Syrian army abandoned its positions in the area ... which potentially creates a vacuum that could have been filled by terrorist organizations."
Here are the top political news stories for today.
The Golan Heights are Syrian territory. The IDF has no business there.
Can’t wait till all the boomers hit the can. They believe everything these Zionists put out.
These “rebels” in Syria started once Lebanon had finished. Coordinated by “Israel”, there is no security risk, “Israel” is just using its minions (rebels, ISIS) to create a false flag to further ethically cleanse and occupy land that is not their own in the Middle East.
"Syrian rebels attacked UN forces in the area yesterday, and Israel had to come to their defence."
Yea, right.
@GuiltyXerusForward1yr1Y
Yeah. Someone needs to explain why the rebels would attack UN forces.
By Syrian rebels, do you mean ISIS and Al Qaeda? Because those people are terrorists.
The United Nations peacekeepers need defense from the Israel, a state the UN bureaucracy has been attempting to delegitimize and undermine since 1967. Epic levels of irony.
Loading the political themes of users that engaged with this discussion
Loading data...
Join in on more popular conversations.
