The Golan Heights will forever remain part of Israel, Netanyahu said

    The Golan Heights will forever remain an integral part of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference.

    "Control and authority over the Golan Heights provide us with security, <...> The Golan Heights will forever remain an integral part of Israel," he said.

    The head of the Cabinet of the Jewish state also claims that the end of Bashar al-Assad's power was a direct result of the IDF strikes on the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and Iran.

    "We are changing the face of the Middle East. <...> We want to see a different Syria and extend our hand to those who want to live in peace," Netanyahu added.

    On December 8, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after negotiations with the parties to the conflict in the republic, decided to resign from office and left the country, giving instructions to peacefully transfer power.

    After that, Israel began to actively strengthen its defenses in the Golan Heights. According to Netanyahu, the agreement reached after the Yom Kippur War has lost its force because the Syrian military has abandoned its positions. The Israeli Prime Minister stressed that together with the head of the Ministry of Defense and with the full support of the Cabinet of Ministers, he ordered the IDF to occupy the demarcation zone and the positions controlling it.

    The Golan Heights were part of Syria until 1967. During the Six-Day War, the Israeli military occupied this territory, and following the results of the Yom Kippur War (1973), the parties concluded an agreement on a truce and separation of troops. In 1974, UN peacekeeping posts appeared on the Golan Heights. The border line on the Syrian side was named "Bravo", the Alpha line runs from Israel, reports ria.ru.