Egypt accuses Israel of ‘exploiting power vacuum’ after seizing Golan Heights buffer zone

Israeli troops have seized a demilitarised buffer zone in the Golan Heights in a move that has been criticised by Egypt and Qatar.

Israel‘s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces had entered the 155-square mile area after a rebel advance ended Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s rule on Sunday.

The zone was established by a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria in 1974.

Mr Netanyahu said the 50-year-old deal had collapsed and Syrian troops had abandoned their positions in the zone, necessitating the Israeli takeover as a “temporary defensive position”.

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It came as Egypt‘s foreign ministry condemned the seizure of the buffer zone and accused Israel of “exploiting the power vacuum… to occupy more Syrian territories and create a fait accompli in violation of international law”.

Cairo called for the United Nations Security Council to take “a firm position towards the Israeli aggression on Syria”.

Qatar also condemned the seizure, with its foreign ministry calling it a “dangerous development”.

The Israelis captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War, fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, and they later annexed it.

The whole international community, apart from the United States, considers the strategic plateau to be occupied Syrian territory.

Speaking from Mount Bental, an observation point in the Golan Heights near the Syrian border on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu said the Assad regime fell as a “direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah”.

Israel carried out attacks on Iran and the Lebanese militant group this year as fears grew the war in Gaza would spiral into a much wider regional conflict.

In his comments on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu said Tehran and Iranian-backed Hezbollah were the “main supporters of the Assad regime”.

‘Octopus’s arms are being severed’

He was joined by his defence minister Israel Katz who said the fall of the Assad regime was a “severe blow” to the “Iranian-axis of evil”.

Mr Katz added: “The octopus’s arms are being severed one by one.”

Israel’s military later warned residents of five southern Syria communities to stay home for their safety as it took control of the buffer zone.

Following the success of the Syrian rebel offensive, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his country has a “special concern” that Israel is “using this situation” to its advantage.

The agreement that demarcated the buffer zone was reached after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which started when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel.

United Nations peacekeepers have patrolled the demilitarised buffer zone since 1974.

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Israel’s foreign minister said on Monday the country’s military has struck suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime.

Gideon Saar said the attack was carried out to stop the weapons from falling into “the hands of extremists”.

Meanwhile, US forces have carried out dozens of airstrikes on Islamic State targets in central Syria, according to American officials.

In a statement, the US Central Command said the strikes were aimed at ensuring Islamic State does not take advantage of the situation in Syria.

Assad regime falls

Syrian rebels said they had captured the country’s capital Damascus and ousted Mr Assad’s regime on Sunday after a lightning offensive that lasted just over a week.

The rebel forces seized military bases, toppled regime statues, freed prisoners and captured major cities as they brought an end to the Assad dynasty’s 54 years of rule.

Mr Assad and his family arrived in the Russian capital Moscow on Sunday as Syrians took to the streets to celebrate the successful rebel offensive.