Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned Defense Minister Israel Katz’s visit to Mount Hermon on Tuesday and demanded an immediate and complete Israeli withdrawal from areas currently controlled by Israeli forces. In a statement, Damascus called the visit a “blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The Foreign Ministry emphasizes that these hostile actions constitute a clear provocation and a violation of international law, as well as the commitments of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement regarding respect for the ceasefire lines and refraining from crossing them,” the ministry said.
The “Syrian Arab Republic” called on the international community “to take the necessary measures to compel the ‘occupation’ authorities to cease their repeated violations and immediately and completely withdraw from the Syrian territories entered by the ‘occupation forces,’ and return to the disengagement line.”
Earlier Tuesday, Katz visited the summit of Mount Hermon and made clear that the IDF would not withdraw from the mountain or the security zone as long as jihadist threats to Israel persist. Katz also delivered a direct message to Syria’s president: “When you look at Mount Hermon and see the IDF—you know we are here.”