Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stern response on Wednesday to the speech delivered by Syrian leader al-Jolani at the United Nations General Assembly, during which the Syrian representative claimed the Golan Heights as Syrian territory and urged the international community to take action against the Israeli presence. “Here is my clear answer to the Syrian president who made boastful declarations from the UN podium: the Golan under Israeli sovereignty is an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever,” the defense minister stated.
1+Katz affirmed that Israel will not withdraw from Mount Hermon or the forward security zone—areas captured during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and subsequently handed back under the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement. According to Katz, the foundational premises of that accord were systematically breached after Syria transformed into an Iranian military forward base and an operational threat to Israel and its northern frontier.
The defense minister underscored that following the collapse of the Assad regime, the IDF deployed into the Mount Hermon crest and adjacent forward buffer zones in Syria precisely to neutralize looming threats posed by jihadist elements. He maintained that Israeli forces will remain stationed across the sector as long as security threats persist against Israeli border communities—whether emanating from official Syrian security forces or independent jihadist factions.
1+Katz concluded with a direct warning to Damascus: “If our forces or sovereign Israeli territory are attacked from within Syria, we will be forced to act and retaliate—and any territory we capture this time will remain ours permanently, in full accordance with the laws of armed conflict. We will not allow Syria to become a threat to the State of Israel, and we will take whatever action is required to prevent it.”