Israel has just invaded and occupied the entirety of the 1,200-square-kilometre (460 square-mile) Golan Heights, a fertile and strategic plateau half of which it had already occupied and an additional area of over 500 square kilometres of South Western Syria, well over 200 additional square miles.
Attacks on other Syrian Towns
There are now other areas in Syria that Israel has occupied, including along the summit of Mount Hermon that delineates the border between Syria and Lebanon. This occurred mere hours after the fall of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad on December 8th 2024. Although this was initially presented as a temporary measure to protect Israel’s borders, Israel’s forces still remain occupying this area. Israel’s new bases on Mount Hermon, the tallest mountain on the east coast of the Mediterranean sea, standing at a height of 2814 metres, will arguably provide Israel with advance warning of an incoming attack from Syria, Lebanon or father afield and give them adequate time to prepare.
The town of Quneitra was also invaded by an Israeli occupation army patrol on January 5th 2025. Locals have even stated that extensive population surveys have been conducted, but local activists worry a new demographic will be forcefully imposed and they eventually will be displaced. Especially since Syria was in a state of anarchy at this time, locals believe it would be easy for Israel to do this.
As recently as February 26th 2025, Israel conducted four airstrikes targeting the city of Damascus, the province of Daraa and the town of Kiswah (Al-Kiswah is a city in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, approximately 13 kilometres south of Damascus). These are areas Israel claims hold Syrian military sites and claims attacking them was necessary to force the demilitarisation of southern Syria as a whole. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated this is the reason for Israel’s continued airstrike attacks on Syria.
Israel’s Claims
The main priority of Israel is ensuring the demilitarisation of Southern Syria. Israel has made it abundantly clear that it will continue its air strikes over Syria, as long as it believes a ‘concerningly extremist’ Syria is attempting to weaponise itself. Just on Tuesday, Israel attacked areas in southern Syria it described as holding ‘Command centres and military bases’. A spokesperson for Defence Minister Israel Katz stated, ‘Any attempt by the Syrian regime force and the country’s terrorist organisations to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria will be met with fire, we will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon’. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar reiterated this message stating that, ‘A stable Syria can only be a federal Syria that includes autonomous regions and respects different ways of life’.
However, this attack conveniently occurred the same day as comments critiquing Israel’s invasion of parts of south Syria were made at Syria’s national dialogue conference. In the closing statement of the conference, President Al-Sharaa strongly condemned Israel for its ‘Blatant violation of sovereignty of the Syrian state’ and called for ‘An immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israel’s forces from Syria.’ There is very little news coverage from Israel sources on this recent attack, presumably showing Israel does not want the rest of the international community to be aware of its violation of Syrian sovereignty.
While Israel claims its demands for a demilitarised Syria are valid and legitimate because a security threat posed by what it calls, ‘extremists residing in Syria’, it can be argued this is an attempt to disguise Israel’s ulterior motive of exploiting a vulnerable Syria so it can expand its sovereignty into what it believes should be a federal Syria.
Israel’s original statement about the Golan Heights says the movement into the UN protected ceasefire zone was a temporary measure, and only to protect Israel’s border from incursions. However as of now, Israel’s Prime Minster Netanyahu has changed this stance and given no indication as of when Israel’s troops will fall back, saying their occupation is indefinite to prevent extremist groups entering Syria. This is despite the fact the entire international community, with the exception of the USA, acknowledge Golan Heights as land belonging to Syria, now occupied by Israel’s forces. Israel’s Prime Minister has also said he believes the new Syrian authorities’ link to Jihadism poses a danger to Israel, despite the fact that Syrian President Al-Sharaa has reassured the global community that Syria is not a threat to any nation and assured Israel he is willing to uphold the 1974 disengagement agreement. Which would signal a step towards peace between the nations.
And yet more ambitions
On March 1st 2025, Prime Minister Netanyahu attempted to justify Israel’s possible invasion into the area of Jaramana, just outside the city of Damascus, stating Israel’s troops are ‘Prepared to defend their friends and brothers’ in the Druze community and that, ‘We will not allow the extreme Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze’. This followed some tension between the Druze in Damascus and the new HTS government. However, prominent figures from the Druze community, including Sheikh Laith Al-Balous, stated, ‘We do not need foreign guardianship and we did not ask for protection from Israel, we seek a united Syria’.
This changing stance from Israel and disinterest in engaging with a seemingly cooperative Syria, seems to show Israel is looking to justify their expansion into rightfully Syrian territories. This is done by making public statements that frame Syria as an armed and dangerous power whose territory needs to be divided. When in actuality it is Israel whose current occupation in the Golan Heights, as well as their occupation of approximately much of southern Syria that is in defiance of international agreements. Israel’s recent statement about their military incursions being made on behalf of the Druze community, is another veiled attempt to mask their invasion into Syria as a humanitarian intervention. As the Druze community have publicly rejected Israel’s protection, showing this statement’s only intention was to frame Syria as a seriously unstable power attacking its own people and to further justify Israel’s uncalled for military incursions.
Israel’ demands for a demilitarised southern Syria seem to be more about making the nation easier to invade than about Israel’s security. Furthermore its advocating for a federal Syria is a method of trying to do this by legal means– if this fails, it is within the realm of possibility that illegal methods may be used to obtain more areas of Syria.
The Historical Position
Israel and Syria have been at odds since the formation of Israel as an official state in the aftermath of the Arab-Israel war, in 1948. From this point the nations have engaged in serious tensions that have escalated to air strikes and invasions over territorial disputes.
The Golan Heights have been a serious source of contention between the two nations, as this land geographically falls under Syrian jurisdiction but two-thirds of the Golan Heights was occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.
This area holds great geopolitical benefits and agricultural resources, as it acts as a vital water resource to both Israel and Syria. For Israel it borders the Hula Valley, located east of Golan Heights, and the Sea of Galilee, located in the Jordan Valley and west of Golan Heights. The Sea of Galilee’s upper region is Israel’s largest freshwater reservoir and supplies one quarter of the yearly amount of water consumed in Israel. For Syria, the Golan Heights borders the Yarmouk River, located in south-west Syria and flows along its border with Jordan, providing water for domestic use and farming in Syria. It is also strategically beneficial to the country that controls it as its elevated ground allows for surveillance of Southern Syria and the city of Damascus, giving Israel constant knowledge of Syrian movement.
Syria attempted to regain control of the territory in the 1973 Middle Eastern War, which resulted in Syria recovering some of Golan Heights but ultimately both countries agreed to a ceasefire line being drawn and an official UN peacekeeping force being tasked with guarding the area the following year. Israel’s forces placed more than a million landmines over the recovered Syrian area in Golan Heights, so this new territory is effectually useless. Later in 1981, Israel attempted to unilaterally annex the entire area but this move was deemed illegitimate by the UN.
