Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Tuesday called on the international community to pressure Israel to “immediately” withdraw its troops from the south, as he attended his first Arab summit since assuming office.
Since Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) spearheaded an offensive that toppled longtime Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on 8 December, Israel has deployed troops to a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974.
Israel has occupied much of the Golan Heights since 1967 and later annexed the area abutting Syria’s southeast in a move not recognised by the international community and the United Nations.
Beyond ground incursions, Israeli forces have also carried out repeated air strikes against Syrian military sites in recent days.
“We urge the international community to uphold its legal and moral commitments by supporting Syria’s rights and pressuring Israel to immediately withdraw from southern Syria,” Sharaa told a summit of Arab leaders in Cairo. ….more
