Israel says its occupation of newly seized land in Syria is ‘indefinite’ [Ercin Erturk/Anadolu via Getty]
A group of gunmen opened fire at Israeli forces in southwestern Syria on Friday night, marking the first incident of its kind since Israel invaded the area in December.
The Israeli army said that five gunmen opened fire on its forces located in the village of Turnejeh but no casualties were recorded, adding that Israeli forces responded by firing back at the group.
Turnejeh is in the northern part of a UN-patrolled demilitarised buffer zone that separated the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
Israel invaded the zone and occupied villages and towns in the area after longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels on 8 December last year.
Israel’s Army Radio said the incident was considered “unusual,” noting that it was the first time Israeli forces had come under fire since the start of their incursion into Syria.
Videos of the Israeli army firing flares into the sky and combing the area were shared online, but The New Arab could not verify their authenticity.
While there were no immediate comments from Syrian officials, a group calling itself the “Syrian Popular Resistance” claimed responsibility for the shooting.
In a statement attributed to the group, it said the attack on Israeli soldiers was the start of its operations “against the Israeli enemy,” noting that it had targeted “the Israeli occupation army in the Quneitra countryside for the first time” and claimed that it injured “a number of soldiers and damaged military vehicles.”
It warned of further attacks on Israeli forces inside Syria.
The pro-Assad group claims to have carried out several ambushes and hit-and-run attacks against Syria’s interim authorities who took power after Assad’s overthrow.
Israel has seized land in the southwest Quneitra governorate –including in the UN-patrolled buffer zone – and captured the Syrian side of the strategic Mount Hermon where it has begun fortifying positions.
It has since said that its presence in newly seized Syrian territory is “indefinite“, claiming it wanted to guarantee that it was not under threat by any armed groups as Syria undergoes political transition.
‘Israel must leave’
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said the sooner Israel’s military presence in the territories it occupies in Syria ends, the better.
Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York following a five-day visit to the Middle East, Lacroix said the Israeli military presence in the buffer zone continues to pose difficulties to the UN mission’s staff.
He stressed that the presence of the Israeli army there represented a clear violation.
“Of course, the sooner this military presence ends, the better,” he said, claiming that Israel’s occupation there was “temporary.”
“What we can do now is continue to remind Israeli officials that their presence in the buffer zone represents a violation, and that we look forward with great impatience to an end to this violation,” he added.
Lacroix also expressed concern about Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, noting that the situation in the region is “volatile but currently calm.”
Israeli forces are still present in about a dozen towns and villages along south Lebanon’s eastern border – adjacent to northern Israel’s Galilee Panhandle – failing to withdraw by an initial ceasefire deadline on 26 January.
The pull-out date has been extended until 18 February, as Israel claims it will not leave until the Lebanese government fully implements its part of the deal and Hezbollah completely clears the area.
