Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the complete demilitarisation of much of southern Syria. It is an announcement that could make conflict between Israel and the new leadership in Syria, after the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad, more likely. In a speech to Israeli military cadets on Sunday, Netanyahu said that Israel would not allow the forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — the Islamist group that led the overthrow of Assad — nor the new Syrian army that is being formed ‘to enter the area south of Damascus.’ … He also said that Israeli forces would remain indefinitely inside the Syrian territory that they have seized since Assad’s fall last December — which would be a shift in Israeli strategy.” (02/25/25)