Israel wasted no time after the fall of Bashar al-Assad to bomb every Syrian military asset it wanted to keep out of rebel hands – hitting nearly 500 targets, destroying the navy and destroying, it claims it, 90% of the known surface of Syria. -air-to-air missiles.
But it is Israel’s capture of Syria’s highest peak, the summit of Mount Hermon, that could prove one of the most lasting rewards – even though officials have insisted its occupation was temporary.
“It is the highest point in the region, facing Lebanon, Syria and Israel,” said Efraim Inbar, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS). “This is strategically extremely important. Nothing replaces mountains. »
Israeli armored vehicles in the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights. -Matias Delacroix/AP
The summit of Mount Hermon is in Syria, in a buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces for fifty years until last weekend, when Israeli troops took control. Until Sunday, the summit was demilitarized and patrolled by U.N. peacekeepers – their highest permanent post in the world.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday ordered the army to prepare for the harsh conditions of the winter deployment. “Due to developments in Syria, it is of immense security importance to maintain our control over the summit of Mount Hermon,” he said in a statement.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) advanced beyond the summit, to Beqaasem, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the Syrian capital, according to Voice of the Capital, a Syrian activist group. CNN could not independently confirm this claim. An Israeli army spokesperson denied this week that forces were “advancing towards” Damascus.
Israeli artillery on Mount Hermon in 1974. – Alain Dejean/Sygma/Getty Images
Israel conquered the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in southwestern Syria that adjoins Mount Hermon, in the 1967 war and has occupied it ever since. Syria attempted to retake the territory in a surprise attack in 1973, but failed and Israel annexed it in 1981. The occupation is illegal under international law, but the United States has recognized the claim to Israel on the Golan under the Trump administration.
Israel has held some of the lower slopes of Mount Hermon for decades and even operates a ski resort there, but the summit has remained in Syria itself.
“We have no intention of intervening in Syria’s internal affairs,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video days after Israel bombed hundreds of Syrian targets and seized the area demilitarized stamp. “But we certainly intend to do whatever is necessary to keep us safe.”
The summit of Mount Hermon constitutes a formidable asset under Israel’s control. At 9,232 feet (2,814 meters), it is higher than any point in Syria or Israel, and second only to a single peak in Lebanon.
“People sometimes say that in the missile age, land isn’t important — that’s just not true,” Inbar said.
In an academic article published in 2011, he discussed the many benefits presented by Mount Hermon.
“This allows for the use of electronic surveillance deep within Syrian territory, giving Israel an early warning capability in the event of an imminent attack,” he wrote. Advanced technological alternatives like airborne surveillance, he argued, were simply not comparable. “Unlike a mountain installation, these cannot carry heavy equipment such as large antennas and can be shot down by anti-aircraft missiles.”
Israeli military forces on Mount Hermon on Sunday. – Social networks
The summit is just over 35 kilometers from Damascus, meaning control of its Syrian foothills – also now in IDF hands – puts the Syrian capital within range of artillery guns.
The Israeli Prime Minister said his “hand is extended” to the new Syrian government. But in the post-October 7 world, he and other national security heavyweights have made it clear they won’t take any chances.
“Above all, it’s a comfort for us,” retired Brigadier General Israel Ziv said of Israeli operations in Syria. “We have learned what has happened in other countries when a terrorist organization seizes military equipment. »
Netanyahu also insisted that the occupation was temporary. “Israel will not allow jihadist groups to fill this void and threaten Israeli communities in the Golan Heights with attacks like those of October 7,” he said. His criteria for withdrawal, he said, was that a Syrian force “committed to the 1974 agreement could be established and security on our border could be guaranteed.”
It is not known when this can be achieved.
Whether or not to withdraw the army “is a political decision,” Inbar said. “The military would love to stay there. »
Mike Schwartz and Tim Lister contributed to this report.
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