Israel will not leave Mount Hermon, Syrian buffer zone: Defense minister

Israel will not withdraw from Mount Hermon or a buffer zone inside Syrian territory as long as there are "threats" to Israel there, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.

He made the remarks while visiting the buffer zone, according to a statement released by his office.

"We will not leave Mount Hermon or the security zone as long as there are jihadist threats to the State of Israel," Katz said, according to the statement.

Addressing Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, he added: "The message to the president of Syria is clear -- when you wake up in the morning in the palace in Damascus and look up at Mount Hermon and see the IDF (army), you know that we are here to defend our communities and our border."

There was no immediate response by the Syrian authorities to Katz's remarks.

The Israeli army seized control of the buffer zone late last year -- a move Damascus said was a violation of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement between the two countries.

Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights since 1967.

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, Israel declared the Disengagement Agreement null and void, seizing the buffer zone and other positions, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.