Egypt condemns Israel seizure of demilitarized zone as blatant violation of Syrian sovereignty
Egypt strongly condemned on Monday Israel's seizure of the demilitarized zone with Syria and the adjacent commanding sites as "an occupation of Syrian lands and a blatant violation of Syria's sovereignty," according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Late Sunday, Israeli forces seized the buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights before taking control of Jabal Al-Sheikh on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
The foreign ministry said Cairo considers this seizure a clear breach of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria.
The agreement established a ceasefire line and a UN-monitored buffer zone to separate Israeli and Syrian military positions in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights following the 1973 war.
On Sunday, Syrian insurgents swept into the Syrian capital Damascus toppling the government of President Bashar Al-Assad.
In the hours after Syrian insurgents toppled the government of President Bashar Al-Assad, Israeli tanks captured the buffer zone before seizing Jabal Al-Shaikh, as Israeli warplanes reportedly carried out tens of attacks on various weapons and munitions sites in the country.
Speaking from the occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu unilaterally declared that the 1974 disengagement agreement was void and null.
In its statement on Monday, the Egyptian foreign ministry affirmed that Israeli practices violate international law and infringe on Syria’s unity and territorial integrity.
Cairo also urged the United Nations Security Council and international powers to fulfil their responsibilities and take a firm stance against the Israeli aggression on Syria in a way that guarantees Syria’s sovereignty over all its territories.
These practices are exploiting the instability and power vacuum in Syria to seize more Syrian territories and impose a new reality on the ground, violating international law, the ministry stressed.
