'Israeli' army to stay on Mount Hermon, says defense minister amid Syrian outcry

'Israeli' Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that the army would remain stationed on Mount Hermon and in the buffer zone to "protect Golan residents from threats coming from Syria." He added: "We will continue to protect the Druze in Syria."

His remarks came a day after Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned the incursion of 'Israeli' forces into the Beit Jinn area in rural Damascus and their control of Tel Bat al-Warda on the slopes of Mount Hermon. The ministry called on the United Nations to take urgent action to stop what it described as 'Israeli' "aggression."

Damascus warned that "this dangerous escalation constitutes a direct threat to regional peace and security," cautioning that ongoing violations would "undermine stability and deepen tensions in the region."

Earlier, Hikmat al-Hijri, a prominent Druze religious leader in Syria’s southern Sweida province, urged international support for the establishment of a separate autonomous region. He claimed recent events in Sweida aimed at the "eradication of the Druze community," according to Syria TV.

The developments come as Sweida witnesses demonstrations in which some protesters have raised 'Israeli' flags and called for "independence from Syria."

Mount Hermon, a strategic area overlooking Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, has long been of high military and political importance.