'Israel' seeks permanent grip on Syrian peaks overlooking Lebanon, Syria rejects

'Israeli' political sources revealed that Tel Aviv has informed Damascus, during ongoing official talks, of its insistence on retaining control of the Syrian peaks of Mount Hermon, located at the border triangle with Lebanon, describing them as “a strategic site that cannot be relinquished.”

According to the sources, 'Israel' views the positions as critical for monitoring the Golan Heights and supply routes into Lebanon.

Syria rejected the demand, calling 'Israel’s' presence on its territory “an occupation that must end.”

A senior 'Israeli' official told Channel 12 television that the army, which seized the peaks earlier this year, regards them as “a strategic asset,” providing the ability to track hostile movements and prevent attacks similar to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern 'Israel'.

He added that 'Israeli' forces had confiscated several tons of weapons over the past eight months using vantage points from Mount Hermon.

According to the official, 'Israeli' troops recently carried out a 14-hour raid deep inside Syria, about 38 kilometers from the border and near Damascus. The operation, code-named “Green-White,” involved reservists from the 210th Division and the Druze battalion “Herev 299.” Forces seized around 3.5 tons of explosives and heavy weaponry from abandoned Syrian army depots, part of a larger cache of seven tons collected in recent months.

Army officers quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth, Hebrew media, said that control over the Hermon peaks provides direct lines of sight into sensitive Syrian military sites.

One officer noted he was surprised to clearly see the command headquarters of the Syrian division responsible for the occupied Golan, once a target during the 1973 war.

While modern surveillance technologies such as satellites and drones reduce the tactical value of high ground, the 'Israeli' army argues the peaks allow it to monitor smuggling routes toward southern Lebanon and logistical supply lines it says are vital to Hezbollah.

Since taking control, 'Israel' has reportedly established eight military posts along a strip five to ten kilometers inside Syrian territory.

The 'Israeli' army further claims that its presence in southern Syria disrupts weapons transfers to Hezbollah and destabilizes hostile groups seeking to fill the vacuum left by the collapse of the Syrian army in the region.

During the recent incursion, officers said troops encountered Druze villagers near the town of Rakhla, on the outskirts of Damascus, who “welcomed” them and provided intelligence on arms caches in exchange for humanitarian aid.

'Israeli' sources asserted that some of the weapons seized had been destined for Hezbollah via smuggling routes to the Bekaa Valley and the Lebanese town of Shebaa, while others had been used by armed groups to attack Druze villages in southern Syria.

The army maintains its ongoing operations are necessary to “prevent hostile forces from strengthening” along 'Israel’s' northern frontier.