Israel is escalating its violations of international law in southern Syria, seeking to impose new realities on the ground by demanding the disarmament of the Syrian army in the buffer zone. This comes amid reports revealing Israel’s establishment of military and settlement outposts within Syrian territory, in direct breach of international agreements that prohibit the militarisation of these areas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a graduation ceremony for a “combat police” unit, stated that Israel would demand the disarmament of the Syrian army in southern Syria and would not tolerate any threat to the Druze community. He emphasised that the area must be cleared of any military presence linked to the new Syrian regime.
Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz reinforced this stance, declaring that Israel would not allow any military presence in the security zone from southern Syria to Damascus. He also highlighted plans to strengthen relations with allied communities in the region, particularly the Druze population, reflecting Israel’s long-standing policy of exploiting minority groups to serve its military objectives.
These statements follow a report by The Washington Post, which recently revealed that Israel has begun constructing military and settlement outposts in the demilitarised zone of southern Syria—a direct violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement brokered by the United Nations between Israel and Syria.
Satellite imagery analysis confirms that Israel has established two new military bases and is constructing a third, signalling its intent to maintain a permanent military presence in the region, in clear contradiction of its international obligations.
The images also depict a newly constructed road leading from the border to a hilltop near the village of Kodana, providing an additional surveillance position for Israeli forces. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv has built an advanced military base in Jabatha al-Khashab, an area that was previously under the control of the Syrian army.
Beyond its military expansion, Israel has carried out large-scale destruction of agricultural land, uprooting fruit trees and bulldozing farmland, including sections of a protected nature reserve, to make way for settlement infrastructure. Mohammed Marioud, the mayor of Jabatha al-Khashab, denounced these actions as a blatant act of occupation.
These developments reflect a long-standing Israeli strategy of altering the demographic and territorial landscape to serve military and strategic interests, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, which explicitly prohibit the seizure of land by force or the imposition of demographic changes in occupied territories.
Israel’s latest actions in southern Syria constitute a continuation of its systematic violations of international law, particularly the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which strictly forbids any military presence within the buffer zone. Furthermore, the construction of settlements and military bases on occupied land constitutes a clear breach of international humanitarian law, which prohibits the confiscation or repurposing of occupied land for military expansion.
Despite these violations, the international community has remained largely silent, failing to hold Israel accountable for its repeated breaches of international law. Meanwhile, Syria, weakened by years of conflict, remains vulnerable to further Israeli encroachments, with no meaningful Arab or international deterrence in place to curb these ongoing violations.
