Israeli troops who seized strategic ground in southern Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad will remain on the summit of Mount Hermon indefinitely, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday after visiting troops there.

The Israeli army “will remain at the summit of the Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) and the security zone indefinitely to ensure the security of the communities of the Golan Heights and the north, and all the residents of Israel,” he said during a visit to Israeli forces in the area.

The Israeli military is gearing up to stay on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and in the buffer zone on the Israel-Syria border at least throughout the winter.

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Israel’s Minister of Defence Israel Katz has confirmed that the country’s defence forces or IDF will remain in Syria’s buffer zone indefinitely. On his visit to southern Syria, he said Israel will also connect with the Druze community to establish relations and continue their measure of preventing hostile forces from taking advantage of the power vacuum in Syria,