The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday strongly condemned Israel’s violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israeli and Syrian by advancing into Syrian territory.
“We strongly condemn Israel’s entry into the separation zone between Israel and Syria and its advance into Syrian territory in violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Israel is once again displaying its occupying mentality,” it said.
Ankara reiterated its support for Syria’s sovereignty, political unity, and territorial integrity.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, Israel expanded its military operation in Syria, launching airstrikes against military weaponry and seizing control of a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the seizure of Syrian positions in the buffer zone was to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel, adding it is a “temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.” ■