Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz has said that Israel is not on a path to peace with Syria, claiming that forces, including Yemen’s Houthi movement, are studying a possible ground invasion of northern towns from Syrian territory.
In a closed session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the evening of Wednesday, 27 November, Katz ruled out that Israel is “on the right track” toward peace with Syria, attributing this to the presence of forces inside Syrian territory that are considering a ground “invasion” of population centers in the Golan Heights, according to Israel’s public broadcaster (Kan)
Katz said the Houthis are among the forces operating in Syria and are seen as a “ground invasion threat” to areas in northern Israel from Syria, adding that Israel is taking this scenario into account when planning the defense of its northern borders.
Katz also reiterated the issue of the Druze in Syria, describing it as one of the matters that worries Israeli officials. He said the Israeli army already has a plan in place and will intervene if air raids on Jabal al Druze in southern Syria are repeated, including by closing the border.
There is no official presence of the Houthis, who are backed by Tehran, in Syria, and the group stands in opposition to the new Syrian government.
The head of the Golan Regional Council, Uri Kellner, said during the closed meeting, “It is clear to us that our enemies around us are still thinking about how to harm us, and reality forces us to act with caution, strength, and long term planning, not to prepare for the last war, but for the coming challenge.”
Kellner explained that the Israeli army must continue to entrench its control over the buffer zone and the summit of Mount Hermon, reinforce its deterrent power, and ensure an immediate response to any scenario.
He added that civil defense must be strengthened in Qasrin, a border area with the Golan that is administratively part of Quneitra province in southern Syria, as well as in the Golan settlements and the area more broadly, by increasing training, providing more weapons and ammunition, and boosting the operational capacity of local defense bodies in the field.
Netanyahu attacks al Sharaa
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier said that Syria’s transitional president, Ahmad al Sharaa, “returned from Washington puffed up”, adding that al Sharaa “has started doing everything Israel will not accept”.
According to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan on 21 November, Netanyahu sharply attacked al Sharaa during a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet.
Netanyahu said that al Sharaa is seeking to bring Russian forces to the Syrian Israeli border, following his visit to the United States and his meeting with US President Donald Trump.
The prime minister’s remarks came only days after he toured southern Syria on 19 November, accompanied by a delegation of officials from his government.
The delegation included, alongside Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.
Netanyahu wrote on X, “I visited the Golan Heights area in Syria, received an operational briefing and met with the fighters who bravely defend Israel every day, I am proud of our fighters.”
A joint delegation from the Syrian and Russian defense ministries carried out a field tour of several military points and positions in southern Syria.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on 17 November, the visit aimed to review the situation on the ground within the framework of ongoing cooperation between the two sides.
Reports of Houthis in Syria
Russian media in 2024 circulated reports about the arrival of fighters from Yemen’s Houthi movement to Syria and Lebanon via Jordan, before later retracting them.
The Russian agency RIA Novosti had reported that the Houthis began moving their paramilitary forces into Syria to confront Israel via Jordan in small groups that together reached the size of a brigade, citing an informed “source”.
The agency added that the Houthi forces deployed in Syria were “the most technically equipped and best prepared” to carry out attacks against Israeli settlements.
According to the agency, Houthi fighters were being trained to operate armored vehicles and to be able to use artillery and drones.
However, the Russian agency Sputnik quoted military expert Brigadier General Abed al Thawr, a figure close to the Houthi movement, as saying that “reports that Yemen has sent soldiers to Syria are not true”, arguing that Syria and its forces “do not need support from Yemeni forces and have sufficient strength to deal with the enemy”, as he put it.
These reports predated the ouster of the Assad regime, Tehran’s ally that also backs the Houthis, and the arrival of opposition factions to power in December 2024.
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