Injured during protest

Gulf states demand Israel’s withdrawal from Syria

Syrian civilians watch the scene of an Israeli air strike, where smoke is still rising.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Bakr ALKASEM)

The fact that Israel's army is constantly expanding its sphere of influence in neighboring Syria is viewed extremely critically internationally. The Gulf states have now called on Israel to withdraw. Meanwhile, resistance is also growing among the Syrian civilian population.

Following the fall of Syria's ruler Bashar al-Assad a good two weeks ago, Israel's army invaded the buffer zone to Syria on the Golan Heights and is apparently considering longer-term control of the area. The soldiers entered an area that is under UN supervision in accordance with the 1974 ceasefire agreement. According to the leadership in Jerusalem, they want to prevent armed groups from attacking Israel from the high plateau. The area on this side of the ceasefire line was conquered by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1981. 

Israeli military vehicles in the Syrian buffer zone

(Bild: AP/Matias Delacroix)

"Serious violation of international law"
The occupation by Israel is a serious violation of international law, according to the final declaration of a summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Kuwait. The international community has a responsibility to stop the attacks on Syrian territory and to ensure that Israel withdraws from the Syrian territories it occupies.

Protests in occupied villages have been increasing for days now. Riots broke out again on Wednesday. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israeli soldiers shot at demonstrating civilians in the villages of Suweisa and Dawaja on Wednesday who were protesting against the Israeli advance. Five people, including one minor, were injured.

Israeli army speaks of warning shots
The Israeli military announced that demonstrators had approached the soldiers. They had been ordered to retreat. When the warnings went unheeded, warning shots were fired. Reports of injured civilians were being investigated.