Netanyahu: Golan Heights Will Be ‘Forever’ Part of Israel

‘The collapse of the Syrian regime is a direct result of the severe blows with which we have struck Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran,’ Israel’s prime minister said.

Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 30, 2018. Amir Cohen/Reuters

Following the rapid collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the Golan Heights will be a “part” of Israel “forever.”

On Sunday, Netanyahu said in a video address from the Golan Heights, located between Israel and Syria, that Israeli forces secured the entirety of the region as a security measure. He also said that a 1974 agreement between Israel and the regime of then-leader Hafez al-Assad is now dissolved after Bashar al-Assad fled the country as rebels took over Damascus.