Israel refuses to leave Syria buffer zone | 12 Dec 2024 | Israeli troops will remain in the UN-patrolled buffer zone between Israel and Syria, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday. The statement came after France and the UN, along with a number of countries in the region, called on West Jerusalem to withdraw its troops from the demilitarized area. On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would establish a temporary "sterile defense zone" in southern Syria to prevent any "terrorist threat" after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad's government... France and the UN condemned the move in separate statements, both calling it "a violation" of the disengagement agreement, with each urging Israel to respect's Syria’s territorial integrity.