Qatar condemns Israeli defence chief’s entry into southwestern Syria

Doha calls for international action to force Israel to respect the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and halt incursions

Qatar condemned Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz’s entry into Syrian territory, calling it a blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry issued the condemnation on Tuesday after Katz entered the Syrian buffer zone in the southwest days after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and the director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Roman Gofman, met in the Jordanian capital Amman to discuss efforts to ease tensions between the two countries.

“The State of Qatar strongly condemns Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's illegal entry into Syrian territory and transgression of international borders,” the ministry said in a statement.

It described the move as “a violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and its territorial integrity.”

Doha urged the international community “to move swiftly to compel Israel to adhere to international legitimacy resolutions, particularly the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, and to end its repeated aggression on Syrian territories, to prevent escalation and tension in the region.”

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Katz said during the visit that Israel “will not leave Mount Hermon or the security zone as long as there are threats to the State of Israel,” according to his office.

The Israeli army seized control of the buffer zone in December 2024 -- a move Damascus said was a violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between the two countries.

Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights since 1967.

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, Israel declared the Disengagement Agreement null and void, seizing the buffer zone and other positions, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.

Israeli forces have also carried out near-daily incursions into southern Syria, particularly in areas of Daraa and Quneitra provinces, including arrests, checkpoint deployments and searches of people.