On Wednesday, Syria condemned the entry of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into its territory and his inspection of Israeli forces in Mount Hermon, describing the step as a “provocation” and a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said, in a statement, “The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the illegal entry of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into Syrian territory and his wandering around Mount Hermon,” considering that the step represents a violation of Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu inspected Israeli forces in southern Syria, accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz. “The main mission is to overthrow the terrorist regime in Iran,” he said from the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, adding that Israel is “very close to achieving this.”
Netanyahu also said that Israel “will not allow any terrorist army to establish itself on its borders.”
For his part, Katz said in a letter to Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa: “We are here on Mount Hermon, we are in the security zone, and we will not move from here.”
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, Israel has carried out hundreds of raids on Syria, and said that these raids targeted military sites to prevent the new authorities from seizing the former army’s arsenal. Israeli forces also penetrated outside the buffer zone adjacent to the Golan Heights, reaching Mount Hermon, and announced their intention to establish a demilitarized zone.
Netanyahu had previously visited Israeli forces in Syria at least twice, the first in December 2024 and the second in November 2025, while Katz had visited Israeli forces in southern Syria two weeks ago, a visit that Damascus also condemned.
In parallel, Syria and Israel held US-brokered negotiating rounds, during which the two parties agreed to establish a mechanism for exchanging information, within talks related to a broader security agreement. Damascus also announced late last month that it would hold talks with Israel in Jordan to address reducing the escalation.
