Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday declared that the occupied Golan Heights would “forever” remain under Israeli control.
At a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of a major security conference in Munich, Netanyahu declared that the Golan Heights would “remain in Israel’s hands forever.”
The Syrian Golan Heights has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Netanyahu also said Israel would not allow Iran to establish military bases in Syria -- a scenario, he said, that Israel would take action to prevent.
The prime minister’s assertions come amid mounting tension in the region.
Last Saturday, Israel claimed to have downed an Iranian drone over its territory. Shortly afterward, an Israeli F-16 was shot down over Syria.
The two countries, the statement also said, agree to intensify their cooperation to “bring about this result within the framework of established parameters, namely U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254 and the Geneva process.”
Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
While U.N. officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, Syrian regime officials say the death toll is closer to 10,000.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
