Netanyahu welcomes Syria ceasefire, says Israel won’t tolerate aggression on Golan Heights

Published February 28th, 2016 - 11:30 GMT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on February 28, 2016. (AFP/Ronen Zvulun)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on February 28, 2016. (AFP/Ronen Zvulun)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the ceasefire that mostly took hold in Syria on Saturday, but warned that Israel would not tolerate a "second terrorist front" on the Golan Heights.

“We welcome efforts to achieve a stable, long-term, real ceasefire in Syria,” Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. “Anything that will stop the horrible slaughter there is important, first of all from a humanitarian perspective.”

At the same time, he said, “it must be clear that any agreement in Syria must include ending Iranian aggression against Israel from Syrian territory.”

Israel, the premier said, will not agree to the supply of advanced weaponry from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon via Syria. “We will not agree to establishing a second terrorist front on the Golan,” he said. “Those were the red lines that Israel set, and they remain Israel's red lines.”


Israel has made this position known to Russia since Moscow became actively involved in the fighting in Syria in September. Netanyahu spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Israel’s position on Syria during a phone call last Wednesday, one of a number they have had over the last few months.

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