Bennett: Iran aspires to build an army on Israel's Golan border

• Author: TOVAH LAZAROFF
• Published date: 12 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"The Golan Heights is Israel, period," Bennett said as he addressed the Makor Rishon newspaper conference that focused on economic and regional development of the mountainous region that the Jewish state captured from Syria during the 1967 war.

Israel applied sovereignty to the Golan, but that move has been recognized only by the United States. Jerusalem has long claimed that the region is a strategic necessity, particularly in light of the Syrian civil war and as one of the fronts in Iran's continuous military battle with Israel.

"Iran, which has dispatched proxies and built armies to surround the State of Israel, aspires to build yet another army on the border of the Golan Heights," Bennett said as he stood in the Golan.

"We will continue to act wherever and whenever necessary, at our initiative, and on a daily basis, in order to roll up the Iranian presence in Syria. They have nothing to look for there," Bennett said.

"Their adventure on our northern border needs to end. Thus, we will ensure not only the peace of the residents of the Golan Heights but of all citizens of Israel," he explained.

But he clarified that Israel's ties to the Golan were not dependent on the argument that it was territory necessary for Israel's security.

"I would like to make one thing clear – our position regarding the Golan Heights is not connected to the situation in Syria," Bennett said.

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