White House Signals Approval of Israeli Seizure of Buffer Zone inside Syria

Israeli soldiers open a gate at the security fence between Israel and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 10 December 2024. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers open a gate at the security fence between Israel and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 10 December 2024. (EPA)
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White House Signals Approval of Israeli Seizure of Buffer Zone inside Syria

Israeli soldiers open a gate at the security fence between Israel and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 10 December 2024. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers open a gate at the security fence between Israel and Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 10 December 2024. (EPA)

The White House is signaling its approval of Israel’s strikes against Syrian military and alleged chemical weapons targets and the seizure of a buffer zone in the Syrian Golan Heights after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

"These are exigent operations to eliminate what they believe are imminent threats to their national security," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday, saying the US would leave it up to the Israelis to discuss details of their operations.

"They have as always the right to defend themselves," Kirby said. He declined to detail and US intelligence cooperation with the Israelis that went into the strikes.

Kirby said the White House was reasserting its support of the 1974 Golan Heights disengagement agreement, but didn’t criticize the Israeli seizure of the demilitarized zone.

Israel has a long history of seizing territory during wars with its neighbors and occupying it indefinitely, citing security concerns. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally, except by the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli forces were moving to control a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized buffer zone in Syrian territory.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia have condemned the incursion, accusing it of exploiting the disarray in Syria and violating international law.

Türkiye "strongly" condemned Israel’s advance into Syrian territory, saying it was in violation of the 1974 agreement.

"We strongly condemn Israel’s violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, its entry into the separation zone between Israel and Syria, and its advance into Syrian territory," Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry accused Israel of "displaying a mentality of an occupier" at a time when the possibility of peace and stability had emerged in Syria. The statement also reiterated Türkiye’s support to Syria’s "sovereignty, political unity, and territorial integrity."



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.