Israel to expand Golan Heights settlements after fall of Assad

There are more than 30 Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights, which are home to an estimated 20,000 people. They are considered illegal under international law, which Israel disputes.

The settlers live alongside some 20,000 Syrians, most of them Druze Arabs who did not flee when the area came under Israeli control.

Netanyahu said Israel would “continue to hold on to [the territory], make it flourish and settle it”.

The announcement comes a day after Syria’s new de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa criticised Israel for its ongoing strikes on military targets in the country, which have reportedly targeted military facilities.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has documented more than 450 Israeli air strikes in Syria since 8 December, including 75 since Saturday evening.

Al-Sharaa – also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani – said the strikes “crossed red lines” and risked escalating tensions in the region, though he said Syria was not seeking a conflict with any neighbouring state.

Speaking to Syria TV, which was seen as pro-opposition during the civil war, al-Sharaa said the country’s “war-weary condition, after years of conflict and war, does not allow for new confrontations”, Reuters reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not commented on his remarks, but previously said the strikes were necessary to stop weapons falling “into the hands of extremists”.