Khaberni - The American envoy to Syria and Iraq and the ambassador to Ankara, Tom Barak, criticized Israeli control over the Golan Heights and described it as "an occupation that violates United Nations resolutions and the entire international system."
In response, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz denounced Barak's statement and described it via the "X" platform as "full of contradictions that conflict with President Donald Trump's own position on the Golan".
This comes after Barak stated last Friday that the Israeli strike which targeted Abu al-Duhur military airport in northern Syria last week, most likely occurred due to a "misunderstanding or coordination" between Israeli parties, considering that any escalation between Turkey and Israel does not serve their interests.
Katz justified the Israeli attack by saying that Israel provided "intelligence information to the relevant American authorities" before the strike.
Katz considered that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "was forced to back down after our attack on Abu al-Duhur airport in Syria", confirming that Israel had obtained information regarding Turkey's intentions to "conduct operations at Abu al-Duhur airport that could threaten Israeli security".
The Israeli minister confirmed that the army had frequently recommended attacking the airport after receiving intelligence information, stating "we will not allow any party to endanger the security of Israel, and we will counter any threat as we did in southern Syria".
It is noted that a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned that "Israel and Syria had agreed on a status quo regarding security issues, and Syria was on the verge of breaking it by agreeing to the deployment of Turkish forces at an air base near Aleppo", while Ankara denied any presence of its forces at the site.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Ministry held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the repercussions of its repeated attacks, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Sheibani—in his talk to Axios website on Thursday—condemned the Israeli attack and said "there is no justification for the Israeli attack on the air base in Abu al-Duhur".
Al-Sheibani added that Washington was informed that "we do not trust Israel's intentions towards Syria", and said "we see that Israeli policy does not contribute to the stability of Syria or the region".
Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024, Israeli forces have launched hundreds of airstrikes in Syria focusing on military targets, stating that their goal was to prevent the new authorities from acquiring the former army's arsenal.
Israeli forces have also repeatedly moved beyond the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which it has occupied parts of since 1967, where it announced its intention to establish a demilitarized zone. Meanwhile, Israeli officials repeatedly state that their forces do not intend to withdraw from there.
