Al-Shaibani made these statements during a joint press briefing in this capital with his Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

The foreign minister affirmed that Israeli statements over the continued presence of occupation forces in the Mount Hermon area, in southern Syria, invalidate the security arguments used by Tel Aviv to justify the occupation of Syrian territory.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated last week during a visit to positions held by Tel Aviv forces in the buffer zone that Israel will not abandon Mount Hermon or the so-called security zone as long as jihadist threats against its territory persist.

Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights since 1967.

Following the fall of the government of former President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024, Israel declared the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement void, seizing the buffer zone and other regions of Syrian territory, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.

Damascus described those actions as a violation of its sovereignty and understanding on the disengagement of forces.

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