Qatar: IDF incursions into Syria are ‘blatant violation’ of its sovereignty

Qatar “strongly condemns” reported IDF incursions into Syrian territory, calling them a “blatant violation” of sovereignty and urging the international community to “take decisive measures” to compel Israel to refrain from what it describes as repeated aggressions.

“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the incursion of Israeli occupation forces into the territories of the sisterly Syrian Arab Republic, considering it a blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, a flagrant breach of international law, and a challenge to the international will supporting Syria’s reconstruction, development, and the establishment of peace in the region,” writes the Qatari Foreign Ministry on X.

Doha calls on the international community “to take decisive measures” against Israel, “to compel it to cease its repeated aggressions on the Syrian territories and the irresponsible actions, which pose a serious threat to regional and international security.”

Earlier today, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would not retreat from positions on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and in other areas across the border, a day after Syria condemned what it said was an Israeli military incursion into an area in the country’s south near the border with the Golan Heights, as well as Israel’s “control” of an area in the Mount Hermon foothills.

According to Syrian media, Israel shelled a home in a village near the border with the Golan Heights this morning, allegedly killing one civilian. There was no comment from the IDF on the alleged strike.

Katz said the IDF’s presence “on the summit of [Mount] Hermon and in the security zone” is necessary for “defending communities in the Golan and Galilee from threats emanating from the Syrian side.”

His comments came after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Arab journalists this week that his government was in “advanced” negotiations with Israel on a security agreement, which reportedly could see Syria’s side of the Golan Heights demilitarized, with the Syrian army blocked from operating in sensitive areas.