Chicago – January 16, 2025
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, has called on Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from the United Nations buffer zone in Syria.
The demand follows Israel’s military actions in the area near the Golan Heights after Syria’s former ruler, Bashar al-Assad, was overthrown.
Speaking at a news conference in Damascus on Thursday alongside Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, Sheikh Mohammed described Israel’s move into the demilitarized zone as reckless. The buffer zone, established in 1974 through a UN ceasefire agreement, separates Syria and Israel.
Last month, Israeli troops entered the area after al-Assad was removed by opposition fighters led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group. Israel also carried out numerous airstrikes across Syria, claiming they were aimed at preventing weapons from reaching extremist groups, including HTS.
Al-Sharaa expressed Syria’s readiness to welcome UN forces back into the buffer zone. Sheikh Mohammed also pledged Qatar’s support for rebuilding Syria’s infrastructure, heavily damaged after 14 years of conflict.
“The Israeli occupation must end immediately,” Sheikh Mohammed said, emphasizing Qatar’s commitment to aiding Syria’s recovery under its new administration.
