Jordan denounced on Monday Israel’s decision to seize Syrian-held areas in a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday he had ordered the army to “seize” the demilitarised zone in the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan Heights after rebels swept Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from power.

“We condemn the fact that Israel has entered Syrian territory and taken control of the buffer zone,” Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told parliament.

Safadi, whose country borders the Golan Heights, called the move a “violation of international law”.

Most of the Golan Heights plateau has been occupied since 1967 by Israel, which later annexed it in a move not recognised by most of the international community.

In 1974 a buffer zone was established to separate the Israeli-held and Syrian territories, with UN peacekeepers stationed there.

AFP