The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned the illegal entry of Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz into Syrian territory, calling it a “clear provocation”, Anadolu agency reported.
The ministry’s assertion came in a statement issued after Katz visited a buffer zone in Syrian territory that Israeli forces occupied last year.
Katz’s visit comes two days after a meeting in Jordan — ostensibly aimed at reducing tensions — between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani and Israeli intelligence chief Roman Gofman.
In its statement, the ministry condemned the “illegal entry of the Israeli defense minister … in flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The move, it added, constitutes a “clear provocation, a violation of international law and the UN Charter, and a breach of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement” between Syria and Israel.
