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Israeli forces will stay in Mount Hermon in Syria throughout the winter, Tel Aviv’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday, calling the land grab a historic moment for Israel.

of himself with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Golan Heights, Syrian territory that Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war later annexed.

"A view of the summit of the Syrian Mount Hermon, which returned to Israeli control after 51 years," the photo was captioned, as Katz described the matter as an "exciting, historic moment."

"Given what is happening in Syria, there is great security importance for us to remain on the top of Mount Hermon, a strategic location overlooking Damascus," a statement from Katz’s press office said.

Quickly after the Assad regime was toppled in Damascus on Sunday, Israel swooped in and captured the Syrian side of Mount Hermon which spans neighbouring Lebanon.

It has gradually seized more land along the UN buffer zone that had once separated the Golan from the rest of Syria, particularly in the Quneitra governorate.

Israel has also launched hundreds of airstrikes in the rest of Syria, claiming to have destroyed Syria's strategic weapons, including naval warships and 90 percent of Syria's surface-to-air missiles.

The Israeli government has dubbed its Syria operations "Operation Bashan Arrow," referencing a Biblical name of the region. Netanyahu himself – wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza – has claimed that the Israeli military presence inside Syria was only temporary and for security reasons.

But many Syrians are doubtful, and worried that this is the start of a plan to annex more land.

A video that has circulated online depicts a group of Israelis reading from Jewish scripture in what is purportedly Hader, a predominantly Druze village the Israeli army has entered.

"This is our entire country! Conquer and settle," .

Panicked residents have reportedly had to evacuate their homes in the villages of Hader and Al-Hamidiyah in Quneitra because of the Israeli army.

On Thursday, Syria TV reported that Israeli forces entered the western outskirts of Jubata al-Khashab and demanded that people hand over their weapons, adding that the army also "completely displaced the people of Al-Hurriya village after seizing it."

Druze fears

While most Syrians are jubilant about the fall of the Ba'athist regime which ruled Syria with brutality for over five decades, the situation in the war-ravaged country remains unclear, and some religious communities have expressed concern about the coming period.

While Druze and Kurdish-led militias joined forces with the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group in the lightning offensive that ousted the regime, some are worried about the transitional phase and potential infighting between rival factions.

HTS on Thursday announced the lineup of the transitional government which is supposed to administer Syria till March next year. They have called for unity among Syrians, saying they will not allow any part of Syria to remain outside the control of the new government.

But some videos have surfaced of Druze villagers in Hader reportedly calling for Israeli protection from HTS, saying they will refuse to live under an "Islamist-run government" in the country.

One man from Hader has during a gathering calling on Israel to officially annex the village and join it with the Golan, claiming "Israel will protect the dignity of the Druze."

In his speech, the man – who °®Âþµº could not immediately identify – says the Druze are now faced with two choices after the fall of Assad, "either go to Israel or wait for [our] women to be taken captive and the theft of our homes" by HTS.

"We must choose the lesser evil…Whoever preserves our honour, we are with them," the man says.

The footage was shared by outlets include Israel's Kan broadcaster and the Arabi21 news site. TNA could not verify the video's authenticity.

But the Druze spiritual body of Hader later Friday came out in opposition to the remarks, saying: "We emphasise our depth of belonging to Syria, and any opinion that contradicts this is illegitimate."

In Druze-majority Suwayda, residents have held near-weekly protests for years in support of the revolution. Like much of the country, the region has suffered under tyrannical rule, poverty, and Assad's henchmen, locally known as "shabbiha."

The Druze in Syria make up around four percent of the population, and are concentrated primarily in Suwayda and Quneitra, with some around Damascus and in the northwestern Idlib governorate. There remain four Druze towns in the occupied Golan, where most residents have long refused Israeli citizenship.