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Israel is planning to continue to occupy newly captured areas of Jabal al-Sheikh, also known as Mount Hermon, under the pretext of "security concerns".

According to Israeli public broadcaster Channel 12, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court over actions in Gaza, ordered Israeli forces to prepare for a deployment in the area until at least the end of 2025.

During a visit to the area, he said: "We will remain in this important place until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security."

His visit follows Israel’s occupation of the Syrian side of the mountain earlier this month, after a Syrian rebel offensive captured all the country's major cities and ousted former President Bashar al-Assad.

The Israeli move was condemned as a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement brokered by the United Nations after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

The agreement established a demilitarised buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the rest of Syria. Under the accord, Israel was required to withdraw from some areas of Syria it had occupied in 1967.

However, Netanyahu has dismissed the agreement, claiming it is no longer valid following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the country's takeover by rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Israel's recent actions have drawn sharp rebukes from the United Nations and several countries, which have called for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces.

UN special rapporteurs have condemned Israel’s escalating airstrikes in Syria, stating that these operations violate international law.

Israel is suspected of creating tensions between the Sunni and Druze communities in Syria. 

In recent days, Netanyahu visited a group of Druze leaders living in Israel, who have advocated for the annexation of Druze villages near the Golan Heights.

In the days following Assad’s ouster, Israeli ground forces advanced into the UN-patrolled demilitarized zone and beyond and seized all of Mount Hermon, which overlooks Syria and Lebanon. They also expelled the inhabitants of Syrian villages near the Golan Heights.

This marked the first open incursion into Syrian territory by Israeli troops in 50 years. Tel Aviv has described the occupation as a "temporary" measure.

The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights reported that Israeli troops advanced on Wednesday into the village of Sayda Al-Golan on the boundary between the Syrian provinces of Daraa and Al-Qunaitrah .

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed them in 1981, a move recognised only by the United States. 

The current escalation risks further destabilising the region, undermining international agreements and heightening tensions with Syria and Lebanon.