Israel moves into occupied Golan Heights buffer zone with Syria

Israel has moved tanks into a buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights along its border with Syria after a lightning advance by Syrian opposition forces ended Bashar al Assad's regime.

"Together with the Defence Minister, and with full backing from the Cabinet, I directed the IDF yesterday to take control of the buffer zone and the dominant positions near it," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the Golan Heights.

"We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border."

This marks the first deployment of Israeli troops in the buffer zone since a 1974 agreement established it as a line of control between Israel and Syria.

Although Israeli forces have entered the zone briefly in the past, it has largely been patrolled by United Nations peacekeepers. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and annexed it in 1981, a move not internationally recognised.

Netanyahu said the 1974 agreement collapsed with the fall of the Assad regime and abandoning of his troops, necessitating the Israeli takeover.