JERUSALEM

U.S. President Donald Trump intends to withdraw thousands of American troops from Syria, according to Israeli media on Tuesday.

Israel’s official public broadcasting Kan reported that “senior White House officials conveyed a message to their Israeli counterparts indicating that President Trump intends to pull thousands of U.S. troops from Syria.”

It added that “the withdrawal of American forces from Syria will raise significant concerns in Tel Aviv”.

According to a Pentagon announcement in December, the U.S. has some 2,000 troops deployed in Syria.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who visited the occupied Mount Hermon in Syria on Tuesday, emphasizing Israel’s intent to maintain a military presence there indefinitely following its occupation last month.

“We will not allow hostile forces to establish a foothold in the security zone south of Syria, from here to the Sweida-Damascus axis. We will act against any threat,” said Katz.

In December, taking advantage of Syrian factions toppling Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Israel expanded its occupation in the Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized zone in Mount Hermon.

On December 8, Israeli forces launched extensive airstrikes across Syria, destroying military sites, weaponry, and infrastructure, a violation of Syrian sovereignty that drew international condemnation.

Furthermore, Israel declared the collapse of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement with Syria, deploying its military in the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights, most of which it has occupied since 1967. This move has faced criticism from the U.N. and Arab states.

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