Rivlin Tells Putin Israel Won’t Allow Hizbullah Presence in Syria’s Golan
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has told his Russian counterpart that the Jewish State would not allow Iran and Hizbullah to establish a foothold on the Syrian side of the occupied Golan Heights, Israeli media reported on Thursday.
The meeting between Rivlin and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday night came days after the Russian leader announced he would withdraw Russia's forces from Syria.
Hizbullah has sent its fighters to Syria to help President Bashar Assad’s troops against rebels seeking to topple him.
Tensions surged between Israel and Hizbullah late last year after the party accused Israel's air force of carrying out a raid that killed top operative Samir al-Quntar near Damascus.
Quntar had said that he had been working, with the backing of Hizbullah, to set up "the Syrian resistance" to liberate the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed 14 years later.
In January 2015, Hizbullah accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, which killed several party members and a prominent Iranian general.
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