Free Republic

Behind the decision to conquer the Syrian Hermon - and the "Ring of Fire Vision" that collapsed. The decision to occupy the Syrian side of Mount Hermon was made unanimously by the cabinet • The ministers met, understood that the Assad regime had collapsed, and the IDF began to act • Senior figures in the defense establishment said: "Qassem Soleimani's vision of a ring of fire is collapsing. As soon as Iran's main smuggling route to Lebanon collapses, Hezbollah will be dramatically weakened" • In the months before Assad's fall: The defense establishment worked with the US and the UAE...

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday declared the 1974 agreement creating a UN-patrolled buffer zone between Israel and Syria null and void. In the wake of the fall of the al-Assad regime and the disappearance of Bashar al-Assad, Netanyahu ordered the IDF into the buffer zone. In particular, the IDF took possession of the 9,232-foot Mount Hermon, the highest point in Israel-Lebanon-Syria-Jordan.Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that the IDF has seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied and Syrian-controlled Golan Heights.Netanyahu said a 1974 agreement that established the zone of separation between the two...

Following years of drought, snow storms battered Mt. Hermon this year dropping meters of white stuff to the delight of Israeli skiers and visiting children. The heavy snowfall this year resulted in an avalanche two weeks ago, the first such incident that the resort has witnessed. The Mt. Hermon Ski School reports that there is still plenty of snow remaining for both the avid Passover skier and the many non skiing visitors who cherish a sleigh ride, a friendly snow ball fight or just a relaxing glass of wine overlooking the green Golan Heights.

February 26, 2003 Fierce Winter in IDF Northern Command Israel is bracing itself for another heavy coldfront which left Jerusalem and the Golan covered in snow. The IDF Northern Command anticipated such a storm and prepared accordingly. "We have a fierce winter this year in the Northern Command, but the soldiers are feeling good, we are taking care of them and they feel it," said the Chief Maintenance Officer in the Northern Command, Colonel Nissim Peretz in an interview given to the IDF website. Colonel Peretz also added that the Northern Command and the various IDF posts were prepared for...