At the State Department, Matthew Miller reportedly defended the Israeli incursion into Syrian territory, echoing Netanyahu’s claim that it was an act of self-defense. “Every country has the right to take action against terrorist organizations, and every country, I think, would be worried about a possible vacuum that could be filled by terrorist organizations, especially in volatile times as we obviously are in right now in Syria,” he said.
Russia, however, sees contradictory statements coming out of Israel regarding the Golan Heights and does not understand what part of this territory Israel considers its integral part. “We hear conflicting messages coming from Israel. … Then, the Israeli Ambassador sent a letter saying that this is a temporary decision, given the vacuum there. And then, Netanyahu at the press conference again said that the Golan Heights are an integral part of Israel. But, now we don’t know what part of the Golan Heights he considers to be an integral part of Israel, with them [Israeli armed forces] violating the buffer zone,” Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told reporters on Dec. 9.
