from Daily Sabah
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday that Israel is determined to maintain troops in so-called "security zones" carved out in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Katz's office said the two men spoke overnight and the minister "emphasised Israel's determination to remain in the security zones in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon in order to protect Israel's borders and the communities near the border from the threats ..."
"We have never asked the United States to act in our place along our borders," Katz said.
His comments come days after U.S. President Donald Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull Israeli forces out of Syria and Lebanon, according to U.S. news outlet Axios.
Citing a U.S. official, Axios reported that Trump told Netanyahu the Israeli deployment was fueling tensions in Syria.
"They don't want you there. You should redeploy," Trump told him, according to Axios.
After the December 2024 overthrow of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, Israel sent troops into a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights...
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