Pictured Above: The Syrian side of the Golan Heights. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

(JNS.org) Israel is reportedly pushing Russia and the U.S. to establish a buffer zone in southern Syria where the terror group Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed militias will not be allowed to operate.

According to a report in the London Times, Israel is seeking a buffer zone that would extend more than 30 miles east of the Golan Heights, including the Syrian city of Deraa, which is the subject of current Russia-U.S. talks in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

Last month, it was reported that Israel has been supplying Syrian rebel groups in the Golan Heights with money and weapons for the past few years as it tries to block Iran, Hezbollah and Islamic State from gaining ground near the Israeli border. Israel has also provided humanitarian aid to these Syrian rebel groups and has allowed their wounded members into the Jewish state for treatment. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to Israel Alexey Drobinin told Israel Hayom that Israel “can fully count on Russia for its interests to be factored into any future security, political and diplomatic agreements relating to Syria.”

“In the fight against terrorism,” he said, “[Russia] and Israel are in the same boat.”

In a separate report last week, it was also noted that Russia was in negotiations with Israel and Jordan to create safe zones in southern Syria that would shield the Jewish state from Iranian influence. 

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