Yemen’s foreign ministry condemns Netanyahu’s entry into Mount Hermon area of Syria
Yemen Herald News 
ADEN, Yemen — Yemen’s foreign ministry condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s entry into the Mount Hermon area of Syria, calling it a violation of Syrian sovereignty.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates described the visit as a provocative escalation that threatens security and stability across the region.
Netanyahu toured the Israeli-held section of Mount Hermon on Wednesday, accompanied by Defence Minister Israel Katz.
The ministry said Yemen categorically rejects what it called continued Israeli violations of Syrian territory.
It said the occupation of parts of Syrian land, together with military movements and unilateral measures, breaches international law and relevant international resolutions.
The ministry said those steps undermine obligations under the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Syria and Israel.
It reaffirmed what it called Yemen’s firm support for Syria and for the Syrian people’s right to preserve their sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity.
The account of the Yemeni statement rests on Saba, the state news agency of Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Yemen Herald found no independent publication of the ministry’s full text and no second origin for it.
The visit itself was widely reported. Anadolu Agency distributed photographs issued by the Israeli prime minister’s office showing Netanyahu with troops in the area on Sept. 9.
In a video filmed during the tour, Netanyahu wore a bulletproof vest and said he was standing at the summit on the eve of the Jewish New Year, pointing toward Damascus, Lebanon and the Syrian Golan Heights.
He said Israel had established control over the area stretching from Mount Hermon toward the Yarmouk River. He said Israel would not allow what he called terrorist forces to establish a presence near its borders.
Katz said in a separate video that Israeli forces would stay. “We are here on Mount Hermon, and we will not move from here,” he said.
Netanyahu also said during the southern Syria visit that Israel was close to achieving its goals against Iran.
Some observers linked the timing to Israel’s Knesset elections, scheduled for Oct. 27.
Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the entry on Wednesday as a provocative move and a violation of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law.
Jordan’s foreign ministry called it a breach of international law.
Kuwait’s foreign ministry condemned what it termed the illegal entry and demanded that the Security Council stop the attacks and ensure Israeli compliance with international resolutions. It stressed the 1974 agreement.
Qatar condemned the entry and the crossing of international borders, and urged the international community to compel compliance with the same agreement.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said Israel should halt its actions against Syrian territory and comply with the 1974 accord.
Egypt’s foreign ministry rejected what it described as repeated Israeli incursions and warned that continued escalation could fuel tensions.
Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981. The annexation is not recognised internationally.
The 1974 agreement followed the previous year’s war and established a separation zone on the Golan monitored by a United Nations observer force.
Israeli troops moved into the United Nations-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan in December 2024, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, and took positions on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.
Israel described that deployment at the time as a temporary measure taken for border security. Damascus has rejected the account and has repeatedly demanded a withdrawal.
The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, known as UNDOF, has monitored the separation zone since 1974.
The 1974 accord was the common legal reference across the Arab statements issued on Thursday. Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt each named it.
Mount Hermon straddles the boundary between Syria, Lebanon and the occupied Golan. Its summit overlooks the approaches to Damascus.
Yemen has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
Its foreign ministry operates from Aden, the seat of the internationally recognised government, and from the Saudi capital, where several ministers and members of the Presidential Leadership Council are based.
The statement was issued while Yemen’s own conflict escalated.
Houthi forces struck targets inside Saudi Arabia on Sept. 8, wounding more than 70 people and setting fires at oil and utility sites in Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait, Saudi officials said. The Security Council met on Yemen this week.
The Houthi administration in Sanaa, which controls the capital and much of the north, issues foreign policy statements separately from the Aden government. It has not published a position on the Mount Hermon visit that Yemen Herald could locate.
Yemen’s ministry has issued several statements on Israeli conduct in recent weeks. On Sept. 7 it condemned calls by Israeli ministers to expel Palestinians from Gaza.
The ministry did not say whether it would raise the Mount Hermon visit at the Arab League or at the Security Council.
Kuwait was the only one of those governments to ask the Security Council directly to act. Qatar addressed its appeal to the international community.
Syria’s condemnation was carried by SANA, the Syrian state news agency, which also reported the Qatari and Yemeni statements.
Yemen’s foreign minister is Afrah al-Zouba, who was in Riyadh this week for meetings on Red Sea security.
The ministry statement named no Israeli official other than Netanyahu.
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