The Israel Defense Forces announced deploying military forces on Sunday “to ensure the safety of the communities of the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel” after Syrian troops abandoned their posts.

“Together with the defense minister, and with full backing from the cabinet, I directed the IDF yesterday to take control of the buffer zone and the dominant positions near it,” Netanyahu said during his visit to the Golan Heights.

“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” he added.

The IDF said that they are “not interfering with the internal events in Syria.”

This is the first time Israeli troops are being stationed in the buffer zone since the 1974 agreement that established the line of control between the two nations despite them entering the no-man’s land for some time.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 before annexing it in 1981.

However, except for the United States, most international powers consider it as occupied Syrian territory.

Netanyahu said that the toppling of Assad’s regime was a “direct result” of Israel’s military campaign against Iran and the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, which were chief backers of Assad.

“This is a historic day in the history of the Middle East,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel is “pursuing a policy of good neighborliness.”