The Israeli military closed a ski resort in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, on Saturday, due to concerns over what it calls possible threats from Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon and Syria, or Palestinian resistance movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Days of Palestine reported.
The closing of the Mount Hermon resort, which was the target of a previous missile attack, came after the Pentagon confirmed that US President Donald Trump had ordered the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
“Considering the situation, it was decided that the Hermon site would not be open to visitors today,” said the Israeli army in a tweet. “There are no additional guidelines for Golan residents, and the routine continues.”
Israel’s Defense Minister, Naftali Bennett, called for a situation assessment with the heads of the defence establishment at military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Greece was cut short, returning to Israel amid fears that Iran will exact revenge on the occupation state for America’s assassination of the Iranian general.
Netanyahu arrived in Athens on Thursday for a meeting with the leaders of Greece and Cyprus over the construction of a pipeline that would take Palestinian and Cypriot natural gas to Europe via Greece.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has condemned the US assassination of the senior Iranian military commander, as did Islamic Jihad.
Soleimani was killed in a US air strike in Iraq on Friday. In separate statements, both Palestinian factions put the instability in the region down to Washington’s unconditional support for the occupation state of Israel.
Image: PNN
Edited for IMEMC: Ali Salam
