Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said today during a visit to the Syrian side of Mount Hermon that the Israel Defense Forces will remain there indefinitely, the Times of Israel reported.

“The Israel Defense Forces will remain on top of Mount Hermon and in the security zone for an indefinite period of time to ensure the security of the communities in the Golan Heights and the north, as well as all the residents of Israel,” Katz said, apparently referring to the buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border that Israel seized after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad last month.

“We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria ... we will act against any threat,” he said.

Katz said Israel will reach out to “friendly populations” in southern Syria, “with a special focus on the large Druze community, which has historical and close family relations with our Druze brothers in Israel.”

According to his office, the defense minister visited the army post atop Mount Hermon, where he conducted an assessment with senior officers and spoke with soldiers.

Israel has previously described its seizure of the buffer zone as “a temporary measure aimed at preventing hostile forces from taking advantage of the power vacuum in Syria to infiltrate the strategic zone and threaten Israeli territory.”