Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the ousting of Syria's Bashar alAssad on Sunday (December 8) as a "historic day" that followed the blows delivered by Israel against Assad's supporters Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

On a visit to an observation point in the Israelicontrolled Golan Heights overseeing Syria, Netanyahu said he had ordered Israeli forces to seize areas in the U.N.monitored buffer zone with Syria to ensure Israel's security and said: "We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border."

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz who accompanied Netanyahu said the Israeli military deployed forces in the buffer zone "to ensure the protection of all Israeli communities."

The visit came hours after Syrian rebels declared they had ousted President Bashar alAssad after seizing control of Damascus, forcing him to flee and ending his family's decades of autocratic rule after more than 13 years of civil war.

The Islamist rebels also dealt a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in Syria in the heart of the region.

(Production: Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh)

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