Author: Tom Nicholson, Robbie Gramer

Israel’s military entered a demilitarized buffer zone in the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday aiming to head off any threat from the insurgency that has toppled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated. “We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” Netanyahu said. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the main Syrian armed opposition group under the command of Abu Mohammad Jolani — who has family roots in the Golan Heights — overran Damascus early Sunday as Assad fled to Russia. HTS emerged from a former al-Qaida affiliate, and while Jolani has distanced himself from…