Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria will not influence his country’s determination to “act against Iran’s attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria.” Netanyahu was speaking in Jerusalem on Sunday, December 23, Al-Masdar News reports.

“The decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria will not change our consistent policy: We will continue to act against Iran’s attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria, and to the extent necessary, we will even expand our actions there,” said the Israeli leader.

“Our cooperation with the U.S. will continue in full and finds expression in many areas: Operations, intelligence and many other security spheres. On the Lebanese border, Operation Northern Shield is proceeding as planned,” he added.

On December 20, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of roughly 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, in what is seen an abrupt shift of U.S. Middle East policy.