UN says Israeli incursion into Syrian Golan Heights ‘violation of 1974 agreement’

United Nations, Dec 9 (EFE).- The United Nations on Monday confirmed that the Israeli army had entered the demilitarized zone of the Syrian Golan Heights and said that this «would constitute a violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement» between Israel and Syria, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news conference on Monday.

Dujarric told journalists that the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), a peacekeeping mission set up after the 1973 Yom Kippur War to monitor a buffer zone between the two countries, had informed him that «unidentified armed individuals» had been “manning checkpoints” in the area and that Israeli Defense Forces had “entered the area of separation” and remained “in at least three locations throughout the area of separation.”

“The peacekeepers at UNDOF informed the Israeli counterparts that these actions would constitute a violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement that there should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation,” Dujarric said, adding that this was also the position of Secretary-General António Guterres.

«Agreements should not be violated,» the spokesman reiterated.

The Israeli army confirmed Monday that it had seized the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, inside the demilitarized zone, following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the capture of Damascus by Syrian Islamist insurgents.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights in 1967 and annexed the area in 1981, a step not recognized by most of the international community.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, sent an urgent letter to the UN Security Council on Monday, saying that «armed groups» had entered the separation zone on Saturday and “temporarily took control of several UNDOF outposts (…) putting the safety and security of United Nations personnel at grave risk” and that the IDF had «assisted UN forces in repelling the attack.»

«In response to this evolving security threat and the danger posed by it to Israel – particularly to the residents of the Golan Heights – Israel has taken limited and temporary measures to counter any further threat to its citizens,» the ambassador added. EFE

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