UN force says Israeli work on Syrian frontier ‘severe violation’ of 1974 ceasefire deal
UN Disengagement Observer Force responds to AP report showing Israeli defensive construction along Golan Heights border, says ‘violations’ have potential to raise tensions
United Nations peacekeepers warned Tuesday that the Israeli military has committed “severe violations” of a ceasefire deal with Syria as its military continues a major construction project along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Golan Heights from Syria.
The comments from the UN Disengagement Observer Force, which has patrolled the area since 1974, come after an Associated Press report Monday that published satellite imagery showing the extent of the works along the frontier.
The construction, which Israel has not acknowledged, appears to include laying asphalt for a road right along the frontier, and may be intended to create a “buffer zone” to prevent attacks. UNDOF says the work began in July, and earlier satellite photos indicate that it began in earnest in late September.
Syria, which has officially been at war with Israel since its founding in 1948 and relies on Iran for support, has also remained silent regarding the construction.
While major violence hasn’t broken out along the Alpha Line, UNDOF warned the work risked further inflaming tensions in the region.
“Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and are being closely monitored by UNDOF,” it added.
High-resolution images taken on November 5 by Planet Labs PBC for The AP show over 7.5 kilometers (4.6 miles) of construction along the Alpha Line, starting some 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) southeast of the Israeli town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, where a July rocket strike by Hezbollah killed 12 children playing soccer.
As Israel conducted the construction work, which UNDOF described as “extensive engineering groundwork activities,” it has protected earth-moving equipment with armored vehicles and main battle tanks, the peacekeepers said Tuesday.
Troops and earth-moving equipment have apparently crossed the Alpha Line into the demilitarized zone in Syria, known to UNDOF as the “area of separation.”
“Violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement have occurred where engineering works have encroached into the AOS,” the peacekeepers said in a statement, using an acronym for the area. “There have been several violations by (Israel) in the form of their presence in the AOS because of these activities.”
UNDOF has repeatedly protested the work, which it described as violating the cease-fire deal over the months of construction so far.
“Based on the engagement, (Israel) has indicated that the current earthworks are being carried out for defensive purposes to prevent unauthorized crossing and violations by civilians,” the peacekeepers added.
Israel sent a 71-page letter in June to the UN outlining what it described as “Syrian violations of the Alpha Line and armed presence in the area of separation (that) occur daily.” The letter cited numerous Israeli-alleged violations by Syrian civilians crossing the line.
Israel has worked to create buffer zones on other fronts of the ongoing war, including a one kilometer (0.6 mile) area along the border of the Gaza Strip, from which the Hamas terror group launched its October 7, 2023 attack against Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel is also battling the Hezbollah terror group in a southern Lebanon ground offensive, to push the Iranian proxy away from the Israeli border.
Since the year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in September, the IDF has also ramped up strikes on Syria, targeting Hezbollah posts, weapons caches and Iranian targets, as well as crossing points that the military says are used by Hezbollah to smuggle arms.
Since October 8 of last year, the day after Hamas’s devastating massacre, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the northern border on a near-daily basis in solidarity with the Gaza terror group.
The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 40 civilians. In addition, 61 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September. Two soldiers were killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have been several attacks from Syria, as well, without injuries.
The Lebanese health ministry says the country’s death toll in the war has surpassed 3,000. The figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The IDF estimates that some 3,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups have also been reported killed in Lebanon.
