UN condemns Israel for violating 1974 Syria truce deal after seizing 'buffer zone'

The United Nations has denounced Israel for violating a 50-year-old ceasefire agreement with Syria after Israeli troops captured a buffer zone, as the occupying regime continues its efforts to claim more Syrian territory following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Israeli military forces captured the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights hours after Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group took control of the Syrian capital of Damascus on December 8, unseating the Syrian government.

Israel has already been widely and vehemently condemned over termination of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria, and exploiting the chaos in the Arab nation in the wake of Assad’s downfall to make a land grab.

“The presence of” the Israeli military forces “in the buffer zone is a violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement,” said UN secretary-general's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday, stressing that the agreement “needs to be respected, and occupation is occupation — whether it lasts a week, a month or a year, it remains occupation.”

His comments came after Tel Aviv claimed in a message to the UN Security Council that it had taken “limited and temporary measures” in a demilitarized strip on the border in Syrian territory, alleging that the step was taken to “counter any threats” to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The buffer zone in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was created by the United Nations after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.  A UN force of about 1,100 troops – the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) - had patrolled the area since then.

Israeli troops occupied the summit of Jabal al-Shaykh which provides an observation point for areas in Syria and Lebanon. It rises to 9,232 feet (2,814 meters) and is the highest point on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

The regime’s troops have advanced beyond the so-called buffer zone toward Damascus, while the regime's warplanes have conducted hundreds of aerial assaults on Syria.

They also entered the town of al-Hurriya in Quneitra province on Thursday. Local sources said Israeli forces also carried out a forced evacuation of the residents of the village of Rasem al-Ruwadi in the region. 

Netanyahu says Israeli troops will remain in Syrian territory until ‘another arrangement’

Netanyahu says Israeli forces will remain inside the occupied Syrian Golan Heights until another arrangement is found that will ensure the usurping entity’s security.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday urged all parties to fully comply with the 1974 Disengagement Agreement regarding the "area of separation" in Syria, calling for calm and a de-escalation of tensions.

In a press statement, the Council members also emphasized their unwavering support for Syria's sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity.

Since the downfall of Assad, Israel has wiped out Syrian naval vessels, sea-to-sea missiles, helicopters and planes, including the entire fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets, and stockpiles of ammunition in attacks on at least five air bases.

The Israeli army occupied the Syrian Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel refused to withdraw its forces or return the territory amid demands by the UN Security Council Resolution 242.

The Tel Aviv regime has already set up about three dozen Jewish settlements in the occupied Golan over the past years.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk