Despite recent chaos along the Israeli-Syrian border, where the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force operates, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Dec. 20 to renew the peacekeeping mission’s mandate for six months.
The mission, which was established in 1974 after the Yom Kippur War and which includes more than 1,100 troops from 13 countries, operates in the Golan Heights, patrolling the “area of separation” demilitarized buffer zone on the Israel-Syria border.
Israeli troops entered the buffer zone in the hours after the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria in order, the Jewish state said, to ensure that terror groups and other hostile actors wouldn’t try to attack Israel from the Golan, a strategic, elevated position.
The Israeli military has ventured further into Syrian territory since then, pledging to stay on a limited, temporary basis until the Syrian government develops a more secure environment.
Following Assad’s exile, UNDOF forces came under fire. The Israel Defense Forces has said that it helped the U.N. mission repel the attack.
A U.N. spokesman told JNS that the global body has no information about Israeli cooperation that day.
UNDOF has complained since then of restrictions on its movement due, it said, to Israeli military presence.
The U.N. Security Council stated on Tuesday that it reiterates its support for UNDOF and the implementation of its mandate, calling for respect of the Disengagement Agreement and protection of peacekeepers and UNDOF infrastructure.
Israel seized a portion of the Golan Heights in 1973 and officially applied sovereignty in 1980. The international community does not accept that sovereignty, with the exception of the United States, which did so in 2019.
The buffer zone had remained quiet largely in the decades since UNDOF’s establishment, except during the Syrian Civil War, during which dozens of peacekeepers were kidnapped.
Following the 15-0 vote, UNDOF’s mandate now runs through June 30, 2025. The Security Council resolution that passed requests that António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, ensure that the mission have the capacity and resources to fulfil its mandate “in a safe and secure way.”
Maj. Gen. Anita Asmah, of Ghana, was named last week as UNDOF’s new head of mission and force commander. She was formerly a deputy force commander.
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, stated that “the State of Israel will continue to cooperate with the U.N. forces operating on the ground.”
“We will also continue to monitor developments in Syria,” Danon said.
Amar Bendjama, the Algerian envoy to the global body, said after the adoption of the resolution that “the actual presence of Israeli forces in the area is illegal and constitutes a flagrant violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement and relevant Security Council resolutions.”