Anadolu Agency
Middle East Monitor / December 10, 2024
Israel has expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights this week by seizing a UN-supervised demilitarised buffer zone, hours after the downfall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime.
Assad fled Syria to Russia where he was given asylum after anti-regime groups captured the capital, Damascus, on Sunday, putting an end to the rule of the Baath Party, which had been in power since 1963.
Shortly afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the collapse of a UN-monitored disengagement agreement, which established a buffer zone between Israel and Syria.
The Israeli army took control of the mountain summit of Mount Hermon on the Syrian side of the border, and several other locations.
The army also mounted dozens of air strikes against military bases, air defence stations and intelligence headquarters as well as long- and short-range missile depots, unconventional weapon stockpiles across Syria.
Israel claims that its military actions inside Syrian territory are defensive “to prevent any threat”.
What is the Disengagement Agreement ?
The Disengagement Agreement was signed on 31 May, 1974 between Syria and Israel in the presence of representatives of the United Nations, the former Soviet Union (Russia now) and the US.
The Agreement stipulates Israel’s withdrawal from all of the areas it had occupied during the 1973 war as well as an area of about 25 square kilometres (9.6 square miles) that included Quneitra and other locations.
The Agreement defines the current border between Israel and Syria along with the accompanying military arrangements, creating two separation lines – Israeli (blue) and Syrian (red) – with a buffer zone between them.
The Agreement is monitored by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), as it is tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria following the 1973 Middle East War.
Since 1974, UNDOF has patrolled the buffer zone between the Israeli- and Syrian-controlled zones.
Israel occupied most of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed the territory in a move never recognised by the international community.
What is UNDOF ?
According to the UNDOF website, as of August 2024, its personnel number was 1,309 members, comprising 1,117 soldiers, 59 officers and 133 civilian officers.
The top 10 contributing countries to the UNDOF force are: Nepal (451), Uruguay (211), India (201), Fiji (149), Kazakhstan (140), Ghana (5), Bhutan (4), the Czech Republic (4), Ireland (4) and Zambia (3).
What is the buffer zone ?
According to the UNDOF website, the buffer zone “extends over 75 kilometres in length and ranges in width, from approximately 10 kilometres in the centre to 200 meters in the far south.”
The website also explains that, on either side of the buffer zone, there are boundary areas divided into three zones: an area from 0 to 10 kilometres from the buffer zone, an area from 10 to 20 kilometres, and an area from 20 to 25 kilometres from the buffer zone.
The UNDOF forces are assigned with the task of inspections and monitoring the buffer zone to ensure compliance with the agreed-upon restrictions on weapons and forces.
Does the buffer zone include Syrian villages ?
There are several Syrian villages in the buffer zone area between Israel and Syria, according to the UNDOF website.
On Sunday, the Israeli army warned residents of five villages in southern Syria close to the Israeli border to remain in their homes due to their military actions in the area.
The list of villages includes Ofaniya, Quneitra, Al-Hamidiyah, Samdaniya al-Gharbiyya and Al-Qahtaniyah.
Who are Golan Heights residents ?
On 5 June, 1967, Israel occupied the Syrian Golan Heights and later annexed it to Israel’s sovereignty, in a move never recognised by the international community.
In December 1981, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed legislation known as the Golan Heights Law that allows the imposition of Israeli laws, jurisdiction and administration to the occupied territory.
There are currently some 45 Jewish settlements in the Golan Heights built on the ruins of Arab Syrian villages destroyed by Israel.
According to the Syrian Foreign Ministry, the remaining area under the Israeli occupation is estimated at 1,150 square kilometres and includes 137 villages and 112 farms.
On 25 March, 2019, then-US President Donald Trump signed a decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.
The population of the occupied Golan Heights are estimated at around 40,000 people, most of them are from the Arab Druze community while the rest are Jewish settlers.
What is the importance of the Golan Heights ?
The Golan Heights is of strategic importance to Israel due to its geographic location, in addition to the Tiberias Lake, which is considered a main water source to Israel, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
An Israeli think-tank also refers to the military defensive privileges and advantages the Golan Heights offer to Israel as it also enhances Israel’s military deterrence force in the region.
In a report titled “Israel’s Presence on the Golan Heights: A Strategic Necessity”, the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security said “Mount Hermon marks the northern end of the Heights. The mountain provides excellent means to observe the entire region, up to Damascus, only some 60 kilometres away to the east, and over to the Haifa Bay on the Mediterranean to the west.”
“Militarily, withdrawal from the Golan Heights would be a huge mistake. Control of this area gives Israel several important advantages,” the Israeli think-tank said.
