U.N. chief says Israel should leave positions it has occupied inside Syrian border

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on Israel to withdraw its forces from the expanded buffer zone along the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel, saying only international peacekeeping troops should be based in the “Area of Separation” following the swift collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in Damascus earlier this month.

He said the UN peacekeeping mission in the occupied Syrian Golan continues to observe Israel Defense Forces troops and military equipment in several locations in the demilitarized zone.

“Let me be clear. There should be no military forces in the Area of Separation other than U.N. peacekeepers — period. Those peacekeepers must have freedom of movement to undertake their important work,” Mr. Guterres told reporters. “Syria’s sovereignty, territorial unity, and integrity must be fully restored, and all acts of aggression must come to an immediate end.”

IDF troops moved into positions formerly occupied by the Syrian army before they abandoned their mission following the fall of Damascus. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week said his forces would remain there “for the foreseeable future” as Syria’s new leaders struggle to assert their authority.

On Tuesday he was briefed by top IDF commanders at the summit of Mount Hermon, a mountain peak between Syria and Lebanon. 

“We are holding this assessment in order to decide on the deployment of the IDF in this important place until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

The prime minister noted that he had been at that same location more than 50 years ago as a commander in the IDF’s elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, known as Sayeret Matkal. It is the Israeli equivalent of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force.

“The place has not changed. It is the same place, but its importance for the security of Israel has only been underscored in recent years, and especially in recent weeks with the dramatic events that have occurred below us in Syria,” he said. “We will determine the best arrangement that will ensure our security.”

On Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesman said any movement of IDF forces into the buffer zone along the Syrian border should be temporary with all sides abiding by the 1974 disengagement agreement.