UN calls for peace, sovereignty in occupied Syrian Golan in face of Israeli incursions

ISTANBUL

The UN chief on Friday renewed his call for peace and adherence to international norms in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights in the face of Israel’s incursions.

"In the occupied Syrian Golan, there should be no military forces in the area of separation other than UN peacekeepers – period," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on X, tacitly referring to Israel’s recent actions.

He added: "Syria’s sovereignty, territorial unity, and integrity must be fully restored, and all acts of aggression must come to an immediate end."

Israel has recently intensified airstrikes across Syria, targeting military sites in the wake of the Dec. 8 fall of the Assad regime, attacks widely regarded as violations of Syrian sovereignty.

Additionally, the Israeli government declared the collapse of a 1974 accord that had established a demilitarized buffer zone in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

In a contentious move, with the Assad regime’s fall, Israeli forces entered the buffer zone, drawing condemnation from the UN and Arab and other nations.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government unanimously approved a plan to expand settlement activity in the occupied Golan Heights. The initiative has drawn international criticism.

The Golan Heights, internationally recognized as Syrian territory, has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Middle East war.