WASHINGTON 

The UN Security Council on Monday extended the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for another six months and expressed concern that military activities by "any actor in the area of separation"​​​​​​​ could escalate tensions.

With the adoption of the resolution, the UNDOF mandate was extended until Dec. 31, 2025.

All 15 council members voted in favor of the resolution adopted on Monday, stressing the need for both Israel and Syria to fully comply with the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, which aims to maintain the ceasefire and stability in the region.

Expressing concern at all violations of the 1974 agreement, the resolution noted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s latest report on the situation in the area of operations of UNDOF, including findings about weapons fire across the ceasefire line as well as ongoing military activity on the Bravo side of the area of separation.

It underscored that there should be "no military forces, military equipment, or personnel in the area of separation other than those of UNDOF."  

Disengagement agreement

Signed on May 31, 1974, the agreement stipulates Israel’s withdrawal from all of the areas of Mount Hermon it had occupied during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War as well as an area of about 25 square kilometers (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 UNDOF, as it is tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria following the 1973 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 recognized by the international community.