“France calls on Israel to withdraw” from the buffer zone and to “respect Syrian sovereignty”

AA / Paris / Ümit Dönmez

France on Wednesday called on Israel to “withdraw” from the Golan Heights buffer zone, as well as to “respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria”.

“As the United Nations has indicated, any military deployment in the separation zone between Israel and Syria constitutes a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement, which must be respected by its signatories, Israel and Syria. Syria,” the Quai d’Orsay said in a statement.

The statement comes as the Israeli army has intensified its strikes in Syria and breached the boundaries of the UN-controlled Golan buffer zone. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reaffirmed its support for the mission of the Blue Helmets in this sensitive area: “France renews its full support for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan, whose security must be preserved. »

As a reminder, the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, signed between Israel and Syria under the aegis of the United Nations, aims to put an end to the hostilities which followed the Yom Kippur War of 1973. It established a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights, monitored by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). This agreement prohibits any military deployment in this area and requires both parties to scrupulously respect its terms to prevent an escalation of tensions.

This positioning takes place in a context marked by the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, forced to flee the country after the capture of Damascus by armed opponents. Israel, for its part, has strengthened its military positions in the region, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has affirmed that the part of the Golan annexed by Israel “belongs to his country for eternity. »

In this context, France insists on the need to respect international commitments. “Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected,” stressed the Quai d’Orsay, in response to a question from a journalist.

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