A senior U.N. official warned Wednesday that Israel’s ongoing navy presence and airstrikes in Syria might jeopardize the nation’s fragile political transition.
Khaled Khiari, U.N. assistant secretary-general for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, instructed the U.N. Security Council that since Dec. 8 of final yr – marking the tip of Syria’s former Assad regime – there have been a whole bunch of reported Israeli airstrikes throughout Syria, together with within the southwest, alongside the Syrian coast, in northeastern Syria, and in Damascus, Hama and Homs.
Khiari highlighted Israeli officers’ indications of a long-term presence in Syria, stressing that such developments are troublesome to reverse and pose a risk to Syria’s political transition.
He pointed to current remarks from Israeli officers, together with an announcement by Israel’s protection minister on April 3, who described the airstrikes as “a warning for the future,” including that Israel would “not allow Syria to become a threat” to its safety.
He reaffirmed assist for Syria’s “sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity,” and warned: “This council’s commitment to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity grows in importance by the day.”
“Syria is at a crossroads and deserves a chance to continue to work toward an inclusive political transition,” Khiari mentioned, including that: “Syria’s opportunity to stabilize after 14 years of conflict must be supported and protected, for Syrians and for Israelis. This is the only way regional peace and security can be realized.”
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, U.N. under-secretary-general for peace operations, additionally raised considerations on the Security Council over Israeli exercise within the U.N.-monitored space.
Lacroix mentioned the Israeli military “currently occupies 12 positions that they established on the Bravo side – 10 in the area of separation and two in the area of limitation in the vicinity of the Bravo line.”
He added that Israel “continues to construct counter-mobility obstacles” and perform air exercise throughout the cease-fire line, whereas additionally proscribing the motion of U.N. personnel and residents within the space.
“It remains critical that all parties uphold their obligations under the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement,” he mentioned, stressing, “There should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation, other than those of UNDOF.”
The disengagement settlement established the borders of a buffer zone and demilitarized space. The “Bravo Line” refers back to the Syrian facet of the cease-fire line, and the “Alpha Line” refers back to the Israeli facet of the cease-fire line.
It is monitored by UNDOF, which is tasked with sustaining a cease-fire between Israel and Syria following the 1973 Middle East War.
In a transparent violation of Syrian sovereignty, Israel has intensified airstrikes throughout Syria in current days, concentrating on navy websites, following the Dec. 8 ouster of the Bashar Assad regime by anti-regime teams.
Israel additionally declared the collapse of the 1974 settlement, which had established a demilitarized buffer zone within the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli navy has since deployed forces into the buffer zone, a transfer condemned by the U.N. and a number of other Arab nations.
Source: www.dailysabah.com