Arab League slams Israeli incursion into Syrian buffer zone
Israeli soldiers can be seen during a military drill in Golan Heights on 1 May 2018 [Jaala Mareya/AFP/Getty Images]
The Arab League Council has slammed Israel’s incursion into the buffer zone with Syria and adjacent areas in Mount Hermon, Quneitra Governorate, and Rif Dimashq.
During an extraordinary session at the level of permanent delegates, the Council reiterated that the incursion violates the 1974 disengagement agreement between Syria and Israel, reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 350.
It stressed that the agreement remains valid despite the ongoing political changes in Syria.
Qatar’s delegation, led by Ambassador Tariq Ali Faraj al-Ansari, participated in the session, which sought to consolidate a unified Arab stance on the matter.
The Council condemned continued Israeli raids on Syrian civilian and military sites, reiterating that the Golan Heights is Syrian Arab territory and will remain so. It urged the international community to compel Israel, as an occupying power, to adhere to international resolutions, particularly Security Council Resolution 497 (1981), which demands Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan.
The Arab League tasked its New York-based Arab Group with initiating a special Security Council session to address Israeli practices threatening international peace and security, including the recent land seizures in the occupied Golan since December 8.
The Israeli army launched hundreds of airstrikes against Syrian military bases, air defense stations, intelligence headquarters, and long- and short-range missile depots and unconventional weapon stockpiles across the Arab countries.
Israel has destroyed Syrian naval vessels, sea-to-sea missiles, helicopters, and planes, including the entire fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets and stockpiles of ammunition, in attacks on at least five air bases.
The Israeli authority said it was destroying any means by which militant groups in Syria could attack Tel Aviv.
