US backs Israel-Syria disengagement agreement as UN says Tel Aviv in violation

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The White House said Tuesday that it supports a milestone 1974 agreement between Syria and Israel that established the borders between the countries and a key buffer zone, a pact which the UN says Israel is in violation.

The Israeli army entered the buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights over the weekend on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby repeatedly deferred to official Israeli statements that the occupation is temporary.

"We certainly recognize that they live in a tough neighborhood and that they have, as always, the right to defend themselves. But I'm going to let them speak to what they're doing, the particulars of it" he said.

"There is, as you know, a 1974 disengagement agreement that that all parties have signed up to. We obviously still support that agreement, and we're in close touch with our Israeli counterparts," he added.

The 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria established the borders of the buffer zone and the demilitarized area between the nations.

The UN's special envoy for Syria said on Tuesday that Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights buffer zone following end of over five decades of Assad family rule is a violation of the agreement.

Asked by Anadolu about Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights buffer zone and reports of further incursions into Syrian territory, Geir Pedersen told a weekly press conference at the UN Geneva Office that the UN considers this a violation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement.

"The message from New York is the same, that what we're seeing is a violation of the disengagement agreement in 1974," he added.

The Israeli military has released visuals of soldiers and armored vehicles occupying the buffer zone in the Golan, and a photo circulating on social media showed troops holding an Israeli flag on Syrian territory.

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.

Amid the ongoing fallout in the wake of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ouster by anti-regime groups, Kirby said the Biden administration will continue to monitor the actions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but said "there are no discussions right now about changing" the group's terrorism designation.

"We've gotta watch and see what they actually do, and the degree to which they make good on their pledges. So we're just not at a point now where we can have a serious discussion about delisting anyone at this point," he said.​​​​​​​