Syria Urges UN to Demand Israeli Withdrawal

Syria’s interim government has called on the U.N. Security Council to demand Israel cease its attacks on Syrian territory and withdraw from areas it has entered in the north, violating a 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

In letters to the council and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Koussay Aldahhak made these demands on behalf of the interim government. These letters, dated December 9, come shortly after rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad, ending his family’s more than five-decade rule.

The letters highlight Syria’s transition to a phase of seeking freedom, equality, and rule of law. Despite these aspirations, Israel has expanded its presence in Mount Hermon and Quneitra Governorate. Israel continues to control the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. The 1974 Disengagement Agreement established a demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria, monitored by the U.N. peacekeeping force, UNDOF.

In a letter to the Security Council also dated December 9, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon justified Israel’s limited and temporary measures, including deploying troops in the separation area to prevent armed threats against Israeli territory.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that eliminating the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), remains Turkey’s strategic goal. Fidan called for non-Syrian YPG members to leave Syria and for remaining members to disarm. The YPG is aligned with the U.S. in combating the Islamic State but is viewed by Turkey as a terrorist organization.

On Friday, Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple sites across Syria, including Mount Qasioun in Damascus, Khalkhala Airport in Sweida, and Defense and Research Laboratories in Masyaf, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The strikes, part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to neutralize potential threats following Assad’s ouster, also targeted six military sites in Damascus and Sweida earlier that day.

Following Assad’s fall, Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes on Syrian military sites, including weapon production facilities and airfields, and has moved troops to occupy a buffer zone in the Golan Heights.

Russian military forces have begun withdrawing from southern Syria towards their primary base in Latakia. This movement raises questions about Russia’s ability to project power in the Middle East post-Assad. Russian convoys, including tanks and armored personnel carriers, were seen heading north on the Damascus-Homs highway. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Russian forces were also leaving bases in Ain Issa and Tel Al-Samn in the Al-Raqqah countryside.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed cargo planes at a Russian military airfield in Syria being prepared to transport heavy equipment, while helicopters were being dismantled. Earlier in the week, all Russian naval ships departed from the Syrian port of Tartus, according to a U.S. official.