ISRAEL – Ready for UN crossing with Syria to re-open

World

Israel says it is prepared to open its side of the crossing point with Syria following the return of the UN peacekeepers to the Golan Heights after four years, the army said Saturday. Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman “authorised the re-opening of the Alpha gate of the Quneitra Crossing between Israel and Syria, allowing the UN to resume activity via the crossing pending Syria’s reopening their side,” it said.

The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) resumed its patrols in the area of the crossing point in August, after withdrawing in 2014 when Al-Qaeda-linked rebels overran the area, three years into Syria’s devastating civil war.

This was made possible after the Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, recaptured territory near the Golan Heights, driving out rebel groups from a “de-escalation zone” agreed by Jordan, Russia and the United States.

Quneitra crossing is “an operational crossing for UNDOF in the implementation of its mandate,” according to Nick Birnback, a spokesman for UN Peacekeeping in New York. UNDOF, which was established in 1974, monitors a ceasefire line separating Israeli-occupied parts of the Golan Heights from Syria.

The Quneitra crossing served as a portal for Druze living on the Israeli side who wished to travel to Syria for higher education or weddings. Druze farmers also exported apples to Syria through Quneitra.

Lieberman said, at a tour of the Israeli side of the crossing on Thursday, that once Quneitra was open, authorities would have to consider the crossing’s use in relation to the security situation.

 

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