UNDOF claims the IDF’s construction of a barrier along the Alpha Line violates the ceasefire with Syria.
Yaakov Lappin
(JNS)
The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed that as part of its ongoing efforts, it is constructing new fortifications on the Golan Heights on the border with Syria. The activity has drawn criticism from the United Nations.
“Since the beginning of the war, the IDF has been working to protect the citizens of the State of Israel. Israeli and IDF officials maintain close contact with U.N. officials who are familiar with the threats in the region,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit told JNS on Nov. 13.
The military added that it is “working to establish a barrier on Israeli territory exclusively in order to thwart a possible terrorist invasion and protect the security of Israel’s borders.”
United Nations peacekeepers have harshly criticized the Israeli move.
On Nov. 12, the Associated Press reported that the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which has patrolled the area since 1974, warned that the Israeli military had committed “severe violations of a ceasefire deal with Syria due to its major construction project along the so-called Alpha Line.”
The report cited UNDOF as stating, “Violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement have occurred where engineering works have encroached into the AoS [Area of Separation].
“There have been several violations by [Israel] in the form of their presence in the AoS because of these activities,” it added.
UNDOF, a 1,100-strong force, claimed that “such severe violations of the [demilitarized zone] have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF.” The U.N. described the IDF’s activities as “extensive engineering groundwork activities” and “ditches.”
The AP also published high-resolution images taken on Nov. 5 by Planet Labs PBC, which it said showed more than 7.5 kilometers (4.6 miles) of construction along the Alpha Line, starting approximately 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) southeast of Majdal Shams.
UNDOF patrols a U.N. buffer zone. On its western boundary lies the Alpha Line, not to be crossed by Israeli forces, and on its eastern boundary lies the Bravo Line, not to be crossed by Syrian forces.
Concerns in Israel have grown in recent months over the possibility of a cross-border mass murder and kidnap attack launched by Iran-backed terrorist militias in southern Syria and targeting the Golan Heights.
Iran together with its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah have spent years attempting to set up terrorist bases in southern Syria. These efforts include activities by Hezbollah’s “Golan File,” whose mission is to build terrorist cells made up of locals in southern Syria and act as a proxy for Hezbollah, and by Hezbollah’s Syrian Southern Command, which is tasked with building an infrastructure for Hezbollah activities near the Israeli border.
According to assessments by the Alma Research and Education Center, which specializes in threats in the northern arena, the Southern Command has been working to allow Iranian proxy forces such as Shi’ite militias to join the war against Israel on command.
Topographical superiority
Lt. Col. (res.) Doron Avital, a former commander of the IDF’s elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal), told JNS on Sunday that Israel has traditionally benefited from strong lines of defense on the Golan Heights, in contrast to the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
“In Lebanon, for example, the enemy, in many locations, possesses topographical superiority,” Avital said, referring to the mountains and hills overlooking northern Israel, used by Hezbollah to rain down rockets and anti-tank missiles on Israeli communities and military bases.
In June, Israel sent a 71-page letter to the U.N. outlining what it described as “Syrian violations of the Alpha Line and armed presence in the area of separation [that] occur daily,” the AP noted.
On Nov. 13, the Israeli Air Force, guided by military intelligence, struck weapons transit routes in Syria used by Iran to funnel arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
According to international media reports, the strikes further degraded the capabilities of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, responsible for transferring weapons from Iran through Syria to Lebanon.
The Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization also maintains operational headquarters and bases in Syria. On Nov. 14, the IAF struck PIJ infrastructure sites and command centers in Damascus, inflicting significant damage to its command capabilities, according to the IDF.
At least two senior PIJ operatives were killed in the strike, according to media reports.
“Alongside Hamas, the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, directed by its leaders outside the Gaza Strip, participated in the murderous attack on October 7, [2023],” the military said, following its strike on PIJ in Damascus.
“The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization has been assisting Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, with the purpose of attacking Israel,” the IDF continued. “The terrorist organization is an additional Iranian proxy acting under the direct instruction of Iran. Moreover, the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization operates in Syria under the cover of the Syrian regime.”
Image: An Israeli soldier neutralizes roadside bombs found on the Israeli side of the Alpha Line in the southern Golan Heights, Nov. 17, 2020. Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Office.
