November 24, 2000
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday recommended renewing the mandate of the UN observer force on the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights for six months. In a report to the Security Council, Annan said that despite prevailing calm on the Golan, the force would have to remain as the area remained a flashpoint.
"Despite the present quiet in the Israel-Syria sector, the situation in the Middle East continues to be potentially dangerous and is likely to remain so unless and until a comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the Middle East problem can be reached," he wrote. "Under the prevailing circumstances, I consider the continued presence of UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Force) in the area to be essential."
The current mandate of the force is due to expire on November 30, while its new deployment would run until the end of May 2001.
UNDOF was set up on the Golan Heights in May 1974, seven years after Israel overran the territory during the 1967 six-day war. Israel annexed the plateau in 1981. Dispute over the exact outline of the Israeli-Syrian border across the Golan Heights has been the principal obstacle in negotiations between the two nations, in peace talks that have been stalled since January.
One of the longest-standing UN peacekeeping operations, UNDOF comprises 1,053 troops, based along a strip of land running up to the border of southern Lebanon. The force is made up of Austrians, Poles, Canadians, Slovakians and Japanese.
