UNDOF (Golan)
Expected Council Action
In October, Council members will hold their quarterly consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan. Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Mohamed Khaled Khiari is expected to brief on the Secretary-General’s latest 90-day report on UNDOF and the most recent developments.
Background and Key Recent Developments
UNDOF was established following the conclusion of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement (the 1974 agreement) between Israel and Syria, which ended the Yom Kippur War. Its mandate is to maintain the ceasefire between the parties and supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces, as well as the areas of separation (a demilitarised buffer zone) and limitation (where Israeli and Syrian troops and equipment are restricted) in the Golan.
Israel continues to maintain a presence in the area of separation—which it expanded into following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria in December 2024—and from where it also routinely conducts incursions across the ceasefire line, in violation of the 1974 agreement.
Israel has cited national security concerns as the basis for its continued violations and has said that it will occupy the territory indefinitely to ensure the demilitarisation of the buffer zone and mitigation of threats from southern Syria. Additionally, since July 2025 Israel has said that some of its operations have been aimed at protecting the Druze community in Syria’s southern Suweida governorate from intercommunal violence.
On 9 September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a military position on Mount Hermon, inside Syrian territory, accompanied by Defence Minister Israel Katz and senior military officials. Netanyahu said that Israel had established “absolute control” over the area stretching from the mountain’s summit south to the Yarmouk River and west to the Mediterranean Sea, while Katz indicated that Israeli forces would remain there, calling the area a “security zone”. Speaking at the Council’s monthly meeting on Syria on 17 September, Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN Danny Danon said that the “security zone” was established to protect Syria from terrorist groups and an “October 7th-style cross-border attack from Syrian territory”. He also argued that Israel would not allow external actors—specifically mentioning Türkiye—to establish a military presence in Syria from which Israel could be threatened.
Under its interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to the 1974 agreement, and despite strongly condemning Israeli attacks, it has not retaliated militarily. In his 23 September statement at the UN General Assembly, Sharaa called on Israel to withdraw from Syrian territory to the lines of 8 December 2024, and reaffirmed Damascus’ position that the Golan remains Syrian territory and its commitment to the 1974 agreement. He said that Israel has conducted “500 airstrikes, more than 1,200 incursions, and 300 detentions” since his government took power. On 11 September, Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi (Syria) was joined by representatives of a number of regional organisations and member states—including Council members Bahrain, China, Denmark, France, Pakistan, Russia, and Somalia—in a press stakeout reacting to Netanyahu’s visit to Mount Hermon and warning that such escalations could undermine recent progress made by the Syrian government.
Direct talks on security issues between Israel and Syria began—through mediation by the US—in 2025. Talks appear to have broken down, however, following Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur military airbase in Syria’s Idlib governorate on 18 August, after Israel claimed the Syrians violated security arrangements by agreeing to have Turkish troops deploy there. Both Türkiye and Syria denied these claims. On 23 September, Sharaa reportedly said that the talks had led to the parties reaching 90 percent agreement on a security framework, before Israel withdrew.
The Secretary-General’s most recent report on UNDOF’s activities, dated 23 September and covering the period from 15 May to 12 August, reported continued violations of the 1974 agreement. The report said that these included the continued presence and activities of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the Syrian side of the buffer zone, which included detentions, searches of homes, movement restrictions, and damage to farmlands. Violations also included the IDF firing into and across the area of separation and across the ceasefire line. It reported that as at 12 August, the IDF “maintained and reinforced 11 positions” on the Syrian side, adding that UNDOF continued to observe “engineering and construction activities” by the IDF in the area. The report also said that on 8 July, an UNDOF patrol came under fire from an IDF position, with rounds coming close enough to force it to withdraw. According to the report, the IDF said that it had fired warning shots “after failing to identify an individual approaching”.
More recent Israeli violations reportedly included incursions and shelling into southern Syria’s Quneitra and Daraa governorates on 20 and 21 September, which followed a substantial increase in violations of Syrian sovereignty throughout August, according to independent observers.
Key Issues and Options
The shift in security dynamics in the Golan and ongoing violations of the 1974 agreement are key issues for the Council. Israel’s presence in the buffer zone and repeated violations of the 1974 agreement could risk further destabilising internal security dynamics in Syria or lead to a significant escalation between the parties.
A related issue is the increased challenges UNDOF faces in implementing its mandate, including the safety of personnel and movement restrictions imposed on the mission due to Israeli activities in the area of operation.
Members could consider adopting a presidential statement urging the parties to uphold international law and their obligations under the 1974 agreement, underscoring that there should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation, other than those of UNDOF. The statement could also express concern over risks posed to local civilian populations by violations of the 1974 agreement and call upon the parties to ensure that UNDOF is accorded the ability to operate safely, securely, and freely in accordance with the agreement. The Council could further urge de-escalation and express support for diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a security agreement between Israel and Syria in such a statement.
Council and Wider Dynamics
The Council remains united in its view that UNDOF plays an important role in regional stability. Despite historical divisions about who holds sovereignty over the Golan, Russia and the US have traditionally considered UNDOF as a separate issue on which they can agree, serving as co-penholders on the file.
The IDF’s recent actions and presence in the Golan have generated criticism from several Council members. Most Council members have consistently demanded Israel’s full withdrawal from Syria, while calling on all parties to adhere to the 1974 agreement. One of the main contentious issues during negotiations on the Council’s 10 August 2025 presidential statement on Syria—which contained a reference to the 1974 agreement and UNDOF’s mandate—was over whether Israel’s military actions in Syria should be explicitly referenced and condemned in the text, with the “A3 Plus” members at the time (Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Guyana) and Pakistan arguing for such language. Conversely, the US was unwilling to include a direct reference to Israel or its actions. (For more information, see our 9 August 2025 What’s in Blue story.)
Colombia’s position on the Golan seems to have shifted after President Abelardo de la Espriella assumed office. On 10 August, the new government recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan, a break from the previous government’s approach and only the second such recognition globally following the US.
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 25 June 2026S/RES/2824 | This resolution renewed the mandate of UNDOF for six months, until 31 December 2026. |
| 31 May 1974S/RES/350 | This resolution established UNDOF. |
| Secretary-General’s Report | |
| 23 September 2026S/2026/756 | This was the Secretary-General’s 90-day report on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), covering the period from 15 May 2026 to 12 August 2026. |
| Security Council Meeting Records | |
| 17 September 2026S/PV.10225 | This was a meeting on political and humanitarian developments in Syria. |
| 17 January 2025S/PV.9840 | This was a Security Council meeting on UNIFIL and UNDOF. |
