Security Council Renews Mandate of UN Disengagement Observer Force for Six Months, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2824 (2026)

The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for six months, until 31 December 2026, and requested the Secretary-General to ensure the Force has the required capacity and resources to fulfil its mandate in a safe and secure manner.

UNDOF was established to maintain the ceasefire following the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab States led by Egypt and Syria. It is mandated to supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces in the Area of Separation - a demilitarized buffer zone - and the Area of Limitation, where Israeli and Syrian forces are restricted in the Golan Heights.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2824 (2026) (to be issued as document S/RES/2824(2026)), the 15-member Council called on the parties to immediately implement resolution 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973. That text calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Yom Kippur War - a 20-day conflict between Israel, Egypt and Syria - and concurrently, negotiations aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in the Middle East.

Today, the Council stressed the obligation on both parties to "scrupulously and fully" respect the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement. It called on them to exercise maximum restraint and prevent any breaches of either the ceasefire or the area of separation.

By further terms, the Council encouraged the parties to take full advantage of UNDOF's liaison function and to maintain their liaison with the Force to prevent any escalation of the situation across the ceasefire line. There should be no military activity of any kind in the area of separation.

Syria Is Stable, Damascus Insists; Israel's Presence Is Unjustified

Today's lone speaker - the representative of Syria - said the Council had been told that the Israeli presence in his country is both temporary and justified by the changes occurring there. "That justification was never valid," he underscored, even less so today as Syria is "amongst the most stable countries in the region".

Noting that the "change" in Syria that Israel appears to have feared is the dissolution of a regime that tortured and used chemical weapons against its own people, he wondered aloud: "Can the Syrian people then conclude that Israel's continued presence in Syria suggests it preferred the status quo under the brutal Assad regime?"

It might be more logical to see this as opportunism, he said: "An attempt to seize land for imagined political gains." The fact that Syria is calling for increased funding for UNDOF speaks volumes, as a State seeking conflict does not call for "more observers, more reporting or stricter monitoring of a disengagement regime".

Breaches of 1974 Disengagement Agreement 'Clearly' Documented

Israel's violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement have been clearly documented, he said. It is important that Syrians know the Council has reaffirmed the validity of the 1974 Agreement and prohibited any military presence in the Area of Separation.

"Today, the Council has made its position crystal clear," he observed. "Syria is fulfilling its responsibilities. The time is now for Israel to fulfil theirs."