Israel: UN Security Council must demand Iranian ouster from Syria
The Syrian regime “continues to allow Iran and its proxies to use its territory... to entrench its presence in Syria."
By TOVAH LAZAROFFFences are seen on the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights March 25, 2019.(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)
The United Nations Security Council must demand Iran’s ouster from Syria and condemn attacks by its proxies against Israel from that neighboring territory, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said.“Israel calls upon the Security Council to condemn these recurring dangerous acts, and demands a total rollback of Iran and its proxies from Syria and the removal of Iranian military infrastructure from Syrian territory,” Erdan wrote in a letter he sent to UNSC President and St. Vincent and Grenadines Ambassador Inga Rhonda King.Erdan wrote his letter after several improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were discovered in Israeli territory on its border with Syria in the Golan Heights on November 17.Israel immediately retaliated by striking Iranian and Syrian military targets in Syria to thwart additional attacks, he wrote.The placement of those devices, Erdan wrote, was a “direct violation of the Disengagement Agreement (1974).”Similar explosive devices were found there on August 3, he said.These devices, he said, could have caused “serious escalation in the region” and “pose a risk not only to the local civilian population, but also to the UN personnel on the ground,” Erdan said.“These incidents, conducted by Iran’s proxies in Syria (Unit 840 of the IRGC’s Quds Force), prove once again that Syrian territory, including the Area of Separation (AOS), is being abused by hostile elements,” the ambassador wrote.The Syrian regime “continues to allow Iran and its proxies to use its territory, including military facilities and infrastructure, to entrench its presence in Syria and undermine efforts to maintain stability in the region,” he added.Erdan called on the UN to investigate the incidents. He also called for a return by UNDOF forces to “all its positions and of it resuming the full scope of its activities prior to 2014,” he wrote.
Lastly, he wrote, Israel holds Syria responsible for all attacks against Israel from its territory and will take “all lawful measures to defend itself from attempts to carry out attacks against our country.”
