UN force says Israeli work on Syrian frontier saw 'severe violations' of cease-fire after AP report

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — United Nations peacekeepers warned Tuesday that the Israeli military has committed ''severe violations'' of a cease-fire deal with Syria as its military continues a major construction project along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.

The comments from the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, which has patrolled the area since 1974, come after an Associated Press report Monday that published satellite imagery showing the extent of the works along the frontier.

The work, which UNDOF said began in July, follows the completion by the Israeli military of new roadways and what appears to be a buffer zone along the Gaza Strip's frontier with Israel. The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where other U.N. peacekeepers have come under fire.

While such violence hasn't broken out along the Alpha Line, UNDOF warned the work risked further inflaming tensions in the region.

''Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF,'' it added.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Syrian officials have declined to comment on the construction, though UNDOF described Syria as having ''strongly protested'' the work.

High-resolution images taken on Nov. 5 by Planet Labs PBC for the AP show over 7.5 kilometers (4.6 miles) of construction along the Alpha Line, starting some 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) southeast of the Israeli-held Druze town of Majdal Shams. That's the town where a July rocket strike killed 12 children playing soccer.

The images appear to show a trench between two embankments, parts of which appear to have been laid with fresh asphalt. There also appears to be fencing running along it as well toward the Syrian side.

The construction follows a southeast route before heading due south along the Alpha Line, and then again cutting southeast. The images show excavators and other earth-moving equipment actively digging along the route, with more asphalt piled there. The area is also believed to be littered with unexploded ordnance and mines from decades of conflict.

As Israel conducted the construction work, which UNDOF described as ''extensive engineering groundwork activities'' and ''ditches,'' it has protected earth-moving equipment with armored vehicles and main battle tanks, the peacekeepers said Tuesday. Troops and earth-moving equipment have crossed the Alpha Line into the demilitarized zone in Syria, known to UNDOF as the ''area of separation.''

''Violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement have occurred where engineering works have encroached into the AoS,'' the peacekeepers said in a statement, using an acronym for the area. ''There have been several violations by (Israel) in the form of their presence in the AoS because of these activities.''

UNDOF has repeatedly protested the work, which it described as violating the cease-fire deal over the months of construction so far.

''Based on the engagement, (Israel) has indicated that the current earthworks are being carried out for (a) defensive purpose to prevent unauthorized crossing and violations by civilians,'' the peacekeepers added.

Israel sent a 71-page letter in June 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 letter cited numerous Israeli-alleged violations by Syrian civilians crossing the line.

Syria has constantly accused Israel of launching attacks against it from territory it occupies in the Golan Heights. Israel has frequently struck Syria over the years, particularly after the start of the Mideast wars following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.

Israel seized control of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. The U.N. Secretary Council voted to create UNDOF to patrol a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized zone and maintain the peace there after the 1973 Mideast war. A second demarcation, known as the Bravo Line, marks the limit of where the Syrian military can operate. The lines are delineated by barrels.

UNDOF has around 1,100 troops, mostly from Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Uruguay, who patrol the area.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 — a move criticized by a U.N. resolution declaring Israel's action as ''null and void and without international legal effect.'' The territory, some 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) in size, is a strategic high ground that overlooks both Israel and Syria.

Around 50,000 Jewish settlers and Arabs who are mostly members of the Druze sect of Shiite Islam live there.

In 2019, President Donald Trump unilaterally announced that the United States would ''fully recognize'' Israel's control of the territory, a decision that has been unchanged by the Biden administration. However, it's the only other country to do so, as the rest of the world views it as occupied Syrian territory.