The United Nations Security Council has warned Syria to stop fighting its civil war in the Golan Heights.
The council adopted a resolution on Wednesday condemning all sides in the war and warning the fighting must stop – at least in the Golan Heights, where military action now threatens to raise tensions with Israel.
The resolution, adopted unanimously in the chamber, reiterated a finding by U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon that spillover from the Syrian conflict into the buffer zone had jeopardized the cease fire between Syria and Israel. Both civilians and U.N. personnel are increasingly endangered by the situation, he found. The resolution also included an extension of the U.N. mission that provides military personnel to monitor the cease fire between Syria and Israel, until December 31.
Earlier this week, Syrian National Reconciliation Affairs Minister Ali Haidar told the Israeli Arab As-Sonara newspaper, “Whatever cease fire agreements there were in the past are now null and void as a result of the Israeli aggression. We have returned to a state of war.”
The statement came in the wake of an Israeli air strike fired in response to a Syrian anti-tank missile fired at a civilian water truck on the Israeli side of the border in the Golan Heights. A 13 year old Israeli boy died and three men – including the boy’s father — were wounded in the attack, which was unprovoked. The men were contractors working for Israel’s defense ministry making repairs near Tel Hazeka, along the border area.
“It is absolutely clear that the Syrian military is responsible for firing the anti-tank missile. Any violation of our sovereignty in the Golan Heights will be met with a powerful response against [Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s forces,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said.