US: Israel, Syria Agree to Reopen Golan Crossing

The United Nations, Israel and Syria have agreed to reopen the Quneitra crossing in the Golan Heights on Monday, the US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said.

Haley said in a statement that the opening “will allow UN peacekeepers to step up their efforts to prevent hostilities in the Golan Heights region”.

The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), with about 1,000 troops, was established in 1974 and monitors a ceasefire line separating Israeli-occupied parts of the Golan Heights from Syria.

UNDOF resumed its patrols in the area of the crossing point in August, after withdrawing in 2014 when Al-Qaeda-linked rebels overran the area, three years into Syria's civil war.

UNDOF's return was made possible after Syrian regime troops retook the Syrian side of the crossing in July under a deal with rebel fighters brokered by Moscow.

It had been sealed completely since rebels overran it in April 2015, choking off one of the most important trade routes for the government.

“We look to both Israel and Syria to provide UN peacekeepers the access they need as well as assurances of their safety. We also call on Syria to take the necessary steps so UNDOF can safely and effectively deploy and patrol without interference,” Haley said.

Haley added that all sides must stick to a 1974 agreement and keep any military forces other than UN peacekeepers out of the zone.

Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and fought Syria again on the strategic plateau in a 1973 conflict to later annex it in a move not recognized by the international community.