Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria

Overview

The Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria was signed in Geneva on May 31, 1974, after fighting between Israel and Syria in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It established a ceasefire, separated their armed forces and provided for United Nations supervision. Its lines run along the frontier of the Golan Heights, part of the State of Israel and the historic region of Bashan, most of which lies in Syria and is today occupied by Syria. The agreement governed military deployments and helped sustain a long ceasefire. It did not settle the wider Israeli–Syrian conflict or establish permanent peace.

The arrangement created an Area of Separation between Line A and Line B, with limits on forces and armaments on either side. The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF, was established to supervise its implementation. The agreement remained a central reference point for frontier security through Syria’s civil war and the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s rule in 2024.

Background

Israeli and Syrian forces fought on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War, which began in October 1973. United Nations Security Council Resolution 338, adopted on October 22, called for a ceasefire and further negotiations. Fighting on the Syrian front did not produce a stable separation of forces. Tension remained high and grew increasingly unstable from March 1974, prompting a United States diplomatic initiative.

Israeli and Syrian representatives presented initial disengagement plans to US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Washington during February and March 1974. Kissinger spent May traveling between Jerusalem and Damascus, conducting shuttle diplomacy to reconcile the two sides’ positions. Israel’s government approved the proposed agreement on May 29. Senior Israeli and Syrian military officers signed it on May 31 within the Geneva Peace Conference framework, under United Nations auspices and with United States and Soviet participation. President Richard Nixon publicly welcomed the agreement; Syrian President Hafez al-Assad met Nixon later that year.

Terms

Israel and Syria undertook to observe a ceasefire on land, at sea and in the air from the moment of signing and to refrain from military action against each other. This provision implemented Resolution 338. The agreement placed Israeli military forces west of Line A and all Syrian military forces east of Line B. The territory between those lines became the Area of Separation, where UNDOF would be stationed. Matching areas on both sides limited forces and armaments, reducing the risk of another confrontation between the two armies.

The agreement made a specific provision for Quneitra: nearby Israeli forces were to remain west of Line A-1, with no military forces permitted between Lines A and A-1. Territory east of Line A came under Syrian administration, and Syrian civilians were permitted to return there. These provisions addressed both military separation and civilian life in areas affected by the fighting.

The parties also set an implementation timetable. A military working group of Israeli and Syrian representatives was to begin work in Geneva within 24 hours of signing and finish within five days. It was tasked with preparing a detailed map and plan. Disengagement was to begin within 24 hours after the group completed its work and finish within 20 days of its start. Wounded prisoners of war certified by the International Committee of the Red Cross were to be repatriated within 24 hours of signing; remaining prisoners were to be repatriated the morning after the working group finished. Both sides were to return the bodies of fallen soldiers for burial within ten days.

Implementation

On May 31, 1974, the Security Council adopted Resolution 350, establishing UNDOF on the day of the signing. Its personnel were assigned to observe the Area of Separation and inspect compliance with the ceasefire, deployment lines and force limits. For decades, UNDOF also relayed messages between the parties and assisted humanitarian crossings. The Assad regime largely observed the disengagement arrangement, which sustained an open-ended ceasefire for four decades despite the absence of a peace treaty.

The Syrian civil war made UNDOF’s work more dangerous. Armed rebels abducted 21 Filipino peacekeepers during a March 6 patrol in 2013, while other attacks on UN personnel weakened monitoring. Deteriorating security prompted Japan, Canada and Croatia to withdraw longstanding personnel contributions. Threats forced peacekeepers away from several outposts for four years; they returned at the end of 2018. That year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for strict preservation of the agreement during a visit to Russia, and Russian President Vladimir Putin identified it at the July 16 Helsinki summit as a basis for stabilizing the frontier.

After Assad’s forces abandoned positions in December 2024, the Israel Defense Forces entered the Area of Separation, secured the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and deployed near Quneitra. Israel’s entry violated the agreement’s separation terms. The deployment followed the collapse of Assad’s forces and an attack on a UN observer post, as armed factions consolidated power in Syria. Ahmed al-Sharaa expressed willingness to honor the 1974 agreement and permit UN monitors to return. In February 2025, a new Syrian flag was raised over the Quneitra Governor’s building for the first time in 51 years.

Significance

The agreement separated forces and provided a durable framework for avoiding renewed Israeli–Syrian war. It remained a ceasefire arrangement rather than a permanent settlement: its terms regulated military positions, limited armaments and assigned monitoring duties, while a final peace remained unresolved. Syria’s civil war demonstrated how armed groups and attacks on peacekeepers could undermine an arrangement designed chiefly to prevent clashes between regular armies.

The Security Council continued to renew UNDOF’s mandate and call for compliance with the agreement. Resolution 2766, adopted on December 20, 2024, extended the mandate through June 30, 2025. Resolution 2782, adopted unanimously on June 30, 2025, extended it through December 31, 2025. The Council reaffirmed that the Area of Separation must remain free of military activity, including operations by Syrian armed forces. Israel’s 2024 entry into that area became a defining issue for the agreement after Assad’s fall and forms part of the Israeli invasion of Syria (2024–present).