US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said that Israel and Syria had agreed to open the Quneitra checkpoint in the Golan Heights on Monday to help UN peacekeepers "prevent hostilities" in the area.
"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 [the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force] can safely and effectively deploy and patrol without interference," Haley pointed out.
READ MORE: Over Half of UN Peacekeepers Deployed on Syrian Side of Golan Heights – UNDOF
Her statement came a few weeks after Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the Jewish state is ready to re-open the Quneitra checkpoint, the only official border crossing point with Syria.
"We see Syrian police and customs officers on the opposite side of the border, work is underway, patrols of the Russian military police are passing. […] We are ready to bring life back to normal," Lieberman said after visiting the Israeli section of the crossing in late September.
Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, the deputy commander of the Russian forces in Syria, for his part, said that the upcoming reopening of the Quneitra checkpoint was "preceded by significant work carried out by the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic with the assistance of the Russian Aerospace Forces."
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" The work at the checkpoint was launched by the Russian servicemen, by the Russian military police. First of all, we came to the site, checked it, then proceeded with extensive work to demine the area. At the final stage, the territory's clearance was checked by the mine clearance specialists of the UN mission," Kuralenko said.
The conditions for the resumption of the checkpoint's work were created after Syrian government forces regained control over Syria's southern areas several months ago and the UN peacekeepers returned to the line of separation with Israel.
In May 1974, Israel and Syria signed a disengagement agreement after a military conflict fought mainly in Sinai and the Golan Heights. Under the agreement, part of Quneitra province was returned to Syrian government control, although the authority of Damascus in the region was disrupted by the civil unrest which began in Syria in 2011.
READ MORE: Syrian Gov't, Militants Agree on Full Ceasefire in Quneitra — Source
Although it never recognized Israeli sovereignty over the region, the UN brokered an armistice between the two countries in 1974, forcing Israel out of parts of the Golan Heights and the destroyed capital of the Quneitra province.
The dispute between Israel and Syria over the territory has yet to be resolved.
