The United Nations has accused Israel of “severe violations” of a 50-year-old agreement with Syria, saying it has engaged in “engineering groundwork activities” that encroach on a key buffer zone in the Golan Heights.

Israel has commenced construction along the Alpha Line separating the Golan Heights from Syria, as satellite images reveal. This development, confirmed by UN peacekeepers, violates cease-fire rules, raising tensions.

United Nations peacekeepers are warning 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 United Nations says Israeli construction along a demilitarised buffer zone with Syria has led to “severe violations” of a 50-year-old ceasefire agreement, which risk increasing tensions along their shared frontier in the occupied Golan Heights.