United Nations, Dec 20
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Israel to stop violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Guterres condemned Israel's extensive airstrikes on Syria aimed at destroying strategic weapons and military infrastructure and its troops' entry into a demilitarised zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, news agency reported.
"They are violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity and they must stop," he said.
"Let me be clear: There should be no military forces in the area of separation other than UN peacekeepers. And those peacekeepers must have freedom of movement to undertake their important work."
Guterres underscored that Israel and Syria must uphold the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, which remains fully in force.
"This is a decisive moment -- a moment of hope and history, but also one of great uncertainty," the UN Chief told reporters.
"Some will try to exploit the situation for their own narrow ends. But it is the obligation of the international community to stand with the people of Syria who have suffered so much," he said.
Since a lightning rebel offensive ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes that it says are aimed at destroying strategic weapons and military infrastructure.