Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi is the founder and president of Alma, a nonprofit and an independent research and education center specializing in Israel’s security challenges on its northern border. Her unique achievements led her to be selected by the Jerusalem Post as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Jews of 2021.
IDF Deployment in the Demilitarized Zone at the Israel-Syria Border
Since May 31, 1974, Israel and Syria have maintained a disengagement agreement that was signed at the end of the Yom Kippur War, which broke out on October 6, 1973. The agreement, monitored by the UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force), an armed force established based on UN Security Council Resolution 350, is intended to keep peace along the border, defining a demilitarized buffer zone that should be free of military presence except for UN forces serving as international observers.
The buffer zone is between the Alpha Line (the border between the countries) and the Bravo Line.
During the civil war in the previous decade, the agreement was challenged from time to time. Currently, due to the collapse of the Syrian regime and the rebels taking control, it is once again significantly challenged. In light of these developments, the IDF has deployed temporarily in the buffer zone and the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon in order to preserve it and protect the Israeli border.
What does the future bring? Alma Research Center summarized the unknowns:
