UNITED NATIONS: UN’s special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said on Tuesday Israel must cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan, which are illegal.
Attacks on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop,” Pedersen added.
Syria’s conflict “has not ended” even after the departure of former president Bashar al-Assad, the UN’s envoy to the country warned, highlighting clashes between Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups in the north.
Geir Pedersen, the UN’s special envoy for Syria, also called at the Security Council for Israel to “cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan” and said an end to sanctions would be key to assisting Syria.
“There have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, before a ceasefire was brokered… A five-day ceasefire has now expired and I am seriously concerned about reports of military escalation,” he said.
“Such an escalation could be catastrophic.”
Pedersen also said he had met with Syria’s new de facto leadership following the rebels’ lightning takeover, and toured Sednaya prison’s “dungeons” and “torture and execution chambers,” operated under Assad’s government.
He called for “broad support” for Syria and an end to sanctions to allow for reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.
“Concrete movement on an inclusive political transition will be key in ensuring Syria receives the economic support it needs,” Pedersen said.
“There is a clear international willingness to engage. The needs are immense and could only be addressed with broad support, including a smooth end to sanctions, appropriate action on designations, too, and full reconstruction.”
Western countries are wrestling with their approach to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the takeover of Damascus, and has roots in the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda.
Pedersen noted Israel had conducted more than 350 strikes on Syria following the departure of the former regime, including a major strike on Tartous.
“Such attacks place a battered civilian population at further risk and undermine the prospects of an orderly political transition,” he said.
The envoy warned against plans announced by Israel’s cabinet to expand settlements inside the Golan, occupied by Israel since 1967 and annexed in 1981.
Meanwhile, the United States said Tuesday it felt “cautious optimism” on the prospects of reaching a ceasefire in the 14-month war in Gaza, although it acknowledged that similar hopes had been dashed before.
Hamas on Tuesday said that talks mediated by Qatar were “serious and positive,” a day after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the two sides as closer to a deal than ever before.
“I think cautious optimism is a fair way to characterize it, though very much tempered by realism,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
“There have been times before where we were close and we thought the differences were bridgeable, and ultimately we didn’t get a deal,” Miller said.
“All the United States can do is push and try to come up with compromises, but we cannot dictate to either side what choice they have to make; they have to make those decisions for themselves.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has paid 12 visits to the Middle East since the War began. In August, Blinken warned in Israel that it was “maybe the last” chance for a deal, which would free hostages seized by Palestinian militants.
