A local source in the village of Kudna in southern Quneitra province, southern Syria, said that the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), a peacekeeping mission tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria, raised its flag in an area opposite a base previously established by the Israeli army.
The source suggested that UNDOF may have set up a monitoring point in the area, amid local concerns that Israel’s presence in Syrian towns and villages along the ceasefire line could evolve into a permanent occupation.
Mohammad Ahmed al-Tahan told Asharq Al-Awsat that the western part of Kudna has witnessed UNDOF military movements, with soldiers arriving in armored vehicles and UNDOF transport to a former Syrian army military site, where they raised the UN flag.
Al-Tahan noted that the location where the flag was raised is only a few hundred meters from the Israeli base established in Tel Ahmar West after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
He added that UNDOF patrols conducted several rounds over the past two days, covering both Tel Ahmar West and Tel Ahmar East, which are administratively part of Kudna.
Al-Tahan said that Israel’s base in Tel Ahmar West has seen heavy military activity over the past two days, with troops and vehicles from the occupied Golan Heights arriving.
He said local residents find UNDOF’s movements “unclear” and speculated that they may be establishing a monitoring point.
Asharq Al-Awsat sought comment from a UN or diplomatic source in Damascus on UNDOF’s actions but was unable to obtain a response.
However, journalist and local activist Omar al-Hariri wrote on X that raising the flags over the site west of Kudna is a routine UNDOF procedure during inspections, as the location is a former Syrian army barracks.
He said that, to date, there has been no change in Israeli positions or any operational role for UNDOF following the deployment of Israeli troops in the buffer zone.
On Tuesday, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced that a delegation led by the commander of the 40th Division, Brigadier General Binyan al-Hariri, met with UNDOF Commander Major General Anita Asmah and her accompanying delegation.
The ministry said on its Telegram channel that the meeting focused on enhancing joint cooperation and developing field coordination mechanisms to support UN peacekeeping missions and promote security and stability along the separation lines.
These developments coincide with daily Israeli army incursions into towns and villages in Quneitra and Daraa provinces along the ceasefire line.=
The Quneitra Media Center reported that Israeli forces advanced along the road connecting the villages of Abu Ghara and Suwayseh in southern Quneitra, establishing two checkpoints, fully closing the road, and preventing civilians from passing.
Residents of towns and villages along the ceasefire line, where Israeli troops have advanced and established bases, fear this could turn into a permanent occupation, al-Tahan said.
Strategic military analyst and defected Colonel Ahmed Mohammad Deeb Hamadeh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the 1974 disengagement agreement mandated the presence of UN forces from Mount Hermon in northern Quneitra to the Yarmouk Valley in the south, operating in a buffer zone to oversee the ceasefire.
Hamadeh said UNDOF raising its flag in Kudna marks the start of the UN force resuming its role in the area, in line with the 1974 agreement and UN resolutions calling for a UN presence to separate the fighting forces.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last December, Israel has targeted Syrian military sites to destroy them and prevent the rehabilitation of their infrastructure, while conducting ground incursions in the Damascus, Quneitra, and Daraa countryside.
Israel has taken control of the buffer zone along the Syrian-Israeli border, established several military bases, and carried out raids in border areas, including arrests.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told the Washington Post that US President Donald Trump supports Syria’s position on Israel withdrawing from territories it occupied after December 8.
