France has called on Israel to leave the neutral zone established between Israel and Syria.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Tel Aviv to respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“Any military deployment in the disengagement zone between Israel and Syria constitutes a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement, which must be upheld by the contracting parties, Israel and Syria,” the French Foreign Ministry insists.

The neutral zone at the border was created after the 1973 war between Israel and Syria. A United Nations force responsible for monitoring disengagement (UNDOF) has been deployed there ever since.

In its statement, French diplomacy emphasizes that “the security of (UNDOF) must be safeguarded.”

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria against military installations “to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorist elements,” according to the Israeli military.

On Tuesday (December 10), Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the army to establish “a zone free of weapons and terrorist threats in southern Syria without a permanent military presence,” shortly after Israeli units entered the neutral zone.

According to a UN official in New York, who requested anonymity, Israeli forces are occupying seven positions within the neutral zone.