Summary
The armistice agreement between Syria and Israel signed on 20 July 1949 at Hill 232, near Mahanayim, in its own text an instrument whose provisions are dictated exclusively by military, and not by political, considerations and prejudice no rights, claims or positions in the ultimate peaceful settlement of the Palestine question, and whose Armistice Demarcation Line, drawn midway between the certified truce lines, creates a Syria-Israel Demilitarized Zone (1949) wherever it diverges from the Syria-Palestine international boundary (Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, PDF p.4-6).
Details
- It establishes a general armistice between the Parties’ land, sea and air forces in pursuance of the Security Council resolution of 16 November 1948, delineates the Line in 24 numbered segments in Annex I from the Lebanese-Syrian-Palestinian border meeting point to the Yarmuk River, and provides for the exchange of all prisoners of war at the site of the Armistice Conference within twenty-four hours of signing (Articles III, V and VI and Annex I, PDF p.4-7, p.9-10).
- Withdrawal from the Demilitarized Zone, with demining and destruction of permanent fortifications, is completed sector by sector over twelve weeks under Annex II; Annex III defines the defensive areas on each side of the Zone and Annex IV caps the defensive forces allowed there unit by unit, prohibiting military aircraft and naval forces and excluding armour (Annexes II-IV, PDF p.10-12).
- It creates the Syria-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission, headquartered at the Customs House near Jisr Banat Ya’qub and at Mahanayim, whose Chairman is empowered to authorize the return of civilians to villages and settlements in the Demilitarized Zone and the employment of limited numbers of locally recruited civilian police there (Articles V and VII, PDF p.6-8).
- Two letters joined to the Agreement, from the heads of the Israeli and Syrian delegations to Brigadier-General William E. Riley, confirm that the Parties’ forces shall not advance beyond the existing certified truce lines and that in the Samakh area Israeli troops shall be stationed in the Samakh Police Station, Sha’ar Hag Golan and Massada only (PDF p.12-13).
- It is not subject to ratification, comes into force immediately on signing, and remains in force until a peaceful settlement is achieved, with revision or suspension of provisions other than Articles I and III by mutual consent at any time or, after one year, through a Secretary-General-convoked conference (Article VIII, PDF p.8-9).
Related pages
Syrian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, Syria, Israel, Syria-Israel Demilitarized Zone (1949), Egyptian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement (Rhodes, 1949), Lebanese-Israeli General Armistice Agreement (Ras En Naqoura, 1949), Israel–Jordan Armistice Agreement (Rhodes, 1949)