88. Syrian-Israeli Disengagement Agreement1
AGREEMENT ON DISENGAGEMENT BETWEEN ISRAELI AND SYRIAN FORCES
A. Israel and Syria will scrupulously observe the ceasefire on land, sea and air and will refrain from all military actions against each other, from the time of the signing of this document, in implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 338 dated October 22, 1973.
B. The military forces of Israel and Syria will be separated in accordance with the following principles:
1. All Israeli military forces will be west of the line designated as Line A on the map attached hereto, except in the Quneitra area, where they will be west of Line A–1.
2. All territory east of Line A will be under Syrian administration, and Syrian civilians will return to this territory.
3. The area between Line A and the line designated as Line B on the attached map will be an area of separation. In this area will be stationed the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force established in accordance with the accompanying protocol.
4. All Syrian military forces will be east of the line designated as Line B on the attached map.
5. There will be two equal areas of limitation in armament and forces, one west of Line A and one east of Line B as agreed upon.
6. Air Forces of the two sides will be permitted to operate up to their respective lines without interference from the other side.
C. In the area between Line A and Line A–1 on the attached map there shall be no military forces.
D. This agreement and the attached map will be signed by the military representatives of Israel and Syria in Geneva not later than May 31, 1974, in the Egyptian-Israeli Military Working Group of the Geneva Peace Conference under the aegis of the United Nations, after that group has been joined by a Syrian military representative, and with the [Page 371] participation of representatives of the United States and the Soviet Union. The precise delineation of a detailed map and a plan for the implementation of the disengagement of forces will be worked out by military representatives of Israel and Syria in the Egyptian-Israeli Military Working Group who will agree on the stages of this process. The Military Working Group described above will start their work for this purpose in Geneva under the aegis of the United Nations within 24 hours after the signing of this agreement. They will complete this task within five days. Disengagement will begin within 24 hours after the completion of the task of the Military Working Group. The process of disengagement will be completed not later than twenty days after it begins.
E. The provisions of paragraphs A, B and C shall be inspected by personnel of the United Nations comprising the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force under this agreement.
F. Within 24 hours after the signing of this agreement in Geneva all wounded prisoners of war which each side holds of the other as certified by the ICRC will be repatriated. The morning after the completion of the task of the Military Working Group, all remaining prisoners of war will be repatriated.
G. The bodies of all dead soldiers held by either side will be returned for burial in their respective countries within ten days after the signing of this agreement.
H. This agreement is not a peace agreement. It is a step toward a just and durable peace on the basis of Security Council Resolution 338 dated October 22, 1973.
For Israel:
Herzl Shafir
Maj. Gen.
For Syria:
Hikmat al-Shibabi
Witness for the United Nations:
Ensio Siilasvuo2
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Records of Joseph Sisco, Box 32, Briefing Book: Syrian-Israeli Disengagement Documents, Under Secretary Sisco. No classification marking. All three signers, Shafir, Shihabi, Siilasvuo, initialed each page. The agreement, accompanying protocol (Document 89), and attached map (Document 90) were published in the New York Times, May 31, 1974. For the final map agreed to by the Syrians and the Israelis, see Appendix B, Map 2.↩
- General Siilasvuo wrote “Geneva 31 May 1974” after his signature, and General Shihabi’s signature is is Arabic.↩