The current and ongoing mission I chose to focus on is the UnitedNations Disengagement Observer Force (UDOF) located in Golan Heights, which isan area between Syria and Israel.

The UDOF was established in May 1974 bySecurity Council Resolution 350 following the “Agreement of Disengagement”between the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan (UN Peacekeeping). This wasaround the time of the Arab-Israeli War. Since its inception, the UDOF remainsin the area of the Golan in order to enforce and supervise the implementation of the ceasefire betweenthese two states. Which is in addition to post war tensions between thesestates, where the tensions are still relatively high.             A littlebackground on the location of the Golan Heights dates back to June 5th-10thof 1867, during the Arab-Israeli War, which is also known as the Six Day War. Duringthis war, Israel had gained control of the Golan Heights from Syria.

In 1973, anadditional war began as Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel. Despitethis surprise attack though, Israel prevailed, but the tensions still remainedhigh between Syria and Israel. The significance of the Golan Heights has hadmany rumors, including its rich in oil, great for farming, but unquestionablythe Heights are over 300 feet higher in elevation than the rest of the landsurrounding it. When a state is fighting a war, it is hard to advance against plateaus,and this obstacle is an advantage for Israel. The ceasefire agreement has beenviolated by multiple parties on a number of occasions, which threatens broaderregional stability, as well as the UNDOF peacekeepers safety (Better WorldCampaign).            As ofOctober 2017, the total number of personnel supporting this mission is 1,130.The top contributors to this operation are Nepal, Fiji, India, and Ireland. Dueto the more recent conflict in Syria, there has been many violations of this ceasefireand much of it was in part to the military forces in the region.

In June of2017, the UN adopted a new security resolution that renewed the UN mandateuntil December 2017. This resolution was again, heavily condemning the use ofarmed forces in the region by not only Syrian armed forces, but other armedforces as well.  There has been UDOFpatrols in the areas of military activity which contributes to the number onthe fatality count. The number of fatalities to date is 48 for the UDOF, partlybecause tensions between Syrian government forces and the Israeli forcescontinue to clash. At this point in time, I would consider Israel a weak state,mainly due to territory. Jewish people used to be referred to as “statelesspeople” before the creation of Israel and to this day Syria, along with otherUN members, does not officially recognize Israel’s presence.