The United Nations has accused Israel of “severe violations” of a 50-year-old agreement with Syria, saying it has engaged in “engineering groundwork activities” that encroach on a key buffer zone in the Golan Heights.

The United Nations says Israeli construction along a demilitarised buffer zone with Syria has led to “severe violations” of a 50-year-old ceasefire agreement, which risk increasing tensions along their shared frontier in the occupied Golan Heights.

Israel has begun a construction project along a demarcation line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, apparently laying asphalt for a road right along the frontier.