The new Syrian authorities have demanded Israel withdraw from Syrian territories it has occupied since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, during a meeting with the head of the U.N. peacekeepers, Jean-Pierre Lacroix. The Syrian authorities "emphasized that Syria is willing to fully cooperate with the U.N.," according to a statement released Wednesday after a meeting between Lacroix and the Syrian ministers of foreign affairs Assaad al-Chaibani and defense Mourhaf Abou Qasra.

The Syrian officials stated that the new authorities were ready to redeploy in the Golan "in accordance with the 1974 agreement, provided that Israeli forces withdraw immediately," added the statement issued by the official news agency, Sana.

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's power on Dec. 8, Israel sent troops into the Golan demilitarized buffer zone in southwestern Syria, at the edge of the part of this plateau occupied by Israel since the 1967 war and annexed in 1981. The forces of the deposed regime had abruptly abandoned their positions in southern Syria even before the arrival of rebel groups in Damascus on Dec.8.

The U.N. considers Israel's takeover of the buffer zone as a "violation" of the 1974 disengagement agreement. Israel has also conducted hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military installations, claiming a need to prevent the arsenal of the deposed regime from falling into the hands of the new authorities.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix was set to visit the U.N. peacekeeping forces of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria, tasked with monitoring compliance with this agreement.

In December, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered his army to "prepare to stay" throughout the winter in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria. On Tuesday, he stated that the Israeli army would remain "at the top of Mount Hermon and in the security zone for an indefinite period to ensure the safety of the Golan Heights settlements, the north, and all citizens of the State of Israel."

Mount Hermon straddles Syria and Lebanon and overlooks the Golan Heights. "We will not allow hostile forces to establish a presence in the security zone in southern Syria," he warned.