United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is accusing the Syrian government of serious violations of the 1974 agreement that separated Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights and is calling on both countries to halt firing across the cease-fire line.

Ban urged Syria to stop deploying troops and military equipment in the disputed zone.

In a report to the UN Security Council circulated Monday, Ban said recent incidents across the cease-fire line have shown the potential to escalate Israeli-Syrian tensions, and jeopardize the agreement and the region's stability.

The report recommends a six-month extension of the 1,036-strong UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights monitoring the 1974 agreement until June 30. Israel captured the Golan from Syria in 1967, and Syria wants the land returned in exchange for peace.

Infighting in Syria spilled into Israel on a number of occasions last month. In response to the fourth such incident in just over a week, when an errant mortar shell landed in Israeli territory, Israel responded on November 11 by firing a warning shot at Syria. This was the first time Israel had directed weaponry at its northern neighbor since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

On November 18, Israel fired artillery into Syria in response to gunfire aimed at its troops in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Arab media reported that three Syrian soldiers were killed by Israeli fire, the Israel Defense Forces said the following day, adding that there were no reported injuries on the Israeli side.

The chaos of the 20-month-old insurgency often makes independent assessment of casualties within Syria difficult.

Israel lodged a complaint with the United Nations over the incident. The UN has a peace-keeper force in the area monitoring a ceasefire in place since the 1970s. The unrest in Syria has also alarmed other neighbors such as Lebanon and Turkey.