JERUSALEM, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Israel refused a proposal to place the disputed Shebaa Farms area in U.N. hands while formal demarcations proceed to determine sovereignty.

The Shebaa Farms region is in the Golan Heights region of Syria along the southern border of Lebanon. The border agreed upon in 1923 wasn't properly demarcated, though the 1949 armistice ending the Arab-Israeli War defines the area is part of Syria.

The United Nations maintained Syrian sovereignty after Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2002 but Hezbollah claims the area is still under Israeli occupation.

However, Geir Pedersen, the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, said demarcation evidence suggests the territory is Lebanese, stating, “the U.N. believes that there is merit in the Lebanese claims of sovereignty over Shebaa Farms.”

Israel said it wouldn't enter formal dialogues until a determination deciding if the area was Syrian or Lebanese territory was made, Haaretz reported.

The U.N. Security Council is expecting reports in the next few weeks concerning U.N. Resolution 1701 regarding the second Lebanese war, which may include findings from cartographers demarcating the area.

Haaretz noted that Pedersen is recommending Israel agree to a separate package concerning the Shebaa Farms but Israeli officials said “we will not agree to resolving this issue separately. Every agreement with Lebanon will be part of a single package.”