Syria reiterates its right to recover the entire occupied Golan through all means guaranteed by international law

Syria reiterated its firm adherence to its right to recover the entire occupied Golan by all available means guaranteed by international law, stressing that all measures of the Israeli occupation to change its features or impose its mandate on it are null and void and have no legal effect under international law and United Nations resolutions.

During a Security Council session on Wednesday on the situation in the Middle East, Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, said: “It is deplorable that the United Nations envoy to the Middle East, Tor Wencesland, insisted on  not  including  in his briefings any information about the Israeli settlement in the occupied Syrian Golan and the practices of the occupation.” He also ignored the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, the most recent of which was the aggression on the commercial port of Lattakia, which led to great material losses.

Sabbagh pointed out that Syria sent several letters to the UN Secretary-General and UN  envoy to the Middle East to inform them of the developments related to the situation in the occupied Syrian Golan, and also to warn of the danger of repeated Israeli attacks on the stability of Syria and the region. However, the UN envoy’s briefing was disappointing, as it had no claim to objectivity or balance, and did not include aspects of the mission assigned to him.

Sabbagh noted that in a new dangerous escalation, the Israeli occupation government held a meeting on the occupied Syrian Golan on the 26th  of last month, during which it announced its intention to establish two new settlements in the Golan, comprising thousands of settlement units, with the aim of doubling the number of settlers there. This is considered a flagrant violation of the rules of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and a blatant defiance of all relevant United Nations resolutions, especially Security Council Resolution No. 497 of 1981. It is also considered a new failed attempt to perpetuate and prolong the occupation, change the parameters of the Golan and obliterate its Syrian Arab identity.

Sabbagh stressed Syria’s condemnation of the serious violations carried out by the Israeli occupation in the occupied Syrian Golan, including its appropriation of lands and properties, its imposition of demographic change and the theft of resources and natural wealth. He voiced Syria’s firm adherence to its right to restore the entire occupied Golan up to the June 4, 1967 line with all available means guaranteed by international law as an eternal right that does not fall under any statute of limitations.

Sabbagh affirmed that all Israeli occupation measures aimed at changing the natural and demographic features of the Golan  and  imposing its laws and jurisdiction over it are null and void and have no legal effect under international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.

Sabbagh indicated that the continuation of the Israeli aggression on Syrian territory and its recent hysterical recurrence represents a flagrant violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement and United Nations resolutions related to the occupied Syrian Golan. This is  clear evidence of its support for terrorism in Syria and is another dangerous escalation that threatens peace and security in the region. He asserted that the occupation’s attacks would not have reached this extent without the protection provided to it by successive US administrations. 

Sabbagh reiterated Syria’s call on the Security Council to abandon its silence and to urgently assume its responsibilities to deter the Israeli occupation from continuing its violations, , and obligate it to end its occupation of the Syrian Golan and withdraw from it completely until the 4th June 1967 line in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly and the relevant international references.

Sabbagh affirmed Syria’s strong condemnation of the Israeli occupation’s repressive practices and settlement operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in Jerusalem, the most recent of which was the demolition of two houses in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. He voiced Syria’s support to the Palestinian peoples’ struggle to defend their lands and sanctities and to restore their occupied lands and legitimate rights

In response to the statement of the representative of the European Union, Sabbagh said that he reiterated the same hostile positions related to the situation in Syria, although they had nothing to do with the topic of this session. The EU’s representative  addressed many of the points in a biased manner, and despite his claim that he respects Syrian sovereignty, he did not condemn the continuous Israeli aggressions on Syrian territory and didn’t demand to stop settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan. Is there more political hypocrisy and double standards than that?

Sabbagh added that the climax of hypocrisy and contempt for minds is the demand of “Israeli occupation representative” to condemn a defenseless people resisting the occupation with stones, distracting the world’s attention from the repeated attacks of his entity over decades with missiles, heavy weapons and bullets against the Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese.

Inas Abdulkareem