UN Security Council Should Condemn Trump's Statement On Golan Heights - Syrian Envoy

The UN Security Council should condemn US President Donald Trump's statement calling for the recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari said in a statement on Friday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2019) The UN Security Council should condemn US President Donald Trump's statement calling for the recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari said in a statement on Friday.

Trump said via Twitter on Thursday that the time has come for the United States to fully recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

"We call the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Security Council and the General Assembly to condemn President Trump's statement and to take all the necessary steps to ensure the implementation of the relevant resolutions in order to maintain peace, security and stability in the world," Jaafari told reporters.

Jaafari said that he expects France's Ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre, who is now presiding over the UN Security Council, to take "firm steps" in condemning Trump's statement.

Jaafari referred to Trump's tweet as a "flagrant violation" of existing UN resolutions and international law, adding that the government of the United States has no right to decide on the fate of the Golan Heights.

"Our Minister of Defense, a couple of days ago, said that we have the right to get back our Golan by all means, legal means, including by force," Jaafari added. "This is our territory, and we will get it back."

The Golan Heights is a strategically important land that has been mostly under Israel's control since the country seized the area after the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1981, Israel adopted a law that officially annexed the Golan Heights, but the United Nations declared the legislation as null and void and without international legal effect.

Syria has repeatedly stated the Golan Heights is an integral part of its territory, and that it will work to return it by any means necessary.