UN General Assembly reaffirms Syria’s Golan claim as envoy criticizes Israel

Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, said Israel has been occupying the Syrian Golan for nearly six decades, stressing that the UN General Assembly reaffirmed Syria’s sovereignty over the territory earlier this month.

He noted that 123 countries voted in favour of a resolution calling for Israel’s complete withdrawal from the area.

Speaking during a UN Security Council session on December 29, Olabi said Israel “continues fortification operations in the disengagement zone” and persists in violating international law. He contrasted this with what he described as Syria’s adherence to international legitimacy, despite what he said were repeated incursions, attacks on Syrian civilians, and cases of abduction.

Olabi also stated that Israel is obstructing the work of the UN peacekeeping force in the occupied Syrian Golan. He said Israel must withdraw from Mount Hermon and comply with the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

On the same day, December 29, the UN Security Council approved the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the occupied Syrian Golan for an additional six months.

The Golan Heights is a strategically important plateau located between southwestern Syria and northern Israel. Israel seized most of the territory from Syria during the Six-Day War in June 1967, after which it established military control over the area and a UN-brokered ceasefire line was put in place.

Syria attempted to regain the Golan Heights during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, but Israel retained control of most of the territory. In 1981, Israel adopted the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law, administration, and jurisdiction to the area, effectively annexing it. The United Nations and the vast majority of the international community have not recognised this move, maintaining that the Golan Heights is occupied Syrian territory under international law.

The UN Security Council has repeatedly reaffirmed this position, including through Resolution 497, which declared Israel’s annexation “null and void.” In 2019, the United States recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a step that marked a departure from long-standing US and international policy.

By Tamilla Hasanova