GCC raps Trump call to recognise Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights

The Gulf Cooperation Council expressed regret yesterday at Donald Trump’s call to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria in a 1967 war. Trump’s statement “will not change the reality that the Arab Golan Heights is Syrian land occupied by Israel by military force in 1967”, said Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani, the GCC secretary-general. “The statements by the American president undermine the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace.”

The GCC’s comments came as the Syrian government vowed on Friday to recover the territory from Israel. Other countries, both Syria’s allies and enemies, in the region and the West also condemned the US president’s comments - which marked the latest major US policy shift on Israel. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 — a move not recognized internationally. The European Union underlined it does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights yesterday. “The position of the EU has not changed,” an EU spokeswoman told Reuters.

“The European Union, in line with international law, does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, including the Golan Heights and does not consider them to be part of Israel’s territory.” Egypt also said yesterday it considers the territory as occupied Syrian land.

In a statement carried by state news agency MENA, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry cited UN Security Council resolution 497 of 1981 which rejected Israel’s annexation of the territory. The ministry “stressed the importance that everybody should respect the resolutions of international legitimacy and the United Nations Charter in respect of the inadmissibility of acquiring land by force,” the statement said.