Golan is occupied Syrian territory: UN in response to US envoy

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Sep 2023 22:34
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The deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General says the status of the Golan Heights has not changed, which is that it is occupied Syrian territory.

Residents of the village of Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan celebrate Syria's independence day, on April 17, 2021 (AFP)

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-general confirmed that the Golan is occupied Syrian territory.

Haq stressed that the status of the Golan Heights has not changed, which is that it is occupied Syrian territory.

It is noteworthy that "Israel" has been occupying the Golan Heights since 1967 and refuses to recognize Syrian sovereignty over it, despite the United Nations' repeated assertion that it is part of Syrian territory and that Israeli actions in it have no legitimacy.

This comes shortly after US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in a Thursday press conference at the UN headquarters that Washington's policy on the Golan Heights "has not changed" and that the decision of the former US government in 2019 to recognize the "annexation" of the Golan Heights to the Israeli occupation "remains in effect."

In March 2019, then-US President Donald Trump recognized "Israel's" sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, sparking widespread international condemnation.

The people of the occupied Syrian Golan have repeatedly expressed their rejection of the Israeli occupation of their land. A couple of months ago, they strongly protested an Israeli project to build wind turbines near the village of Masada under the pretext of producing electricity, which led to violent confrontations with the occupation forces.

June's protests saw occupation forces bring in large reinforcements, close all roads leading to the Hafayer area, where the wind turbines are to be built, and attack the demonstrators with gas bombs, which resulted in several injuries.

As a result, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a temporary freeze on the project.