UNGA demands Israeli withdrawal from Syrian Golan Heights

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Nov 2023 10:54
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Australia, Canada, "Israel", the UK, and the US vote against the UNGA resolution demanding Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Golan Heights.

Druze men carry Syrian and Druze flags during a rally marking Syria's Independence Day, in the village of Majdal Shams the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Monday, April 17, 2023. (AP)

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution urging "Israel" to withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

The resolution was sponsored by a group of nations including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia, Venezuela, Cuba, the DPRK, and others.

91 countries voted in favor of the resolution including Russia, Brazil, India, China, and Saudi Arabia, while eight countries voted against the resolution including Australia, Canada, "Israel", the UK, and the United States. 62 countries abstained from voting.

The resolution comprises eight preliminary clauses, the first emphasizing that "Israel" has not implemented the 1981 UN Security Council Resolution 497, which declared the Israeli "annexation" of the Syrian Golan Heights null and void.

It goes on to "demand once more that Israeli withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967, in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions."

The document underscores that the continued occupation and de facto "annexation" of the Syrian Golan by "Israel" represents a hindrance to achieving a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region.

Additionally, the General Assembly called upon "Israel" to resume talks on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and to honor commitments made during previous negotiations.

The resolution concludes by requesting the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the resolution during the seventy-ninth session of the General Assembly.

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.

Back in September, 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.