US widely denounced at UN Security Council after Trump signed off on Israel’s 1981 annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights.
The United States came under sharp criticism from 14 other United Nations Security Council nations for its decision to recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights in violation of international law.
The Security Council met on Wednesday at the request of Syria, which in a letter to the council called the US move a “flagrant violation” of UN resolutions.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Monday in which the US recognised Israel’s annexation of the strategic plateau that it seized in 1967 and annexed in 1981.
Speaker after speaker at the council session supported Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and opposed Israel’s annexation after Trump’s proclamation.
“This unilateral action does nothing to assist in finding a long-term peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East,” South Africa’s UN Ambassador Jerry Matjila said.
Syria’s closest ally, Russia, urged governments to continue to view the Golan Heights as Israeli-occupied territory.
“If anybody feels any temptation to follow this poor example, we would urge them to refrain from this aggressive revision of international law,” Russia’s Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov said.
France warned any attempt to turn from international law was “doomed to fail”, as the US prepares to unveil its Middle East peace proposals.
Three Security Council resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed – a move not recognised internationally.
The US defended its decision, arguing the recognition bolstered Israel’s security and could contribute to the stability of the entire Middle East by keeping Syria and its Iranian ally in check.
