Iran Press/Europe: Five European countries that sit on the UN Security Council on Tuesday (Mar 26) rejected US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize the Golan as Israeli territory and voiced concern the move could have broad consequences.
Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, and Poland insisted that the European position had not changed and that the Golan remained Israeli-occupied Syrian territory, in line with international law enshrined in UN resolutions, Channel News Asia reported.
"We do not recognize Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, including the Golan Heights, and we do not consider them to be part of the territory of the state of Israel," Belgian Ambassador 'Marc Pesteen de Buytswerve' told reporters.
"We raise our strong concerns about broader consequences of recognizing illegal annexation and also about the broader regional consequences," he said, flanked by the ambassadors of the four other countries.
Three UN Security Council resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from the Golan, which it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981, in a move that was never recognized internationally.
Related news:
UN rights body adopts anti-Israel resolutions
On Monday, Trump signed a proclamation in which the United States recognized the strategic plateau as Israeli territory, breaking with decades of US policy.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was by Trump’s side as he made the statement.
Russia and China spoke out against the US decision during the council meeting as did Indonesia and South Africa, two countries that strongly support the Palestinians.
The council is scheduled to discuss the US move on Wednesday when it meets to discuss the future of the peacekeeping force deployed on the Golan, known as UNDOF.
103/207
Read more:
Syria asks for UNSC urgent meeting on Golan
Nasrallah slams US recognition of Israeli rule on Golan
