Arab states throw fit over Trump’s Golan declaration: ‘US becomes enemy of the Arabs’

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem says the U.S. decision “will not change the fact that the Golan is an occupied Syrian territory.”

By World Israel News Staff

Arab states condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration, which he signed Monday, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Israel captured the territory from Syria in the 1967 war after Arab armies had mobilized forces near their borders with Israel.

Syria’s foreign ministry called the U.S. decision a “blatant attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Syria.

“The liberation of the Golan by all available means and its return to the Syrian motherland is an inalienable right,” said the Syrian statement, which was carried by state news agency SANA.

It said that the Trump declaration “makes the United States the main enemy of the Arabs.”

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem added: “No matter how many years have passed, this will not change the fact that the Golan is an occupied Syrian territory.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was impossible for Turkey to accept the U.S. decision on the Golan Heights.

He added that action would be taken against the U.S. over the move, including at the United Nations.

A U.N. spokesman said that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “clear that the status of Golan has not changed. The U.N.’s policy on Golan is reflected in the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and that policy has not changed.”

The Arab League condemned Monday’s U.S. declaration, saying that “Trump’s recognition does not change the area’s status.”

“Attempts to impose fait accompli do not change the facts,” said a statement by the Saudi Press Agency.

Riyadh asserted that the Golan is an “occupied Syrian Arab land in accordance with the relevant international resolutions.” It warned that U.S. recognition “will have significant negative effects on the peace process in the Middle East and the security and stability of the region,” according to the press agency.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry rejected the American move and said that the Golan Heights are occupied Arab land.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates said that they regretted the decision, adding that international law should be honored.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry also released a statement, regretting the American move.

In 1981, the Knesset passed a law which extended Israeli jurisdiction and administration to the Golan Heights.

A U.N. Security Council resolution was adopted unanimously in the immediate aftermath of the Knesset action. It declared that Israel’s “decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction, and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect.” It also demanded that Israel rescind its decision.