Politics: Syria Condemns Illegal U.S. and Israel Actions As "Criminal Project"

Syria has condemned the United States’ recognition of Israel’s illegal annexation of the Golan Heights in a strongly worded statement at the United Nations.

Speaking at a Wednesday meeting of UN Security Council on the situation of Syria, the Syrian Ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, described the U.S. action as part of a “criminal project” to maintain instability in the region.

“This is a criminal project or plan for which the US government and its allies have used all tools at their disposal… From the first day of this terrorist war led by governments of certain known countries, we said that the main goal of this war was to ensure Israeli occupation of Arab territories and to ensure that the occupation can go on forever on the basis of the plan put forward by the United States, [this] shows just how correct we were at the time.”

Bashar Jaafari, Syrian Ambassador to the UN

Israel’s 1981 extension of Israeli law and administration throughout the Golan Heights was condemned by the United Nations at the time under Resolution 497 which stated unequivocally that “the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction, and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect.”

The international legal position is further supported by Resolution 242 of 1967, adopted following the Six-Days War, the resolution emphasising the “inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war,” a reaffirmation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Following the signing of the decree that recognised the annexation of the Golan Heights on Monday, world leaders were quick to condemn the move and distance themselves from President Trump, with the United Kingdom, European Union, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and Russia all rejecting the U.S. position.

British Ambassador to the UN Karen Pierce informed the council at Wednesday’s meeting that the British position was that the U.S. decree was in contravention of Resolution 497, while the European Union representatives (also including Britain) warned of the “broader consequences of recognizing illegal annexation and also about the broader regional consequences.”