Middle East tensions ERUPT: Syria demands UN meeting on US' stance over Golan Heights
ANGRY Syrian officials have requested a UN Security Council meeting after the US recognised Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
Golan Heights: Trump recognises Israel’s sovereignty over land
Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Syria to condemn US President Donald Trump’s decision to sign an executive order making the claim. Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was by Trump’s side as he made the statement. According to the BBC, Syria said Trump’s recognition was “a blatant attack on its sovereignty”.
Protests began after Trump and Mr Netanyahu’s conference in Washington yesterday.
Mr Netanyahu was forced to stop his trip early after rockets fired from the Gaza Strip savaged parts of Tel Aviv.
Syrians took to the streets throughout the country, with Al Jazeera reporting many were carrying banners reading ‘Golan is Syrian’ as they marched.
Mohammad Shaaban, a protester in Aleppo, told Al Jazeera: “We are here to condemn Trump’s Golan decision.
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“The Golan is Arab and Syrian whether they like it or not.”
Israel occupied Golan Heights in 1981, a move that was not internationally recognised.
US administrations had followed this line until Trump’s historic intervention.
The two countries have argued over the territory since the 1967 Middle East war, in which Israel seized control of the land.
Experts believe around 20,000 Israelis have settled there.
Hassan Nasrallah, who is part of a Lebanese group which support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said Trump’s decision was “a crucial turning point in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict”.
He added that this “deals a knockout punch” to peace in the region.
According to Channel News Asia, European countries on the UN claimed Golan Heights is not an Israeli territory.