ISLAMABAD – Gulf Arab states have rejected a U.S. decision to recognizeIsrael’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have warned that the move will hurtthe peace process in the Middle East and affect regional stability.
All regional allies of Washington that host American troops criticized themove by President Donald Trump to recognize Israel’s 1981 annexation, andsaid the territory was occupied Arab land.
A statement on Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA described USdeclaration as a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and ofinternational law.
Kuwait and Bahrain said they regretted the decision while Qatar called onIsrael to end its occupation of the Golan Heights and comply withinternational resolutions.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticizing U.S. President Donald Trumpfor recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel said the move wasagainst international law.
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Meanwhile, Spokesman for UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric in a dailypress briefing said that the United Nation’s policy on Israeli-occupiedGolan Heights remains unchanged despite the U.S. administration’srecognition of Israeli sovereignty over territory.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War andannexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.
In another move, Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Geng Shuang in abriefing in Beijing today opposed US move of formally recognizing GolanHeights as Israeli territory and opposed the change of facts throughunilateral acts.
He said the international community recognizes that the Golan Heights is anoccupied territory.
