Golan Heights will 'remain occupied Syrian territory' despite Colombian recognition, say Arab countries

Several Arab nations have criticized Colombia's decision to acknowledge Israeli control over Syria's Golan Heights, asserting that the move does not change its status as occupied Arab land. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen all declared the recognition as a breach of international law and UN resolutions.

These resolutions label Israel's imposition of its laws, jurisdiction, and administration on the annexed Golan Heights as null and void, and without legal standing. Israel took control of the majority of the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and formally annexed it in 1981. Since the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, Israel has expanded its occupation in the region, and its forces frequently infiltrate Syrian territory.

Most countries still recognize Syrian sovereignty over the region based on UN Security Council Resolution 497. Colombia is the second nation, after the U.S. under President Donald Trump in 2019, to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory. Syria's foreign ministry stated that the occupied Golan Heights is "an inseparable part of Syrian territory" and vowed to use all "legitimate diplomatic and legal means to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and established rights, and to work toward the recovery of its occupied territories."

The region's nations have condemned the move, with Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry stating that any actions aimed at altering the territory's legal status "neither create rights nor confer legitimacy upon such actions." Qatar's foreign ministry emphasized the need for Israel to "comply with international law and withdraw from all occupied Arab territories, including the Golan Heights" and warned that unilateral decisions recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the territory would "constitute a major obstacle to achieving peace in the region."

Turkey reiterated its call for the international community to fulfill its responsibility in ending Israel's occupation in southern Syria and ending its attacks on the country's sovereignty and stability. Egypt strongly rejected Colombia's decision, calling it an "undermining of the legitimate and established rights of the Syrian Arab Republic over its entire territory" and stressing the need for Israel to withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

The Arab League Secretary General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, reaffirmed that the Golan Heights will "remain occupied Syrian territory in accordance with international law and international legitimacy resolutions," adding that sovereignty over the territory "cannot be acquired through occupation and cannot be established by a political position from one country or another."

He also urged the Colombian government to retract its announcement, stating that the Arab League rejects "any measures or positions that would grant legitimacy to the Israeli occupation or entrench its consequences."