Journalism authority deputy chief condemns Trump decision on occupied Golan

BY

-

Sun, 31 Mar 2019 - 09:46 GMT

BY

Sun, 31 Mar 2019 - 09:46 GMT

FILE PHOTO: Druze people take part in a rally in Majdal Shams near the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, overlooking the other side of the border October 6, 2018 REUTERS/Ammar Awad

FILE PHOTO: Druze people take part in a rally in Majdal Shams near the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, overlooking the other side of the border October 6, 2018 REUTERS/Ammar Awad

CAIRO, March 31 (MENA) - First Undersecretary of the National Journalism Authority Abdullah Hassan criticized US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

He stressed that the US decision violates international legitimacy resolutions issued by the UN Security Council as regards the status of Golan Heights.

In an article themed "Trump and the Syrian Golan" in Al Ahram Al Arabi Magazine, Hassan said Trump decision is a harsh blow to international legitimacy resolutions that call on Israel to pull out forces from all Arab territories that were occupied on June 4, 1967.

Israel took the strategic territory from Syria in 1967 during the war and officially annexed it in 1981. Not long after that, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling Israel's sovereignty over the territory "null and void and without international legal effect."

It was very normal that Trump's decision would trigger off outrage in the Arab world and a big number of world states that have always called for finding a just solution to the Palestinian issue and setting up an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

Hassan referred to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement that condemned the US decision, saying the Golan Heights is an occupied Arab territory in accordance with UN resolution 497/1981.

The statement underlined the importance of respecting international legitimacy resolutions and the UN Charter, saying no land should be seized by force.

Hassan also highlighted the Arab League's condemnation of the US decision and its rejection of any official US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan.

"Trump decisions - either his transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or his recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan - totally contradict with his call for finding a just solution to the Palestinian issue," he said.

At the end of his article, Hassan stressed that Trump's decision aims at supporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in coming elections to continue his aggressive policy against Palestinians.

The failure to grant Palestinians their legitimate rights is still one of the main reasons behind the spread of terrorism and instability in the region, he added.

Comments

0

Leave a Comment

Be Social