UAE condemns Israeli expansion into occupied Golan Heights

The UAE condemned Israel's move to extend its settlements into Syria's occupied Golan Heights on Monday, saying it would escalate the situation and exacerbate conflict in the region.

The Emirates said the action by Israel is “in violation and contravention of international law”, in a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the Israeli government’s decision to expand settlements in the occupied Golan Heights, which threatens further escalation and tensions in the region,” the statement said.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) stressed the UAE’s commitment to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian state, emphasising that this decision is a deliberate effort to expand the occupation and is in violation and contravention of international law. Furthermore, the Ministry underscored the UAE’s categorial rejection of all measures and practices aimed at altering the legal status of the Occupied Golan Heights, and that threaten the security, stability and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic.”

Despite Israeli pledges that the incursion was carried out in self-defence, fears have been raised, particularly in Arab states, that Israel might use the overthrow of the Assad regime as cover to rearrange truces that have governed the region for decades, or even to seize territory.

Israel sent troops into a demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights last week after Syrian president Bashar Al Assad was removed from power on Sunday. The incursion was Israel's first in the area since the buffer zone was created in 1974.

Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, and annexed the territory in 1981. Most countries still recognise Syrian sovereignty over the area, although the US under then-president Donald Trump recognised the Golan Heights as Israeli in 2019.