Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq condemn Israel’s ‘dangerous’ land grab in Syria | Syrian War News

Qatar, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel’s seizure of land from Syria near the Golan Heights as the Israeli military continues its airstrikes across the country.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Doha considers the Israeli attack “a dangerous development and a clear attack on the sovereignty and unity of Syria and a clear violation of international law”.

“The fait accompli enforcement policy pursued by the Israeli regime, including its attempts to occupy Syrian territories, will lead the region to further violence and tension,” it added.

Israel launched an attack on Syria after the country’s armed opposition overthrew the government of former President Bashar al-Assad early Sunday.

Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s move on Monday, saying it confirmed that “Israel continues to violate the rules of international law and its determination to destroy Syria’s chances of restoring security, stability and territorial integrity”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the kingdom also urged the international community to condemn the Israeli campaign, stressing that the Golan Heights is Arab territory.

Baghdad echoed the criticism, saying Israel had committed “serious violations under international law”.

Iraq “stresses the importance of preserving the sovereignty and integrity of Syria and calls on the UN Security Council to respect its responsibility and condemn this violence … and put an end to it,” read a statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Sunday, Israel quickly moved in and seized the security zone that separates the Golan Heights from Syrian-controlled areas. The Israeli military also warned Syrians living in five towns near the strategic area to “stay home”.

Israel occupied most of the Golan Heights in 1967 and illegally occupied the area in 1981.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the Israeli military to seize the safe zone, which was established in 1974 to end the war with Syria, shortly after the overthrow of al-Assad.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Netanyahu said the heavily populated Golan Heights would remain with Israel “forever”.

He also thanked US President-elect Donald Trump for realizing that Israel has jurisdiction over the area during his first term. International law strictly prohibits the taking of land by force.

Netanyahu said the fall of al-Assad “was a direct result of the powerful blows we have dealt to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran”, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Israel’s recent land acquisition was also criticized by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, who said the move was a “violation” of the 1974 withdrawal agreement between Israel and Syria.

The UN peacekeeping force deployed in the Golan Heights, known as UNDOF, “informed its Israeli counterparts that these actions would violate the 1974 disengagement agreement”, said Dujarric. He added that the Israeli soldiers who entered the area are still in three places.

‘Over 100 strikes’

Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council that the deployment of troops to the area is “limited and temporary”.

“I spoke to the Security Council and clarified that in response to the growing security threat on the Syrian-Israeli border and the danger it poses to our citizens, we have taken limited and temporary measures,” Ambassador Danny Danon wrote in X.

Apart from the ground attack, the Israeli military has been bombing Syria since the overthrow of al-Assad on Sunday.

Reuters news agency quoted Syrian security forces as saying that Israel bombed three airports in Syria – sites near Damascus, Homs and Qamishli – on Monday.

Israel also attacked military equipment in the coastal city of Latakia, Reuters reported.

The Israeli military rarely claims responsibility for attacks in Syria.

Israel carried out three airstrikes in Damascus last week against a security agency and a government research center, two security sources said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based military monitor, said Israel launched more than 100 strikes on military positions across the country on Monday.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Guardians, said that the intense Israeli strikes aimed to “destroy the military power of the former regime”.