Arab League condemns Israeli grab of Syrian buffer zone, calls for Security Council session
ISTANBUL (AA) – The Arab League has condemned the Israeli grab of the buffer zone in the Syrian territory, saying that the Arab countries have approached the Security Council to hold a session on Israel’s actions against Syria.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that under the initiative of Egypt and other Arab countries, the Arab League held a meeting on the level of the permanent delegates in its headquarters in Cairo to draft a unified Arab stance toward Israel’s new occupation of more Syrian lands.
Immediately following the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, the Israeli army captured the buffer zone in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights, shortly after Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu announced the collapse of a UN-monitored disengagement agreement with Damascus.
The Israeli army mounted hundreds of airstrikes against military bases, air defense stations, and intelligence headquarters, as well as long- and short-range missile depots and unconventional weapon stockpiles across Syria.
The meeting resulted in the issuance of a resolution condemning the Israeli incursion into Syria’s buffer zone area and adjacent areas including the Mount Hermon, according to the Egyptian statement.
The resolution considered the Israeli actions as “violation to the disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria in 1974.”
The statement also said that the Arab League urged the international community to compel Israel to abide by international legitimacy, especially UN resolution 497 of 1981, which demands that Israel withdraw from the occupied Golan Heights.
Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967.
In 1974, a disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria was signed, which defined the borders of the buffer zone and established a demilitarized area.
Bashar Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on December 8 after anti-regime groups seized control of Damascus. The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters captured key cities in a swift offensive that lasted less than two weeks.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
