EU and Gulf states condemn Israel’s claim to occupied Golan Heights

DAMASCUS, Syria (MNTV) — The European Union and Gulf states have rejected Colombia’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, reaffirming that Israel’s decades-long occupation does not change the territory’s legal status.

The EU said Wednesday that it does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and called on Israel to respect Syria’s independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

The bloc said its position is based on international law and UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 497, which reject the acquisition of territory through force and have declared Israel’s imposition of its laws, jurisdiction and administration over the Golan legally invalid.

The EU also urged Israel to respect the demilitarized buffer zone and comply with the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement with Syria. 

It called on all parties to exercise restraint, avoid further violence and pursue diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider escalation.

The EU statement followed Colombia’s decision on August 10 to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian territory. 

Colombia’s new government said the decision was based on what it described as the strategic importance of the Golan Heights to Israel’s security and Israel’s right to defend itself against external threats.

Syria has strongly rejected the Colombian decision and formally protested to the United Nations, describing the Golan Heights as an inseparable part of Syrian territory.

Damascus said the recognition could neither legitimize Israel’s occupation nor alter the territory’s established legal status, and said it would continue using diplomatic and legal means to defend its sovereignty and seek the recovery of occupied territory.

Gulf states also rejected Colombia’s move. Oman and Kuwait condemned the recognition, joining Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab states in reaffirming that the Golan Heights remains occupied Syrian territory.

Saudi Arabia said measures intended to change the legal status of the territory cannot create rights or provide legitimacy for Israel’s occupation. Qatar called on Israel to comply with international law and withdraw from occupied Arab territories, including the Golan Heights.

The Arab League also rejected the recognition, saying sovereignty over territory cannot be acquired through occupation or established through a unilateral political decision by another state.

Türkiye and Egypt likewise condemned Colombia’s announcement, warning that recognizing Israeli sovereignty would undermine international law and established Syrian rights.

Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and imposed its laws, jurisdiction and administration over the territory in 1981. 

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 497 that year, declaring the Israeli measure “null and void and without international legal effect.”

The territory has remained internationally recognized as occupied Syrian land, despite Israel’s continued control and the 2019 decision by the United States to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Following the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government in December 2024, Israeli forces moved into the UN-monitored buffer zone and have since carried out incursions and military operations in southern Syria, further intensifying concerns over the region’s stability.

Colombia’s decision has therefore triggered renewed diplomatic opposition to Israel’s territorial claims, with the EU, Syria and Arab governments insisting that political recognition by individual states cannot overturn international law or the Golan Heights’ status as occupied Syrian territory.